Two rare cases of Brucella-induced endocarditis and myopericarditis: challenges in diagnosis.

Introduction: Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonotic infections in the world. Cardiac complications of the disease are usually in the form of endocarditis, and, to a lesser extent, in the form of myopericarditis.

Case: We report the case of a 34-year-old female admitted with signs of fever, nausea, and headache.

Imaging in Infective Endocarditis-Current Opinions and Trends in Cardiac Computed Tomography.

Infective endocarditis is a rare disease with an increasing incidence and an unaltered high mortality rate, despite medical development. Imaging plays an integrative part in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis, with echocardiography as the initial diagnostic test. Research data in the utility of cardiac computed tomography (CCT) in the diagnostic algorithm of IE are rising, which indicates its importance in detection of IE-related lesion along with the exclusion of coronary artery disease.

The Role of Echocardiography and Cardiac Computed Tomography in Diagnosis of Infective Endocarditis.

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare disease with a high mortality rate and rising incidence, requiring timely and precise diagnosis in order to choose appropriate therapy. Imaging of morphologic lesions is an integrative part of diagnosis. Artifacts and the patient's habitus make echocardiography difficult to visualize advanced-form IE.

Cardiac device-related infective endocarditis need for lead extraction whatever the device according to the ESC EORP EURO-ENDO registry.

Aims: Cardiac device-related infective endocarditis (CDRIE) is a severe complication of cardiac device (CD) implantation and is usually treated by antibiotic therapy and percutaneous device extraction. Few studies report the management and prognosis of CDRIE in real life. In particular, the rate of device extraction in clinical practice and the management of patients with left heart infective endocarditis (LHIE) and an apparently non-infected CD (LHIE+CDRIE-) are not well described.

Cardiac pacemaker-related endocarditis complicated with pulmonary embolism: Case report.

Cardiac device-related endocarditis as a device-therapy complication is a growing problem due to higher life expectancy and the increasing number of abandoned leads and subclinical symptoms. We reported a case of a 47-year-old woman with an implanted pacemaker who was admitted to the clinic for cardiology due to the right-sided device-related infective endocarditis of the pacemaker leads with vegetations, predominantly in the right atrium and right ventricle and complicated by pulmonary embolism. Several years after pacemaker implantation, she was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus and started immunosuppressive therapy.

Role of different echocardiographic modalities in the assessment of microvascular function in women with ischemia and no obstructive coronary arteries.

This review summarizes current knowledge about echocardiographic modalities used to assess microvascular function and left ventricular (LV) systolic function in women with ischemia and no obstructive coronary arteries (INOCA). Although the entire pathophysiological background of this clinical entity still remains elusive, it is primarily linked to microvascular dysfunction which can be assessed by coronary flow velocity reserve. Subtle impairments of LV systolic function in women with INOCA are difficult to assess by interpretation of wall motion abnormalities.

The role of imaging in infective endocarditis.

Infective endocarditis (IE) poses a large diagnostic and therapeutical challenge. An early diagnosis is necessary for a positive outcome. Echocardiography is initial diagnostic method when there is a possibility of IE presence.

The basic heart anatomy and physiology from the cardiologist's perspective: Toward a better understanding of left ventricular mechanics, systolic, and diastolic function.

A comprehensive understanding of the cardiac structure-function relationship is essential for proper clinical cardiac imaging. This review summarizes the basic heart anatomy and physiology from the perspective of a heart imager focused on myocardial mechanics. The main issues analyzed are the left ventricular (LV) architecture, the LV myocardial deformation through the cardiac cycle, the LV diastolic function basic parameters and the basic parameters of the LV deformation used in clinical practice for the LV function assessment.

The prognostic importance of right ventricular remodeling and the circadian blood pressure pattern on the long-term cardiovascular outcome.

Objective: We sought to investigate the predictive value of right ventricular (RV) remodeling and 24-h blood pressure (BP) patterns on long-term cardiovascular prognosis in the initially untreated hypertensive patients.

Methods: The current study included 505 initially untreated hypertensive patients who were consequently included in this study from 2007 to 2012. All the patients underwent laboratory analysis, 24-h BP monitoring and echocardiographic examination at baseline.

The Prognostic Effect of Circadian Blood Pressure Pattern on Long-Term Cardiovascular Outcome is Independent of Left Ventricular Remodeling.

