international cardiology

IMPORTANCE: Although the results of A Study to Evaluate the Corvia Medical Inc IASD System II to Reduce Elevated Left Atrial Pressure in Patients with Heart Failure (REDUCE LAP-HF II) trial were neutral overall, atrial shunt therapy demonstrated potential efficacy in responders (no latent pulmonary vascular disease and no cardiac rhythm management device). Post hoc analyses were conducted to evaluate the effect of shunt vs sham stratified by responder status. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of atrial shunt vs sham control on cardiac structure/function in the overall study and stratified by responder status...

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular discharge diagnoses may serve as endpoints in epidemiological studies if they have a high validity. Aim was to study if diagnoses-specific characteristics like type, sub-categories, and position of cardiovascular diagnoses affected diagnostic accuracy. METHODS: Patients (n = 7,164) with a discharge diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, heart failure or cerebrovascular disease were included. Data were presented as positive predictive values (PPV) and sensitivity...

In Germany, physicians qualify for emergency medicine by combining a specialty medical training-e.g. internal medicine-with advanced training in emergency medicine according to the statutes of the State Chambers of Physicians largely based upon the Guideline Regulations on Specialty Training of the German Medical Association. Internal medicine and their associated subspecialities represent an important column of emergency medicine. For the internal medicine aspects of emergency medicine, this curriculum presents an overview of knowledge, skills (competence levels I-III) as well as behaviours and attitudes allowing for the best treatment of patients...

Background: Mitral regurgitation (MR) is a common heart valve disease, causing many serious complications in several organ systems, especially the cardiovascular system. The 2D speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) is a new technique for detecting potential cardiac dysfunction when only tissue function abnormalities are present. The study aimed to assess left ventricular (LV) systolic function early by STE in patients with primary MR through global LV deformity along the global longitudinal strain (GLS). Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was performed on 46 patients with moderate to severe primary MR as recommended by the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) 2017...

BACKGROUND: The study of psychological well-being and related resilient outcomes is of increasing focus in cardiovascular research. Despite the critical importance of psychological well-being and related resilient outcomes in promoting optimal cardiac health, there have been very few psychological interventions directed towards children with heart disease. This paper describes the development and theoretical framework of the WE BEAT Wellbeing Education Program, a group-based psychoeducation and coping skills training intervention designed to improve psychological well-being and resilience in adolescents with paediatric heart disease...

Cardiology and all its subspecialties continue to push the envelope in developing new treatment strategies for a wide variety of diseases. After screening more than 1300 articles, we highlight a selection of important cardiology articles published in 2023. Starting with prevention, we note articles that look at the effect of semaglutide in patients with obesity as well as a first-in-class drug, bempedoic acid, on cardiovascular outcomes. We have also examined new evidence comparing conservative management with invasive management of frail, older patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI)...

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) serves a growing range of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS). TAVI has evolved to a streamlined procedure minimizing length of hospital stay. AIMS: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of an early discharge (ED) strategy after TAVI. METHODS: We performed an international, multi-center, prospective observational single-arm study in AS patients undergoing TAVI with the ACURATE valve platform...

BACKGROUND: Pericardial masses are an extremely rare group of diseases which can be classified based on etiology. The presentation of pericardial masses varies considerably from one individual to another, ranging from an asymptomatic presentation with an incidental finding on imaging, to presenting with non-specific signs and symptoms. Due to the enigmatic nature and presentation of pericardial masses, diagnostic imaging is mandatory. CASE PRESENTATION: A 69-year-old patient presented to our cardiology clinic complaining of intermittent shortness of breath upon moderate exertion in the absence of chest pain, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, orthopnea, dizziness, palpitations, or lower limb edema...

