The Exposome and Cardiovascular Health: Webcast December 12 2024.

This 61-minute webcast features a conversation about "The Exposome and Cardiovascular Health"-the focus of Issue 20.5. Led by the issue's editors, the discussion engages the authors on emerging themes and lessons learned while researching and writing the articles.

Cardiac Recovery: Webcast September 24 2024.

This 61-minute webcast features a conversation about "Cardiac Recovery"-the focus of Issue 20.4. Led by the issue's editors, the discussion engages the authors on emerging themes and lessons learned while researching and writing the articles.

Women and the Heart: Webcast April 16 2024.

This 62-minute webcast features a conversation about "Women and the Heart: Gender-Related Differences in Cardiovascular Care"-the focus of Issue 20.2. Led by the issue's editor, the discussion engages the authors on emerging themes and lessons learned while researching and writing the articles.

Interatrial Septum Assessment by Transthoracic Echocardiography Part 1: Secundum ASD.

This 10-minute video aims at improving skills for the structural assessment of the interatrial septum using 2-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) to increase the ability to diagnose-or rule out-the different types of interatrial communications. Of the five types of lesions, this video focuses on ostium secundum atrial septal defect. This is the first video in our MicroLearning Video Series, designed to help a target audience of sonographers, general cardiologists, general practitioners who want to gain knowledge on fundamental cardiology, and technicians.

Noninvasive Prediction of Pulmonary Capillary Wedge Pressure in Patients With Normal Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction: Comparison of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance With Comprehensive Echocardiography.

Background: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) was recently reported to predict mean pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP). However, there is a paucity of data on its accuracy for estimation of PCWP in patients with normal left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF). We sought to examine its accuracy against the invasive gold standard and to compare it with the accuracy of comprehensive echocardiography.

The Beneficial Effects of Inoculation with Selected Nodule-Associated PGPR on White Lupin Are Comparable to Those of Inoculation with Symbiotic Rhizobia.

Nodule endophytes and associated bacteria are non-symbiotic bacteria that colonize legume nodules. They accompany nodulating rhizobia and can form beneficial associations, as some of them are plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) that are able to promote germination and plant growth and increase tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress. White lupin () is a legume crop that is gaining relevance as a suitable alternative to soybean as a plant protein source.

Effects of Inoculation with Stress-Tolerant Rhizobia on the Response of Alfalfa ( L.) to Combined Salinity and Cadmium Stress.

Agricultural soil salinization, which is often combined with heavy-metal contamination, is an ever-growing problem in the current era of global change. Legumes have a high potential for nitrogen fixation and are ideal crops for the reclamation of degraded soils. Alfalfa () is a valuable forage crop cultivated worldwide.

Lupin, a Unique Legume That Is Nodulated by Multiple Microsymbionts: The Role of Horizontal Gene Transfer.

Lupin is a high-protein legume crop that grows in a wide range of edaphoclimatic conditions where other crops are not viable. Its unique seed nutrient profile can promote health benefits, and it has been proposed as a phytoremediation plant. Most rhizobia nodulating species belong to the genus comprising strains that are phylogenetically related to , and .

Differences in Cardiac Remodeling in Left-Sided Valvular Regurgitation: Implications for Optimal Definition of Significant Aortic Regurgitation.

Background: Grading of aortic regurgitation (AR) and mitral regurgitation (MR) is similar in the cardiology guidelines despite distinct differences in left ventricular (LV) adaptive pathophysiology.

Objectives: This study compared differences in LV remodeling in patients with similar degrees of AR and MR severity and evaluated optimal cutoffs for significant AR in relation to the outcome of aortic valve replacement or repair (AVR) during follow-up.

Methods: From 2008 to 2018, consecutive patients with isolated AR or MR who had cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) were identified and CMR parameters were compared.

Adaptive Mechanisms Make Lupin a Choice Crop for Acidic Soils Affected by Aluminum Toxicity.

Almost half of the world's agricultural soils are acidic, and most of them present significant levels of aluminum (Al) contamination, with Al as the prevailing phytotoxic species. Lupin is a protein crop that is considered as an optimal alternative to soybean cultivation in cold climates. Lupins establish symbiosis with certain soil bacteria, collectively known as rhizobia, which are capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen.

