Heart failure with supranormal ejection fraction: clinical characteristics and outcomes compared to mildly reduced and preserved ejection fraction.

Background: Little is known about the recently emerging entity, heart failure with supranormal ejection fraction (HFsnEF).

Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics and outcome of HFsnEF, compared to HF with mildly reduced EF (HFmrEF) and HF with preserved EF (HFpEF) patients.

Design: A single center retrospective analysis.

Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Diseases Are Associated With Incident Metastatic and Nonmetastatic Cancer.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are associated with higher cancer risk. However, their relationship with metastatic cancer, the primary determinant of cancer prognosis, has not been studied.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the association between atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and the presence of metastasis at the time of cancer diagnosis.

Considerations regarding safety with pulsed field ablation for atrial fibrillation.

The introduction of pulsed field ablation (PFA) in electrophysiology marks a significant advancement, promising efficacy comparable to thermal ablation methods while potentially providing safety advantages. Despite a generally favorable safety profile in human trials and postmarket registries, cautious evaluation of PFA's safety is essential. This review provides a comprehensive overview of key safety considerations as we discuss a myriad of considerations ranging from thermal effects, gaseous microbubble formation, muscle contractions, and proarrhythmia to procedural techniques.

Temporal Trends in Patient Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of TAVR: Over a Decade of Practice.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is indicated for severe aortic stenosis patients with a prohibitive surgical risk. However, its use has been expanding in recent years to include intermediate- and low-risk patients. Thus, registry data describing changes in patient characteristics and outcomes are needed.

A decade of follow-up: atrial fibrillation, pulmonary pressure, and the progression of tricuspid regurgitation.

Background And Aims: Long-term data on atrial fibrillation (AF) impact on tricuspid regurgitation (TR) progression and its relation to pulmonary pressure are scant. We investigated this association in a study spanning over a decade.

Methods: Adults with echocardiographic evaluation before 2014, free of significant TR, were included.

Physical fitness is an independent predictor of chronic kidney disease development in apparently healthy individuals.

Background: The cardiovascular and metabolic benefits of physical activity have been studied at length, however, data on the association between physical fitness and progression to kidney disease is lacking. We aimed to identify the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and development of chronic kidney disease (CKD) among the healthy population.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated 11,579 healthy self-referred subjects who underwent annual medical screening.

Artificial Intelligence Assessment of Biological Age From Transthoracic Echocardiography: Discrepancies with Chronologic Age Predict Significant Excess Mortality.

Background: Age and sex can be estimated using artificial intelligence on the basis of various sources. The aims of this study were to test whether convolutional neural networks could be trained to estimate age and predict sex using standard transthoracic echocardiography and to evaluate the prognostic implications.

Methods: The algorithm was trained on 76,342 patients, validated in 22,825 patients, and tested in 20,960 patients.

Low cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with elevated intraocular pressure among apparently healthy adults.

Purpose: To evaluate the association of cardiorespiratory fitness with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in healthy adults.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated 17,990 asymptomatic self-referred adults free of diabetes or cardiovascular disease who were screened in a preventive healthcare setting. All subjects underwent measurement of IOP and completed a maximal exercise stress test according to the Bruce protocol.

Non-Interventional Weight Changes Are Associated with Alterations in Serum Uric Acid Levels.

: Serum uric acid is an established cardiovascular risk factor. Higher serum uric acid levels are associated with overweight and obesity. We assessed whether non-interventional weight changes affect serum uric acid levels.

Amyloid Typing in Cardiac Amyloidosis Using Western Blotting.

Background: Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is characterized by the extracellular deposition of misfolded protein in the heart. Precise identification of the amyloid type is often challenging, but critical, since the treatment and prognosis depend on the disease form and the type of deposited amyloid. Coexistence of clinical conditions such as old age, monoclonal gammopathy, chronic inflammation, or peripheral neuropathy in a patient with cardiomyopathy creates a differential diagnosis between the major types of CA: amyloidosis light chains (AL), amyloidosis transthyretin (ATTR) and amyloidosis A (AA).

The safety of sodium glucose transporter 2 inhibitors and trends in clinical and hemodynamic parameters in patients with left ventricular assist devices.

Background: The safety and impact of sodium glucose transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2-I) in patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) are unknown.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of all consecutive patients who underwent LVAD Heart Mate 3 (HM3) implantation at a single medical center and received SGLT2-I therapy following surgery was conducted. LVAD parameters, medical therapy, laboratory tests, echocardiography, and right heart catheterization (RHC) study results were recorded and compared before and after initiation of SGLT2-I.

