Publications by authors named "Luca Scudeler"
Background: Longitudinal data on reverse cardiac remodeling and outcomes after transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) are limited.
Methods: A total of 78 patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) were included retrospectively. All patients had echocardiography at baseline and again six months after TEER.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the prevalence and impact of prosthesis-patient mismatch (PPM) in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) on heart damage and mortality.
- A cohort of 963 patients was analyzed, revealing that 18% experienced PPM post-TAVR, with 7.7% having severe cases.
- Those with PPM exhibited significant heart changes after one year, including increased left ventricle size and more paravalvular aortic regurgitation compared to those without PPM.
Ultrathin-strut drug-eluting stents (DES) have been related to potential improvement in stent-related outcomes compared with thicker-struts DES. However, comparisons among different ultrathin devices are lacking. All randomized controlled trials comparing ultrathin (struts thickness <70 µm) and thicker-struts DESs in an all-comers population were included.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The clinical value of high-risk coronary plaque characteristics (CPCs) to inform intensified medical therapy or revascularization of non-flow-limiting lesions remains uncertain.
Objectives: The authors performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to study the prognostic impact of CPCs on patient-level and lesion-level major cardiovascular adverse events (MACE).
Methods: Thirty studies (21 retrospective, 9 prospective) with 30,369 patients evaluating the association of CPCs with MACE were included.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the prevalence of transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) due to severe aortic stenosis (AS), noting that detection is often challenging among this group.
- Out of 107 patients evaluated, 6 were confirmed to have ATTR-CA, resulting in a prevalence rate of 7.1%, with ATTR-CA patients being older and exhibiting more severe heart and kidney damage compared to those without the condition.
- The research highlights unique ECG features, such as bifascicular block, that are significantly associated with dual pathology (both AS and ATTR-CA), indicating the need for improved detection methods in these patients.
Article Synopsis
- - Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is the go-to treatment for patients with severe aortic stenosis who can't have surgery, and a study was done to assess changes in heart function following the procedure using echocardiography.
- - The study involved 25 patients with a mean age of 83, and measurements of hemodynamic forces (HDFs) and left ventricular (LV) function showed significant improvements in HDF parameters post-TAVI.
- - Despite these improvements in HDFs, conventional measures like global longitudinal strain and left ventricular ejection fraction did not change much, suggesting that HDF analysis might be more effective in predicting recovery of LV function post-TAVI.
Aims: The prognostic impact of flow trajectories according to stroke volume index (SVi) and transvalvular flow rate (FR) in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) remains poorly assessed. We evaluated and compared SVi and FR prior and after TAVR for severe AS.
Methods And Results: Patients were categorized according to SVi (<35 mL/m2) and FR (<200 mL/s).
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates how computed tomography (CT)-defined sarcopenia can assess risks in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), highlighting a lack of standardization in definitions and evidence supporting its independent predictive value compared to existing mortality risk tools.
- In a cohort of 391 TAVI patients, the researchers analyzed two types of sarcopenia based on CT scans: psoas muscle area (PMA) and indexed skeletal muscle area (SMI), finding that PMA-sarcopenia was associated with higher all-cause mortality rates after a median follow-up of 24 months.
- The results indicate that while PMA-sarcopenia provides valuable progn