Is Endurance Training Harmful to Older Athletes in the Long Run? An Interesting Case of Exercise-Induced Ventricular Tachycardia.

There is limited data on how endurance training can impact cardiac function and arrhythmogenesis. Intense endurance training has been associated with pathological remodeling of the right ventricle (RV) that can act as a substrate for fatal ventricular arrhythmias in older athletes. A previously healthy 63-year-old female marathon runner presented with symptomatic monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) while exercising.

A speckle-tracking strain-based artificial neural network model to differentiate cardiomyopathy type.

In heart failure, invasive angiography is often employed to differentiate ischaemic from non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy. We aim to examine the predictive value of echocardiographic strain features alone and in combination with other features to differentiate ischaemic from non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy, using artificial neural network (ANN) and logistic regression modelling. We retrospectively identified 204 consecutive patients with an ejection fraction <50% and a diagnostic angiogram.

Severe aortic regurgitation masked as sepsis-induced ARDS in a patient with endocarditis.

Septic shock is the most common type of shock in the intensive care unit with an associated mortality close to 50%. Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare cause of septic shock but carries significant morbidity and mortality. Group B IE (GBS-IE) is an invasive infection with an incidence of approximately 1.

The relationship between fasting blood glucose variability and coronary artery collateral formation in type 2 diabetes patients with coronary artery disease.

Background: Coronary collaterals are an alternative source of blood supply to ischemic myocardium. Well-developed coronary collateral arteries in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) limit the size of acute myocardial infarction and improves survival. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between glycemic variability and coronary collateral formation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and CAD.

Normalization of biventricular strain post steroid treatment of effusive constrictive pericarditis.

Peak left ventricular strain measured by speckle tracking echocardiography has previously been shown to normalize following pericardectomy in constrictive pericarditis, as indicated by an increase of the strain ratio between the lateral wall and septum. Here we present a case of effusive constrictive pericarditis treated with corticosteroids. Pre-treatment we observed reduced contractility of the lateral walls of both ventricles as measured by peak strain, with sparing of overall septal function, but with hypercontractility of the basal septal segment.

Artificial neural network-based model enhances risk stratification and reduces non-invasive cardiac stress imaging compared to Diamond-Forrester and Morise risk assessment models: A prospective study.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) accounts for more than half of all cardiovascular events. Stress testing remains the cornerstone for non-invasive assessment of patients with possible or known CAD. Clinical utilization reviews show that most patients presenting for evaluation of stable CAD by stress testing are categorized as low risk prior to the test.