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Circ Cardiovasc Imaging 2022 May 17;15(5):e013558. Epub 2022 May 17.

Highly Specialized Rehabilitation Hospital Motta di Livenza, Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation Unit, Treviso, Italy (F.A.-C.).

Background: Lung ultrasound detects pulmonary congestion as B-lines at rest, and more frequently, during exercise stress echocardiography (ESE).

Methods: We performed ESE plus lung ultrasound (4-site simplified scan) in 4392 subjects referred for semi-supine bike ESE in 24 certified centers in 9 countries. B-line score ranged from 0 (normal) to 40 (severely abnormal). Read More

Circ Cardiovasc Imaging 2022 May 17;15(5):e014153. Epub 2022 May 17.

Department of Cardiology, Hospital Universitari Son Espases, Palma de Mallorca, Spain (F.G.-C.).

Nucleic Acids Res 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

The Drug Research Center of Immunological Diseases, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China.

DDX58 encodes RIG-I, a cytosolic RNA sensor that ensures immune surveillance of nonself RNAs. Individuals with RIG-IE510V and RIG-IQ517H mutations have increased susceptibility to Singleton-Merten syndrome (SMS) defects, resulting in tissue-specific (mild) and classic (severe) phenotypes. The coupling between RNA recognition and conformational changes is central to RIG-I RNA proofreading, but the molecular determinants leading to dissociated disease phenotypes remain unknown. Read More

Cell Cycle 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Department of Cardiology, Affiliated People's Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China.

Ferroptosis is a form of iron-dependent cell death caused by an excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation. The importance of ferroptosis in the occurrence and progression of various diseases is gradually being recognized; however, the exact biological effects and potential mechanisms of endothelial cell ferroptosis remain unclear. The endothelium forms the innermost layer of the blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. Read More

JCI Insight 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States of America.

Background: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) remains a worldwide public health problem in need of better noninvasive predictive tools. Current guidelines for primary preventive SCD therapies such as implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are based on left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), but these are imprecise with fewer than 5% of ICDs delivering life-saving therapy per year. Impaired cardiac metabolism and ATP depletion cause arrhythmias in experimental models, but a link between arrhythmias and cardiac energetic abnormalities in people has not been explored, nor the potential for metabolically predicting clinical SCD risk. Read More

JAMA Netw Open 2022 May 2;5(5):e2212674. Epub 2022 May 2.

Department of Neurology, Minhang Hospital, Fudan University, Minhang District, Shanghai, China.

Importance: Prehospital delay (time from symptom onset of stroke to the door of a hospital) in patients with stroke is long in China. With the goal of improving public awareness and knowledge of stroke recognition, Stroke 1-2-0 was developed in China as an education program to prompt rapid response to the onset of stroke based on clinical practice in China, and examination of its outcomes is needed.

Objective: To investigate the association of the Stroke 1-2-0 educational campaign with prehospital delay for patients with ischemic stroke. Read More

Indian J Pediatr 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Department of Cardiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.

Dig Dis Sci 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yonsei-ro 50-1, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Background And Aim: Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) was proposed to compensate for the conventional concept of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We investigated the superiority of MAFLD versus NAFLD in predicting the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

Methods: A total of 2,144 subjects without a history of ASCVD, who underwent a comprehensive medical health check-up, were selected for the study. Read More

J Interv Card Electrophysiol 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, 840 S. Wood St., 920S (MC 715), Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.

Background: As AF-associated morbidity and mortality are increasing, there is an acute need for improved surveillance and prevention strategies to reduce the impact of AF and related strokes. Specific echocardiographic parameters that can best predict future onset of AF within 3 months are lacking.

Methods: Twenty patients with AF, as identified by presence of ICD-9 diagnosis code, were compared with a control group of twenty age- and sex-matched patients selected from the same clinic population but without a diagnosis of AF. Read More

J Echocardiogr 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Department of Cardiology, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, CIBER CV, Ctra, Colmenar Km 9,100, 28034, Madrid, Spain.

Background: The management of patients with asymptomatic significant aortic regurgitation (sAR) is often challenging and appropriate timing of aortic valve surgery remains controversial. Prognostic value of diastolic parameters has been demonstrated in several cardiac diseases. The aim of this study was to analyze the prognostic significance of the diastolic function evaluated by echocardiography, in asymptomatic patients with sAR. Read More

Eur Radiol 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 37# Guoxue Road, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China.

