Right ventricular dysfunction: pathophysiology, experimental models, evaluation, and treatment.

Interest in the right ventricle has substantially increased due to advances in knowledge of its pathophysiology and prognostic implications across a wide spectrum of diseases. However, we are still far from understanding the multiple mechanisms that influence right ventricular dysfunction, its evaluation continues to be challenging, and there is a shortage of specific treatments in most scenarios. This review article aims to update knowledge about the physiology of the right ventricle, its transition to dysfunction, diagnostic tools, and available treatments from a translational perspective.

Valvulitis: a new echocardiographic criterion for the diagnosis of bioprosthetic aortic valve infective endocarditis.

Introduction And Objectives: Diffuse homogeneous hypoechoic leaflet thickening, with a wavy leaflet motion documented by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), has been described in some cases of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) involving aortic bioprosthesis (AoBio-PVE). This echocardiographic finding has been termed valvulitis. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of valvulitis, precisely describe its echocardiographic characteristics, and determine their clinical significance in patients with AoBio-PVE.

Non-invasive electromechanical assessment during atrial fibrillation identifies underlying atrial myopathy alterations with early prognostic value.

Electromechanical characterization during atrial fibrillation (AF) remains a significant gap in the understanding of AF-related atrial myopathy. This study reports mechanistic insights into the electromechanical remodeling process associated with AF progression and further demonstrates its prognostic value in the clinic. In pigs, sequential electromechanical assessment during AF progression shows a progressive decrease in mechanical activity and early dissociation from its electrical counterpart.

Humoral response to heterologous prime-booster vaccination in heart transplant recipients aged 18-70 years primed with a viral vector SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

Solid organ transplant recipients have demonstrated a blunted immune response to standard 2-dose vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. This study sought to determine the humoral response to heterologous booster vaccination (viral vector vaccine dose 1 and 2 + mRNA booster). Heart transplant recipients, aged 18 to 70 years of age who initially received two doses of the viral vector ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine followed by a BNT162b2 mRNA booster were recruited.

The SADDEN DEATH Study: Results from a Pilot Study in Non-ICU COVID-19 Spanish Patients.

The worldwide pandemic, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel infection with serious clinical manifestations, including death. Our aim is to describe the first non-ICU Spanish deceased series with COVID-19, comparing specifically between unexpected and expected deaths. In this single-centre study, all deceased inpatients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who had died from March 4 to April 16, 2020 were consecutively included.

Infective endocarditis in patients with aortic grafts.

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) in patients with a valve-tube ascending aortic graft (AAG) is a rare entity with a challenging diagnosis and treatment. This study describes the clinical features, diagnosis and outcome of these patients.

Methods: Between 1996 and 2019, 1654 episodes of IE were recruited in 3 centres, of which 37 patients (2.

Accuracy of F-FDG PET/CT in patients with the suspicion of cardiac implantable electronic device infections.

Background: Utility of F-FDG PET/CT in diagnosing infective endocarditis (IE) associated with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) is not well established. Current ESC guidelines recommend the use of FDG-PET imaging in patients with CIEDs and positive blood cultures, but the number of studies evaluating the diagnostic performance of FDG-PET imaging in these patients remain limited. Our objective was to assess the diagnostic yield of F-FDG PET/CT in patients with suspected CIED infections, differentiating between pocket infection (PI) and lead infection (CIED-IE).

Contemporary epidemiology and outcomes in recurrent infective endocarditis.

Objective: Recurrent infective endocarditis (IE) is a major complication of patients surviving a first episode of IE. This study sought to analyse the current state of recurrent IE in a large contemporary cohort.

Methods: 1335 consecutive episodes of IE were recruited prospectively in three tertiary care centres in Spain between 1996 and 2015.

IgG4-aortitis among thoracic aortic aneurysms.

Objective: The incidence of aortitis in patients with thoracic aortic diseases is not well established. The aim of this study was to analyse the frequency and clinical course of patients with aortitis in a surgical series.

Methods: 320 consecutive patients with ascending aorta/aortic arch aneurysm or acute aortic syndrome who underwent surgery from 2012 to 2017 in a single tertiary referral hospital were retrospectively reviewed.

Morphological characterization of vegetation by real-time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography in infective endocarditis: Prognostic impact.

Purpose: Vegetation size is a prognostic predictor in infective endocarditis (IE) and guides surgical management. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of real-time 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (RT3DTEE) compared to 2DTEE in the diagnosis and characterization of vegetation, as well as its potential clinical impact.

Methods: Two hundred and three consecutive patients with IE were recruited (2009-2016) and retrospectively analyzed.

Usefulness of positron emission tomography/computed tomography in patients with valve-tube graft infection.

Objective: Infection of valved aortic grafts is a rare entity whose diagnosis remains challenging. Positron emission tomography (PET)/CT has become a criterion for the diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) in prosthetic valves, but its role on ascending aortic graft infections remains unclear. This study aims to assess the diagnostic value of PET/CT in patients with valved aortic graft infection.