Giant intracardiac thrombus-in-transit in a woman with sudden respiratory-haemodynamic compromise following cesarean section for eclampsia: a case report.

Background: Intracardiac thrombus-in-transit is a potentially fatal condition, seldom detected in real time.

Case Summary: We present a case of a 30-year-old pregnant woman with thalassemia intermedia and asplenia, who experienced a combined respiratory-haemodynamic collapse following an emergent caesarean section performed for eclampsia, and in whom a large mass transversing a patent foramen ovale was observed on bedside echocardiography. In view of the patient's unstable condition, mass' size and location as well as accompanying inter-atrial communication-all of which contributed to an imminent threat to cerebral circulation-and temporal proximity to abdominal surgery and epidural anaesthesia, an immediate open-heart surgery was decided upon that included mass excision and patent foramen ovale closure, and after which the patient quickly and fully recovered.

Surgeons are apprehensive to use DCD lungs despite similar post-transplant outcomes: A 20-year UNOS retrospective analysis.

Purpose: As rates of lung transplants in the US grow, waitlist mortality increases. While the literature reports similar survival outcomes of DBD and DCD transplants, research should investigate improvements to DCD lung recovery protocols to increase the total number recovered. Recently, Choi et al.

Heart transplant survival and the use of donors with intracranial bleeding: United Network for Organ Sharing Registry propensity-score matched analysis.

Objective: The transplantation of hearts from donors who experienced intracranial bleeding (ICB) has been associated with inferior long-term survival in both single-center analyses and, more recently, with the United Network for Ogan Sharing Registry. The purpose of this study was to further explore this relationship through propensity score matching in recipients receiving donor hearts from ICB and non-ICB donors in a large national registry.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of the United Network for Organ Sharing Registry Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network between 2006 and 2018 for adult candidates wait-listed for isolated heart transplantation.

Vagal nerve stimulation potential therapeutic benefits in acute lung rejection and transplantation.

Allograft rejection, accompanied by a rise in proinflammatory cytokines, is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality after lung transplantation. Immunosuppressive treatments are routinely employed as an effective way to prevent rejection, however, there is still an unmet need to develop new strategies to reduce the damage caused to transplanted organs by innate inflammatory responses. Recent research has shown that activating the vagus nerve's efferent arm regulates cytokine production and improves survival in experimental conditions of cytokine excess, such as sepsis, hemorrhagic shock, ischemia-reperfusion injury, among others.

Ubiquitin Proteasome System Role in Diabetes-Induced Cardiomyopathy.

This study investigated modifications to the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) in a mouse model of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and their relationship to heart complications. mice heart tissues were compared with mice tissues using RNA sequencing, qRT-PCR, and protein analysis to identify cardiac UPS modifications associated with diabetes. The findings unveiled a distinctive gene profile in the hearts of mice with decreased levels of mRNA and increased levels of , indicating potential cardiac dysfunction.

Long-term predictors of morbidity and mortality in patients following LVAD replacement.

Background: As heart transplant guidelines evolve, the clinical indication for 73% of durable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implants is now destination therapy. Although completely magnetically levitated LVAD devices have demonstrated improved durability relative to previous models, LVAD replacement procedures are still required for a variety of indications. Thus, the population of patients with a replaced LVAD is growing.

A single center Israeli experience in pregnancy post lung transplantation: Feasibility of successful two or more full-term pregnancies in individual lung transplant recipients.

Introduction: Female lung transplant recipients (LTRs) of reproductive age are increasingly considering pregnancy due to advances in post-transplant management and improved survival. We report our experience with pregnancy in LTRs, with an emphasis on two or more successful full-term pregnancies in individual transplant recipients.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of pregnancies in LTRs at our transplant center and collected maternal and fetal outcomes.

Immunogenicity of a Third Dose of BNT162b2 Vaccine among Lung Transplant Recipients-A Prospective Cohort Study.

Two doses of mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines elicit an attenuated humoral immune response among immunocompromised patients. Our study aimed to assess the immunogenicity of a third dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine among lung transplant recipients (LTRs). We prospectively evaluated the humoral response by measuring anti-spike SARS-CoV-2 and neutralizing antibodies in 139 vaccinated LTRs ~4-6 weeks following the third vaccine dose.

Prognostic Significance of the N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide in Lung Transplant Candidates on the Waiting List.

We investigated the prognostic significance of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in lung transplant candidates, in a retrospective single-center study. Data regarding various baseline characteristics and all-cause mortality were collected for 205 lung transplant candidates placed on waitlist for transplantation from November 2017 to December 2019. Associations of NT-proBNP levels with baseline characteristics and mortality were analyzed.

Right and left ventricular assist devices are an option for bridge to heart transplant.

Background: Patients with a left ventricular assist device with right ventricular failure are prioritized on the heart transplant waitlist; however, their post-transplant survival is less well characterized. We aimed to determine whether pretransplant right ventricular failure affects postoperative survival in patients with a left ventricular assist device as a bridge to transplant.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the 2005-2018 Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing registry for candidates aged 18 years or more waitlisted for first-time isolated heart transplantation after left ventricular assist device implantation.

