Invasive and Echocardiographic Mean Transvalvular Pressure Gradients of Different Transcatheter Aortic Valve Prostheses.

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and clinical relevance of intraprocedural invasive measurements-specifically intraprocedural mean pressure gradients (IC MPGs) and diastolic delta (DD)-in comparison with echocardiography for evaluating transcatheter heart valve (THV) performance across different prosthesis types. Particular attention was paid to comparing outcomes between balloon-expandable (BE) and self-expandable (SE) valves, with further stratification by aortic annulus size. A retrospective analysis was performed on 926 patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacements (TAVRs) between 2012 and 2021.

Relevance of Pressure Recovery in a Young Patient With Aortic Stenosis and Small-Caliber Aorta.

The case concerns a 20-year-old patient with Canadian Cardiovascular Society class II angina who was initially referred for aortic valve replacement because of a suspected high-grade aortic valve stenosis with increased transvalvular gradients (max/mean: 70/40 mm Hg) measured by Doppler echocardiography. Examinations using transesophageal echocardiography and computed tomography showed a sufficiently opening bicuspid aortic valve, excluded supra- and subvalvular stenoses, and measured a narrow aorta (diameter: 2 cm). The explanation for the highly increased gradients across the aortic valve was the pressure recovery (PR) phenomenon, which cannot be detected by Doppler gradients.

Impact of heart rate, aortic compliance and stroke volume on the aortic regurgitation fraction studied in an ex vivo pig model.

Introduction: Drug therapy to reduce the regurgitation fraction (RF) of high-grade aortic regurgitation (AR) by increasing heart rate (HR) is generally recommended. However, chronic HR reduction in HFREF patients can significantly improve aortic compliance and thereby potentially decrease RF. To clarify these contrasts, we examined the influence of HR, aortic compliance and stroke volume (SV) on RF in an ex vivo porcine model of severe AR.

Blood taken immediately after fatal resuscitation attempts yields higher quality DNA for genetic studies as compared to autopsy samples.

Background: The out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the young may be associated with a genetic predisposition which is relevant even for genetic counseling of relatives. The identification of genetic variants depends on the availability of intact genomic DNA. DNA from autopsy may be not available due to low autopsy frequencies or not suitable for high-throughput DNA sequencing (NGS).

CMR-based right ventricular strain analysis in cardiac amyloidosis and its potential as a supportive diagnostic feature.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) strain has provided valuable prognostic information for patients with cardiac amyloidosis (CA). However, the extent to which RV strain and strain rate can differentiate CA is not yet clinically established. CA underdiagnosis delays treatment strategies and exacerbates patient prognosis.

Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Right Atrial Strain Analysis of Cardiac Amyloidosis.

Background: Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) manifests in a hypertrophic phenotype with a poor prognosis, making differentiation from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) challenging and delaying early treatment. The extent to which magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) quantifies the right atrial strain (RAS) and strain rate (RASR), providing valuable diagnostic information, is not yet clinically established. Aims: This study assesses diagnostic differences in the longitudinal RAS and RASR between CA and HCM patients, control subjects (CTRL) and CA subtypes in addition to the impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) on the right atrial function in CA patients.

A Machine Learning Challenge: Detection of Cardiac Amyloidosis Based on Bi-Atrial and Right Ventricular Strain and Cardiac Function.

Background: This study challenges state-of-the-art cardiac amyloidosis (CA) diagnostics by feeding multi-chamber strain and cardiac function into supervised machine (SVM) learning algorithms.

Methods: Forty-three CA (32 males; 79 years (IQR 71; 85)), 20 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, 10 males; 63.9 years (±7.

Clinically atypical abdominal manifestation of the lipoma localized in the right atrium: "Invagination hypothesis" revisited.

Cardiac lipomas are the second most common cardiac tumors. They are usually asymptomatic and diagnosed as incidental findings. We describe a 71-year-old patient with a tumor in the right atrium.

Multi-parametric analyses to investigate dependencies of normal left atrial strain by cardiovascular magnetic resonance feature tracking.

Left-atrial (LA) strain is the result of complex hemodynamics, which may be better characterized using a multiparametric approach. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) feature tracking was used to perform a comprehensive LA strain assessment of 183 enrolled healthy volunteers (11-70 years, 97 females, median 32.9 ± 28.

Impact of Left Atrial Appendage Amputation on Left Atrial Morphology and Rhythm after Off-Pump CABG.

Objectives: Left atrial appendage (LAA) amputation concomitant to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has become an increasingly performed technique in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or with sinus rhythm and a CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥2. However, LAA amputation has come under suspicion to cause postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) due to left atrial (LA) dilation. This study aims to assess this assumption in patients undergoing CABG in off-pump technique with and without amputation of the LAA.

The Desmin Mutation -c.735G>C Causes Severe Restrictive Cardiomyopathy by Inducing In-Frame Skipping of Exon-3.

Currently, little is known about the genetic background of restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM). Herein, we screened an index patient with RCM in combination with atrial fibrillation using a next generation sequencing (NGS) approach and identified the heterozygous mutation -c.735G>C.

The emergency medical service has a crucial role to unravel the genetics of sudden cardiac arrest in young, out of hospital resuscitated patients: Interim data from the MAP-IT study.

Background: Genetics of sudden cardiac deaths (SCD) remains frequently undetected. Genetic analysis is recommended in undefined selected cases in the 2021 ERC-guideline. The emergency medical service and physicians (EMS) may play a pivotal role for unraveling SCD by saving biomaterial for later molecular autopsy.

