Myocarditis in the Athlete: A Focus on COVID-19 Sequelae.

Myocarditis is a leading cause of sudden death in athletes. Early data demonstrating increased prevalence of cardiac injury in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 raised concerns for athletes recovered from COVID-19 and the possibility of underlying myocarditis. However, subsequent large registries have provided reassuring data affirming low prevalence of myocarditis in athletes convalesced from COVID-19.

Cardiac Transplantation in Danon Disease.

Background: Danon disease (DD) is a rare X-linked dominant cardioskeletal myopathy caused by mutations in the lysosome-associated membrane protein-2 (LAMP-2) gene that is usually lethal without cardiac transplantation. The purpose of this study was to characterize post-transplant outcomes in a large cohort of patients with DD who underwent cardiac transplantation.

Methods: The clinical phenotype and outcome data of patients with DD who underwent cardiac transplantation (n = 38; 19 males and 19 females) were obtained from 8 centers.

Mitigating clinical waste in the trauma intensive care unit: Limited clinical utility of cardiac troponin testing for trauma patients with atrial fibrillation.

Background: The clinical significance of obtaining cardiac troponin (cTn) levels among trauma patients with new onset arrhythmias is unknown. We aimed to assess whether cTn levels actually influence clinical decision making or represent an inappropriate use of resources.

Methods: Trauma patients admitted from 2013 to 2014 diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF) were retrospectively reviewed using the institutional trauma database.

Improvement in the assessment of diastolic function in a clinical echocardiography laboratory following implementation of a quality improvement initiative.

Background: The aim of this study was to demonstrate improvement in the characterization of diastolic function in the routine practice of a clinical echocardiography laboratory after the implementation of a quality improvement initiative. The echocardiographic analysis of left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction is an inherently complex process involving the integration of multiple indices for accurate assessment.

Methods: A baseline survey of 50 randomly chosen echocardiographic studies was reviewed for the accuracy of diastolic function assessment.

Recurrent, severe, and rapidly reversible apical ballooning syndrome in status asthmaticus.

Apical ballooning syndrome, or Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy, is a peculiar form of transient left-ventricular dysfunction originally described as triggered by emotional stress. Subsequent reports indicated that physical stressors can also induce this clinical syndrome. We describe for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, a case of recurrent, severe, and quickly reversible apical ballooning syndrome provoked by the use of high-dose inhaled β-adrenergic agonists in status asthmaticus.