Chronic kidney disease is related to impaired left ventricular strain as assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important cardiovascular risk factor. However, the relationship between CKD and myocardial strain as a parameter of myocardial function is still incompletely understood, particularly in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM). Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) feature tracking allows to analyze myocardial strain with high reproducibility.

Low incidence of acute kidney injury in VLBW infants with restrictive use of mechanical ventilation.

Background: We assessed the incidence of and risk factors for acute kidney injury (AKI) in very low birthweight infants (VLBW) in a center with a specific neonatal management protocol focusing on avoidance of early mechanical ventilation (MV).

Methods: This retrospective single center analysis includes 128 infants born in 2020 with a gestational age ≥ 22 weeks who were screened for AKI using the nKDIGO criteria.

Results: AKI was identified in 25/128 patients (19.

Coronary microvascular dysfunction is a hallmark of all subtypes of MINOCA.

Introduction: Myocardial infarction without obstructive coronary artery disease (MINOCA) is a heterogeneous clinical condition presenting with myocardial necrosis not due to an obstruction of a major coronary artery. Recently, a relevant role of coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) in the pathogenesis of MINOCA has been suggested; however, data on this are scarce. Particularly, it is unclear if CMD is equally present in all subtypes of MINOCA or differentially identifies one or more of these conditions.

Coronary microvascular dysfunction as assessed by angiography-derived index of microvascular resistance co-localizes with and may explain the presence of ischemia in stress-cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in the absence of coronary artery disease.

Introduction: Ischemia with no obstructive coronary disease (INOCA) is a frequent phenomenon in the cath lab. A possible cause is coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD), which may be assessed by invasive testing with possible complications; therefore, less invasive approaches have emerged, such as the angiography-derived index of microvascular resistance (aIMR). The aim of our study was to investigate the association of single-vessel aIMR as a measure of CMD with areas of INOCA in stress testing.

Gut immune cells-A novel therapeutical target for cardiovascular disease?

Despite scientific and clinical advances during the last 50 years cardiovascular disease continues to be the main cause of death worldwide. Especially patients with diabetes display a massive increased cardiovascular risk compared to patients without diabetes. Over the last two decades we have learned that cardiometabolic and cardiovascular diseases are driven by inflammation.

Mannose as a biomarker of coronary artery disease: Angiographic evidence and clinical significance.

Background: High mannose has previously associated with insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Our objective is to establish whether mannose is associated with anatomical evidence of coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: Plasma mannose concentrations were measured by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry in a discovery cohort (n = 513) and a validation cohort (n = 221) of carefully phenotyped individuals.

Quantitative Flow Ratio Is Associated with Extent and Severity of Ischemia in Non-Culprit Lesions of Patients with Myocardial Infarction.

Quantitative flow ratio (QFR) is a novel method to assess the relevance of coronary stenoses based only on angiographic projections. We could previously show that QFR is able to predict the hemodynamic relevance of non-culprit lesions in patients with myocardial infarction. However, it is still unclear whether QFR is also associated with the extent and severity of ischemia, which can effectively be assessed with imaging modalities such as cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR).

Lesion Geometry as Assessed by Optical Coherence Tomography Is Related to Myocardial Ischemia as Determined by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Introduction: Although the relationship between the geometry of coronary stenosis and the presence of myocardial ischemia is well known, the association between stenosis geometry and severity and/or extent of ischemia is still unexplored. Thus, we investigated this relationship using optical coherence tomography (OCT) to assess stenosis parameters and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) to determine both extent and severity of ischemia.

Methods: We analyzed 55 lesions from 51 patients with stable angina.

Nicotine promotes vascular calcification via intracellular Ca2+-mediated, Nox5-induced oxidative stress, and extracellular vesicle release in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Aims: Smokers are at increased risk of cardiovascular events. However, the exact mechanisms through which smoking influences cardiovascular disease resulting in accelerated atherosclerosis and vascular calcification are unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate effects of nicotine on initiation of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) calcification and to elucidate underlying mechanisms.

Quantitative flow ratio (QFR) identifies functional relevance of non-culprit lesions in coronary angiographies of patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Introduction: In patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and multivessel coronary disease, revascularization of non-culprit lesions guided by proof of ischemia usually requires staged ischemia testing. Quantitative flow ratio (QFR) has been shown to be effective in assessing the hemodynamic relevance of lesions in stable coronary disease. However, its suitability in AMI patients is unknown.

Coronary plaque composition influences biomechanical stress and predicts plaque rupture in a morpho-mechanic OCT analysis.

