Left Ventricular Assist Device in Advanced Refractory Heart Failure: A Comprehensive Review of Patient Selection, Surgical Approaches, Complications and Future Perspectives.

The management of advanced heart failure (HF) has long posed significant challenges due to its complex and chronic nature. Heart transplantation, while effective, is not always feasible due to the limited availability of donor organs. In this context, long term mechanical circulatory support and mainly left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have emerged as a vital intervention to fill this gap.

Garlic and Hypertension: Efficacy, Mechanism of Action, and Clinical Implications.

Hypertension is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Garlic has a long history of use in traditional medicine for various conditions, including hypertension. This narrative review examined the scientific evidence on the efficacy of garlic in lowering blood pressure.

Safety of Amulet Left Atrial Appendage Occluder and Watchman Device for Left Atrial Appendage Closure in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Left atrial appendage (LAA) closure is an alternative to chronic anticoagulation for stroke prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Multiple devices were used for LAA closure, with the Amplatzer Amulet LAA Occluder (Abbott, Chicago, IL, USA) and Watchman device (Boston Scientific, Marlborough, MA, USA) being the most commonly used in clinical practice. In August 2021, the FDA approved the use of the Amplatzer Amulet LAA Occluder.

Cardiac implantable electronic device infections: Observational data from a tertiary care center in Lebanon.

With increasing rates of device implantation, there is an increased recognition of device infection. We conducted a retrospective observational study in a tertiary care center in Lebanon, with data collected from medical records of patients presenting with cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infection from 2000 to 2017 with the purpose of identifying etiologies, risk factors and other parameters, and comparing them to available data from the rest of the world. We identified a total of 22 CIED infections.

Clinical and electrocardiographic predictors of T wave oversensing in patients with subcutaneous ICD.

Background: T wave oversensing (TWOS) is a major drawback of the subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (S-ICD). Data on predictors of TWOS in S-ICD recipients are limited. We sought to investigate predictors of TWOS in a cohort of patients receiving an S-ICD at our institution.

Quantifying the impact of using Coronary Artery Calcium Score for risk categorization instead of Framingham Score or European Heart SCORE in lipid lowering algorithms in a Middle Eastern population.

Background: The use of the Coronary Artery Calcium Score (CACS) for risk categorization instead of the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) or European Heart SCORE (EHS) to improve classification of individuals is well documented. However, the impact of reclassifying individuals using CACS on initiating lipid lowering therapy is not well understood. We aimed to determine the percentage of individuals not requiring lipid lowering therapy as per the FRS and EHS models but are found to require it using CACS and vice versa; and to determine the level of agreement between CACS, FRS and EHS based models.

Extraction of a tunneled jugular defibrillator lead via a superior approach.

Extraction of cardiac implantable electrical devices (CIED) is becoming an increasing necessity. Infection is among the most frequent and serious complications associated with the surge of CIED implants. We describe the extraction of an infected cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillator (CRT-D) in a patient with a tunneled implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) lead implanted from the right jugular vein.

Clinical pearls in interpreting 24-hour ECG.

Interpreting a 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram (AECG) is important for the evaluation of patients with suspected arrhythmic events. Clinical pearls in interpreting the 24-hr ECG are presented in this article.

Discrepancies between two lipid-lowering guidelines for CVD prevention in seemingly healthy individuals-case study Lebanon.

Background: In deciding on optimal interventions for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention, more than one set of guidelines are available.

Hypothesis: The aim of the study was to assess the agreement between the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2011 Guidelines for CVD Prevention and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) 2009 Guidelines in recommending lipid lowering interventions in a seemingly healthy cohort of Lebanese persons.

Methods: A nationally representative cohort of Lebanon was identified according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Steps Criteria.

Isolated dextrocardia and congenital heart blocking.

To our knowledge, isolated dextrocardia in association with congenital complete atrioventricular heart block has not been previously reported. We report such a case, elaborate on the possible pathogenesis, and present our experience with management.