Objectives: Cancer chemotherapy potentially increases the risk of myocardial ischemia. This study assessed myocardial microvascular function by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) first-pass perfusion in patients treated with chemotherapy for gynecologic malignancies.

Methods: A total of 81 patients treated with chemotherapy for gynecologic malignancies and 39 healthy volunteers were prospectively enrolled and underwent CMR imaging. Read More

JAMA 2022 May;327(19):1870-1871

Division of Cardiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.

JAMA 2022 May;327(19):1875-1887

Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, England.

Importance: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a less invasive alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement and is the treatment of choice for patients at high operative risk. The role of TAVI in patients at lower risk is unclear.

Objective: To determine whether TAVI is noninferior to surgery in patients at moderately increased operative risk. Read More

JAMA 2022 May;327(19):1910-1919

Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.

Importance: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) can inform health care decisions, regulatory decisions, and health care policy. They also can be used for audit/benchmarking and monitoring symptoms to provide timely care tailored to individual needs. However, several ethical issues have been raised in relation to PRO use. Read More

Genet Med 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Department of Clinical Genetics, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Centre for Rare Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.

Purpose: Genome-wide sequencing is increasingly being performed during pregnancy to identify the genetic cause of congenital anomalies. The interpretation of prenatally identified variants can be challenging and is hampered by our often limited knowledge of prenatal phenotypes. To better delineate the prenatal phenotype of Coffin-Siris syndrome (CSS), we collected clinical data from patients with a prenatal phenotype and a pathogenic variant in one of the CSS-associated genes. Read More

J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 2022 May 5. Epub 2022 May 5.

Division of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

Abstract: Donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors are a potential source for heart transplantation. The DCD process has unavoidable ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury, primarily mediated through mitochondria, which limits routine utilization of hearts for transplantation. Amobarbital (AMO), a transient inhibitor of the electron transport chain, is known to decrease cardiac injury following ex-vivo I/R. Read More

Chem Commun (Camb) 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Department of Cardiology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China.

Novel NIR-II Ru(II) polypyridyl fluorophore Ru-1 dots for synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy against 4T1 tumors were designed and synthesized. Guided by NIR-II fluorescence imaging, the synergistic therapeutic efficacy, intracellular delivery, and biodistribution of the Ru-1 dots were precisely tracked in real-time. Read More

Radiology 2022 May 17:213170. Epub 2022 May 17.

From the Department of Medical Imaging, Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (M.A., M.V.C., C.U.F., P.T., U.M., P.V.H., K.H.), Division of Cardiology, Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (M.I., Y.M., P.T.), and Division of Molecular Imaging (U.M., P.V.H.), Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, 585 University Ave, 1 PMB-298, Toronto, ON, Canada M5G 2N2; Department of Library and Information Services (A.F.) and Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (P.T., K.H.), University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Department of Radiology and Epidemiology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa, Canada (N.I., M.D.F.M.); and Division of Respiratory Medicine, Sinai Health System, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada (M.B.).

Background There is limited consensus regarding the relative diagnostic performance of cardiac MRI and fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET for cardiac sarcoidosis. Purpose To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the diagnostic accuracy of cardiac MRI and FDG PET for cardiac sarcoidosis. Materials and Methods Medline, Ovid Epub, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, Emcare, and Scopus were searched from inception until January 2022. Read More

Circ Genom Precis Med 2022 May 17:101161CIRCGEN121003530. Epub 2022 May 17.

Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (A.S., C.T., B.M., H.T., H.C., C.A.J.).

Background: Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a complex cardiomyopathy with autosomal dominant inheritance and age-related incomplete penetrance, characterized by a high risk of sudden cardiac death. Recent professional consensus guidelines recommend clinical cardiac lifelong serial screening for at-risk family members refined only by age, but family genotype might influence necessary screening. Although numerous studies report prevalence of disease and arrhythmia in family members and explore predictors of penetrance and arrhythmic risk, a systematic review consolidating this evidence is lacking. Read More

Eur J Emerg Med 2022 May 13. Epub 2022 May 13.

Emergency Department, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona.

Background: and objective The prognosis of myocardial infarction in patients with rapid atrial fibrillation (RAF) is poorly known. We sought to ascertain if troponin concentrations are associated with a higher risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with RAF and chest discomfort suggestive of coronary origin.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all consecutive patients attending an emergency department of a single-center (2008-2017) with chest pain suggestive of coronary origin who had RAF and at least one troponin determination. Read More

J Hypertens 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Biology and Health, University of Manchester.

