Multicenter Analysis of the Relationship Between Operative Team Familiarity and Safety and Efficiency Outcomes in Cardiac Surgery.

Background: Safety in cardiac surgical procedures is predicated on effective team dynamics. This study associated operative team familiarity (ie, the extent of clinical collaboration among surgical team members) with procedural efficiency and Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) adjudicated patient outcomes.

Methods: Institutional STS adult cardiac surgery registry and electronic health record data from 2014 to 2021 were evaluated across 3 quaternary hospitals.

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database: Intraoperative Echocardiography Reporting.

Objectives: To identify trends in the reporting of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiographic (TEE) data in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD) and the Adult Cardiac Anesthesiology (ACA) module by period, practice type, and geographic distribution, and to elucidate ongoing areas for practice improvement.

Design: A retrospective study.

Setting: STS ACSD.

Associations Between Sleep Disorders and Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and Materno-fetal Consequences.

Purpose Of The Review: To review the data supporting the associations between sleep disorders and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, their diagnosis, consequences, treatment, and potential mechanisms.

Recent Findings: The prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing, insomnia, and restless legs syndrome increases as pregnancy progresses secondary to physiologic changes associated with pregnancy. Sleep-disordered breathing is strongly associated with the development of gestational hypertension and preeclampsia, both of which are associated with increased risk of perinatal complications.

Smaller Left Ventricle Size at Noncontrast CT Is Associated with Lower Mortality in COPDGene Participants.

Background Smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have smaller left ventricles (LVs) due to reduced preload. Skeletal muscle wasting is also common in COPD, but less is known about its contribution to LV size. Purpose To explore the relationships between CT metrics of emphysema, venous vascular volume, and sarcopenia with the LV epicardial volume (LV) (myocardium and chamber) estimated from chest CT images in participants with COPD and then to determine the clinical relevance of the LV in multivariable models, including sex and anthropomorphic metrics.

Arterial Vascular Pruning, Right Ventricular Size, and Clinical Outcomes in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. A Longitudinal Observational Study.

Cor pulmonale (right ventricular [RV] dilation) and cor pulmonale parvus (RV shrinkage) are both described in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The identification of emphysema as a shared risk factor suggests that additional disease characterization is needed to understand these widely divergent cardiac processes. To explore the relationship between computed tomography measures of emphysema and distal pulmonary arterial morphology with RV volume, and their association with exercise capacity and mortality in ever-smokers with COPD enrolled in the COPDGene Study.

Declining Lung Function and Cardiovascular Risk: The ARIC Study.

Background: Pulmonary dysfunction predicts incident cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether longitudinal decline in lung function is associated with incident heart failure (HF), coronary heart disease (CHD), and stroke.

Methods: Among 10,351 participants in the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities) study free of CVD, rapid lung function decline was defined as the greatest quartile (n = 2,585) of decline in either forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV) (>1.

Right Ventricular Function, Right Ventricular-Pulmonary Artery Coupling, and Heart Failure Risk in 4 US Communities: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.

Importance: Limited data exist on the prevalence and prognostic importance of right ventricular (RV) dysfunction for heart failure (HF) in the general population.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of RV dysfunction and its association with HF and mortality in a community-based elderly cohort.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Cross-sectional and time-to-event analysis of participants in the Atherosclerosis Risks in the Community (ARIC), a multicenter, population-based cohort study at the fifth study visit from 2011 to 2013, with a median follow-up of 4.

Left ventricular ejection time is an independent predictor of incident heart failure in a community-based cohort.

Aims: Systolic time intervals change in the progress of cardiac dysfunction. The usefulness of left ventricular ejection time (LVET) to predict cardiovascular morbidity, however, is unknown.

Methods And Results: We studied middle-aged African-Americans from one of four cohorts of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study (Jackson cohort, n=1980) who underwent echocardiography between 1993 and 1995.

Left atrial structure and function in cardiac amyloidosis.

Aims: Although cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is characterized by significant left atrial (LA) dilatation, the characteristics of LA function remain to be fully investigated.

Methods And Results: We assessed LA function by speckle-tracking echocardiography in 124 patients with CA and sinus rhythm: 68 with light chain (AL), 29 with mutant (ATTRm), 27 with wild-type (ATTRwt) transthyretin amyloidosis. Conventional and strain-derived parameters, including LA peak longitudinal strain (LS) and strain rate (peak LSR: reservoir function; early LSR: conduit function; late LSR: active function), were assessed compared between CA patients and 20 healthy controls of similar age and gender.

Smoking and Cardiac Structure and Function in the Elderly: The ARIC Study (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities).

