New formula for defining "normal" and "prolonged" QT in patients with bundle branch block.

Objectives: To predict the QT interval in the presence of normal QRS for patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB).

Background: There is no acceptable method for simple and reliable QT correction for patients with bundle branch block (BBB).

Methods: We measured the QT interval in patients with new onset LBBB who had a recent electrocardiogram with narrow QRS for comparison.

Comparison of 30-Day and Long-Term Outcomes and Hospital Complications Among Patients Aged <75 Versus ≥75 Years With ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Our aim was to evaluate the mortality rate and occurrence of complications in patients aged <75 versus ≥75 years with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We studied 1,657 consecutive patients with STEMI hospitalized in the cardiac intensive care unit during 2008 to 2014. All patients underwent primary percutaneous intervention, of which 292 (18%) were aged ≥75 years.

Long term prognosis of atrial fibrillation in ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a well-known complication in the setting of ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Data on the long-term prognostic implications of New-Onset AF (NOAF) complicating STEMI in the era of complete revascularization remains controversial. Our aim therefore was to evaluate the long-term prognosis of prior AF (pAF) and new-onset AF (NOAF) in STEMI patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Norton scale for predicting prognosis in elderly patients undergoing trans-catheter aortic valve implantation: A historical prospective study.

Background: The Norton scale is traditionally used to assess the risk of pressure ulcers. However, recent studies have shown its prognostic utilization in elderly patients with diverse medical conditions. The association between low admission Norton scale scores (ANSS), complications, and mortality in elderly patients following trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has never been studied.

Outcomes of Transfemoral Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Patients With Previous Coronary Bypass.

Patients with previous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are considered to be at increased perioperative risk for a redo cardiac operation. In the era of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), these patients constitute a considerable portion of those with severe aortic stenosis referred for TAVI. We evaluated the impact of previous CABG on transfemoral TAVI outcomes.

Life-threatening events during endurance sports: is heat stroke more prevalent than arrhythmic death?

Background: Two important causes of sudden death during endurance races are arrhythmic death and heat stroke. However, "arrhythmic death" has caught practically all the attention of the medical community whereas the importance of heat stroke is less appreciated.

Objectives: The study sought to determine what percentage of life-threatening events during endurance races are due to heat stroke or cardiac causes.

Interspecies differences in reaction to a biodegradable subcutaneous tissue filler: severe inflammatory granulomatous reaction in the Sinclair minipig.

Soft tissue filler products have become very popular in recent years, with ever-increasing medical and aesthetic indications. While generally considered safe, the number of reported complications with tissue fillers is growing. Nevertheless, there is no specific animal model that is considered as the gold standard for assessing safety or efficacy of tissue fillers, and there are very little data on interspecies differences in reaction to these products.

In vivo assessment of the electrophysiological integration and arrhythmogenic risk of myocardial cell transplantation strategies.

Cell replacement strategies are promising interventions aiming to improve myocardial performance. Yet, the electrophysiological impact of these approaches has not been elucidated. We assessed the electrophysiological consequences of grafting of two candidate cell types, that is, skeletal myoblasts and human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs).

Silicone-based scar therapy: a review of the literature.

Hypertrophic and keloid scars still are among the banes of plastic surgery. In the treatment arsenal at the disposal of the plastic surgeon, topical silicone therapy usually is considered the first line of treatment or as an adjuvant to other treatment methods. Yet, knowledge concerning its mechanisms of action, clinical efficacy, and possible adverse effects is rather obscure and sometimes conflicting.

Cell therapy for modification of the myocardial electrophysiological substrate.

Background: Traditional antiarrhythmic pharmacological therapies are limited by their global cardiac action, low efficacy, and significant proarrhythmic effects. We present a novel approach for the modification of the myocardial electrophysiological substrate using cell grafts genetically engineered to express specific ionic channels.

Methods And Results: To test the aforementioned concept, we performed ex vivo, in vivo, and computer simulation studies to determine the ability of fibroblasts transfected to express the voltage-sensitive potassium channel Kv1.

Transplantation of human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes improves myocardial performance in infarcted rat hearts.

Objectives: We evaluated the ability of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and their cardiomyocyte derivatives (hESC-CMs) to engraft and improve myocardial performance in the rat chronic infarction model.

Background: Cell therapy is emerging as a novel therapy for myocardial repair but is hampered by the lack of sources for human cardiomyocytes.

Methods: Immunosuppressed healthy and infarcted (7 to 10 days after coronary ligation) rat hearts were randomized to injection of undifferentiated hESCs, hESC-CMs, noncardiomyocyte hESC derivatives, or saline.

Identification and selection of cardiomyocytes during human embryonic stem cell differentiation.

Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) are pluripotent lines that can differentiate in vitro into cell derivatives of all three germ layers, including cardiomyocytes. Successful application of these unique cells in the areas of cardiovascular research and regenerative medicine has been hampered by difficulties in identifying and selecting specific cardiac progenitor cells from the mixed population of differentiating cells. We report the generation of stable transgenic hESC lines, using lentiviral vectors, and single-cell clones that express a reporter gene (eGFP) under the transcriptional control of a cardiac-specific promoter (the human myosin light chain-2V promoter).

From gene therapy and stem cells to clinical electrophysiology.

Gene therapy, cell therapy, and tissue engineering are emerging as novel experimental therapeutic paradigms for a variety of cardiovascular disorders. In the current report we will review the possible implications of these emerging technologies in the field of cardiac electrophysiology. Initially, the possible role of myocardial gene and cell therapies in creating a biological alternative to electronic pacemakers for the treatment of bradyarrhythmias will be discussed.