Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiology fellow echocardiography education at a large academic center.

Background: In response to COVID-19 pandemic state restrictions, our institution deferred elective procedures from 3/15/2020 to 6/13/2020, and removed cardiology fellows from the echocardiography rotation to staff clinical services. We assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on fellow education and echocardiography volumes.

Methods: Our institutional database was used to examine volumes of transthoracic (TTE), stress (SE), and transesophageal echocardiograms (TEE) from 7/1/2018 to 10/10/2020.

Incidence of Myopericarditis and Myocardial Injury in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccinated Subjects.

Several recent publications have described myopericarditis cases after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination. However, it is uncertain if these cases occurred secondary to the vaccination or more common etiologies of myopericarditis. To help determine whether a correlation exists between COVID-19 vaccination and myopericarditis, the present study compared the gender-specific cumulative incidence of myopericarditis and myocardial injury in a cohort of COVID-19 vaccinated patients at a tertiary care center in 2021 with the cumulative incidence of these conditions in the same subjects exactly 2 years earlier.

Stress responses and baroreflex function in coronary disease.

Exaggerated pressor responses to mental stress in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) are associated with increased risk for subsequent cardiovascular events. The integrated baroreflex gain and its mechanical and neural component were estimated and then related to the blood pressure and heart rate responses to simulated real-life stressors: mental arithmetic and public speaking. Eighteen healthy individuals (aged 61 +/- 8 yr) and 29 individuals with documented CAD but no other comorbidities (aged 59 +/- 8 yr) were studied.