Phenotyping left ventricular systolic dysfunction in asymptomatic individuals for improved risk stratification.

Aims: Left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LSVD) is a heterogeneous condition with several factors influencing prognosis. Better phenotyping of asymptomatic individuals can inform preventative strategies. This study aims to explore the clinical phenotypes of LVSD in initially asymptomatic subjects and their association with clinical outcomes and cardiovascular abnormalities through multi-dimensional data clustering.

Neuroticism personality traits are linked to adverse cardiovascular phenotypes in the UK Biobank.

Aims: To evaluate the relationship between neuroticism personality traits and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) measures of cardiac morphology and function, considering potential differential associations in men and women.

Methods And Results: The analysis includes 36 309 UK Biobank participants (average age = 63.9 ± 7.

Incident cardiovascular events and imaging phenotypes in UK Biobank participants with past cancer.

Objectives: To evaluate incident cardiovascular outcomes and imaging phenotypes in UK Biobank participants with previous cancer.

Methods: Cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD) diagnoses were ascertained using health record linkage. Participants with cancer history (breast, lung, prostate, colorectal, uterus, haematological) were propensity matched on vascular risk factors to non-cancer controls.

Impact of Sleep Duration and Chronotype on Cardiac Structure and Function: The UK Biobank Study.

Sleep duration and chronotype have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. We assessed for associations between sleep duration and chronotype on cardiac structure and function. UK Biobank participants with CMR data and without known cardiovascular disease were included.

Comparing Outcomes Between Surgical and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in Classical Low-Flow Low-Gradient Aortic Stenosis.

Patients with classic low-flow low-gradient (cLFLG) aortic stenosis (AS) have a poor prognosis but still benefit from aortic valve replacement. There is a paucity of evidence to guide the choice between transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). This study compared procedural and midterm outcomes in patients with cLFLG AS between TAVR and SAVR.

The role of obesity-related cardiovascular remodelling in mediating incident cardiovascular outcomes: a population-based observational study.

Aims: We examined associations of obesity with incident cardiovascular outcomes and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) phenotypes, integrating information from body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Then, we used multiple mediation to define the role of obesity-related cardiac remodelling in driving obesity-outcome associations, independent of cardiometabolic diseases.

Methods And Results: In 491 606 UK Biobank participants, using Cox proportional hazard models, greater obesity (higher WHR, higher BMI) was linked to significantly greater risk of incident ischaemic heart disease, atrial fibrillation (AF), heart failure (HF), all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality.

Mechanical ventilation variables associated with high pulmonary artery pressures in ARDS patients: a post hoc analysis.

Background: The relationship between indices of mechanical ventilation and pulmonary artery pressures remains ill-defined in ARDS. As our understanding of mechanical ventilation has progressed, there is now a greater appreciation of the impact of high driving pressures and mechanical power in perpetuating lung injury. However, the relationship between the newer derived indices of mechanical ventilation and pulmonary artery pressure is unclear.

Lower birth weight is linked to poorer cardiovascular health in middle-aged population-based adults.

Objective: To examine associations of birth weight with clinical and imaging indicators of cardiovascular health and evaluate mechanistic pathways in the UK Biobank.

Methods: Competing risk regression was used to estimate associations of birth weight with incident myocardial infarction (MI) and mortality (all-cause, cardiovascular disease, ischaemic heart disease, MI), over 7-12 years of longitudinal follow-up, adjusting for age, sex, deprivation, maternal smoking/hypertension and maternal/paternal diabetes. Mediation analysis was used to evaluate the role of childhood growth, adulthood obesity, cardiometabolic diseases and blood biomarkers in mediating the birth weight-MI relationship.

Mitral Annular Disjunction Assessed Using CMR Imaging: Insights From the UK Biobank Population Study.

Background: Mitral annular disjunction is the atrial displacement of the mural mitral valve leaflet hinge point within the atrioventricular junction. Said to be associated with malignant ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death, its prevalence in the general population is not known.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of occurrence and extent of mitral annular disjunction in a large population cohort.

Cardiovascular disease and mortality sequelae of COVID-19 in the UK Biobank.

Objective: To examine association of COVID-19 with incident cardiovascular events in 17 871 UK Biobank cases between March 2020 and 2021.

Methods: COVID-19 cases were defined using health record linkage. Each case was propensity score-matched to two uninfected controls on age, sex, deprivation, body mass index, ethnicity, diabetes, prevalent ischaemic heart disease (IHD), smoking, hypertension and high cholesterol.

Implications of computed tomography reconstruction algorithms on coronary atheroma quantification: Comparison with intravascular ultrasound.

Background: Advances in coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) reconstruction algorithms are expected to enhance the accuracy of CCTA plaque quantification. We aim to evaluate different CCTA reconstruction approaches in assessing vessel characteristics in coronary atheroma using intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) as the reference standard.

Methods: Matched cross-sections (n ​= ​7241) from 50 vessels in 15 participants with chronic coronary syndrome who prospectively underwent CCTA and 3-vessel near-infrared spectroscopy-IVUS were included.

