Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death in Patients Undergoing Cancer Treatment.

The risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients with cancer receiving cancer therapies is not well defined. In this study we aimed to (1) evaluate the risk of SCD during the first 6 months of cancer treatment and (2) identify risk factors (RFs) for SCD in patients who underwent active cancer treatment. The study population comprised 8,356 patients who received any cancer treatment at the University of Rochester Medical Center from 2011 to 2020.

Effect of biventricular pacing during a ventricular sensed event.

Loss of biventricular (BiV) pacing occurs during ventricular sensed events such as frequent ventricular ectopy, nonsustained ventricular tachycardia, and intrinsic atrioventricular nodal conduction, such as in atrial fibrillation. Ventricular sense response (VSR) pacing, a novel cardiac resynchronization therapy pacing strategy, maintains BiV pacing during these sensed ventricular events. Patients who underwent echocardiographic optimization after BiV pacemaker implantation were enrolled, and aortic velocity-time integrals (VTIs) were recorded and compared during intrinsic conduction without pacing, optimized BiV pacing, and intrinsic conduction with VSR pacing alone.

Relation of brain natriuretic peptide level to extent of left ventricular scarring in patients with chronic heart failure secondary to ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Multiple factors influence brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) release in patients with heart failure. We hypothesized that extensive myocardial scarring could result in an attenuated BNP response. A total of 115 patients with New York Heart Association class III chronic heart failure and ischemic cardiomyopathy were evaluated for ischemia, hibernation, and myocardial scarring by dipyridamole-rubidium-positron emission tomographic scanning with fluorine-18, 2-fluoro-2-deoxyyglucose.