[Advanced heart failure : what are the prospects for patients ?].

Heart failure (HF) is a major public health problem in our country and in most developed countries. Despite advances in the diagnosis and management of this condition and numerous therapeutic innovations, many patients with chronic HF progress inexorably to advanced HF, characterized by persistent symptoms despite maximal treatment. The prognosis for this condition is poor.

[Febrile cervicalgia revealing infectious epiduritis : a case report].

Infectious epiduritis and epidural abscesses are relatively rare pathologies but with important neurological consequences. A low incidence associated with an insidious clinical presentation leads to frequent delays in diagnosis, which worsen the prognosis of patients with the development of neurological deficits. While the evaluation of risk factors, a careful clinical examination and biological tests can guide to the diagnosis, the key examination remains magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) while lumbar puncture remains contraindicated.

[European recommendations concerning the management of chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction].

Heart failure remains, despite increasing therapeutic advances, a major burden in terms of public health. It is associated with a significant mortality and dramatically impacts the daily life of these patients with, among other things, repeated and prolonged hospitalizations. This article aims to focus on the therapeutic modalities for the management of patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) recommended by the European Society of Cardiology.

A success story of clinical debriefings: lessons learned to promote impact and sustainability.

The COVID-19 crisis impacted emergency departments (ED) unexpectedly and exposed teams to major issues within a constantly changing environment. We implemented post-shift clinical debriefings (CDs) from the beginning of the crisis to cope with adaptability needs. As the crisis diminished, clinicians voiced a desire to maintain the post-shift CD program, but it had to be reshaped to succeed over the long term.

Constrictive pericarditis following cardiac transplantation: a report of two cases and a literature review.

The data on constrictive pericarditis following heart transplantation are scarce. Herein, the authors present 2 patients who developed a constrictive pericarditis 19, and 55 months after heart transplantation. They underwent several diagnostic procedures and successfully recovered after a radical pericardiectomy.

Outcomes in patients with cardiac amyloidosis undergoing heart transplantation: the eurotransplant experience.

Background: When advanced heart failure occurs in cardiac amyloidosis, prognosis is poor. In this setting heart transplantation (HTX) is a treatment option for selected patients. We here present the results of post-transplantation outcomes in cardiac amyloidosis within the Eurotransplant area, investigating possible predictors of survival.

[Tricuspid regurgitation: transcatheter treatment by TriClip®].

Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is not rare and has been associated with poor clinical outcomes when severe. The etiology of TR is functional in most cases and is usually associated with left-sided valvular heart disease. Severe TR is responsible for right heart failure and may evolve to global heart failure.

Successful heart transplantation from donation after euthanasia with distant procurement using normothermic regional perfusion and cold storage.

While euthanasia has been legalized in a growing number of countries, organ donation after euthanasia is only performed in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Canada. Moreover, the clinical practice of heart donation after euthanasia has never been reported before. We describe the first case of a heart donated after euthanasia, reconditioned with thoraco-abdominal normothermic regional perfusion, preserved using cold storage while being transported to a neighboring transplant center, and then successfully transplanted following a procurement warm ischemic time of 17 min.

[Role of SGLT2 inhibitors (gliflozins) in heart failure].

Gliflozins (sodium-glucose cotransporter type 2 inhibitors or SGLT2is) reduced hospitalisations for heart failure in all large prospective cardiovascular outcome trials performed in patients with type 2 diabetes at risk of cardiovascular disease. This protective effect was confirmed in two dedicated trials that specifically targeted patients with heart failure and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (DAPA-HF with dapagliflozin and EMPEROR-reduced with empagliflozin) and in two trials in patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (EMPEROR-preserved with empagliflozin and DELIVER with dapagliflozin), independently of the presence of diabetes. These favourable results contribute to give a privileged position to SGLT2is in recent international guidelines produced by diabetologists and cardiologists.

The role of transesophageal echocardiography in guiding heart donation after circulatory death.

Heart donation after circulatory death (DCD) can significantly expand the heart donor pool, helping to overcome the problem of organ shortage and the increase in waiting list mortality and morbidity. To improve the outcome of DCD heart transplantation, thoraco-abdominal normothermic regional perfusion (TA-NRP) can be performed by selectively restoring circulation followed by in vivo functional heart assessment. Here, we report on the use of periprocedural transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) as a minimally invasive cardiac assessment tool during different stages of a DCD heart procurement procedure using TA-NRP.

