Clinical Outcome of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in Probands with the Founder Variant c.913_914del in MYBPC3: A Slovenian Cohort Study.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is often caused by pathogenic MYBPC3 variants. The study of Italian patients with HCM and MYBPC3(NM_000256.3):c.

Challenges and pitfalls in classification of disproportionate mitral regurgitation.

The concept of disproportionate mitral regurgitation (dispropMR) has been introduced to identify patients with functional mitral regurgitation (MR) who benefit from percutaneous treatment. We aimed to examine echocardiographic characteristics behind this entity. We retrospectively included 172 consecutive patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and more than mild MR referred to clinically indicated echocardiography.

A novel splice-site FHOD3 founder variant is a common cause of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the population of the Balkans-A cohort study.

Founder variants in sarcomere protein genes account for a significant proportion of disease-causing variants in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). However, information on founder variants in non-sarcomeric protein genes, such as FHOD3, which have only recently been associated with HCM, remains scarce. In this study, we conducted a retrospective analysis of exome sequencing data of 134 probands with HCM for recurrent pathogenic variants.

Role of Exercise Stress Echocardiography in Pulmonary Hypertension.

Resting and exercise right heart catheterisation is the gold standard method to diagnose and differentiate types of pulmonary hypertension (PH). As it carries technical challenges, the question arises if non-invasive exercise stress echocardiography may be used as an alternative. Exercise echocardiography can unmask exercise PH, detect the early stages of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, and, therefore, differentiate between pre- and post-capillary PH.

Predicting VO in competitive cyclists: Is the FRIEND equation the optimal choice?

Predicting VO in athletes is vital for determining endurance capacity, for performance monitoring, in clinical diagnostic procedures, and for disease management. This study aimed to assess the most suitable equation for predicting VO in competitive cyclists. Competitive cyclists (496 males, 84 females, Caucasian, 580 total) were included in the study from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2019.

Prediction of Maximal Oxygen Consumption in Cycle Ergometry in Competitive Cyclists.

Models for predicting maximal oxygen consumption (VO) in average adults might not be suitable for athletes, especially for competitive cyclists who can have significantly higher VO than normally active people. The aim of this study was to develop a clinically applicable equation for predicting VO during cycle ergometry in competitive cyclists and to compare its accuracy to the traditional American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) equation. Maximal cycle ergometry tests were performed in 496 male and 84 female competitive cyclists.

EACVI survey on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Aims: The European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) Scientific Initiatives Committee performed a global survey to evaluate current practice for the assessment and management of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

Methods And Results: A total of 213 centres from 38 different countries (87% European) responded to the survey. One hundred twenty-one (57%) centres followed HCM patients in a general cardiology outpatient clinic and 85 (40%) centres in a specialized HCM/cardiomyopathy clinic.

Dynamic changes in cardiac function before and early postdelivery in women with severe preeclampsia.

Objectives: In women with severe preeclampsia the period immediately before and early postdelivery carries the greatest risk for cardiac decompensation due to acute changes in loading conditions. The authors aimed to evaluate dynamic changes in hemodynamic and echocardiographic-derived systolic and diastolic function parameters in preeclamptic women compared with healthy controls.

Methods: Thirty women with severe preeclampsia and 30 healthy controls underwent transthoracic echocardiography 1 day before, 1 and 4 days postdelivery.

Improvement of Atrial and Ventricular Remodeling with Low Atrial Fibrillation Burden after Hybrid Ablation of Persistent Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: An endoscopic transdiaphragmatic epicardial radiofrequency ablation procedure combined with percutaneous endocardial radiofrequency ablation--a hybrid procedure--is a potentially curative treatment option for patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). Long-term effects of arrhythmia elimination on atrial and ventricular remodeling are not completely understood. Therefore, the aim of our study was to quantify echocardiographic structural and functional changes of the left atrium (LA) and left ventricle (LV) following a hybrid procedure.