Right ventricular systolic pressure predicts outcomes in patients with cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators.

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-D) are a cornerstone of the treatment of heart failure and wide QRS. In such subjects, there is often concomitant right ventricular (RV) dysfunction.

Aims: We aimed to assess whether there is an association between RV function parameters and all-cause mortality or CRT-D therapies.

The Predictive Role of Lactate in the Emergency Department in Patients with Severe Dyspnea.

Objective: An accurate identification of patients at the need for prioritized diagnostics and care are crucial in the emergency department (ED). Blood gas (BG) analysis is a widely available laboratory test, which allows to measure vital parameters, including markers of ventilation and perfusion. The aim of our analysis was to assess whether blood gas parameters in patients with dyspnea at an increased risk of respiratory failure admitted to the ED can predict short-term outcomes.

Sacubitril/valsartan for cardioprotection in breast cancer (MAINSTREAM): design and rationale of the randomized trial.

Aims: In recent years, survival in patients with breast cancer has increased. Despite the improvement in outcomes of those patients, the risk of treatment-related cardiotoxicity remains high, and its presence has been associated with a higher risk of treatment termination and thus lower therapeutic efficacy. Prior trials demonstrated that a preventive initiation of heart failure drugs, including the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone inhibitors, might reduce the risk of treatment-related cardiotoxicity.

Efficacy of oral amantadine among patients hospitalised with COVID-19: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study.

Background: Amantadine has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 because it shows anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vitro. However, to date, no controlled study has assessed the safety and efficacy of amantadine in COVID-19.

Research Question: Whether amantadine is effective and safe among patients with different COVID-19 severity classifications.

Transcatheter Versus Surgical Valve Replacement: A 24-months Propensity-matched Analysis of the SILCARD Registry.

Background: Data concerning the comparison between transcatheter aortic valve implantation and surgical aortic valve replacement in a real-world setting are scarce and in Central and Eastern Europe no such data exist. In this study, we aimed at analyzing retrospectively the characteristics and outcome of patients with aortic stenosis treated either with surgical aortic valve replacement or transcatheter aortic valve implantation between 2006 and 2016 in the Silesian Province, Poland in a representative real-world cohort.

Methods: In the Silesian Cardiovascular Database we retrospectively identified 5186 patients who received either transcatheter aortic valve implantation or surgical aortic valve replacement in 1 of 3 tertiary cardiovascular centers.

Is the last before-death alert remote monitoring transmission in patients with heart failure life-threatening?

Background: Remote monitoring (RM) of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) allows for a regular analysis of the occurrence of arrhythmias and functioning of the devices.

Aims: To date, no study investigated the characteristics of the alert-triggered ultimate transmissions before death, which was the aim of the present analysis.

Methods: Patients monitored remotely in our center, whose baseline characteristics were obtained from the COMMIT-HF Registry (NCT02536443) were analyzed and divided according to the occurrence of alert transmissions during the RM.

Serum uric acid is an independent risk factor of worse mid- and long-term outcomes in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes.

Background: The data on the association between serum uric acid (sUA) concentration and outcomes in patients with an ACS are inconsistent and do not focus on patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS). The aim of this study was to analyze an association of sUA concentration on admission and outcomes in those patients.

Methods: Data from the prospective, single-center registry of patients hospitalized due to NSTE-ACS from January 2006 to December 2016 were analyzed retrospectively.

Female gender and the clinical and periprocedural profile and clinical outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve implantation: experiences of a tertiary Polish centre.

Introduction: Despite the establishment of multiple factors influencing short- and mid-term outcomes in patients treated with transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), the real-world data on the association between gender and outcomes after TAVI remain conflicting.

Aim: To evaluate the association of female gender with the clinical and periprocedural characteristics along with in-hospital, short- and medium-term outcomes of patients treated with TAVI in comparison with male patients.

Material And Methods: Data from the prospective, single-centre registry of consecutive patients with severe AS referred for TAVI from 26 November 2008 to 31 December 2018 were analysed retrospectively.

The clinical value of the routine analysis of cardiac implantable electronic devices after the patient's death in a tertiary cardiovascular center.

Introduction: The postmortem interrogation of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) has not been regularly practiced yet. We presumed that it can provide data not only on the mechanism of the patient's death but also on possible device malfunctions contributing to its occurrence.

Objectives: The study aimed to determine the usefulness of the explantation and interrogation of CIEDs after the patient's death in routine clinical practice, when combined with autopsy findings and clinical follow‑up starting from the time after device implantation.

The role of optical coherence tomography and other intravascular imaging modalities in cardiac allograft vasculopathy.

Orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) is the standard-of-care for end-stage heart disease. Although a significant improvement in the prognosis of patients after OHT has been observed in recent years, their overall mortality remains relatively high, with a median survival of approximately 10 years after transplantation. One of the primary causes of death in patients after OHT is cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV), the condition developing specifically in the coronary vasculature after OHT, the pathophysiology of which is still inadequately known.