Non-Interventional Weight Changes Are Associated with Alterations in Lipid Profiles and in the Triglyceride-to-HDL Cholesterol Ratio.

Background: Obesity is associated with dyslipidemia, and weight loss can improve obese patients' lipid profile. Here, we assessed whether non-interventional weight changes are associated with alterations in lipid profile, particularly the triglyceride (TG)-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio (TG/HDL-C).

Methods: In this retrospective analysis of subjects referred to medical screening, body mass index (BMI), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), TG, and HDL-C levels were measured annually.

Modifiers of the Association between E/e' Ratio and Survival among Patients with No Apparent Structural or Functional Cardiac Abnormality.

Background: The ratio between early mitral flow wave to early diastolic mitral annulus velocity (E/e' ratio) varies according to age and sex and is associated with mortality in heart failure. We sought to describe the association between E/e' and mortality in patients with no apparent structural or functional cardiac abnormality and explore possible modifiers of this association.

Methods: A retrospective study of 104,315 patients who underwent echocardiographic evaluation during 2009-2021 in the largest tertiary center in Israel.

Echocardiography vs hemodynamic assessment of diastolic dysfunction.

Objectives: Ostial CTOs can be challenging to revascularize. We aim to describe the outcomes of ostial chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: We examined the clinical and angiographic characteristics and procedural outcomes of 8788 CTO PCIs performed at 35 US and non-US centers between 2012 and 2022.

Comparison of MANTA versus Perclose Prostyle large-bore vascular closure devices during transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Background: New vascular closure devices (VCD) are being introduced for achieving hemostasis after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). However, no safety or efficacy data have been published compared to other contemporary VCD.

Aim: To compare the safety and efficacy of suture-based Perclose Prostyle as compared to plug-based MANTA device.

Levetiracetam Interaction with Direct Oral Anticoagulants: A Pharmacovigilance Study.

Background: Levetiracetam is widely used in post-stroke epilepsy. However, it is suspected to possess P-glycoprotein (P-gp) induction properties, and therefore, a potentially significant interaction with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). We aimed to search for ischemic stroke signals with levetiracetam and the DOACs.

Serum Magnesium Is Associated with Long-Term Survival of Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Patients.

Background: Low serum magnesium (sMg) is associated with cardiovascular risk factors and atherosclerotic disease.

Objective: To evaluate the association between sMg levels on admission and clinical outcomes in hospitalized non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of all patients admitted to a single tertiary center with a primary diagnosis of NSTEMI.

Guess What We Can Hear-Novel Voice Biomarkers for the Remote Detection of Disease.

The advancement of digital biomarkers and the provision of remote health care greatly progressed during the coronavirus disease 2019 global pandemic. Combining voice/speech data with artificial intelligence and machine-based learning offers a novel solution to the growing demand for telemedicine. Voice biomarkers, obtained from the extraction of characteristic acoustic and linguistic features, are associated with a variety of diseases and even coronavirus disease 2019.

Baseline renal function and the risk of cancer among apparently healthy middle-aged adults.

Background: The association between mildly impaired renal function with all-site and site-specific cancer risk is not established. We aim to explore this association among apparently healthy adults.

Methods: We followed 25,073 men and women, aged 40-79 years, free of cancer or cardiovascular disease at baseline who were screened annually in preventive healthcare settings.

Mild renal impairment is associated with increased cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality following cancer diagnosis.

Background: The association between mildly decreased renal function and cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in cancer patients remains unestablished.

Aims: We sought to explore this association in asymptomatic self-referred healthy adults.

Method: We followed 25, 274 adults, aged 40-79 years, who were screened in preventive healthcare settings.

Investigation of cardiac arrhythmia events in patients treated with lamotrigine: FDA adverse event reporing system analysis.

Objectives: In October 2020 and March 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified lamotrigine as a class IB antiarrhythmic, announcing an increased risk of heart rhythm problems.

Transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair in patients with acute decompensated heart failure due to severe mitral regurgitation.

Background: Transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair (TEER) has been established as a therapy for severe symptomatic mitral regurgitation (MR) in stable patients, and it has recently emerged as a reasonable option for acutely ill patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of TEER in hospitalized patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) and severe MR that was deemed to play a major role in their deterioration.

Methods: We included 31 patients who underwent emergent TEER for MR ≥ 3+ from 2012 to 2022 at Sheba Medical Center.