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Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging 2022 Jun 28. Epub 2022 Jun 28.

The Copenhagen City Heart Study, Copenhagen University Hospital - Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Aims: A pattern of reduced basal longitudinal strain (BLS) is often observed with left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (LVH). Whether this pattern is associated with poor outcome is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of regional longitudinal strain according to LV geometry. Read More

J Med Ultrason (2001) 2022 Jun 27. Epub 2022 Jun 27.

Department of Cardiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya City University, 1 Kawasumi, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, 467-8601, Japan.

Since Japan is experiencing a super-aged society, the number of heart failure patients (HF) is increasing remarkably. In particular, the increase in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), which is common in the elderly, has characterized the last decade. The diagnosis of HFpEF by assessment of left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction, which is also referred to as diastolic heart failure, is an important role assigned to echocardiography. Read More

J Zoo Wildl Med 2022 Jun;53(2):363-372

Veterinary Specialty Center, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089, USA.

Elasmobranch cardiac anatomy and physiology has been well described; however, there is a dearth of information regarding cardiac disease. In support of a clinical case of suspected congestive heart failure in a 22-yr-old male sand tiger shark (), a study was undertaken to identify feasible echocardiographic imaging planes and preliminary indices for this species. Eleven echocardiograms were performed on six apparently healthy sand tiger sharks. Read More

Wiad Lek 2022 ;75(5 pt 1):1064-1069

BOGOMOLETS NATIONAL MEDICAL UNIVERSITY, KYIV, UKRAINE.

Objective: The aim: To revise the case-series of hepatic vascular tumors (HVT), particularly to identify optimal visualization, management and role of surgical intervention.

Patients And Methods: Materials and methods: Out of 96 children with hepatic tumors who hospitalized in a single center from 2011 to 2020, 20 (20,8%) were diagnosed HVT. Hepatic Hemangiomas (HHs) were presented in 19 patients and Kaposiform hemangioendotelioma (KHE) in one case. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2022 Jun 24;101(25):e29337. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Rationale: Hypoglycemia is an emergent condition with many causes, including underlying diabetes mellitus either with the use of insulin or oral anti-diabetic medications for glucose control, and organ (heart, hepatic, or renal) failure. Insulin autoimmune syndrome (IAS) can also cause hypoglycemia, however it is relatively difficult to diagnose as it is rare clinically. Although uncommon, IAS can be life threatening in patients with persistent hypoglycemia. Read More

Eur Heart J Case Rep 2022 Jun 10;6(6):ytac231. Epub 2022 Jun 10.

Department of Cardiovascular Disease, Michigan State University/McLaren, 48532 Flint, MI, USA.

Background: Idiopathic chronic constrictive pericarditis (CP) is an uncommon yet very important clinical entity as prompt diagnosis and early treatment are affiliated with improved outcomes. We describe an uncommon case of CP with a series of textbook findings and received successful treatment with surgical pericardiectomy (SP).

Case Summary: A 58-year-old male presented to the emergency department with exertional dyspnoea and anasarca. Read More

Front Cardiovasc Med 2022 8;9:934668. Epub 2022 Jun 8.

Department of Cardiology, Barts Heart Centre, Barts Health National Health Service (NHS) Trust, London, United Kingdom.

Front Pediatr 2022 10;10:828107. Epub 2022 Jun 10.

Department of Cardiology, Jill and Mark Fishman Center for Lymphatic Disorders, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States.

Lymphatic abnormalities in patients with single ventricle physiology can lead to early Fontan failure and severe Fontan complications, such as protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), plastic bronchitis (PB), chylothorax, and edema. Recent developments in lymphatic imaging and interventions have shed new light on the lymphatic dysfunction in this patient population and the role of the lymphatic circulation in PLE, PB, and chylothorax. In this study, we reviewed some of the latest developments in this field and discuss new treatment options for these patients. Read More

Ochsner J 2022 ;22(2):192-195

Department of Cardiology, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM.

As methamphetamine use has increased around the world, cardiovascular mortality has also increased. Methamphetamine-associated cardiomyopathy (MACM) is one of the serious cardiovascular complications of methamphetamine use. Limited evidence has been published regarding the increased risk of thrombogenicity in the setting of methamphetamine use. Read More

Echocardiography 2022 Jun 27. Epub 2022 Jun 27.

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Basaksehir Cam & Sakura City Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.