We aimed to investigate the predictive value of 24 h blood pressure (BP) patterns on adverse cardiovascular (CV) outcome in the initially untreated hypertensive patients during long-term follow-up. This study included 533 initially untreated hypertensive patients who were involved in this study in the period between 2007 and 2012. All participants underwent laboratory analysis, 24 h BP monitoring, and echocardiographic examination at baseline.

Right ventricular mechanics in patients with aortic stenosis and preserved ejection fraction: Is arterial hypertension a new player in the game?

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the influence of aortic stenosis (AS) on right ventricular (RV) strain and particularly the importance of arterial hypertension on this association. This cross-sectional study included 107 patients with moderate and severe AS (with and without hypertension) and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (>50%) and 82 age-matched normotensive and hypertensive controls who underwent comprehensive echocardiographic examination. AS patients were divided into normotensive and hypertensive groups.

The impact of arterial hypertension on left ventricular strain in patients with aortic stenosis and preserved ejection fraction.

Objective: The influence of arterial hypertension on aortic stenosis severity is still controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of hypertension on LV strain in patients with moderate and severe aortic stenosis.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 115 patients with moderate and severe aortic stenosis and preserved LV ejection fraction (>50%) and 89 age-matched normotensive and hypertensive controls who underwent comprehensive echocardiographic examination.

Gender-specific therapeutic approach in arterial hypertension - Challenges ahead.

Hypertension was thought to be more important cardiovascular risk factor in men than in women. However, studies showed that overall incidence of hypertension-related cardiovascular diseases is higher in women comparing with men and this is particularly valid in menopause when prevalence of hypertension and its complications sharply and suddenly rises. It was also noticed that the effect of various antihypertensive groups was different in women and men.

Prosthetic valve endocarditis - A trouble or a challenge?

Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) represents a rare and serious complication of valve replacement associated with high morbidity and mortality, which significantly differs from native valve endocarditis (NVE). There are two major problems: establishing diagnosis and treatment of PVE. Diagnosis in PVE is challenging and often requires several imaging methods besides standard microbiological analyzes.

Does gender affect the association between right ventricular strain and arterial hypertension?

The importance of right ventricular (RV) structure and function in cardiovascular and total morbidity and mortality has been confirmed previously. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of gender on RV structure and function in untreated hypertensive patients. This cross-sectional study included 243 subjects who underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring and comprehensive echocardiographic examination including strain evaluation.

The influence of sex on left ventricular strain in hypertensive population.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of sex on left ventricular mechanics in hypertensive individuals.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 171 untreated hypertensive patients and 112 normotensive controls who underwent a 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and comprehensive echocardiographic examination including strain assessment.

Results: Hypertensive women and men had significantly lower left ventricular global longitudinal and circumferential strains than their normotensive counterparts.

Three-Year Impact of Immediate Invasive Strategy in Patients With Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (from the RIDDLE-NSTEMI Study).

Previous studies compared clinical outcomes of early versus delayed invasive strategy in patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome up to 1-year follow-up, but long-term data remain scarce. Our aim was to evaluate the long-term effects of immediate invasive intervention in patients with Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI). The Randomized Study of Immediate Versus Delayed Invasive Intervention in Patients With Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (RIDDLE-NSTEMI) was a randomized, investigator-initiated, parallel-group trial that assigned 323 patients with NSTEMI (1:1) to either immediate (median time to intervention 1.

Risk factors for intraoperative bradycardia during ear, nose, throat and maxillofacial surgery.

Intraoperative bradycardia (IOB) is one of the most common cardiac arrhythmias observed in clinical anaesthetic practice. Controlled hypotension, as a strategy of lowering patient's blood pressure during anesthesia has been practiced for decades in head and neck surgery. The aim of our study was to determine the incidence and the risk factors for intraoperative bradycardia in maxillofacial, ear, nose and throat surgery, as well as to determine whether controlled hypotension affects the occurrence of IOB.

The relationship between causative microorganisms and cardiac lesions caused by infective endocarditis: New perspectives from the contemporary cohort of patients.

Background: The etiology of infective endocarditis (IE) is changing. More aggressive forms with multiple IE cardiac lesions have become more frequent. This study sought to explore the relationship between contemporary causative microorganisms and IE cardiac lesions and to analyze the impact of multiple lesions on treatment choice.