Patient-centered medical tools for sustained motivation in cardiac rehabilitation of patients with heart failure: protocol of a multicenter randomized controlled trial (EXERCISE-HF trial).

Introduction: Heart failure substantially affects the quality of life of patients and imposes notable social and economic burdens. Despite the beneficial effects of cardiac rehabilitation, global participation rates remain low. Recent advances in wearable biometric technologies may improve patient adherence through real-time monitoring and personalized feedback.

Slow-fast atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia mimicking junctional tachycardia following atrial extrastimulation.

Intracardiac electrocardiograms were recorded during a narrow QRS supraventricular tachycardia following atrial extrastimulation. What is the mechanism?

Association of a Left Atrial Diverticulum with Adverse Events During Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation.

Left atrial diverticula (LADs) have been reported to potentially be associated with arrhythmic substrates, thromboembolic events, and complications during catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF), but their clinical significance remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the prevalence, location, and potential relationship with complications during AF catheter ablation using preoperative CT. This study included 595 consecutive patients undergoing AF catheter ablation at Keio University Hospital from April 2021 to February 2024.

Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome System Implementation in Outpatient Cardiovascular Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The integration of patient-reported outcome (PRO) assessments in cardiovascular care has encountered considerable obstacles despite their established clinical relevance.

Objective: To assess the impact of a physician- and patient-friendly electronic PRO (ePRO) monitoring system on the quality of cardiovascular care in clinical practice.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This open-label, multicenter, pilot randomized clinical trial was phase 2 of a multiphase study that was conducted from October 2022 to October 2023 and focused on the implementation and evaluation of an ePRO monitoring system in outpatient clinics in Japan.

Sweat lactate sensor for detecting anaerobic threshold in heart failure: a prospective clinical trial (LacS-001).

A simple method for determining the anaerobic threshold in patients with heart failure (HF) is needed. This prospective clinical trial (LacS-001) aimed to investigate the safety of a sweat lactate-monitoring sensor and the correlation between lactate threshold in sweat (sLT) and ventilatory threshold (VT). To this end, we recruited 50 patients with HF and New York Heart Association functional classification I-II (mean age: 63.

Predictors and incidence of health status deterioration in patients with early atrial fibrillation.

Background: Various treatment approaches for atrial fibrillation (AF) have demonstrated improved health status, yet the significance of these therapeutic interventions in individual patients remains unclear.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate health status changes in patients with early AF, focusing on those who experience clinically significant deterioration after treatment initiation.

Methods: We analyzed data from a multicenter, prospective registry of newly diagnosed patients with AF.

Assessment of patient characteristics influencing the complexity of leadless pacemaker implantation.

Background: The complexity of leadless pacemaker (LP) implantation varies widely. However, the predictive factors determining this difficulty are poorly understood.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factors influencing LP implantation difficulty, specifically procedural time during right atrial (RA) and right ventricular (RV) manipulation, based on patient background, cardiac function, and anatomic characteristics.

Prognostic Implications and Efficacy of Catheter Ablation by Atrial Fibrillation Type.

Background Catheter ablation (CA) for atrial fibrillation (AF) is preferred for paroxysmal AF (PAF) but selectively performed in patients with persistent AF (PersAF). This study aimed to investigate the prognostic differences and consequences of CA based on the AF type. Methods and Results Data from a multicenter AF cohort study were analyzed, categorizing patients as PAF or PersAF according to AF duration (≤7 or >7 days, respectively).

Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction Is Associated With the Prevalence of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation Determined on the Latest Echocardiographic Criteria.

The relationship between left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) remains unclear because of a lack of standard measures to evaluate LVDD. Accordingly, we examined the association between the prevalence of PAF and each LVDD grade determined according to the latest American Society of Echocardiography guidelines. In all, 2,063 patients without persistent AF who underwent echocardiography at Saitama Municipal Hospital from July 2016 to June 2017 were included in the study.