Prosthetic valve endocarditis with mechanical complications causing pulmonary edema is fatal, therefore it needs to be diagnosed early and should be treated surgically in emergency setting. Transesophageal echocardiogram is crucial for recognizing the mechanical complications, which can be encountered on daily practice, but the coexistence of complications occurring on different mechanism is rather uncommon. Herein, we report a 21-year-old gentleman presenting with acute heart failure, whose imaging tests showed a combination of dehiscence of mechanical aortic valve prosthesis, aortic dissection, pseudoaneurysm, and hematoma causing right ventricular collapse. Read More

BMC Pulm Med 2022 Jun 25;22(1):247. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Department of ICU, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, No. 256, Youyi West Road, Beilin District, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has high mortality and is mainly related to the circulatory failure.Therefore, real-time monitoring of cardiac function and structural changes has important clinical significance.Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is a simple and noninvasive real-time cardiac examination which is widely used in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Read More

BMC Cardiovasc Disord 2022 Jun 25;22(1):289. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Heart and Vascular Center, Semmelweis University, Varosmajor 68, Budapest, 1122, Hungary.

Background: We lack data on the effect of single premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) on the clinical and echocardiographic response after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device implantation. We aimed to assess the predictive value of PVCs at early, 1 month-follow up on echocardiographic response and all-cause mortality.

Methods: In our prospective, single-center study, 125 heart failure patients underwent CRT implantation based on the current guidelines. Read More

Phytomedicine 2022 Jun 15;104:154277. Epub 2022 Jun 15.

Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanfang Hospital (ZengCheng Branch), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China. Electronic address:

Background: Excessive myocardial fibrosis is the pathological basis of heart failure following myocardial infarction (MI). Although calycosin improves cardiac function, its effect on cardiac fibrosis and cardiac function after MI in mice and its precise mechanism remain unclear.

Purpose: Here, we firstly investigated the effects of calycosin on cardiac fibrosis and ventricular function in mice after MI and the role of transforming growth factor-beta receptor 1 (TGFBR1) signaling in the amelioration of cardiac fibrosis and ventricular function. Read More

ESC Heart Fail 2022 Jun 25. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Department of Cardiology, Xiangtan Central Hospital, Xiangtan, China.

Aims: Clinical data on the prognostic determinants over varying periods within the same cohort of heart failure with mid-range or mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF) remain scarce. This study aimed to identify the short-term, intermediate-term, and long-term risk factors of adverse cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in patients hospitalized for HFmrEF.

Methods And Results: This retrospective study included 1691 consecutive HFmrEF patients admitted to our hospital between January 2015 and August 2020. Read More

Heart 2022 Jun 24;108(14):1120-1160. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Cardiology, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India

Am J Perinatol 2022 Jun 24. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Obstetrics & Gynecology, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, United States.

Objective: To develop and evaluate a scoring system-called Sepsis-Associated Adverse Outcomes in Pregnancy (SAAP) Score-to identify individuals with maternal infection that have composite maternal adverse outcomes (CMAO).

Study Design: Using ICD codes, we identified pregnant and postpartum (up to 6 weeks after birth) individuals admitted at our center with a primary diagnosis of infection. The primary outcome was CMAO, which included any of the following: maternal intensive care unit admission, surgical intervention, vasopressor use, acute respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary edema, mechanical ventilation, high flow nasal cannula, disseminated intravascular coagulation, dialysis, organ failure, venous thromboembolism, or maternal death. Read More

ESC Heart Fail 2022 Jun 23. Epub 2022 Jun 23.

Laboratory of Molecular and Experimental Cardiology, Technische Universität Dresden, Heart Center Dresden, Dresden, Germany.

Aims: In heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), the reduction of nitric oxide (NO)-bioavailability and consequently endothelial dysfunction leads to LV stiffness and diastolic dysfunction of the heart. Besides shear stress, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) stimulates endothelial cells to increased production of NO via phosphorylation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). For patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, earlier studies demonstrated a positive impact of exercise training (ET) on HDL-mediated eNOS activation. Read More

EClinicalMedicine 2022 Jul 27;49:101466. Epub 2022 May 27.

Department of Cardiology, Shanghai Children's Medical Centre, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200127, China.

Background: Few data on paediatric hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are available in developing countries. A multicentre, retrospective, cohort study was conducted to profile the clinical characteristics and survival of children with HCM in China.

Methods: We collected longitudinal data on children with HCM aged 0-18 years at three participating institutions between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2019. Read More

Sensors (Basel) 2022 Jun 7;22(12). Epub 2022 Jun 7.

College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha 34110, Qatar.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death worldwide. People affected by CVDs may go undiagnosed until the occurrence of a serious heart failure event such as stroke, heart attack, and myocardial infraction. In Qatar, there is a lack of studies focusing on CVD diagnosis based on non-invasive methods such as retinal image or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Read More

Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022 May 25;15(6). Epub 2022 May 25.

Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location Amsterdam Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Cardiac sympathetic upregulation is one of the neurohormonal compensation mechanisms that play an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic heart failure (CHF). In the past decades, cardiac I-IBG scintigraphy has been established as a feasible technique to evaluate the global and regional cardiac sympathetic innervation. Although cardiac I-IBG imaging has been studied in many cardiac and neurological diseases, it has extensively been studied in ischemic and non-ischemic CHF. Read More

J Clin Med 2022 Jun 7;11(12). Epub 2022 Jun 7.