Clinical findings associated with incomplete hemodynamic left ventricular unloading in patients with a left ventricular assist device.

Introduction And Objectives: The effect of a centrifugal continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (cfLVAD) on hemodynamic left ventricular unloading (HLVU) and the clinical conditions that interfere with hemodynamic optimization are not well defined.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the likelihood of incomplete HLVU, defined as high pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (hPCWP)> 15mmHg in 104 ambulatory cfLVAD patients when the current standard recommendations for cfLVAD rotor speed setting were applied. We also evaluated the ability of clinical, hemodynamic and echocardiographic variables to predict hPCWP in ambulatory cfLVAD patients.

Clinical implications of late-onset right ventricular failure after implantation of a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device as bridge to transplantation.

Objectives: The development of late-onset right ventricular failure (LoRVF) that occurs months after a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is implanted is a clinical problem that warrants investigation. Our goal was to study the incidence, clinical manifestations and prognosis of LoRVF in a population of patients who received an LVAD as bridge to transplantation.

Methods: Data were analysed from 97 consecutive patients who received an LVAD as bridge to transplantation and underwent a right heart catheterization at least 3 months after receiving an LVAD implantation.

Distinct Myocardial Transcriptomic Profiles of Cardiomyopathies Stratified by the Mutant Genes.

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain not well understood. Cardiomyopathies are primary diseases of the heart muscle and contribute to high rates of heart failure and sudden cardiac deaths. Here, we distinguished four different genetic cardiomyopathies based on gene expression signatures.

Myocardial adaptation as assessed by speckle tracking echocardiography after isolated mitral valve surgery for primary mitral regurgitation.

The risk of left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) maladaptation after surgery for isolated primary mitral regurgitation (PMR) is poorly defined. We aimed to evaluate LV and RV contractile function using speckle-tracking analysis alongside with quantification of exercise tolerance in patients with PMR after mitral valve surgery. All consecutive patients with symptomatic PMR undergoing mitral valve surgery between July 2015 and May 2017 were prospectively enrolled.

Clinical impact and 'natural' course of uncorrected tricuspid regurgitation after implantation of a left ventricular assist device: an analysis of the European Registry for Patients with Mechanical Circulatory Support (EUROMACS).

Objectives: Data on the impact and course of uncorrected tricuspid regurgitation (TR) during left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation are scarce and inconsistent. This study explores the clinical impact and natural course of uncorrected TR in patients after LVAD implantation.

Methods: The European Registry for Patients with Mechanical Circulatory Support was used to identify adult patients with LVAD implants without concomitant tricuspid valve surgery.

The impact of acetylsalicylic acid dosed at bedtime on circadian rhythms of blood pressure in the high-risk group of cardiovascular patients-a randomized, controlled trial.

Purpose: Time of drug administration may significantly influence its effect. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of ASA (administrated in the morning or in the evening) on the anti-hypertensive effect and diurnal blood pressure profile in the high-risk group of cardiovascular patients.

Methods: All patients (n = 114) had been diagnosed with coronary heart disease and arterial hypertension prior to the enrolment and had been treated with 75 mg per day of ASA in the morning.

Risk factors of early right ventricular failure in patients undergoing LVAD implantation with intermediate Intermacs profile for advanced heart failure.

Background: The clinical profile of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) candidates is rapidly changing, with increasing proportion of patients in more stable clinical conditions. However, early postoperative right ventricular failure (eRVF) is still one of the cornerstones associated with increased mortality and the preoperative recognition of associated risk factors remains challenging. The aim of this study was to identify predictive parameters for eRVF after LVAD implantation in patients with preoperative intermediate Intermacs (InM) risk profile 3-5.

Non-invasive assessment of central venous pressure in heart failure: a systematic prospective comparison of echocardiography and Swan-Ganz catheter.

Assessing hemodynamics, especially central venous pressure (CVP), is essential in heart failure (HF). Right heart catheterization (RHC) is the gold-standard, but non-invasive methods are also needed. However, the role of 2-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) remains uncertain, and 3-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) is not always available.

Intra-atrial Neomitral Ring Creation in the Presence of Severe Mitral Annulus Calcification.

Severe mitral annulus calcifications significantly hinder surgical repair and replacement of the dysfunctional mitral valve. Herein, we present a novel surgical technique where we created an intra-atrial neomitral ring using a vascular Dacron graft in which a prosthetic valve was implanted. This approach is a simple alternative technique that can be used when anatomic prosthetic valve implantation is not feasible.

A homozygous DSC2 deletion associated with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy is caused by uniparental isodisomy.

Aims: We aimed to unravel the genetic, molecular and cellular pathomechanisms of DSC2 truncation variants leading to arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM).

Methods And Results: We report a homozygous 4-bp DSC2 deletion variant c.1913_1916delAGAA, p.

A case report: intravalvular regurgitation during percutaneous valve-in-ring implantation due to eccentric bulging of a balloon-expandable valve in a patient with severe right heart failure.

Background: Severely reduced right heart function and high operative risk are major challenges in the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) as both can lead to low cardiac output heart failure (LCO-Hf). Alternative methods and criteria for patient selection are actively being sought.

Case Summary: We report on a 66-year-old patient with severe right heart failure (rHF) with recurrent TR after prior surgical valve repair with a 32-mm-Edwards-MC3 annuloplasty ring (AR).