An Integrated Imaging and Circulating Biomarker Approach for Secondary Tricuspid Regurgitation.

Secondary tricuspid regurgitation (sTR) is frequent among patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), however it confers considerable diagnostic challenges. The assessment of neurohumoral activation may constitute a valuable supplement to the current imaging-based diagnostic process. This study sought to investigate the expression of complementary biomarkers in sTR and to evaluate the effectiveness of integrating their assessment into the diagnostic process.

Relationship Between Proximal Aorta Morphology and Progression Rate of Aortic Stenosis.

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the association between abnormal morphology of the proximal aorta and aortic stenosis (AS) progression rate. The main hypothesis was that morphologic changes of the proximal aorta, such as effacement of the sinotubular junction (STJ), result in increased biomechanical stresses and contribute to calcification and progression of AS.

Methods: Between 2010 and 2012, 426 patients with mild to moderate AS were included in this study.

Effect of growth hormone treatment on diastolic function in patients who have developed growth hormone deficiency after definitive treatment of acromegaly.

Objective: Although growth hormone (GH) replacement is prescribed for patients with hypopituitarism due to many etiologies, it is not routinely prescribed for patients with GH deficiency (GHD) after cure of acromegaly (acroGHD). This study was designed to investigate the effect of GH replacement on cardiac parameters in acroGHD.

Design: We prospectively evaluated for 12months 23 patients with acroGHD: 15 subjects on GH replacement and eight subjects not on GH replacement.

Progression of atrial remodeling in patients with high-burden atrial fibrillation: Implications for early ablative intervention.

Background: Advanced atrial remodeling predicts poor clinical outcomes in human atrial fibrillation (AF).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to define the magnitude and predictors of change in left atrial (LA) structural remodeling over 12 months of AF.

Methods: Thirty-eight patients with paroxysmal AF managed medically (group 1), 20 undergoing AF ablation (group 2), and 25 control patients with no AF history (group 3) prospectively underwent echocardiographic assessment of strain variables of LA reservoir function at baseline and at 4, 8, and 12 months.

Mitral valve and papillary muscle abnormalities in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

Purpose Of Review: This section reviews abnormalities of the mitral valve apparatus that are associated with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

Recent Findings: Mitral valve abnormalities in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy include leaflet elongation and thickening and hypertrophy with anterior displacement of the papillary muscles. This combination contributes to the development of systolic anterior motion.

Amiodarone-induced destructive thyroiditis associated with coronary artery vasospasm and recurrent ventricular fibrillation.

A 55-year-old male on long-term amiodarone therapy presented with ischaemic chest pain and recurrent unwitnessed syncope. Interrogation of his internal cardiac defibrillator, which had been inserted 4 years earlier, revealed two episodes of ventricular fibrillation, the timing of which corresponded to his syncopal events. Severe spontaneous coronary artery vasospasm was observed on coronary angiogram.

Left ventricular ejection fraction and absence of ACE inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blocker predicts appropriate defibrillator therapy in the primary prevention population.

Introduction: Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) significantly reduce mortality in patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. However, little is known of the predictors of appropriate device activation in the primary prevention population. The aim of the present study was to determine predictors of appropriate device therapy in patients receiving ICDs for primary prevention.