The ventricular ectopic QRS interval (VEQSI): Diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy in patients with incomplete disease expression.

Background: The ventricular ectopic QRS interval (VEQSI) has been shown to identify structural heart disease and predict mortality. In arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), early diagnosis is difficult using current methods, and life-threatening arrhythmias are common and difficult to predict.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the utility of ventricular ectopic indices including VEQSI in ARVC diagnosis.

Efficacy of weekly docetaxel in locally advanced cardiac angiosarcoma.

Background: Primary cardiac angiosarcoma is extremely aggressive; however, it is often misdiagnosed because of its rarity. For locally advanced tumors, doxorubicin-based chemotherapy regimens are the standard of treatment, even if the gain in term of progression-free survival is limited and is no longer than 5 months.

Case Presentation: We report the case of a Caucasian 23-year-old man with locally advanced cardiac angiosarcoma who underwent radical surgical resection after a prolonged response to weekly docetaxel and complementary radiotherapy.

Differential effect of everolimus on progression of early and late cardiac allograft vasculopathy in current clinical practice.

Randomized trials showed that mTOR inhibitors prevent early development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). However, the action of these drugs on CAV late after transplant is controversial, and their effectiveness for CAV prevention in clinical practice is poorly explored. In this observational study we included 143 consecutive heart transplant recipients who underwent serial intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), receiving either everolimus or mycophenolate as adjunctive therapy to cyclosporine.

Cyclosporine lowering with everolimus versus mycophenolate mofetil in heart transplant recipients: long-term follow-up of the SHIRAKISS randomized, prospective study.

Background: Cyclosporine nephrotoxicity negatively impacts long-term outcome after heart transplantation (HT). We previously reported 1-year results from a randomized study showing that cyclosporine-lowering strategies based on everolimus or mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) are equally effective for reducing progression of renal dysfunction. It is unknown whether this efficacy could be maintained over the long term.

Safety and efficacy of early aggressive versus cholesterol-driven lipid-lowering strategies in heart transplantation: a pilot, randomized, intravascular ultrasound study.

Background: Statins are recommended in heart transplantation regardless of lipid levels. However, it remains unknown whether dosing should be maximized or adjusted toward a pre-defined cholesterol threshold.

Methods: This pilot, randomized, open-label study compares an early maximal dose of fluvastatin (80 mg/day) with a strategy based on 20 mg/day subsequently titrated to target low-density lipoproteins (LDL) <100 mg/dl.