Accuracy of Echocardiography to Evaluate Pulmonary Vascular and RV Function During Exercise.

Objectives: The authors have compared exercise echocardiography and exercise cardiac magnetic resonance imaging with simultaneous invasive pressure registration (ExCMRip) for the assessment of pulmonary vascular and right ventricular (RV) function.

Background: Exercise echocardiography may enable early diagnosis of pulmonary vascular disease, but its accuracy is untested.

Methods: Exercise imaging was performed in 61 subjects (19 athletes, 9 healthy nonathletes, 8 healthy BMPR2 [bone morphogenetic protein receptor type II] mutation carriers, 5 patients with new or worsening dyspnea after acute pulmonary embolism, and 20 patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension).

Updated European Heart Rhythm Association Practical Guide on the use of non-vitamin K antagonist anticoagulants in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

The current manuscript is an update of the original Practical Guide, published in June 2013[Heidbuchel H, Verhamme P, Alings M, Antz M, Hacke W, Oldgren J, et al. European Heart Rhythm Association Practical Guide on the use of new oral anticoagulants in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. Europace 2013;15:625-51; Heidbuchel H, Verhamme P, Alings M, Antz M, Hacke W, Oldgren J, et al.

Sudden cardiac arrest in sports - need for uniform registration: A Position Paper from the Sport Cardiology Section of the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation.

There are large variations in the incidence, registration methods and reported causes of sudden cardiac arrest/sudden cardiac death (SCA/SCD) in competitive and recreational athletes. A crucial question is to which degree these variations are genuine or partly due to methodological incongruities. This paper discusses the uncertainties about available data and provides comprehensive suggestions for standard definitions and a guide for uniform registration parameters of SCA/SCD.

Subepicardial delayed gadolinium enhancement in asymptomatic athletes: let sleeping dogs lie?

Background: Subepicardial delayed gadolinium enhancement (DGE) patches without underlying cardiomyopathy is poorly understood. It is often reported as the result of prior silent myocarditis. Its prognostic relevance in asymptomatic athletes is unknown; therefore, medical clearance for competitive sports participation is debated.

Implementation of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants in daily practice: the need for comprehensive education for professionals and patients.

Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are increasingly used for the prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism and for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation. NOACs do not require routine coagulation monitoring, creating a challenge to established systems for patient follow-up based on regular blood tests. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) are required to cope with a mixture of patients receiving either a vitamin K antagonist or a NOAC for the same indications, and both professionals and patients require education about the newer drugs.

Relationship between Inflammatory Cytokines and Indices of Cardiac Dysfunction following Intense Endurance Exercise.

Objectives: Pro-inflammatory cytokines have been noted to increase following exercise but their relationship to exercise-induced cardiac dysfunction has not previously been investigated. We sought to evaluate whether exercise-induced cardiac dysfunction was associated with increases in cytokines, particularly the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-12p70 and TNFα, which have been most implicated in cardiac pathology.

Methods: 40 well-trained endurance athletes underwent evaluation prior to and immediately following one of four endurance sporting events ranging from 3 to 11 hours duration.

Exercise-induced right ventricular dysfunction is associated with ventricular arrhythmias in endurance athletes.

Aims: Intense exercise places disproportionate strain on the right ventricle (RV) which may promote pro-arrhythmic remodelling in some athletes. RV exercise imaging may enable early identification of athletes at risk of arrhythmias.

Methods And Results: Exercise imaging was performed in 17 athletes with RV ventricular arrhythmias (EA-VAs), of which eight (47%) had an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD), 10 healthy endurance athletes (EAs), and seven non-athletes (NAs).

Multi-phase rotational angiography of the left ventricle to assist ablations: feasibility and accuracy of novel imaging.

Aims: Interventional left ventricular (LV) procedures integrating static 3D anatomy visualization are subject to mismatch with dynamic catheter movements due to prominent LV motion. We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of a recently developed acquisition and post-processing protocol for low radiation dose LV multi-phase rotational angiography (4DRA) in patients.

Methods And Results: 4DRA image acquisition of the LV was performed as investigational acquisition in patients undergoing left-sided ablation (11 men; BMI = 24.