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic caused an unprecedented shift from in person care to delivering healthcare remotely. To limit infectious spread, patients and providers rapidly adopted distant evaluation with online or telephone-based diagnosis and management of hypertension. It is likely that virtual care of chronic diseases including hypertension will continue in some form into the future. Read More

Eur J Heart Fail 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

Aims: The aim of this trial was to evaluate whether intravenous iron could provide benefit beyond transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in iron deficient patients with severe aortic stenosis.

Methods And Results: In this randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, single-centre trial, we enrolled patients with severe aortic stenosis and iron deficiency (defined as ferritin < 100 μg/L, or 100-299 μg/L with a transferrin saturation < 20 %) who were evaluated for TAVI. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive i. Read More

Transpl Infect Dis 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Transplant Hepatology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant morbidity and mortality in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. However, it remains unclear whether the risk factor for SOT patients is the immunosuppression inherent to transplantation versus patient comorbidities.

Methods: We reviewed outcomes in a cohort of solid organ transplant (SOT) (n = 129) and non-solid organ (NSOT) transplant patients (n = 708) admitted to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for COVID-19 infection. Read More

Eur J Heart Fail 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.

Recommendations represent the core messages of Guidelines, and are particularly important when the body of scientific evidence is rapidly growing, as in the case of heart failure (HF). The main messages from two latest major HF Guidelines, endorsed by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/Heart Failure Society of America (ACC/AHA/HFSA), are partially overlapping, starting from the four pillars of treatment for HF with reduced ejection fraction. Some notable differences exist, in part related to the timing of recent publications (most notably, the Universal Definition of Heart Failure paper and the EMPEROR-Preserved trial), and in part reflecting differing views of the natural history of HF (with a clear differentiation between stages A and B HF in the ACC/AHA/HFSA Guidelines). Read More

Altern Lab Anim 2022 May 17:2611929221101608. Epub 2022 May 17.

Department of Veterinary Medicine, 28122Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.

Echocardiography is an invaluable technique for the diagnosis of heart disease. The aim of this study was to develop 3-D models of healthy and diseased hearts of dogs and cats, and to evaluate their effectiveness in assisting veterinary undergraduates to understand echocardiographic imaging planes. Resin models depicting the main echocardiographic imaging planes of normal hearts were created, as well as example hearts with features of mitral degeneration in dogs and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in cats. Read More

Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Cardiothoracic Department, Humanitas Gavazzeni, Bergamo, Italy.

Superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome is a rare disease induced by thrombosis and consequent occlusion of superior vena cava, negatively affecting morbidity and mortality. The incidence of SVC syndrome from central venous catheters and pacemaker or defibrillator leads is increasing. Optimal treatment of pacemaker or defibrillator-related SVC syndrome is not well defined. Read More

Bioengineered 2022 May;13(5):12504-12515

Departement of Cardiology, The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a prevalent cardiovascular disease defined by myocardial ischemia and hypoxic damage caused by plaque rupture, thrombosis, lumen stenosis, or blockage in the coronary artery. However, the development of emergency percutaneous coronary interventional therapy has enabled the rapid restoration of blood perfusion to ischemic myocardium and the rescue of dying myocardium cells. Some dying myocardium cells have caused irreversible damage and impaired cardiac function recovery in recent years. Read More

Eur Heart J 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Department of Sports Cardiology and Screening, Aspetar Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar.

Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Division of Cardiology, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, Brooklyn, USA.

Background: Complications using internal cardiac monitors have been reported at a low rate. Targeted analyses of complications have not been well described in the literature.

Objective: To investigate and describe complications associated with internal cardiac monitor (ICM) events reported to the FDA's Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database. Read More

Curr Med Imaging 2022 May 9. Epub 2022 May 9.

Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.

Background: To assess the changes to left ventricular (LV) function of patients with coronary slow flow (CSF) in response to stress induced by low dose dobutamine.

Methods: Based on coronary angiography (CAG) results, total of 186 patients undergoing CAG for chest pain and suspected coronary heart disease were assigned to the CSF group (n = 142) and control group (n = 44). Patients in the CSF group underwent two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) during the dobutamine stress test to evaluate LV systolic and diastolic functions. Read More