Atrial

To enhance M-mode echocardiography's utility for measuring cardiac structures, we developed and evaluated an artificial intelligence (AI)-based automated analysis system for M-mode images through the aorta and left atrium [M-mode (Ao-LA)], and through the left ventricle [M-mode (LV)]. Our system, integrating two deep neural networks (DNN) for view classification and image segmentation, alongside an auto-measurement algorithm, was developed using 5,958 M-mode images [3,258 M-mode (LA-Ao), and 2,700 M-mode (LV)] drawn from a nationwide echocardiographic dataset collated from five tertiary hospitals...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is commonly associated with unfavorable cardiovascular outcomes and remains the leading cause of mortality in individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Despite substantial knowledge about the impact of CKD on the left heart, the right heart, which holds significant clinical relevance, has often been overlooked and inadequately assessed in ESRD patients who have undergone kidney transplant (KTx). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of KTx on the right heart chambers in ESRD patients...

Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation using non-thermal electroporation represents a promising ablation modality due to its believed superior safety profile. Still, if electroporation is delivered in proximity to a coronary artery, vasospasms can occur. We report the first case of severe right coronary artery vasospasm resulting in ST-segment elevation and AV block despite a remote distance from the ablation site to the right coronary artery, indicating a different mechanism. In this case, electroporation most likely triggered a previously unknown Prinzmetal vasospastic angina in the patient, resulting in the coronary vasospasm...

AIMS: Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) using very high-power short-duration (vHPSD) radiofrequency (RF) ablation proved to be safe and effective. However, vHPSD applications result in shallower lesions that might not be always transmural. Multidetector computed tomography-derived left atrial wall thickness (LAWT) maps could enable a thickness-guided switching from vHPSD to the standard-power ablation mode. The aim of this randomized trial was to compare the safety, the efficacy, and the efficiency of a LAWT-guided vHPSD PVI approach with those of the CLOSE protocol for PAF ablation (NCT04298177)...

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (cardiac MR) reference ranges in Chinese children are lacking. PURPOSE: To establish age- and sex-specific reference ranges for cardiac MR parameters in a cohort of healthy Chinese children. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective. SUBJECTS: One hundred ninety-six healthy children (mean age 9.5 ± 3.6 years, 111 boys). FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 1...

Lymphatic flow abnormalities are central to the development of protein losing enteropathy, plastic bronchitis, ascites and pleural effusions in patients palliated to the Fontan circulation. These complications can occur in isolation or multicompartmental (two or more). The treatment of multicompartmental lymphatic failure aims at improving thoracic duct drainage. Re-routing the innominate vein to the pulmonary venous atrium decompresses the thoracic duct, as atrial pressure is lower than systemic venous pressure in Fontan circulation...

BACKGROUND: In vitro assessment is mandatory for artificial heart valve development. This study aims to investigate the effects of pulse duplicator features on valve responsiveness, conduct a sensitivity analysis across valve prosthesis types, and contribute on the development of versatile pulse duplicator systems able to perform reliable prosthetic aortic valve assessment under physiologic hemodynamic conditions. METHODS: A reference pulse duplicator was established based on literature...

BACKGROUND: We aimed to analyze the impact of concomitant Maze procedure on the clinical and rhythm outcomes, and echocardiographic parameters in tricuspid repair for patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS: Patients who had severe TR and persistent AF and underwent tricuspid valve (TV) repair were included in the study. Both primary TR and secondary TR were included in the current study. The study population was stratified according to Maze procedure...

REVIEW: Saudi Arabia has a high metabolic syndrome (MetS) prevalence. Having MetS increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), CVD mortality, and myocardial infarction (MI). There is a lack of information regarding MetS and electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities in Saudi Arabian populations. Further, it is unclear to what extent MetS components are associated with abnormal ECGs in Saudi populations. AIM: We investigated whether ECG abnormalities and MetS are associated with Saudi adults...

