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Background: This study aims to present the Segmentation-based Myocardial Advanced Refinement Tracking (SMART) system, a novel artificial intelligence (AI)-based framework for transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) that incorporates motion tracking and left ventricular (LV) myocardial segmentation for automated LV mass (LVM) and global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) assessment.
Methods: The SMART system demonstrates LV speckle tracking based on motion vector estimation, refined by structural information using endocardial and epicardial segmentation throughout the cardiac cycle. This approach enables automated measurement of LVM and LVGLS. The feasibility of SMART is validated in 111 hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients (median age: 58 years, 69% male) who underwent TTE and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR).
Results: LVGLS showed a strong correlation with conventional manual LVGLS measurements (Pearson's correlation coefficient [PCC] 0.851; mean difference 0 [-2-0]). When compared to CMR as the reference standard for LVM, the conventional dimension-based TTE method overestimated LVM (PCC 0.652; mean difference: 106 [90-123]), whereas LVM demonstrated excellent agreement with CMR (PCC 0.843; mean difference: 1 [-11-13]). For predicting extensive myocardial fibrosis, LVGLS and LVM exhibited performance comparable to conventional LVGLS and CMR (AUC: 0.72 and 0.66, respectively). Patients identified as high risk for extensive fibrosis by LVGLS and LVM had significantly higher rates of adverse outcomes, including heart failure hospitalization, new-onset atrial fibrillation, and defibrillator implantation.
Conclusions: The SMART technique provides a comparable LVGLS evaluation and a more accurate LVM assessment than conventional TTE, with predictive values for myocardial fibrosis and adverse outcomes. These findings support its utility in HCM management.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12574-025-00694-y | DOI Listing |
JAMA Cardiol
September 2025
Seymour, Paul and Gloria Milstein Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York.
Importance: Transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) is an underdiagnosed but treatable cause of heart failure (HF) in older individuals that occurs in the context of normal wild-type (ATTRwt-CA) or an abnormal inherited (ATTRv-CA) TTR gene variant. While the most common inherited TTR variant, V142I, occurs in 3% to 4% of self-identified Black Americans and is associated with excess morbidity and mortality, the prevalence of ATTR-CA in this at-risk population is unknown.
Objective: To define the prevalence of ATTR-CA and proportions attributable to ATTRwt-CA or ATTRv-CA among older Black and Caribbean Hispanic individuals with HF.
JACC Case Rep
September 2025
Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Electronic address:
Baroreflex activation therapy (BAT) improves functional status, quality of life, and exercise capacity in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; however, its direct effects on reversing adverse cardiac remodeling as assessed by improvements in cardiac structure, function, and coupling with the arterial system remain unclear. We present 2 cases of patients who initially presented with decompensated heart failure, and despite initial medical therapy and continued outpatient follow-up, were unable to tolerate full escalation of guideline-directed medical therapy. The patients remained symptomatic, with high biomarker levels, poor functional capacity, severe heart failure symptoms, and objectively had decreased stroke volume, low left ventricular ejection fraction, and high left ventricular mass.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExpert Rev Med Devices
September 2025
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
ESC Heart Fail
September 2025
Institute of Cardiology, ASST Spedali Civili, Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences, and Public Health, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
Atrial functional mitral regurgitation (AFMR) is an increasingly recognized subtype of mitral regurgitation, characterized by left atrial remodelling and mitral annular dilation in the absence of primary mitral valve disease or left ventricular dysfunction. Closely linked to chronic atrial fibrillation and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, AFMR is associated with poor clinical outcomes and represents a growing therapeutic challenge. This expert opinion paper summarizes current evidence on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis and management strategies, including medical therapy and emerging data supporting surgical and transcatheter interventions in selected patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKardiologiia
September 2025
Department of Cardiology, The Ninth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital.
Background Hyperuricemia (HUA) frequently coexists with coronary artery disease (CAD) and is linked to adverse cardiovascular outcomes. The long-term impact of urate-lowering therapy (ULT) on clinical outcomes, including all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), in CAD patients after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has not been determined. That was the aim of this study.
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