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Aims: Right heart disease (RHD), characterized by right ventricular (RV) and atrial (RA) hypertrophy, and cardiomyocytes' (CM) dysfunctions have been described to be associated with the incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF). Right heart disease and AF have in common, an inflammatory status, but the mechanisms relating RHD, inflammation, and AF remain unclear. We hypothesized that right heart disease generates electrophysiological and morphological remodelling affecting the CM, leading to atrial inflammation and increased AF susceptibility.
Methods And Results: Pulmonary artery banding (PAB) was surgically performed (except for sham) on male Wistar rats (225-275 g) to provoke an RHD. Twenty-one days (D21) post-surgery, all rats underwent echocardiography and electrophysiological studies (EPS). Optical mapping was performed in situ, on Langendorff-perfused hearts. The contractility of freshly isolated CM was evaluated and recorded during 1 Hz pacing in vitro. Histological analyses were performed on formalin-fixed RA to assess myocardial fibrosis, connexin-43 levels, and CM morphology. Right atrial levels of selected genes and proteins were obtained by qPCR and Western blot, respectively. Pulmonary artery banding induced severe RHD identified by RV and RA hypertrophy. Pulmonary artery banding rats were significantly more susceptible to AF than sham. Compared to sham RA CM from PAB rats were significantly elongated and hypercontractile. Right atrial CM from PAB animals showed significant augmentation of mRNA and protein levels of pro-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-6 and IL1β. Sarcoplasmic-endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase-2a (SERCA2a) and junctophilin-2 were decreased in RA CM from PAB compared to sham rats.
Conclusions: Right heart disease-induced arrhythmogenicity may occur due to dysfunctional SERCA2a and inflammatory signalling generated from injured RA CM, which leads to an increased risk of AF.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/europace/euae082 | DOI Listing |
J Adv Nurs
September 2025
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Aim: To explore the identity and body experiences of emerging adults with congenital heart disease.
Design: Qualitative descriptive study.
Methods: Narratives from 152 emerging adults about living with congenital heart disease and its impact on their identity and body experiences were analysed using template analysis.
Circ Genom Precis Med
September 2025
Division of Cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA. (A.K.Y., A.C.R., L.S.S., A.A.Q., Y.V.S.).
Background: Cardio-kidney-metabolic (CKM) disease represents a significant public health challenge. While proteomics-based risk scores (ProtRS) enhance cardiovascular risk prediction, their utility in improving risk prediction for a composite CKM outcome beyond traditional risk factors remains unknown.
Methods: We analyzed 23 815 UK Biobank participants without baseline CKM disease, defined by -Tenth Revision codes as cardiovascular disease (coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, atrial fibrillation/flutter), kidney disease (chronic kidney disease or end-stage renal disease), or metabolic disease (type 2 diabetes or obesity).
Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol
September 2025
Department of Congenital Heart Disease, Evelina London Children's Hospital, United Kingdom (S. Chivers, T.V., V.Z., S.M., G.M., W.R., E.R., D.F.A.L., T.G.D., O.I.M., G.K.S., J.M.S.).
Background: Fetal tachycardias can cause adverse fetal outcomes including ventricular dysfunction, hydrops, and fetal demise. Postnatally, ECG is the gold standard, but, in fetal practice, echocardiography is used most frequently to diagnose and monitor fetal arrhythmias. Noninvasive extraction of the fetal ECG (fECG) may provide additional information about the electrophysiological mechanism and monitoring of intermittent arrhythmias.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCirc Genom Precis Med
September 2025
Clinical Pharmacology and Precision Medicine, William Harvey Research Institute, London, United Kingdom (W.J.Y., M.M.S., J.R., S.v.D., H.R.W., A.T., P.B.M.).
Background: There is a higher prevalence of heart rate corrected QT (QTc) prolongation in patients with diabetes and metabolic syndrome. QT interval genome-wide association studies have identified candidate genes for cardiac energy metabolism, and experimental studies suggest that polyunsaturated fatty acids have direct effects on ion channel function. Despite this, there has been limited study of metabolite concentration relationships with QT intervals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMed J Aust
September 2025
Yardhura Walani, National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT.
Objective: This scoping review explores existing clinical guidelines on administration of benzathine benzylpenicillin (Bicillin L-A, Pfizer Australia) in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The objective is to understand existing delivery guidance to address variation in care and cultural safety considerations, to support messaging during periods of stockout and to inform planning for new administration techniques.
Data Sources: Semi-structured Google search to identify publicly available clinical resources for each jurisdiction of Australia and for New Zealand.