Digoxin, a cardiac glycoside derived from the foxglove plant ( Digitalis spp.), has been utilized for centuries in managing various cardiac conditions due to its ability to increase myocardial contractility and regulate heart rate. This comprehensive review explores the historical context, pharmacological properties, clinical applications, efficacy, safety profile, challenges, and future perspectives of digoxin. Tracing its journey from traditional medicine to modern cardiovascular therapeutics, we delve into its mechanism of action, therapeutic indications, and clinical guidelines...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Obesity affects nearly 650 million adults worldwide, and the prevalence is steadily rising. This condition has significant adverse effects on cardiovascular health, increasing the risk of hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation (AF). While anticoagulation for obese patients with AF is a well-established therapy for the prevention of thromboembolism, the safety and efficacy of different anticoagulants in this specific population are not well explored...

BACKGROUND We present a case of metachronous cardiac and intramuscular metastases in a patient with a known history of radical nephroureterectomy for upper-tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). CASE REPORT A 58-year-old man had a history of metachronous renal pelvis urothelial carcinoma with prior left radical nephroureterectomy. He was also diagnosed with malignancy-associated deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and was on rivaroxaban. He presented at an oncology follow-up consult with shortness of breath and right scapular lump...

BACKGROUND: Thyroid dysfunction's effects on those who have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation have not been well investigated. We looked at how thyroid function among patients with pre-existing atrial fibrillation related to thromboembolic risk and clinical outcomes. METHODS: We gathered the medical information of patients diagnosed with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) between 2016 and 2020 at Dongguan People's Hospital. We then assessed the correlation between thyroid dysfunction and thrombotic risk (CHA2 DS2 -VASc) as well as the occurrence of clinical composite endpoint (all-cause death, heart failure, systemic embolism and hemorrhage events)...

Atrial ectopy from the pulmonary veins and non-pulmonary vein foci can trigger atrial fibrillation. In addition, the elimination of atrial ectopy is important to prevent recurrence. The intracardiac pattern matching technique has been reported as a useful method to manually visualize the location of triggers regardless of their frequency. We combined the original intracardiac pattern matching method with the automapping setting of CARTO CONFIDENCE and discovered the automated atrial pacemapping technique. We report two cases in which this technique was used to eliminate the atrial triggers...

BACKGROUND: Ventricular tachycardia (VT) reduces cardiac output through high heart rates, loss of atrioventricular synchrony, and loss of ventricular synchrony. We studied the contribution of each mechanism and explored the potential therapeutic utility of His bundle pacing to improve cardiac output during VT. METHODS: Study 1 aimed to improve the understanding of mechanisms of harm during VT (using pacing simulated VT). In 23 patients with left ventricular impairment, we recorded continuous ECG and beat-by-beat blood pressure measurements...

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Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is commonly seen in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), increasing the risk of morbidity, mortality and hospital expenses. This study is aimed to evaluate the effect of partial cardiac denervation, which is achieved by cutting off the ligament of Marshall and resecting the fat pad along the Waterston groove, on the prevention of POAF after CABG. Patients planned for CABG at our center will be screened for eligibility for this study. A total of 430 patients will be randomized into intervention (partial cardiac denervation) group and control group...

PURPOSE: Little is known about the effectiveness of pharmacological cardioversion (PCV) with antazoline in comparison to flecainide. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of antazoline in restoring sinus rhythm (SR) versus amiodarone, flecainide and propafenone in a group of emergency department (ED) patients. MATERIALS/METHODS: This was a single-centre retrospective analysis of patient records from an ED in a large hospital in Poland. We analysed a total of 1878 patient records, divided based on the anti-arrhythmic drug (AAD) administered during PCV: antazoline (n=1080), antazoline + β-blocker (n=479), amiodarone (n=129), flecainide (n=102), propafenone (n=88)...

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common arrhythmia, is closely related to inflammation. Colchicine has the potent anti-inflammatory effects. Several randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have evaluated the efficacy and safety of colchicine in the prevention of AF but the results are inconsistent. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the impact of colchicine on AF. METHOD AND RESULTS: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and ClinicalTrials...

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) increases the probability of presenting atrial fibrillation (AF) and it is a predictor of its ischemic stroke. There is limited information of the association between glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and ischemic, embolic or bleeding events in patients with pre-DM and AF. METHODS: To investigate whether the presence of pre-DM in patients with AF predicts ischemic or bleeding events, myocardial infarction or mortality, we performed a retrospective study with a final cohort of 2993 non-diabetic patients with AF and data of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c)...