Publications by authors named "Dusi V"
Purpose: to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of late iodine enhancement (LIE) in cardiac computed tomography (CCT) compared to late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) for myocardial tissue characterization.
Materials And Methods: EMBASE, PubMed/MEDLINE, and CENTRAL were searched for studies reporting the accuracy of LIE with LGE as the gold standard of reference. QUADAS-2 tool was used to assess the risk of bias.
Article Synopsis
- The COAPT Risk Score predicts the likelihood of death or hospitalization for heart failure within two years after undergoing transcatheter edge-to-edge repair for mitral regurgitation using the MitraClip device.
- An international study analyzed 344 patients categorized as COAPT eligible or non-eligible based on COAPT trial criteria, finding higher risk scores associated with increased mortality and hospitalization.
- Overall, the COAPT Score had poor predictive accuracy for both groups, showing better performance in lower-risk patients compared to higher-risk patients, suggesting the Score's effectiveness varies according to patient baseline risk.
Background: Heart transplantation and left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implementation are effective treatments for advanced heart failure (HF), although their use is limited by organ availability and the high incidence of adverse events. The efficacy of mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) as a bridge to transplantation or as a destination therapy in advanced HF is still debated.
Methods: A total of 63 patients with INTERMACS class 3 or 4 with contraindications for LVAD and severe functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) were evaluated for TEER implantation eligibility.
Background: Data on the predictors of percutaneous stellate ganglion block (PSGB) efficacy in electrical storm are scanty.
Objective: We aimed to assess whether PSGB efficacy is influenced by the arrhythmia type and cycle length before the procedure.
Methods: This is a subanalysis of the multicenter STAR study.
Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a rare but significant cause of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), primarily affecting young women, often during pregnancy. Despite its rarity, SCAD poses challenges due to limited evidence on management strategies. This review examines the current state of art of SCAD management, integrating interventional and clinical insights from recent studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEfficacy of early use of percutaneous stellate ganglion block for electrical storms.
Eur Heart J Acute Cardiovasc Care
December 2024
Article Synopsis
- Electrical Storm (ES) is a critical condition that can be managed effectively using a technique called Percutaneous Stellate Ganglion Block (PSGB), which has shown positive results when used alongside standard therapy.
- In a study analyzing 180 patients, those who received PSGB early experienced a significant reduction in arrhythmic events within the hour following the block compared to the hour before, although the overall effectiveness was similar to those who received PSGB later.
- The findings suggest that early use of PSGB could help reduce the frequency of defibrillations and potentially lessen the risk of a more severe, refractory ES, demonstrating its effectiveness in early treatment settings.
Article Synopsis
- Identifying effective strategies to protect the heart from damage during procedures related to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is crucial, as past interventions often failed in clinical settings.
- The review highlights the use of cervical vagal nerve stimulation (cVNS) and transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) as promising neuromodulation techniques to reduce sympathetic nervous system activity and enhance vagal tone.
- Evidence from pre-clinical studies supports the cardioprotective effects of VNS in both acute and chronic cardiac injuries, suggesting that timely application of these techniques improves outcomes significantly.
Article Synopsis
- Radical surgery is the most effective treatment for early-stage lung cancer, with video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) being a less painful alternative to traditional surgery methods.
- Current localization techniques for identifying lung cancer are limited, particularly the near-infrared (NIR) indocyanine green (ICG) method, which struggles with deep tissue and lymph node detection.
- This study tests the effectiveness of Cetuximab-IRDye800CW, a combination of a monoclonal antibody and an advanced NIR dye, in accurately marking lung nodules and lymph nodes during VATS for improved detection outcomes.
Purpose: Modern photon radiotherapy effectively spares cardiac structures more than previous volumetric approaches. Still, it is related to non-negligible cardiac toxicity due to the low-dose bath of surrounding normal tissues. However, the dosimetric advantages of particle radiotherapy make it a promising treatment for para- and intra-cardiac tumours.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), specifically semaglutide, show cardiovascular benefits and may reduce the incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in high-risk patients.