Therapeutic benefits of distal ventricular pacing in mid-cavity obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Introduction: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients with left ventricular (LV) mid-cavity obstruction (LVMCO) often experience severe drug-refractory symptoms thought to be related to intraventricular obstruction. We tested whether ventricular pacing, guided by invasive haemodynamic assessment, reduced LVMCO and improved refractory symptoms.

Methods: Between December 2008 and December 2017, 16 HCM patients with severe refractory symptoms and LVMCO underwent device implantation with haemodynamic pacing study to assess the effect on invasively defined LVMCO gradients.

Reply to Sanfilippo et al. Caution Is Warranted When Assessing Diastolic Function Using Transesophageal Echocardiography. Comment on "Kyle et al. Consensus Defined Diastolic Dysfunction and Cardiac Postoperative Morbidity Score: A Prospective Observational Study. 2021, , 5198".

We thank Sanfilippo and colleagues for their insightful comments about the assessment of diastolic function with transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) [...

Morphological and Physiological Characteristics of Ruptured Plaques in Native Arteries and Neoatherosclerotic Segments: An OCT-Based and Computational Fluid Dynamics Study.

Background: Intravascular imaging has been used to assess the morphology of lesions causing an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in native vessels (NV) and identify differences between plaques that ruptured (PR) and caused an event and those that ruptured without clinical manifestations. However, there is no data about the morphological and physiological characteristics of neoatherosclerotic plaques that ruptured (PR-NA) which constitute a common cause of stent failure.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from patients admitted with an acute myocardial infarction that had optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging of the culprit vessel before balloon pre-dilation.

A Systematic Quality Scoring Analysis to Assess Automated Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Segmentation Algorithms.

Background: The quantitative measures used to assess the performance of automated methods often do not reflect the clinical acceptability of contouring. A quality-based assessment of automated cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) segmentation more relevant to clinical practice is therefore needed.

Objective: We propose a new method for assessing the quality of machine learning (ML) outputs.

The influence of biological age and sex on long-term outcome after percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Background: Outcome following ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is thought to be worse in women than in age-matched men. We assessed whether such differences occur in the UK Pan-London dataset and if age, and particularly menopause, influences upon outcome.

Methods: We undertook an observational cohort study of 26,799 STEMI patients (20,633 men, 6,166 women) between 2005-2015 at 8 centres across London, UK.

Consensus Defined Diastolic Dysfunction and Cardiac Postoperative Morbidity Score: A Prospective Observational Study.

Diastolic dysfunction is associated with major adverse outcomes following cardiac surgery. We hypothesized that multisystem endpoints of morbidity would be higher in patients with diastolic dysfunction. A total of 142 patients undergoing cardiac surgical procedures with cardiopulmonary bypass were included in the study.

End-diastolic segmentation of intravascular ultrasound images enables more reproducible volumetric analysis of atheroma burden.

Background: Volumetric intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) analysis is currently performed at a fixed frame interval, neglecting the cyclic changes in vessel dimensions occurring during the cardiac cycle that can affect the reproducibility of the results. Analysis of end-diastolic (ED) IVUS frames has been proposed to overcome this limitation. However, at present, there is lack of data to support its superiority over conventional IVUS.

Subclinical Changes in Cardiac Functional Parameters as Determined by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR) Imaging in Sleep Apnea and Snoring: Findings from UK Biobank.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder with an increased risk for left ventricular and right ventricular dysfunction. Most studies to date have examined populations with manifest cardiovascular disease using echocardiography to analyze ventricular dysfunction with little or no reference to ventricular volumes or myocardial mass. Our aim was to explore these parameters with cardiac MRI.

Associations of Meat and Fish Consumption With Conventional and Radiomics Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Phenotypes in the UK Biobank.

Greater red and processed meat consumption has been linked to adverse cardiovascular outcomes. However, the impact of these exposures on cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) phenotypes has not been adequately studied. We describe novel associations of meat intake with cardiovascular phenotypes and investigate underlying mechanisms through consideration of a range of covariates.

Prognostic Value of Pulmonary Transit Time and Pulmonary Blood Volume Estimation Using Myocardial Perfusion CMR.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the prognostic significance of PTT and PBVi using an automated, inline method of estimation using CMR.

Background: Pulmonary transit time (PTT) and pulmonary blood volume index (PBVi) (the product of PTT and cardiac index), are quantitative biomarkers of cardiopulmonary status. The development of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) quantitative perfusion mapping permits their automated derivation, facilitating clinical adoption.

Seven-year follow-up of persistent postsurgical pain in cardiac surgery patients: A prospective observational study of prevalence and risk factors.

Background: Our aim was to describe the long-term prevalence, risk factors and impact on quality of life of persistent postsurgical pain (PPP) following cardiac surgery.

Methods: All patients undergoing sternotomy in a single centre over 6 months were prospectively interviewed by telephone at six months and seven years following surgery.

Results: We analysed data from 174 patients at six months and 146 patients at seven years following surgery, revealing a PPP prevalence of 39.

Women With Diabetes Are at Increased Relative Risk of Heart Failure Compared to Men: Insights From UK Biobank.

To investigate the effect of diabetes on mortality and incident heart failure (HF) according to sex, in the low risk population of UK Biobank. To evaluate potential contributing factors for any differences seen in HF end-point. The entire UK Biobank study population were included.