Ryanodine Receptor Inhibition with Dantrolene Prevents Ventricular Tachycardia Induction in Patients with Structural Heart Disease - A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Despite clinical need, no new drugs for treating ventricular tachycardia (VT) have emerged for over 20 years. In structural heart disease, posttranslational modifications render intracellular ryanodine receptor-2 (RyR2) calcium release channels leaky, which increases VT risk. Treatment with dantrolene, an RyR2 inhibitor, prevents VT in animal models.

The Therapeutic Impact of Genetic Evaluation in an Atrial Fibrillation Precision Medicine Clinic.

Background And Aims: Genetic testing is recommended for select patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The aims of this study were to define the results of genetic evaluation and its therapeutic impact for patients referred to a dedicated AF precision medicine clinic.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with AF before age 60 were candidates for referral.

Recurrence After Atrial Fibrillation Ablation and Investigational Biomarkers of Cardiac Remodeling.

Background: Recurrence after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation remains common. We evaluated the association between recurrence and levels of biomarkers of cardiac remodeling, and their ability to improve recurrence prediction when added to a clinical prediction model.

Methods And Results: Blood samples collected before de novo catheter ablation were analyzed.

Right ventricular longitudinal strain on CMR predicts ventricular arrhythmias and mortality in cardiac sarcoidosis.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) are associated with ventricular arrhythmias (VA) and mortality in cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). However, image resolution limits the detection of RV LGE. Global longitudinal RV strain (RVS) correlates to RV scar on electroanatomical mapping and RV function.

Application of the very high risk criterion and evaluation of cholesterol guideline adherence in acute myocardial infarction patients at an urban academic medical center.

Objective: The 2018 AHA/ACC cholesterol guidelines recommend considering non-statin agents among very high-risk (VHR) patients with LDL-C ≥ 70 mg/dL after maximizing statin therapy. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of VHR status in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients at hospital discharge and the adherence to guideline-directed cholesterol therapy (GDCT) within one-year follow-up post-AMI.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients who suffered a type 1 AMI between October 2015 and March 2019, and then were followed at our institution for 1 year after hospital discharge.

Comparison of Methods to Estimate Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Patients With High Triglyceride Levels.

Importance: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is typically estimated with the Friedewald or Martin/Hopkins equation; however, if triglyceride levels are 400 mg/dL or greater, laboratories reflexively perform direct LDL-C (dLDL-C) measurement. The use of direct chemical LDL-C assays and estimation of LDL-C via the National Institutes of Health Sampson equation are not well validated, and data on the accuracy of LDL-C estimation at higher triglyceride levels are limited.

Objective: To compare an extended Martin/Hopkins equation for triglyceride values of 400 to 799 mg/dL with the Friedewald and Sampson equations.

Inflammation, atrial fibrillation, and the potential role for colchicine therapy.

Increasing evidence suggests that the "NACHT-LRR and PYD domain-containing protein 3" (NLRP3) inflammasome plays an important role in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Recent preclinical evidence has suggested that the NLRP3 inflammasome may play a prominent role in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). As such, the therapies that have shown efficacy in reducing ASCVD events may also prove beneficial in AF.

Coronary Artery Dose-Volume Parameters Predict Risk of Calcification After Radiation Therapy.

Background: Radiation exposure increases the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). We explored the association of CAD with coronary artery dose-volume parameters in patients treated with 3D-planned radiation therapy (RT).

Methods: Patients who received thoracic RT and were evaluated by cardiac computed tomography ≥ 1 year later were included.

Aspergillus endocarditis of the mitral valve with ventricular myocardial invasion, cerebral vasculitis, and intracranial mycotic aneurysm formation in a patient with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.

Aspergillus endocarditis is a rare infection and reported mainly in immunocompromised hosts. We report a case of mitral valve aspergillus endocarditis with ventricular myocardial invasion, cerebral vasculitis and intracranial fungal aneurysm formation in a patient with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). This case illustrates the importance of prompt investigation and treatment of masses seen on an echocardiogram for rare infections such as Aspergillus endocarditis in immunocompromised patients.

Erythrocytosis Following Testosterone Therapy.

Introduction: A rapid increase in awareness of androgen deficiency has led to substantial increases in prescribing of testosterone therapy (TTh), with benefits of improvements in mood, libido, bone density, muscle mass, body composition, energy, and cognition. However, TTh can be limited by its side effects, particularly erythrocytosis. This review examines the literature on testosterone-induced erythrocytosis and polycythemia.

Dynamic interrogator for elastic wave sensing using Fabry Perot filters based on fiber Bragg gratings.

Use of in-fiber Fabry-Perot (FP) filters based on fiber Bragg gratings as both sensor as well as an interrogator for enhancing the detection limit of elastic wave sensing is investigated in this paper. The sensitivity of such a demodulation scheme depends on the spectral discrimination of the sensor and interrogator gratings. Simulations have shown that the use of in-fiber FP filters with high finesse provide better performance in terms of sensitivity compared to the demodulation using fiber Bragg gratings.

Molecular catch bonds and the anti-Hammond effect in polymer mechanochemistry.

While the field of polymer mechanochemistry has traditionally focused on the use of mechanical forces to accelerate chemical processes, theoretical considerations predict an underexplored alternative: the suppression of reactivity through mechanical perturbation. Here, we use electronic structure calculations to analyze the mechanical reactivity of six mechanophores, or chemical functionalities that respond to mechanical stress in a controlled manner. Our computational results indicate that appropriately directed tensile forces could attenuate (as opposed to facilitate) mechanochemical phenomena.