Prognostic relevance of mitral and tricuspid regurgitation after transcatheter aortic valve implantation: Impact of follow-up time point for decision-making.

Background: In patients with aortic stenosis treated by transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), mitral and tricuspid regurgitation (MR and TR) at baseline and after TAVI are likely to be of prognostic relevance, and questions such as whether and when treatment further improves prognosis in these patients arise.

Aims: Against that background, the purpose of this study was to analyze a variety of clinical characteristics including MR and TR with respect to their potential value as predictors of 2-year mortality after TAVI.

Methods: A cohort of 445 typical TAVI patients was available for the study and clinical characteristics were evaluated baseline, 6 to 8 weeks as well as 6 months after TAVI.

[Acute heart failure and cardiogenic shock : An update].

Acute heart failure is a clinical syndrome resulting from elevated intracardiac filling pressures and a systemic venous congestion. In general, patients can present acutely without a history of structural cardiac disease (de novo heart failure) or with acute worsening of a pre-existing dysfunction of the right or left ventricle. The patient population is overall very inhomogeneous and as a result there is also a distinct heterogeneity with respect to the underlying cardiac pathology that leads to the acute presentation.

Clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential-related mutations and outcome in dilated and ischaemic cardiomyopathy.

Aims: Clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP)-associated mutation is a risk factor for the development of ischaemic cardiomyopathy (ICM), but its association with non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) remains unclear. We aimed to determine the prevalence of CHIP in patients with DCM and define its risk for disease progression.

Methods And Results: Next-generation sequencing targeting 54 common CHIP-associated genes was performed in 48 ICM and 52 DCM patients.

A case report of a 37-year-old woman with pulmonary arterial hypertension first presented during her 3rd pregnancy and favourable long-term vasoreactive response.

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a rare disease associated with high rates of mortality and can significantly complicate pregnancy posing health risks for the mother and child alike.

Case Summary: We present the case of a 37-year-old female patient with World Health Organisation functional Class IV symptoms during the 34th week of her 3rd pregnancy. Initial echocardiography showed a significantly elevated estimated systolic pulmonary artery pressure of 86 mmHg + central vein pressure as well as signs of chronic pulmonary hypertension.

Acute myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination with mRNA-1273 in a patient with former SARS-CoV-2 infection.

We describe a case of a 20-year-old healthy man developing chest pain and classical symptoms of vaccine reactogenicity 12 h after receiving the first dose of mRNA-1273 (Moderna). Cardiac troponin T was increased, and subepicardial inflammation and focal contractile dysfunction were detected by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and echocardiography. We confirmed the diagnosis of acute myocarditis by endomyocardial biopsy demonstrating significant infiltration of monocytes and T lymphocytes.

Therapy limitation in octogenarians in German intensive care units is associated with a longer length of stay and increased 30 days mortality: A prospective multicenter study.

Purpose: The approach to limit therapy in very old intensive care unit patients (VIPs) significantly differs between regions. The focus of this multicenter analysis is to illuminate, whether the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) is a suitable tool for risk stratification in VIPs admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in Germany. Furthermore, this investigation elucidates the impact of therapeutic limitation on the length of stay and mortality in this setting.

Exercise training in cancer related cardiomyopathy.

The therapeutic options for malignancies have been expanding over the past decades. Since the rise of targeted therapies, improved survival rates and decreased morbidity of cancer patients are evident but these refined protocols have steadily increased the number of patients at risk for long-term side-effects of anti-neoplastic treatments. The leading causes of death in cancer survivors are now defined by cardiovascular disease.

What's new in heart failure therapy 2018?

Even though significant progress has been made over the past 3 decades, heart failure remains one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in developed countries and contributes significantly to the economic burden of modern health care systems. Especially in patients with preserved ejection fraction, valid therapeutic options are missing due to a lack of evidence. In face of a very heterogeneous condition with an ongoing debate over aetiology and pathophysiology, clinicians face a challenge in providing optimal care for these patients.

The MOGE(S) classification for cardiomyopathies: current status and future outlook.

Cardiomyopathies are complex diseases of multifactorial pathogenesis and have a high morbidity and mortality. Over the past decades, several revisions of classifications and definitions of cardiomyopathies have been proposed, primarily focusing on the phenotypic characterization of cardiomyopathies. The MOGE(S) classification system published in 2013 encompasses the classification of rapidly growing knowledge on genetic mutations, acquired causes (i.

Time efficient 124I-PET volumetry in benign thyroid disorders by automatic isocontour procedures: mathematic adjustment using manual contoured measurements in low-dose CT.

Background: Benign thyroid diseases are widely common in western societies. However, the volumetry of the thyroid gland, especially when enlarged or abnormally formed, proves to be a challenge in clinical routine. The aim of this study was to develop a simple and rapid threshold-based isocontour extraction method for thyroid volumetry from (124)I-PET/CT data in patients scheduled for radioactive iodine therapy.

Low-activity (124)I-PET/low-dose CT versus (131)I probe measurements in pretherapy assessment of radioiodine uptake in benign thyroid diseases.

Context: Radioiodine therapy of benign thyroid diseases requires pretherapy assessment of radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU) for reliable therapy planning.

Objective: Our objective was to assess RAIU by low-activity (124)I-positron emission tomography/low-dose computed tomography ((124)I-PET/CT) in comparison with standard (131)I probe measurements.

Design/setting: This prospective comparative study was conducted at the Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany, in a referral center setting.