Effect of Renal Denervation and Catheter Ablation vs Catheter Ablation Alone on Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence Among Patients With Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation and Hypertension: The ERADICATE-AF Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Renal denervation can reduce cardiac sympathetic activity that may result in an antiarrhythmic effect on atrial fibrillation.

Objective: To determine whether renal denervation when added to pulmonary vein isolation enhances long-term antiarrhythmic efficacy.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The Evaluate Renal Denervation in Addition to Catheter Ablation to Eliminate Atrial Fibrillation (ERADICATE-AF) trial was an investigator-initiated, multicenter, single-blind, randomized clinical trial conducted at 5 referral centers for catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation in the Russian Federation, Poland, and Germany.

Influence of pyruvate on economy of contraction in isolated rabbit myocardium.

Background: Treatment of acute heart failure frequently requires positive-inotropic stimulation. However, there is still no inotropic agent available, which combines a favourable haemodynamic profile with low expenditure for energy metabolism. Pyruvate exhibits positive inotropic effects in vitro and in patients with heart failure.

Increased myocardial oxygen consumption by TNF-alpha is mediated by a sphingosine signaling pathway.

The present study investigated the effect of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha on myocardial energy metabolism as estimated by myocardial oxygen consumption (MVo(2)). MVo(2) of electrically stimulated isolated trabeculae of right ventricular Wistar rat myocardium was analyzed using a Clark-type oxygen probe. After the initial data collection in the absence of TNF-alpha, measurements were repeated after TNF-alpha stimulation.

Potentiation of beta-adrenergic inotropic response by pyruvate in failing human myocardium.

Background: Pyruvate has been shown to increase contractile function in isolated myocardium and to improve hemodynamics in patients with congestive heart failure. We tested the hypothesis that pyruvate potentiates the inotropic response to beta-adrenergic stimulation and to elevated extracellular calcium, since this may be of potential therapeutic value in the clinical setting of acute heart failure in order to circumvent deleterious effects on energy demand as can occur during catecholamine therapy.

Methods And Results: We investigated isometrically contracting isolated multicellular muscle preparations from terminal failing human hearts at 37 degrees C, pH 7.