Combined mechanical circulatory support for ventricular fibrillation in left ventricular assist device patient.

Ventricular fibrillation, a life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia, may result in pulselessness, loss of consciousness and sudden cardiac death. In this case report, we describe our experience in managing a 54-year-old man with HeartMate3 left ventricular assist device (LVAD) as a bridge to transplantation due to dilated non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, presenting with incessant ventricular arrhythmia for 35 days despite multiple attempts to restore normal rhythm with external direct current cardioversion and anti-arrhythmic medications. The patient remained stable in ventricular arrhythmia with no progression to asystole, but hemodynamic collapse due to right heart failure occurred in the third week.

Heartmate 3 as a bridge to heart transplantation in a patient with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries: a case report.

Background: We report the first use of Heartmate 3 (HM3) in a Congenitally corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries (ccTGA) as a Systemic Ventricular Assist Device (SVAD) to treat HF.

Case Presentation: A 55 years old man with a Congenitally corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries (ccTGA) a rare condition in which Heart Failure (HF) is a common presentation in adult life and survival without heart transplantation is hardly an option. Systemic Ventricular Assist Device (SVAD) can be an option if an organ does not become available.

Improved immunogenicity following the third dose of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine in heart transplant recipients.

Objectives: The immunogenicity of two-dose severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccine is lower among heart transplant (HTx) recipients, compared with the general population. Our aim was to assess the immunogenicity of a third-dose vaccine in HTx recipients.

Methods: This is a prospective cohort study of HTx recipients who received a third dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine.

Six-months immunogenicity of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine in heart transplanted and ventricle assist device-supported patients.

Aims: To assess the 6 months immunogenicity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mRNA vaccine in a population of heart transplanted (HTx) recipients and left ventricular assist device (LVAD)-supported patients.

Methods And Results: A prospective single-centre cohort study of HTx recipients and LVAD-supported patients who received a two-dose SARSCoV-2 mRNA vaccine (BNT162b2, Pfizer-BioNTech). Whole blood for anti-spike IgG (S-IgG) antibodies were drawn at 6 months after the first vaccine dose.

Syncope and undifferentiated shock.

Ventricular free wall rupture is a rare post myocardial complication with a high associated mortality. In this article we discuss the case of an elderly patient who presented to our emergency department in shock after an episode of syncope. Using Point Of Care Ultrasound (POCUS), identification of cardiac tamponade and pericardial thrombus was possible, signs indicating a diagnosis of free wall rupture.

Guidance on the management of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) supported patients for the non-LVAD specialist healthcare provider: executive summary.

The accepted use of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) technology as a good alternative for the treatment of patients with advanced heart failure together with the improved survival of patients on the device and the scarcity of donor hearts has significantly increased the population of LVAD supported patients. Device-related, and patient-device interaction complications impose a significant burden on the medical system exceeding the capacity of LVAD implanting centres. The probability of an LVAD supported patient presenting with medical emergency to a local ambulance team, emergency department medical team and internal or surgical wards in a non-LVAD implanting centre is increasing.

Natural History and Prognosis of Patients with Unrepaired Tricuspid Regurgitation Undergoing Implantation of Left Ventricular Assist Device.

We aimed to describe the natural history of left ventricular assist device (LVAD)-supported patients with preimplantation significant tricuspid regurgitation (TR) in a single-center retrospective analysis of LVAD-implanted patients (2008-2019). TR severity was assessed semiqualitatively using color-Doppler flow: insignificant TR (iTR) was defined as none/mild TR and significant TR (sTR) as ≥moderate TR. Included were 121 LVAD-supported patients of which 53% (n = 64) demonstrated sTR preimplantation.

Immunogenicity of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine in heart transplant recipients - a prospective cohort study.

Aims: To assess the short-term immunogenicity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mRNA vaccine in a population of heart transplant (HTx) recipients. A prospective single-centre cohort study of HTx recipients who received a two-dose SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine (BNT162b2, Pfizer-BioNTech).

Methods And Results: Whole blood for anti-spike IgG (S-IgG) antibodies was drawn at days 21-26 and at days 35-40 after the first vaccine dose.

Expression of the SARS-CoV-2 receptorACE2 in human heart is associated with uncontrolled diabetes, obesity, and activation of the renin angiotensin system.

Background: Diabetic and obese patients are at higher risk of severe disease and cardiac injury in corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. Cellular entry of SARS-CoV-2 is mainly via the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, which is highly expressed in normal hearts. There is a disagreement regarding the effect of factors such as obesity and diabetes on ACE2 expression in the human heart and whether treatment with renin-angiotensin system inhibitors or anti-diabetic medications increases ACE2 expression and subsequently the susceptibility to infection.

Health-related quality of life in left ventricular assist device-supported patients.

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the different health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) aspects in patients with both short-term and long-term duration LVAD support at pre-specified time intervals.

Methods And Results: We performed a single-centre HR-QoL analysis of short-term and long-term LVAD-supported patients using the short version of the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ-12) and the Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire along with a survey to evaluate patients' social and driving routines. Data were collected at baseline and at 6 or 12 month follow-up.