Effects of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists on Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence After Catheter Ablation.

Background: Relationship between glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) use prior to atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation and subsequent AF recurrence is not well-understood.

Objectives: This study investigated the effects of GLP-1 RA use within 1 year before ablation and its association with AF recurrence and associated outcomes.

Methods: The TriNetX research database was used to identify patients aged ≥18 years undergoing AF ablation (2014-2023).

Association of pre-left ventricular assist device defibrillator shocks for ventricular arrhythmia with clinical outcomes after left ventricular assist device implantation.

Background: Implantable cardioverter-defibrillation (ICD) shocks after left ventricular assist device therapy (LVAD) are associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Little is known about the association of pre-LVAD ICD shocks on post-LVAD clinical outcomes and whether LVAD therapy affects the prevalence of ICD shocks.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine whether pre-LVAD ICD shocks are associated with adverse clinical outcomes post-LVAD and to compare the prevalence of ICD shocks before and after LVAD therapy.

Cardiovascular Hospitalizations and Resource Use Following Atrial Fibrillation Ablation.

Background Over the next few years, atrial fibrillation (AF)-related morbidity and costs will increase significantly. Thus, it is prudent to examine the impact of AF treatment on health care resource use. This study examined the impact of AF ablation on hospitalization, length of stay, and resource use for patients undergoing AF ablation in a multihospital system.

Safety and efficacy of left bundle branch area pacing compared with right ventricular pacing in patients with bradyarrhythmia and conduction system disorders: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Right Ventricular Pacing (RVP) may have detrimental effects in ventricular function. Left Bundle Branch Area Pacing (LBBAP) is a new pacing strategy that appears to have better results. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to compare the safety and efficacy of LBBAP vs RVP in patients with bradyarrhythmia and conduction system disorders.

Relative Contribution of Atrial Fibrillation to Outcomes of Patients With Cardiomyopathy Based on Severity of Left Ventricular Dysfunction.

In patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, the risk of death or heart failure hospitalizations (HFHs) increases with worsening ejection fraction (EF). Whether the relative contribution of atrial fibrillation (AF) to outcomes is more pronounced in patients with worse EF is not confirmed. The present study aimed to investigate the relative influence of AF on the outcome of cardiomyopathy patients by severity of LV dysfunction.

Ventricular conduction abnormality in patients with mild to moderate cardiomyopathy.

Background: In mild-to-moderate cardiomyopathy, cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is indicated in patients with high burden of right ventricular pacing but not in those with intrinsic ventricular conduction abnormalities.

Hypothesis: We hypothesized that CRT positively impacts outcomes of patients with intrinsic ventricular conduction delay and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 36%-50%.

Methods: Of 18 003 patients with LVEF ≤ 50%, 5966 (33%) patients had mild-to-moderate cardiomyopathy, of whom 1741 (29%) have a QRS duration ≥120 ms.

Impact of a dedicated center for atrial fibrillation on resource utilization and costs.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) affects millions of Americans each year and can lead to high levels of resource utilization through emergency department (ED) visits and inpatient stays.

Hypothesis: We hypothesized that referral of patients to a dedicated Center for AF from the ED would reduce costs of care.

Methods: The University of Pittsburgh Center for AF serves as a rapid referral center for patients with AF to avoid unnecessary inpatient admissions and provide specialized care.

Real-Time Prediction of Mortality, Cardiac Arrest, and Thromboembolic Complications in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19.

Background: COVID-19 infection carries significant morbidity and mortality. Current risk prediction for complications in COVID-19 is limited, and existing approaches fail to account for the dynamic course of the disease.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the COVID-HEART predictor, a novel continuously updating risk-prediction technology to forecast adverse events in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Arrhythmic sudden death survival prediction using deep learning analysis of scarring in the heart.

Sudden cardiac death from arrhythmia is a major cause of mortality worldwide. Here, we develop a novel deep learning (DL) approach that blends neural networks and survival analysis to predict patient-specific survival curves from contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance images and clinical covariates for patients with ischemic heart disease. The DL-predicted survival curves offer accurate predictions at times up to 10 years and allow for estimation of uncertainty in predictions.

Predictors of Hospital Admissions for Ventricular Arrhythmia or Cardiac Arrest in Patients With Cardiomyopathy.

Although ventricular dysfunction is associated with the occurrence of ventricular arrhythmia (VA), most patients with cardiomyopathy do not experience VA. We therefore investigated other predictors of VA in a large contemporary cohort of patients with cardiomyopathy. All patients at a large academic medical system with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤50% were enrolled at the time of first documented low LVEF.

"Failing kidneys in a failing planet; CKD of unknown origin".

