Risk factors for microalbuminuria in adult Tibetan patients with high-altitude pulmonary hypertension: a cross-sectional study.

Background: It has been suggested that chronic hypoxia underlies the higher prevalence of microalbuminuria in high-altitude residents than in sea-level dwellers. This study explored the risk factors for microalbuminuria in Tibetans with high-altitude pulmonary hypertension (HAPH).

Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included adult patients with HAPH admitted to the People's Hospital of Tibet Autonomous Region between November 2018 and August 2019.

Initial Experience in Transvenous Implantation of a Left Ventricular Lead With a Novel Venogram Balloon Catheter.

Aim: The most challenging and time-consuming stage of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device implantation is coronary sinus (CS) cannulation and left ventricular epicardial electrode implantation. This paper reports the initial clinical experience of CS cannulation and left ventricular lead implantation guided by a novel venogram balloon catheter (Lee's venogram balloon catheter).

Methods And Results: Consecutive patients eligible for CRT were deemed suitable for this novel venogram balloon catheter.

Long-term outcomes of non-systematic device reimplantation following lead extraction in selected patients.

Following the removal of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), reassessment of the need for a new device is vital. Some patients may have exhibited an improvement in rhythm or cardiac function and may thus no longer meet the guideline requirements for reimplantation. However, the long-term outcomes of non-systematic device reimplantation remain unknown.

Transfemoral extraction of pacemaker and implantable cardioverter defibrillator leads using Needle's Eye Snare: a single-center experience of more than 900 leads.

The femoral approach with the Needle's Eye Snare (NES) is often used for bailout after failure of the superior approach for transvenous lead extraction (TLE). The safety and efficacy of the NES as a first-line tool for TLE remain unclear. The medical records of patients who underwent TLE via the femoral approach utilizing the NES from May 2014 to June 2019 in Peking University People's Hospital were retrospectively reviewed.

Prevalence of venous occlusion in patients referred for lead extraction: implications for tool selection.

Aims: Data concerning the incidence of venous obstruction in patients referred for lead extraction is limited. Thus, we aimed to assess the incidence of venous obstruction in patients referred for lead extraction and the implications for tool selection.

Methods And Results: Contrast venography of the access vein was obtained in 202 patients (147 men; mean age, 62.

Reuse of infected cardiac rhythm management devices in the same patients: a single-center experience.

Background: In developing countries, patients with a cardiac rhythm management device (CRMD) that has become infected cannot always afford a new device, and reuse of the infected CRMD may be appropriate. To evaluate the safety of this practice, a cohort of consecutive patients with reused pacemakers was compared with a control group.

Methods: A single-center cohort of consecutive patients treated from 2007 to 2012 was analyzed in a two-way noninferiority study.

True complete left bundle branch block morphology strongly predicts good response to cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Aims: To determine whether patients with congestive heart failure and true left bundle branch block (LBBB) morphology have better response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) than do patients without true LBBB.

Methods And Results: We defined true LBBB as conventional LBBB plus QRS duration ≥ 130 ms and mid-QRS notching/slurring in at least two of the leads I, aVL, V1, V2, V5, or V6. We prospectively enrolled 58 patients with heart failure and allocated them to three groups: true LBBB (t-LBBB, n = 22); non-true LBBB (nt-LBBB, LBBB with no notch or notches in fewer than two of the leads, n = 17); and non-specific intraventricular conduction delay (IVCD, n = 19).