Cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis treatment improves outcomes after aortic valve replacement for severe stenosis.

Background And Aims: Concomitant aortic stenosis (AS) and transthyretin-associated cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) is an increasingly recognized cause of structural heart failure. Aortic valve replacement (AVR) improves prognosis in this population, but the efficacy of ATTR-specific medication remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic implications of ATTR-specific medication in patients with dual AS-CA.

Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Acute Pulmonary Embolism Undergoing Ultrasound-Assisted Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis.

Background: Ultrasound-assisted catheter-directed thrombolysis (USAT) for acute pulmonary embolism (PE) has garnered specific interest and is commonly employed in intermediate-risk PE to prevent cardiac decompensation and death. However, evidence supporting the effectiveness and safety of USAT in routine clinical practice is limited. We therefore aimed to investigate the safety and effectiveness of USAT in a large patient population with PE.

Promise and Peril of a Genotype-First Approach to Mendelian Cardiovascular Disease.

Precision medicine, which among other aspects includes an individual's genomic data in diagnosis and management, has become the standard-of-care for Mendelian cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, early identification and management of asymptomatic patients with potentially lethal and manageable Mendelian CVD through screening, which is the promise of precision health, remains an unsolved challenge. The reduced costs of genomic sequencing have enabled the creation of biobanks containing in-depth genetic and health information, which have facilitated the understanding of genetic variation, penetrance, and expressivity, moving us closer to the genotype-first screening of asymptomatic individuals for Mendelian CVD.

Semaglutide and blood pressure: an individual patient data meta-analysis.

Background And Aims: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) assessing semaglutide reported reductions of systolic blood pressure (SBP) in trial populations with baseline blood pressure in the normotensive range. This study aimed to determine whether this SBP reduction is greater in hypertensive groups.

Methods: Individual patient data (IPD) from three RCTs examining the effect of semaglutide 2.

Impact of tafamidis on myocardial function and CMR tissue characteristics in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy.

Aims: Tafamidis improves clinical outcomes in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), yet how tafamidis affects cardiac structure and function remains poorly described. This study prospectively analysed the effect of tafamidis on 12-month longitudinal changes in cardiac structure and function by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) compared with the natural course of disease in an untreated historic control cohort.

Methods And Results: ATTR-CM patients underwent CMR at tafamidis initiation and at 12 months.

Prognostic Value of [Tc]Tc-DPD Quantitative SPECT/CT in Patients with Suspected and Confirmed Amyloid Transthyretin-Related Cardiomyopathy and Preserved Left Ventricular Function.

Quantitative Tc-3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylic acid ([Tc]Tc-DPD) SPECT may be used for risk-stratifying patients with amyloid transthyretin-related cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). We aimed to analyze the predictive value of quantitative [Tc]Tc-DPD SPECT/CT in suspected and confirmed ATTR-CM according to different disease stages. The study enrolled consecutive patients with suspected ATTR-CM who were referred to a single tertiary center and underwent quantitative [Tc]Tc-DPD SPECT/CT allowing SUV and SUV analysis.

Routine 4D Cardiac CT to Identify Concomitant Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy in Older Adults with Severe Aortic Stenosis.

Background Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) often coexists with severe aortic stenosis (AS). Although strain analysis from cardiac MRI and echocardiography was demonstrated to predict coexisting ATTR-CM, comparable data from four-dimensional (4D) cardiac CT are lacking despite wide availability. Purpose To evaluate the diagnostic performance of 4D cardiac CT-derived parameters in identifying ATTR-CM in older adults considered for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Impact of route of access and stenosis subtype on outcome after transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Introduction: Previous analyses have reported the outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for patients with low-flow, low-gradient (LFLG) aortic stenosis (AS), without stratifying according to the route of access. Differences in mortality rates among access routes have been established for high-gradient (HG) patients and hypothesized to be even more pronounced in LFLG AS patients. This study aims to compare the outcomes of patients with LFLG or HG AS following transfemoral (TF) or transapical (TA) TAVR.

Amyloid Transthyretin Cardiomyopathy in Elderly Patients With Aortic Stenosis Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.

Background The prevalence of calcific aortic stenosis and amyloid transthyretin cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) increase with age, and they often coexist. The objective was to determine the prevalence of ATTR-CM in patients with severe aortic stenosis and evaluate differences in presentations and outcomes of patients with concomitant ATTR-CM undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Methods and Results Prospective screening for ATTR-CM with Technetium-3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylic acid bone scintigraphy was performed in 315 patients referred with severe aortic stenosis between August 2019 and August 2021.

SGLT2 inhibitor therapy for transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy: early tolerance and clinical response to dapagliflozin.

Aims: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) improve clinical outcomes in heart failure patients with reduced and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), but have not yet been investigated in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). This study aimed to evaluate tolerability, clinical outcomes, and changes in NT-proBNP levels and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in ATTR-CM patients treated with dapagliflozin.

Methods And Results: Patients with stable, tafamidis-treated ATTR-CM were retrospectively evaluated at the initiation of dapagliflozin and 3 months thereafter.

Renal denervation in the antihypertensive arsenal - knowns and known unknowns.

Even though it has been more than a decade since renal denervation (RDN) was first used to treat hypertension and an intense effort on researching this therapy has been made, it is still not clear how RDN fits into the antihypertensive arsenal. There is no question that RDN lowers blood pressure (BP), it does so to an extent at best corresponding to one antihypertensive drug. The procedure has an excellent safety record.

Diagnostic performance of cardiac magnetic resonance segmental myocardial strain for detecting microvascular obstruction and late gadolinium enhancement in patients presenting after a ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Background: Microvascular obstruction (MVO) and Late Gadolinium Enhancement (LGE) assessed in cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) are associated with adverse outcome in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Our aim was to analyze the diagnostic performance of segmental strain for the detection of MVO and LGE.

Methods: Patients with anterior STEMI, who underwent additional CMR were enrolled in this sub-study of the CARE-AMI trial.

Cardiovascular outcomes in patients with left atrial enlargement undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Background: Increased left ventricular afterload resulting from severe aortic stenosis (AS) leads to progressive cardiac remodeling. Left atrial enlargement (LAE) is an early manifestation in a series of maladaptive changes and may affect clinical outcomes after valvular replacement therapy. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of LAE on clinical outcomes in symptomatic patients with severe AS undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Management of transthyretin amyloidosis.

Transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR amyloidosis) is a disease caused by deposition of transthyretin fibrils in organs and tissues, which causes their dysfunction. The clinical heterogeneity of ATTR amyloidosis and the variable presentation of symptoms at early disease stages, historically meant treatment delays. Diagnostic tools and therapy options of ATTR amyloidosis have markedly improved in recent years.

Effect of Paroxetine-Mediated G-Protein Receptor Kinase 2 Inhibition vs Placebo in Patients With Anterior Myocardial Infarction: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Left ventricular remodeling following acute myocardial infarction results in progressive myocardial dysfunction and adversely affects prognosis.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of paroxetine-mediated G-protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 inhibition to mitigate adverse left ventricular remodeling in patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial was conducted at Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.