Edoxaban vs. warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation on amiodarone: a subgroup analysis of the ENGAGE AF-TIMI 48 trial.

Background: In the ENGAGE AF-TIMI 48 trial, the higher-dose edoxaban (HDE) regimen had a similar incidence of ischaemic stroke compared with warfarin, whereas a higher incidence was observed with the lower-dose regimen (LDE). Amiodarone increases edoxaban plasma levels via P-glycoprotein inhibition. The current pre-specified exploratory analysis was performed to determine the effect of amiodarone on the relative efficacy and safety profile of edoxaban.

Prevalence and antithrombotic management of atrial fibrillation in hospitalised patients.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in a tertiary care centre, to describe the comorbidity profile of hospitalised patients with AF, and to evaluate the appropriateness of their maintenance antithrombotic management.

Methods: In a cross-sectional, descriptive study, all consenting hospitalised patients from 36 wards in a University hospital (excluding critical care units, psychiatric, maternity and paediatric wards) received an ECG on a single day. Also their charts were reviewed for key demographic and clinical data.

Pulmonary vascular and right ventricular reserve in patients with normalized resting hemodynamics after pulmonary endarterectomy.

Background: Patients with normalized mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) after pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) do not always regain normal exercise capacity. We evaluated right ventricular function, its interaction with both pulsatile and resistive afterload, and the effect of sildenafil during exercise in these patients.

Methods And Results: Fourteen healthy controls, 15 CTEPH patients, and 7 patients with normalized resting mPAP (≤25 mm Hg) post-PEA underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing, followed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging with simultaneous invasive mPAP measurement during incremental supine cycling exercise.

Signs of RV overload on the athlete's ECG.

There is increasing evidence that regular intense endurance exercise can promote structural and electrical remodeling of the right ventricle (RV). These physiological changes can be profound and are frequently accompanied by ECG changes in the right precordial leads, thereby mimicking features observed in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). Because the 12-lead ECG is used as both a screening and diagnostic tool for the detection of conditions associated with sudden death in athletes, it is of fundamental importance to have a good understanding of the ECG features that distinguish physiological adaptations to endurance exercise from those related to RV pathology as well as their potential overlap.

Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants: considerations on once- vs. twice-daily regimens and their potential impact on medication adherence.

Suboptimal medication adherence is a widespread problem in ambulatory care of chronic diseases, with deviations in either direction from the prescribed dosing regimen. For the non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs), such deviations occur and can lead to bleeding or clotting, as suboptimal adherence involves temporary periods of either overdosing or underdosing. In this expert review, we discuss: (a) the proper definition of adherence in terms of its three elements: initiation, implementation, and discontinuation; (b) how adherence is reliably and accurately measured and (c) successfully enhanced, to achieve and maintain safe and effective levels of NOAC-based anticoagulation.

Exercise pathophysiology and sildenafil effects in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

Objectives: Symptoms in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) predominantly occur during exercise, while haemodynamic assessment is generally performed at rest. We hypothesised that exercise imaging of RV function would better explain exercise limitation and the acute effects of pulmonary vasodilator administration than resting measurements.

Methods: Fourteen patients with CTEPH and seven healthy control subjects underwent cardiopulmonary testing to determine peak exercise oxygen consumption (VO2peak) and ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide (VE/VCO2) at the anaerobic threshold.

The year in cardiology 2014: arrhythmias and device therapy.

This review looks back at important and clinically relevant new developments in the fields of invasive electrophysiology and device therapy in 2014. Many findings do not only apply to pure electrophysiologists, but also to every clinical cardiologist’s practice. The authors have extracted the key findings of studies with potential guideline impact and put those into a clinical perspective.

Right Precordial T-Wave Inversion in Healthy Endurance Athletes Can Be Explained by Lateral Displacement of the Cardiac Apex.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that T-wave inversion in the right precordial leads (TWI) reflects lateral displacement of the heart such that the surface electrocardiographic (ECG) leads overlie a greater proportion of the right ventricle (RV).

Background: TWI on ECG is more frequently observed among endurance athletes (EAs) than in the general population, the underlying mechanism for which is unclear.

Methods: Sixty-eight EAs and 41 nonathletic control subjects underwent ECG and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI).