Arrhythmic Mitral Valve Prolapse Phenotype: An Unsupervised Machine Learning Analysis Using a Multicenter Cardiac MRI Registry.

Purpose To use unsupervised machine learning to identify phenotypic clusters with increased risk of arrhythmic mitral valve prolapse (MVP). Materials and Methods This retrospective study included patients with MVP without hemodynamically significant mitral regurgitation or left ventricular (LV) dysfunction undergoing late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiac MRI between October 2007 and June 2020 in 15 European tertiary centers. The study end point was a composite of sustained ventricular tachycardia, (aborted) sudden cardiac death, or unexplained syncope.

Impact of Simulated Hyperventilation and Periodic Breathing on Sympatho-Vagal Balance and Hemodynamics in Patients with and without Heart Failure.

Background: The effects of hyperventilation and hyperventilation in the context of periodic breathing (PB) on sympatho-vagal balance (SVB) and hemodynamics in conditions of decreased cardiac output and feedback resetting, such as heart failure (HF) or pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), are not completely understood.

Objectives: To investigate the effects of voluntary hyperventilation and simulated PB on hemodynamics and SVB in healthy subjects, in patients with systolic HF and reduced or mid-range ejection fraction (HFrEF and HFmrEF) and in patients with PAH.

Methods: Study participants (n = 20 per group) underwent non-invasive recording of diastolic blood pressure, heart rate variability (HRV), baroreceptor-reflex sensitivity (BRS), total peripheral resistance index (TPRI) and cardiac index (CI).

Diaphragm function does not independently predict exercise intolerance in patients with precapillary pulmonary hypertension after adjustment for right ventricular function.

Several determinants of exercise intolerance in patients with precapillary pulmonary hypertension (PH) due to pulmonary arterial hypertension and/or chronic thromboembolic PH (CTEPH) have been suggested, including diaphragm dysfunction. However, these have rarely been evaluated in a multimodal manner. Forty-three patients with PH (age 58 ± 17 years, 30% male) and 43 age- and gender-matched controls (age 54 ± 13 years, 30% male) underwent diaphragm function (excursion and thickening) assessment by ultrasound, standard spirometry, arterial blood gas analysis, echocardiographic assessment of pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), assay of amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels, and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging to evaluate right ventricular systolic ejection fraction (RVEF).

Non-invasive evaluation of the relationship between electrical and structural cardiac abnormalities in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1.

Background: Cardiac involvement in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1) includes conduction disease, arrhythmias, and left-ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction leading to an increased sudden cardiac death risk. An understanding of the interplay between electrical and structural myocardial changes could improve the prediction of adverse cardiac events. We aimed to explore the relationship between signs of cardiomyopathy by conventional and advanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), and electrical abnormalities in MD1.