Fondazione Toscana G. Monasterio, 56124 Pisa, Italy.

The non-invasive estimation of right atrial pressure () would be a key advancement in several clinical scenarios, in which the knowledge of central venous filling pressure is vital for patients' management. The echocardiographic estimation of RAP proposed by Guidelines, based on inferior vena cava (IVC) size and respirophasic collapsibility, is exposed to operator and patient dependent variability. We propose novel methods, based on semi-automated edge-tracking of IVC size and cardiac collapsibility (cardiac caval index-CCI), tested in a monocentric retrospective cohort of patients undergoing echocardiography and right heart catheterization (RHC) within 24 h in condition of clinical and therapeutic stability (170 patients, age 64 ± 14, male 45%, with pulmonary arterial hypertension, heart failure, valvular heart disease, dyspnea, or other pathologies). Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2022 Jun 17;23(12). Epub 2022 Jun 17.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

Lysyl oxidase () is a copper-binding enzyme that cross-links elastin and collagen. The dominant variation contributes to familial thoracic aortic aneurysm. Previously reported murine mutants had a mild phenotype and did not dilate without drug-induced provocation. Read More

Diagnostics (Basel) 2022 Jun 10;12(6). Epub 2022 Jun 10.

Department of Internal Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Background: Myocardial scarring is a primary pathogenetic process in nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NIDCM) that is responsible for progressive cardiac remodeling and heart failure, severely impacting the survival of these patients. Although several collagen turnover biomarkers have been associated with myocardial fibrosis, their clinical utility is still limited. Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) determined by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has become a feasible method to detect myocardial replacement fibrosis. Read More

Diagnostics (Basel) 2022 Jun 1;12(6). Epub 2022 Jun 1.

Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju 26426, Korea.

Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome caused by various etiologies that results in systolic and diastolic cardiac dysfunction with congestion. While evaluating HF and planning for treatment, physicians utilize various laboratory tests, including electrocardiography, diverse imaging tests, exercise testing, invasive hemodynamic evaluation, or endomyocardial biopsy. Among these, cardiac imaging modalities and biomarkers are the mainstays during HF diagnosis and treatment. Read More

JACC Cardiovasc Interv 2022 Jun;15(12):1264-1265

Structural Heart Intervention Program, Department of Surgery, Montreal Heart Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

JACC Cardiovasc Interv 2022 Jun;15(12):1249-1263

Cardiovascular Branch, Division of Intramural Research, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Transcatheter mitral valve repair is beneficial in patients with mitral regurgitation (MR), left ventricular dysfunction, and persistent symptoms despite maximally tolerated medical therapy.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of transcatheter mitral cerclage ventriculoplasty in patients with MR and either heart failure with reduced ejection fraction or preserved ejection fraction and in subjects with prior edge-to-edge repair but persistent or recurrent symptomatic MR.

Methods: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Division of Intramural Research Transcatheter Mitral Cerclage Ventriculoplasty Early Feasibility Study (NCT03929913) was an investigator-initiated prospective multicenter study. Read More

Tomography 2022 Jun 18;8(3):1595-1607. Epub 2022 Jun 18.

Department of Cardiology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan.

Heart failure (HF) with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is a heterogeneous syndrome. An LVEF of 50% is widely used to categorize patients with HF; however, this is controversial. Previously, we have reported that patients with an LVEF of ≥ 58% have good prognoses. Read More

J Cardiovasc Dev Dis 2022 Jun 5;9(6). Epub 2022 Jun 5.

Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy.

In chronic heart failure (CHF), abnormalities in cardiac autonomic control, characterized by sympathetic overactivity, contribute to the progression of the disease and are associated with an unfavorable prognosis. Assessing cardiac autonomic status is clinically important in the management of patients with CHF. To this aim, heart rate variability (HRV) analysis has been extensively used as a non-invasive tool for assessing cardiac autonomic regulation, and has been shown to predict the clinical outcome in patients with CHF. Read More

J Cardiovasc Dev Dis 2022 May 25;9(6). Epub 2022 May 25.

National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Suita 564-8565, Japan.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an underdiagnosed genetic heart disease with an estimated prevalence of 0.2-0.5%. Read More

Biomed J 2021 12 27;44(6 Suppl 1):S132-S143. Epub 2020 Aug 27.

Healthy Aging Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Keelung, Keelung, Taiwan; Neuroscience Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Medical Imaging Research Center, Institute for Radiological Research, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan. Electronic address:

Background: Quantitative maps from cardiac MRI provide objective information for myocardial tissue. The study aimed to report the T1 and T2∗ relaxation time and its relationship with clinical parameters in healthy Taiwanese participants.

Methods: Ninety-three participants were enrolled between 2014 and 2016 (Males/Females: 43/50; age: 49. Read More