Background: Cigarette smoking has been associated with higher risk of incident heart failure independent of coronary artery disease, but the impact of tobacco use on cardiac structure and function in the general population is uncertain. This study evaluated the relationship between smoking and echocardiographic measures in a large elderly cohort.

Methods And Results: We studied 4580 participants free of overt coronary artery disease, heart failure, and significant valvular disease from the fifth visit of the ARIC study (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) who underwent transthoracic echocardiography.

Association of Weight and Body Composition on Cardiac Structure and Function in the ARIC Study (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities).

Background: Obesity increases cardiovascular risk. However, the extent to which various measures of body composition are associated with abnormalities in cardiac structure and function, independent of comorbidities commonly affecting obese individuals, is not clear. This study sought to examine the relationship between body mass index, waist circumference, and percent body fat with conventional and advanced measures of cardiac structure and function.

Prognostic Relevance of Left Atrial Dysfunction in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction.

Background: Left atrial (LA) size is an established marker of risk for adverse outcomes in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). However, the independent prognostic importance of LA function in HFpEF is not known.

Methods And Results: We assessed LA function measured by speckle-tracking echocardiography in 357 patients with HFpEF enrolled in the Treatment Of Preserved Cardiac Function Heart Failure With an Aldosterone Antagonist (TOPCAT) trial who were in sinus rhythm at the time of echocardiography.

Influence of cigarette smoking on cardiac biomarkers: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.

Aims: Cigarette smoking has been associated with incident heart failure independent of coronary artery disease (CAD), but the mechanisms linking smoking to cardiac damage are not well understood. This study sought to evaluate the relationship between smoking and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and high-sensitivity Troponin T (hs-TnT), which are, respectively, biomarkers of myocardial wall stress and injury, in a large community-based cohort.

Methods And Results: We examined the association between smoking history and NT-proBNP and hs-TnT in 9649 participants free of overt CAD or heart failure from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study who attended Visit 4 (1996-1998), as well as the association with change in these biomarkers from Visit 4 to Visit 5 (2011-2013) in 3151 participants.

Right Atrial Function in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Background: Elevated right atrial (RA) pressure is an established prognostic measure in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, little is known about perturbations in RA function in PAH.

Methods And Results: Reservoir (RA longitudinal strain [RA LS]), conduit (RA early LS rate), and active (RA late LS rate) phases were assessed by 2D speckle tracking in 65 patients with PAH, 6-minute walk distance ≤450 m, and a pulmonary vascular resistance >800 dynes·s/cm(5), despite therapy with at least 2 PAH-specific medications enrolled in the Imatinib in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, a Randomized Efficacy Study (IMPRES) trial and were compared with 30 healthy controls of similar age and sex.

Sleep Disordered Breathing: Hypertension and Cardiac Structure and Function.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common form of sleep disordered breathing and has a relatively high prevalence in the general population. The frequency and severity of OSA is associated with age, male sex, and obesity, and OSA has been linked to cardiovascular complications and death. Importantly, OSA has a strong association with both prevalent and incidental hypertension and has a particularly high prevalence in patients with resistant hypertension.

Sex-Specific Association of Sleep Apnea Severity With Subclinical Myocardial Injury, Ventricular Hypertrophy, and Heart Failure Risk in a Community-Dwelling Cohort: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities-Sleep Heart Health Study.

Background: Risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and the development of subsequent cardiovascular (CV) complications differ by sex. We hypothesize that the relationship between OSA and high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-TnT), cardiac structure, and CV outcomes differs by sex.

Methods And Results: Seven hundred fifty-two men and 893 women free of CV disease participating in both the Atherosclerosis Risk in the Communities and the Sleep Heart Health Studies were included.

Impact of lowering pulmonary vascular resistance on right and left ventricular deformation in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Aims: As pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, particularly among patients with right ventricular (RV) dysfunction, we aimed to determine the impact of therapy to reduce pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) on RV and LV deformation in PAH.

Methods And Results: Right ventricular free wall longitudinal strain (FWLS) and LV global circumferential strain (CS) were measured at baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks in 68 patients with advanced PAH randomized to imatinib or placebo in the Imatinib in Pulmonary arterial hypertension, a Randomized Efficacy Study (IMPRES) trial, and compared with 30 healthy controls. Compared with controls, PAH was associated with impaired RV FWLS (-15.

Sleep apnea is associated with subclinical myocardial injury in the community. The ARIC-SHHS study.

Rationale: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, although the underlying mechanisms are not well understood.

Objectives: We aimed to determine whether more severe OSA, measured by the Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI), is associated with subclinical myocardial injury and increased myocardial wall stress.

Methods: A total of 1,645 participants (62.