The 'alarm clock' for human beings in the era of climate medicine has rung. Original diseases have appeared, that could not be explained and attributed to common causes, which are suggested to be linked to global warming and environmental factors. Such an indolent disease is the chronic kidney disease of unknown cause (CKDu), introduced also as Mesoamerican or Uddanam nephropathy.

Spatial dispersion analysis of LGE-CMR for prediction of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis.

Background: Patients with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) are at increased risk of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias (VA). Current approaches to risk stratification have limited predictive value.

Objectives: To assess the utility of spatial dispersion analysis of late gadolinium enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR), as a quantitative measure of myocardial tissue heterogeneity, in risk stratifying patients with CS for VA and death.

Assessment of an ECG-Based System for Localizing Ventricular Arrhythmias in Patients With Structural Heart Disease.

Background We have previously developed an intraprocedural automatic arrhythmia-origin localization (AAOL) system to identify idiopathic ventricular arrhythmia origins in real time using a 3-lead ECG. The objective was to assess the localization accuracy of ventricular tachycardia (VT) exit and premature ventricular contraction (PVC) origin sites in patients with structural heart disease using the AAOL system. Methods and Results In retrospective and prospective case series studies, a total of 42 patients who underwent VT/PVC ablation in the setting of structural heart disease were recruited at 2 different centers.

Characterization of the Electrophysiologic Remodeling of Patients With Ischemic Cardiomyopathy by Clinical Measurements and Computer Simulations Coupled With Machine Learning.

Rationale: Patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICMP) are at high risk for malignant arrhythmias, largely due to electrophysiological remodeling of the non-infarcted myocardium. The electrophysiological properties of the non-infarcted myocardium of patients with ICMP remain largely unknown.

Objectives: To assess the pro-arrhythmic behavior of non-infarcted myocardium in ICMP patients and couple computational simulations with machine learning to establish a methodology for the development of disease-specific action potential models based on clinically measured action potential duration restitution (APDR) data.

Prospective Multicenter Assessment of a New Intraprocedural Automated System for Localizing Idiopathic Ventricular Arrhythmia Origins.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to present a new system, the Automatic Arrhythmia Origin Localization (AAOL) system, which used incomplete electroanatomic mapping (EAM) for localization of idiopathic ventricular arrhythmia (IVA) origin on the patient-specific geometry of left ventricular, right ventricular, and neighboring vessels. The study assessed the accuracy of the system in localizing IVA source sites on cardiac structures where pace mapping is challenging.

Background: An intraprocedural automated site of origin localization system was previously developed to identify the origin of early left ventricular activation by using 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs).

Feasibility study shows concordance between image-based virtual-heart ablation targets and predicted ECG-based arrhythmia exit-sites.

Introduction: We recently developed two noninvasive methodologies to help guide VT ablation: population-derived automated VT exit localization (PAVEL) and virtual-heart arrhythmia ablation targeting (VAAT). We hypothesized that while very different in their nature, limitations, and type of ablation targets (substrate-based vs. clinical VT), the image-based VAAT and the ECG-based PAVEL technologies would be spatially concordant in their predictions.

Personalized Digital-Heart Technology for Ventricular Tachycardia Ablation Targeting in Hearts With Infiltrating Adiposity.

Background: Infiltrating adipose tissue (inFAT) is a newly recognized proarrhythmic substrate for postinfarct ventricular tachycardias (VT) identifiable on contrast-enhanced computed tomography. This study presents novel digital-heart technology that incorporates inFAT from contrast-enhanced computed tomography to noninvasively predict VT ablation targets and assesses the capability of the technology by comparing its predictions with VT ablation procedure data from patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Methods: Digital-heart models reflecting patient-specific inFAT distributions were reconstructed from contrast-enhanced computed tomography.

Salvage of an epicardial lead in a pacemaker-dependent patient with Fontan palliation using an IS-1 extender.

We present a case report of severed epicardial atrial lead salvage using an IS-1 lead extender. A 37-year-old male with single ventricle physiology, Fontan palliation, sinus node dysfunction, recurrent atrial tachycardias, and atrial fibrillation resulting in failing Fontan physiology presented with failure of the atrial pacing lead. The patient was initially paced with an epicardial system that had to be removed due to pocket infection, and the epicardial leads were cut and abandoned.

Accurate Conduction Velocity Maps and Their Association With Scar Distribution on Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients With Postinfarction Ventricular Tachycardias.

Background: Characterizing myocardial conduction velocity (CV) in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) and ventricular tachycardia (VT) is important for understanding the patient-specific proarrhythmic substrate of VTs and therapeutic planning. The objective of this study is to accurately assess the relation between CV and myocardial fibrosis density on late gadolinium-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (LGE-CMR) in patients with ICM.

Methods: We enrolled 6 patients with ICM undergoing VT ablation and 5 with structurally normal left ventricles (controls) undergoing premature ventricular contraction or VT ablation.