- A meta-analysis of 10 randomized clinical trials involving 12,651 patients revealed a 42% reduction in the risk of AF with semaglutide compared to placebo during an average follow-up of 68 months.
- The study found no significant differences in AF risk reduction based on the route of administration (oral or subcutaneous), as well as no influence from baseline characteristics like diabetes status or BMI.
BBXs are B-Box zinc finger proteins that can act as transcription factors and regulators of protein complexes. Several BBX proteins play important roles in plant development. Two Arabidopsis thaliana microProteins belonging to the BBX family, named miP1a and miP1b, homotypically interact with and modulate the activity of other BBX proteins, including CONSTANS, which transcriptionally activates the florigen, FLOWERING LOCUS T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Risk scores are proposed for genetic arrhythmias. Having proposed in 2010 one such score (M-FACT) for the long QT syndrome (LQTS), this study aims to test whether adherence to its suggestions would be appropriate.
Methods: LQT1/2/3 and genotype-negative patients without aborted cardiac arrest (ACA) before diagnosis or cardiac events (CEs) below age 1 were included in the study, focusing on an M-FACT score ≥2 (intermediate/high risk), either at presentation (static) or during follow-up (dynamic), previously associated with 40% risk of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shocks within 4 years.
Background: In the last few years, percutaneous LAA occlusion (LAAO) has become a plausible alternative in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with contraindications to anticoagulation therapy. Nevertheless, the optimal antiplatelet strategy following percutaneous LAAO remains to be defined.
Methods: Studies comparing single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT) versus dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) following LAAO were systematically searched and screened.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the effectiveness and safety of continuous percutaneous stellate ganglion block (C-PSGB) compared to thoracic epidural anesthesia (TEA) for treating refractory ventricular arrhythmias in patients with advanced heart disease.
- C-PSGB was performed on 26 patients, resulting in 59% experiencing complete suppression of arrhythmias and 94% showing overall clinical benefits, while TEA had higher side-effect-related discontinuation rates.
- Overall, the findings suggest that C-PSGB is a promising and safer alternative for managing these heart conditions, especially for patients on anticoagulation therapy.
Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) has shown promise in the early detection of various cardiac conditions from a standard 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). However, the ability of AI to identify abnormalities from single-lead recordings across a range of pathological conditions remains to be systematically investigated. This study aims to assess the performance of a convolutional neural network (CNN) using a single-lead (D1) rather than a standard 12-lead setup for accurate identification of ECG abnormalities.
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- The cardiac autonomic nervous system (CANS) is essential for maintaining heart function and managing heart diseases, with the intrinsic cardiac nervous system (ICNS) being its first control level, found in ganglionated plexi.
- The ICNS is more complex than previously thought, containing not only parasympathetic neurons but also afferent and local circuit neurons, allowing for real-time monitoring and regulation of heart activity.
- Current research focuses on the relationship between the ICNS and various heart conditions (like myocardial infarction and heart failure), exploring how modulating its activity can lead to new treatment options, particularly through electrical therapy that maintains the system's structure.
Background And Aims: An electrical storm (ES) is a clinical emergency with a paucity of established treatment options. Despite initial encouraging reports about the safety and effectiveness of percutaneous stellate ganglion block (PSGB), many questions remained unsettled and evidence from a prospective multicentre study was still lacking. For these purposes, the STAR study was designed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVagus Nerve Stimulation for Myocardial Ischemia: The Sooner the Better.
JACC Basic Transl Sci
September 2023
Electrical storm (ES) is characterized by at least three separate episodes of ventricular arrhythmia (VA) over 24 h that require treatment or an incessant VA lasting >12 h. The incidence is higher in patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) in secondary prevention and the main manifestation is monomorphic VA. ES onset represents a major event in the history of patients with cardiomyopathies that significantly worsens prognosis.
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- Researchers developed a machine learning model to predict in-hospital death risk in Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) patients using data from over 3,400 individuals.
- The model included 31 clinical variables and achieved strong performance results, with AUC values indicating high accuracy in identifying patients at risk of death.
- Clustering analysis revealed six distinct patient groups with varying in-hospital death rates, demonstrating the model's ability to stratify risk profiles effectively.