INTRODUCTION: Obesity is one of the main reversible causes of coronary artery disease. AIM: To investigate the relationship between body component measurements calculated with TANITA and SYNTAX score (SXscore), which indicates coronary complexity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 200 acute subendocardial myocardial infarction patients were included in our study. Body component measurements were made with the TANITA BC-601 device. After coronary angiography, patients were divided into two groups: high SXscore (≥ 22) and low-medium SXscore (< 22)...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Calcium channel blockers (CCB) are the first effective therapy for vasoreactive patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH). However, the advent of modern PAH-specific drugs may undermine the role of vasoreactivity tests and CCB treatment. We aimed to clarify the effect of acute vasoreactivity testing and CCB on patients with IPAH receiving PAH-specific treatment. METHODS: We retrospectively investigated consecutive patients with IPAH (n = 136) diagnosed between 2000 and 2020 and collected data from patients who underwent acute vasoreactivity testing using inhaled nitric oxide (NO)...

BACKGROUND: The mortality rate of myocardial infarction in China has increased dramatically in the past three decades. Although emergency medical service (EMS) played a pivotal role for the management of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the corresponding data in China are limited. METHODS: An observational analysis was performed in 26,305 STEMI patients, who were documented in China acute myocardial infarction (CAMI) Registry and treated in 162 hospitals from January 1st, 2013 to January 31th, 2016...

INTRODUCTION: Tissue Fibroblast Activation Protein alpha (FAP) is overexpressed in various types of acute and chronic cardiovascular disease. A soluble form of FAP has been detected in human plasma, and low circulating FAP concentrations are associated with increased risk of death in patients with acute coronary syndrome. However, little is known about the regulation and release of FAP from fibroblasts, and whether circulating FAP concentration is associated with tissue FAP expression...

BACKGROUND: Age-sex specific trend analyses of ischemic heart disease (IHD)-related mortality and prevalent risk factors can improve our understanding and approach to the disease. METHODS: We performed a 15-year retrospective epidemiological analysis of acute and chronic IHD-related mortality and prevalent cardiovascular risk factors using administrative data from Veneto, a socio-economically homogeneous Italian region. Standard mortality statistics using the underlying cause of death (UCOD) and deaths with any mention of IHD in death certificates (MCOD) from ICD-10 codes I20-I25 was performed between 2008 and 2022...

Infective endocarditis (IE) is today a public health problem, as the recent ESC Guidelines have also recalled. Abscesses can be complications of IE and their presence means that the infection is not controlled. We describe the complex case of a 57-year-old patient, presented in ED for fever and oleocranical bursitis, increase of cardiac enymes at blood samples. He was admitted to our Cardiology Unit because TTE showed a floating peduncolated formation in the left ventricle. The susequent TEE documented also the presence of a myocardial abscess, confirmed at cardiac MRI...

AIMS: The European Unified Registries On Heart care Evaluation And Randomized Trials (EuroHeart) aims to improve the quality of care and clinical outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease. The collaboration of acute coronary syndrome/percutaneous coronary intervention (ACS/PCI) registries is operational in seven vanguard European Society of Cardiology member countries. METHODS AND RESULTS: Adults admitted to hospitals with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) are included, and individual patient-level data collected and aligned according to the internationally agreed EuroHeart data standards for ACS/PCI...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to construct and validate a nomogram model that predicts the remission of migraine attacks by screening factors that affect the prognosis of migraine patients with patent foramen ovale (PFO) after closure. METHOD: Retrospective analysis was conducted in migraine patients with PFO who underwent PFO closure in the Department of Cardiology of Jiangsu Province Hospital from September 2020 to April 2023. Based on the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) scores from the 1-year follow-up after PFO closure, all patients who met the inclusion criteria were categorized into a remission group and a non-remission group...

BACKGROUND: Guidelines recommend standard pre-operative cardiac screening in all liver transplantation (LT) recipients, despite the relatively low prevalence of obstructive coronary artery disease. Most LT recipients often have non-gated computed tomography (CT) performed of the chest and abdomen. This study evaluated the ability of coronary artery calcification (CAC) assessment on consecutively available scans, to identify a selection of low-risk patients, in whom further cardiac imaging can be safely withheld...

OBJECTIVE: To develop risk scoring models predicting long-term survival and major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) including myocardial infarction and stroke after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). METHODS: All-consecutive 4,821 patients undergoing isolated CABG at Lankenau between 01/2005-07/2021 were included. MACCE was defined as all-cause mortality+myocardial infarction (MI)+stroke. Variable selection for both outcomes was obtained using a double selection logit Lasso with adaptive selection...