Measurement of breast artery calcification using an artificial intelligence detection model and its association with major adverse cardiovascular events.

Breast artery calcification (BAC) obtained from standard mammographic images is currently under evaluation to stratify risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in women. Measuring BAC using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, we aimed to determine the relationship between BAC and coronary artery calcification (CAC) severity with Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE). This retrospective study included women who underwent chest computed tomography (CT) within one year of mammography.

Clinical characteristics, diagnosis and short-term outcomes of COVID-19-associated acute myocarditis in China.

Aims: Acute myocarditis (AM) has been recognized as a rare complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. This study was conducted to present the clinical characteristics, disease courses and short-term prognoses of Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) induced AM in China, which has been unavailable so far.

Methods And Results: Data from 28 patients diagnosed with definite COVID-19-associated AM from 6 hospitals in China between 1 December 2022 and 30 June 2023 were collected and analysed.

Feasibility and safety of percutaneous intramyocardial septal cryoablation: A canine model with 6-month follow-up.

Echocardiography-guided percutaneous intramyocardial septal radiofrequency ablation (PIMSRA, Liwen procedure) is a novel treatment option for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). The safety and feasibility of using this procedure for cryoablation are unknown. We aimed to investigate the feasibility and safety of echocardiography-guided percutaneous intramyocardial septal cryoablation (PIMSCA) for septal thickness reduction in a canine model.

Percutaneous intramyocardial septal radiofrequency ablation after 5-year follow-up.

Objective: The objective is to evaluate the 5-year follow-up results of percutaneous intramyocardial septal radiofrequency ablation (PIMSRA) for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), including clinical status, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic characteristics.

Methods: 27 patients (age: 44.3±15.

Pompe disease in China: clinical and molecular characteristics.

Background: Pompe disease (PD) is a rare, progressive, and autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the acid -glucosidase gene. The clinical course and molecular mechanism of this disease in China have not been well defined.

Methods: In this single-center cohort study, we investigated a total of 15 Chinese patients with Pompe disease to better understand the clinical manifestations, echocardiographic imaging and genetic characteristics in this population.

Management of anticoagulation in patients with infective endocarditis.

Infective endocarditis (IE) carries a high risk of vascular complications (e.g., cerebral embolism, intracerebral hemorrhage, and renal infarction), which are correlated with increased early and late mortality.

A call to consider an aortic stenosis screening program.

Aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common age-related valvular condition with a prevalence of 13.1% in patients older than 75 years of age. Based on the severity of AS and symptoms, current guidelines recommend interval monitoring with transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE).

Myocardial mechanics of percutaneous intramyocardial septal radiofrequency ablation.

Objective: Echocardiography-guided Percutaneous IntraMyocardial Septal Radiofrequency Ablation (PIMSRA, Liwen procedure) is a novel treatment option for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). The impact of PIMSRA on myocardial mechanics is unknown.

Methods: Between October 2016 and June 2019, PIMSRA and 3-dimentional speckle tracking echocardiography were performed in 82 patients.

Percutaneous Intramyocardial Septal Radiofrequency Ablation in Patients With Drug-Refractory Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy.

Importance: Patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) and drug-refractory symptoms and outflow gradients have limited nonsurgical treatment options. The feasibility of percutaneous intramyocardial septal radiofrequency ablation (PIMSRA) has been reported previously; however, procedural and medium-term outcomes are unknown.

Objective: To describe the safety and medium-term outcomes of PIMSRA in a large patient cohort with drug-refractory HOCM.

Evaluation of left atrial function and mechanical dispersion in breast cancer patients after chemotherapy.

Background: Left atrial (LA) function and mechanical dispersion changes in breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy remain unclear.

Hypothesis: LA function and LA mechanical dispersion in breast cancer patients would be impaired after chemotherapy.

Methods: This single-center retrospective study included 91 consecutive breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and 30 controls.

Right Ventricular Ejection Fraction Assessed by Three-Dimensional Echocardiography Is Associated with Long-Term Adverse Clinical Cardiac Events in Patients with Anthracycline-Induced Cardiotoxicity.

Background: Patients with cancer treated with chemotherapy are at risk for cardiovascular toxicity. Global longitudinal strain has been reported to play important roles in predicting cardiovascular adverse events (CAEs) in patients treated with anthracycline. In addition to various left ventricular indicators, the authors hypothesized that right ventricular (RV) parameters might be associated with CAEs related to anthracycline treatment.

