Cardiology

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Premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) are often observed in patients presenting with heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). PVCs may in some patients be considered to be the cause of heart failure, while in others it may be the consequence of heart failure. PVCs are important prognostic markers in HFrEF. The uncertainty whether PVCs are the cause or effect in HFrEF impacts clinical decision making. In this review, we discuss the complexity of the cause-effect relationship between PVCs and HFrEF...

Inflammatory cardiomyopathy, characterized by inflammatory cell infiltration into the myocardium and a high risk of deteriorating cardiac function, has a heterogeneous aetiology. Inflammatory cardiomyopathy is predominantly mediated by viral infection, but can also be induced by bacterial, protozoal or fungal infections as well as a wide variety of toxic substances and drugs and systemic immune-mediated diseases. Despite extensive research, inflammatory cardiomyopathy complicated by left ventricular dysfunction, heart failure or arrhythmia is associated with a poor prognosis...

The implantation of bioprosthetic heart valves (BHVs) is increasingly becoming the treatment of choice in patients requiring heart valve replacement surgery. Unlike mechanical heart valves, BHVs are less thrombogenic and exhibit superior hemodynamic properties. However, BHVs are prone to structural valve degeneration (SVD), an unavoidable condition limiting graft durability. Mechanisms underlying SVD are incompletely understood, and early concepts suggesting the purely degenerative nature of this process are now considered oversimplified...

New oral anticoagulants (NOAC) are becoming available as alternatives to warfarin to prevent systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and for the treatment and prevention of venous thromboembolism. An in-depth understanding of their pharmacology is invaluable for appropriate prescription and optimal management of patients receiving these drugs should unexpected complications (such as bleeding) occur, or the patient requires urgent surgery. The Australasian Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis has set out to inform physicians on the use of the different NOAC based on current available evidence focusing on: (i) selection of the most suitable patient groups to receive NOAC, (ii) laboratory measurements of NOAC in appropriate circumstances and (iii) management of patients taking NOAC in the perioperative period, and strategies to manage bleeding complications or 'reverse' the anticoagulant effects for urgent invasive procedures...

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Many widely used medications may cause or exacerbate a variety of arrhythmias. Numerous antiarrhythmic agents, antimicrobial drugs, psychotropic medications, and methadone, as well as a growing list of drugs from other therapeutic classes (neurological drugs, anticancer agents, and many others), can prolong the QT interval and provoke torsades de pointes. Perhaps less familiar to clinicians is the fact that drugs can also trigger other arrhythmias, including bradyarrhythmias, atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter, atrial tachycardia, atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia, monomorphic ventricular tachycardia, and Brugada syndrome...

BACKGROUND: The optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents remains uncertain. We compared short-term (<6-month) DAPT followed by aspirin or P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy; midterm (6-month) DAPT; 12-month DAPT; and extended-term (>12-month) DAPT after percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents. METHODS: Twenty-four randomized, controlled trials were selected using Medline, Embase, Cochrane library, and online databases through September 2019...

BACKGROUND: Revascularization is often performed in patients with stable ischemic heart disease. However, whether revascularization reduces death and other cardiovascular outcomes is uncertain. METHODS: We conducted PUBMED/EMBASE/Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials searches for randomized trials comparing routine revascularization versus an initial conservative strategy in patients with stable ischemic heart disease. The primary outcome was death. Secondary outcomes were cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure, stroke, unstable angina, and freedom from angina...

Reverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling and recovery of LV function are associated with improved clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. A growing body of evidence suggests that even among patients who experience a complete normalization of LV ejection fraction, a significant proportion will develop recurrent LV dysfunction accompanied by recurrent heart failure events. This has led to intense interest in understanding how to manage patients with heart failure with recovered ejection fraction (HFrecEF)...

Anticoagulation is key to the treatment/prevention of thromboembolic events. The primary complication of anticoagulation is serious or life-threatening hemorrhage, which may necessitate prompt anticoagulation reversal; this could also be required for nonbleeding patients requiring urgent/emergent invasive procedures. The decision to reverse anticoagulation should weigh the benefit-risk ratio of supporting hemostasis versus post-reversal thrombosis. We appraise the available guidelines/recommendations for vitamin K antagonist (VKA) and direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) reversal in the management of major bleeding, and also assess recent clinical data that may not yet be reflected in official guidance...

Concerns about the external validity of traditional randomized clinical trials (RCTs), together with the widespread availability of real-world data and advanced data analytic tools, have led to claims that common sense and clinical observation, rather than RCTs, should be the preferred method to generate evidence to support clinical decision-making. However, over the past 4 decades, results from well-done RCTs have repeatedly contradicted practices supported by common sense and clinical observation. Common sense and clinical observation fail for several reasons: incomplete understanding of pathophysiology, biases and unmeasured confounding in observational research, and failure to understand risks and benefits of treatments within complex systems...

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The main inherited cardiac arrhythmias are long QT syndrome, short QT syndrome, catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia and Brugada syndrome. These rare diseases are often the underlying cause of sudden cardiac death in young individuals and result from mutations in several genes encoding ion channels or proteins involved in their regulation. The genetic defects lead to alterations in the ionic currents that determine the morphology and duration of the cardiac action potential, and individuals with these disorders often present with syncope or a life-threatening arrhythmic episode...

The management of severe left main (LM) disease remains controversial and continues to evolve as new evidence emerges. Patient selection for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) relies on both predicting mortality with CABG from clinical characteristics using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) risk score and anatomical complexity, using the Synergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score. LM stenting techniques continue to evolve; for bifurcation lesions, the use of the double-kiss crush technique may reduce the incidence of late target vessel revascularization...

Background Preparticipation cardiovascular screening in athletes is fully endorsed by major medical societies, yet the most effective screening protocol remains debated. We prospectively compared the performance of the American Heart Association ( AHA ) 14-point screening evaluation and a resting ECG for cardiovascular screening of high school athletes. Methods and Results Competitive athletes participating in organized high school or premier/select level sports underwent cardiovascular screening using the AHA 14-point history and physical examination, and an ECG interpreted with the Seattle Criteria...

AIMS: Heart failure (HF) is classified into three types according to left ventricular ejection fraction (EF). The effect of blood pressure (BP) on the pathogenesis of each type is assumed to be different. However, the association between the prognosis of each type of HF and abnormal BP variations assessed by ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM), such as nocturnal hypertension and the riser pattern, remains unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 325 consecutive patients with decompensated HF who were acutely admitted to our hospital and underwent ABPM at discharge...

An estimation of myocardial mechano-energetic efficiency (MEE) per unit of left ventricular (LV) mass (MEEi) can significantly predict composite cardiovascular (CV) events in treated hypertensive patients with normal ejection fraction (EF), after adjustment for LV hypertrophy (LVH). We have tested whether MEEi predicts incident heart failure (HF), after adjustment for LVH, in the population-based cohort of a "Strong Heart Study" (SHS) with normal EF. We included 1,912 SHS participants (age 59 ± 8 years; 64% women) with preserved EF (≥50%) and without prevalent CV disease...

The moderator band in the right ventricle is being increasingly recognised as a source for arrhythmias in the absence of identifiable structural heart disease. Because it carries part of the conduction system from the right ventricle septum to the free wall, it is a source of Purkinje-mediated ventricular arrhythmias that manifest as premature ventricular contractions (PVC) or repetitive ventricular tachycardia. More importantly, short coupled PVCs triggering polymorphic ventricular tachycardia and VF have been localised to the moderator band and ablation of these Purkinje mediated PVCs can effectively prevent recurrent VF...

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