Cardiac amyloidosis: a review of the literature.

Cardiac amyloidosis is a rare disease associated with severe morbidity and mortality. There are three main types of amyloidosis associated with cardiac involvement: light chain (AL), familial or senile (ATTR) and secondary amyloidosis (AA). Cardiac amyloidosis often results in heart failure with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction, may display echocardiographic features of restrictive cardiomyopathy associated with left ventricular hypertrophy or mimic hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm in Heart Transplant Recipients: New Insights from a 30-year Experience at a Single Center.

Background: The improvement in survival rates for heart transplant recipients (HTRs) has increased their risk of developing extracardiac diseases such as abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). The purposes of this study were to evaluate the prevalence and to describe the clinical features and natural history of AAA in HTRs.

Methods: A retrospective review of all patients (375) who underwent heart transplantation (HT) at our center over a 32-year period (1983-2015) was carried out.

[Reduced ejection fraction heart failure].

This clinical vignette discusses the recommendations for the management of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Unlike the old guidelines, it is currently indicated to start all pharmacological treatments that have proven to be effective in terms of morbidity and mortality at the same time and as quickly as possible. The titration remains necessary and the maximum tolerated doses should be reached.

[Clinical diagnostic approach for heart failure].

This vignette contains the recommendations for the diagnostic work-up to be followed when a suspicion of heart failure is faced. It underlines the anamnestic and clinical elements that should attract attention and consider the diagnosis. It also details the additional explorations required in this situation.

[Update on latest European Cardiology Society (ESC) recommendations on sports cardiology].

Regular physical activity is linked to a decrease in cardiovascular risk and mortality, whatever the cause. It is a very important part of the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, exercise can cause sudden death, especially when patients have underlying cardiomyopathy.

[Organ transplantation during SARS-CoV-2 epidemic : the 2020-2021 Liege transplant Center experience].

The «Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2» (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has disrupted medical care and intra-hospital organization during 2020, both in Belgium and throughout the world. Solid organ transplantation was not spared and in Belgium, the number of organ donors and transplants overall decreased by 20 % for livers and by 33 % for hearts between 2019 and 2020. The aim of this article is to summarize the experience acquired in 2020 and 2021 on the organizational and medical implications of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with regard to the care of patients transplanted or awaiting for organ transplants, and to draw conclusions both for the aftermath of COVID-19 but also for future pandemics.

Heart transplantation in adults with congenital heart disease: a 17-year single center experience.

Background: Heart transplantation (HTx) in adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) remains challenging because of structural anomalies and often previous procedure. The aim of this retrospective study was to describe the outcomes of heart transplantation (HTx) in a cohort of ACHD patients at our tertiary centre.

Patients And Methods: Between January 1993 and December 2010, 223 consecutive adult patients (age > 18 years) underwent HTx at our institution.

[European guidelines for the diagnosis and management of acute pulmonary embolism].

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the third cause of cardiovascular death in industrialized countries. The difficulty lies on the diagnosis and is linked to the clinical pre-sentation which is often non-specific. The use of diagnostic scores and paraclinical examinations help the clinician in the management and assessment of the risk of death.

Frequency and risk factors of complications after surgical treatment of ankle fractures : a retrospective study of 433 patients.

Ankle fractures are frequently treated using surgical interventions, and are associated with a high rate of postoperative complications. We wonder if complications can be anticipated and correlated to patient demographics, lifestyle, fracture or surgery related factors. We retrospectively reviewed all medical reports of patients who underwent ankle fracture surgery between 2013 and 2017.

[Fixed combination atorvastatin-perindopril (Lipercosyl®) for substitution treatment of cardiovascular risk management].

Fixed combination atorvastatin-perindopril (Lipercosyl®) for substitution treatment of cardiovascular risk management Lipercosyl® is a fixed combination of atorvastatin and perindopril, a cholesterol-lowering and an antihypertensive agent, which allows blood pressure and cholesterol levels to be controlled in hypertensive patients with dyslipidemia : atorvastatin, an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase, and perindopril, an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor. Six presentations with different dosages of each molecule are available so the treatment can be individualized. Specific precautions of use to each medication must obviously be observed.