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Interplay in Lupin Root Nodules and Cluster Roots.

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are two major plant nutrients, and their deficiencies often limit plant growth and crop yield. The uptakes of N or P affect each other, and consequently, understanding N-P interactions is fundamental. Their signaling mechanisms have been studied mostly separately, and integrating N-P interactive regulation is becoming the aim of some recent works.

Coenzyme Q for Patients With Cardiovascular Disease: JACC Focus Seminar.

Coenzyme Q (CoQ) is a naturally occurring compound that is found in animals and all humans. It has a fundamental role in cellular energy production. Although it is produced in the body, tissue deficiency can occur due to medications such as statins, which inhibit the mevalonate pathway.

Extracellular Volume in Primary Mitral Regurgitation.

Objectives: This study used cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) to evaluate whether elevated extracellular volume (ECV) was associated with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) or if elevated ECV was a consequence of remodeling independent of primary mitral regurgitation (MR) etiology.

Background: Replacement fibrosis in primary MR is more prevalent in MVP; however, data on ECV as a surrogate for diffuse interstitial fibrosis in primary MR are limited.

Methods: Patients with chronic primary MR underwent comprehensive CMR phenotyping and were stratified into an MVP cohort (>2 mm leaflet displacement on a 3-chamber cine CMR) and a non-MVP cohort.

Resolving the Disproportionate Left Ventricular Enlargement in Mitral Valve Prolapse Due to Barlow Disease: Insights From Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance.

Objectives: This study hypothesized that left ventricular (LV) enlargement in Barlow disease can be explained by accounting for the total volume load that consists of transvalvular mitral regurgitation (MR) and the prolapse volume.

Background: Barlow disease is characterized by long prolapsing mitral leaflets that can harbor a significant amount of blood-the prolapse volume-at end-systole. The LV in Barlow disease can be disproportionately enlarged relative to MR severity, leading to speculation of Barlow cardiomyopathy.

Natural History of Functional Tricuspid Regurgitation Quantified by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance.

Background: Quantitation of tricuspid regurgitant (TR) severity can be challenging with conventional echocardiographic imaging and may be better evaluated using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR).

Objectives: In patients with functional TR, this study sought to examine the relationship between TR volume (TRVol) and TR fraction (TRF) with all-cause mortality.

Methods: We examined 547 patients with functional TR using CMR to quantify TRVol and TRF.

Myocardial Fibrosis in Patients With Primary Mitral Regurgitation With and Without Prolapse.

Background: Recent studies reported left ventricular (LV) fibrosis in patients with primary mitral regurgitation (MR) thought to be principally due to mitral valve prolapse (MVP).

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the prevalence, characteristics, and prognostic implications of LV fibrosis in a large cohort of primary MR patients with and without MVP using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR).

Methods: Patients referred for contrast CMR assessment of chronic primary MR were enrolled and underwent comprehensive assessment of cardiac remodeling, severity of MR, and LV replacement fibrosis.

Important advances in technology: echocardiography.

Echocardiography has evolved over the past 45 years from a simple M-mode tracing to an array of technologies that include two-dimensional imaging, pulsed and continuous wave spectral Doppler, color flow and tissue Doppler, and transesophageal echocardiography. Together, these modalities provide a comprehensive anatomic and functional evaluation of cardiac chambers and valves, pericardium, and ascending and descending aorta. The switch from analog to digital signal processing revolutionized the field of ultrasound, resulting in improved image resolution, smaller instrumentation that allows bedside evaluation and diagnosis of patients, and digital image storage for more accurate quantification and comparison with previous studies.

Silent ischaemic brain lesions related to atrial high rate episodes in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices.

Aims: Monitoring capabilities of cardiac implantable electronic devices have revealed that a large proportion of patients present silent atrial fibrillation (AF) detected as atrial high rate episodes (AHREs). Atrial high rate episodes >5 min have been linked to increased risk of clinical stroke, but a high proportion of ischaemic brain lesions (IBLs) could be subclinical.

Methods And Results: We prospectively analysed the incidence of AHRE > 5 min in 109 patients (56% men, aged 74 ± 9 years) and the presence of silent IBL on computed tomography (CT) scan.