Plaque rupture occurs if stress within coronary lesions exceeds the protection exerted by the fibrous cap overlying the necrotic lipid core. However, very little is known about the biomechanical stress exerting this disrupting force. Employing optical coherence tomography (OCT), we generated plaque models and performed finite-element analysis to simulate stress distributions within the vessel wall in 10 ruptured and 10 non-ruptured lesions.

Quantitative Flow Ratio Is Related to Intraluminal Coronary Stenosis Parameters as Assessed with Optical Coherence Tomography.

Quantitative flow ratio (QFR) is a novel method for assessing hemodynamic relevance of a coronary lesion based on angiographic projections without the need of a pressure wire. Various studies demonstrated that QFR consistently related to fractional flow reserve (FFR); however, it is still unclear to what extent QFR reflects intraluminal stenosis parameters. Given that optical coherence tomography (OCT) is currently the gold standard to assess intraluminal stenosis parameters, we investigated the relationship between OCT-derived lesion geometry and QFR.

Prognostic irrelevance of plaque vulnerability following plaque sealing in high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes: an optical coherence tomography study.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk related at least in part to a more vulnerable plaque phenotype. However, patients with T2DM exhibit also an increased risk following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). It is unknown if plaque vulnerability of a treated lesion influences cardiovascular outcomes in patients with T2DM.

Severe neurological outcomes after very early bilateral nephrectomies in patients with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD).

To test the association between bilateral nephrectomies in patients with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) and long-term clinical outcome and to identify risk factors for severe outcomes, a dataset comprising 504 patients from the international registry study ARegPKD was analyzed for characteristics and complications of patients with very early (≤ 3 months; VEBNE) and early (4-15 months; EBNE) bilateral nephrectomies. Patients with very early dialysis (VED, onset ≤ 3 months) without bilateral nephrectomies and patients with total kidney volumes (TKV) comparable to VEBNE infants served as additional control groups. We identified 19 children with VEBNE, 9 with EBNE, 12 with VED and 11 in the TKV control group.

High cardiovascular risk of patients with type 2 diabetes is only partially attributed to angiographic burden of atherosclerosis.

Background: Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are at high risk for cardiovascular events and present more severe coronary artery disease (CAD). The Gensini and COURAGE scores are established angiographic instruments to assess CAD severity, which may also predict future cardiovascular risk. However, it is unclear if these scores are able to depict the increased risk of patients with T2DM and stable CAD (T2DM-SAP).

Peritoneal dialysis in extremely and very low-birth-weight infants.

The outcome of extremely low-birth-weight (ELBW) and very low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants has substantially improved in recent years. As acute kidney injury is frequent in these infants due to various risk factors, there is an increasing demand for renal replacement therapy in these patients. Data on that topic, however, are scarce.

Outcome predictors of patients with out of hospital cardiac arrest and immediate coronary angiography.

Background: Out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is common and associated with low survival rates. Guidelines propose a fast work-up after OHCA including coronary angiography (CA) but little is known about the actual outcome of those patients who undergo immediate CA after OHCA with suspected cardiac origin.

Aim: The aim of this retrospective single-center study was to evaluate the short-term outcomes and predictors of in-hospital mortality in patients who underwent immediate CA after OHCA with suspected cardiac origin.

Intrinsic calcification angle: a novel feature of the vulnerable coronary plaque in patients with type 2 diabetes: an optical coherence tomography study.

Background: Coronary calcification is associated with high risk for cardiovascular events. However, its impact on plaque vulnerability is incompletely understood. In the present study we defined the intrinsic calcification angle (ICA) as the angle externally projected by a vascular calcification and analyzed its role as novel feature of coronary plaque vulnerability in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Co-localization of plaque macrophages with calcification is associated with a more vulnerable plaque phenotype and a greater calcification burden in coronary target segments as determined by OCT.

Background: The presence of plaque macrophages and microcalcifications are acknowledged features of plaque vulnerability. Experimental data suggest that microcalcifications promote inflammation and macrophages foster microcalcifications. However, co-localization of plaque macrophages and calcification (ColocCaMa) in coronary segments and its impact on plaque phenotype and lesion vulnerability is unexplored.

Long-term clinical outcomes after treatment of stent restenosis with two drug-coated balloons.

Background: Treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR) is still a clinical challenge in interventional cardiology. Paclitaxel-coated balloons (PCBs) are an attractive therapeutic option for ISR. There are several different types of PCBs available for percutaneous coronary intervention, but to date, comparative data between different types of PCBs for the treatment of ISR are scarce.