Case Series of Steroid-Resistant Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Associated Myocarditis: A Comparative Analysis of Corticosteroid and Tofacitinib Treatment.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-associated myocarditis is an uncommon and potentially fatal immune-related adverse event (irAE). Although corticosteroids are recommended as the first-line treatment by current guidelines, patients still have variable responses to it, and the guidelines vary significantly in terms of treatment strategies. In this study, we performed a retrospective analysis of ICI-associated myocarditis in our hospital to propose a new comparative analysis to aid individualized treatment.

Right Ventricular Diastolic Performance in Patients With Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension Assessed by Echocardiography.

There have been no systemic studies about right heart filling pressure and right ventricular (RV) distensibility in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Therefore, we aimed to explore combinations of echocardiographic indices to assess the stages of RV diastolic dysfunction. We recruited 32 healthy volunteers and 71 patients with CTEPH.

The Role of Four-Dimensional Automatic Right Ventricular Quantification Technology to Determine RV Function and Hemodynamics in Patients With Pulmonary Hypertension Compared With Right Heart Catheterization.

Four-dimensional automatic right ventricular quantification technology (4D auto-RVQ) is a new method that can simultaneously measure right ventricular (RV) structure and strain. The role of 4D auto-RVQ in determining RV function and hemodynamics is not clear. The role of 4D auto-RVQ in determining RV function and hemodynamics is not clear.

Pseudoaneurysm as a Late Complication of Chronic Stanford Type A Intramural Hematoma Requiring Endovascular Repair.

Aortic intramural hematoma accounts for 5% to 20% of patients with acute aortic syndrome. Endovascular grafts have evolved as minimally invasive alternatives for treatment in some highly selected patients. We present the case of a patient who had late complications of a chronic Stanford type A intramural hematoma requiring thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

Prognostic Value of Coronary Artery Calcification Identified by the Semi-quantitative Weston Method in the Emergency Room or Other Hospitalized Patients.

Coronary artery calcification (CAC) may provide insight to the patients' coronary artery disease (CAD) risks and influence early intervention. With increasing use of non-gated CT scans in clinical practice, the visual coronary artery scoring system (Weston Method) could quickly provide clinicians with important information of CAC for patient triage and management. We retrospectively studied the available CT imaging data and estimated CAC burden using the Weston method in 493 emergency room or other hospitalized patients.

Ultrasound renal denervation for hypertension resistant to a triple medication pill (RADIANCE-HTN TRIO): a randomised, multicentre, single-blind, sham-controlled trial.

Background: Endovascular renal denervation reduces blood pressure in patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension, but its efficacy in patients with true resistant hypertension has not been shown. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of endovascular ultrasound renal denervation in patients with hypertension resistant to three or more antihypertensive medications.

Methods: In a randomised, international, multicentre, single-blind, sham-controlled trial done at 28 tertiary centres in the USA and 25 in Europe, we included patients aged 18-75 years with office blood pressure of at least 140/90 mm Hg despite three or more antihypertensive medications including a diuretic.

A giant right atrial myxoma-The growth rate and multi-modality imaging.

A young and healthy woman presented with progressive dyspnea on exertion. An echocardiogram showed a giant right atrial mass. Cardiac CT angiography provided the most accurate estimate for the tumor size, while 2-D echo, 2-D, and 3-D trans-esophageal echo underestimated the dimensions of the cardiac tumor when referenced by the surgical specimen.

Trans-Septal Myocardial Biopsy in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Using the Liwen Procedure: An Introduction of a Novel Technique.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of myocardial biopsy using a new approach, the Liwen procedure.

Background: Myocardial biopsy is essential when other methods could not differentiate other etiologies from hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). Our previous work using intramyocardial radiofrequency ablation for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (Liwen procedure) may provide another approach to obtain the myocardial samples.

Electrocardiographic QRS voltage amplitude improvement by intramyocardial radiofrequency ablation in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy and one year follow up.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether the serial changes of the electrocardiogram is associated with regression of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) after Liwen procedure.

Background: Clinical application of the echocardiography-guided percutaneous intramyocardial septal radiofrequency ablation (PIMSRA, Liwen procedure) is an innovative approach to treat hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM).

Methods: We enrolled 30 consecutive patients with HOCM who had undergone Liwen procedure in our Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center, from June 2016 to January 2018.

Late Presentation of Pulmonary Artery-Left Atrial Appendage Fistula Formation After Left Atrial Appendage Device Closure.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in clinical practice with indication for anticoagulation in those patients whose annual risk for thromboembolism is >2%. Left atrial appendage closure is growing as an alternative to anticoagulation. We present a case of pulmonary artery-left atrial appendage fistula seen after left atrial appendage closure.