Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease: From Pathophysiology to Treatment.

The Bicuspid Aortic Valve (BAV) is the most common congenital anomaly in adults, with a global incidence of 1.3%. Despite being well documented, BAV presents significant clinical challenges due to its phenotypic heterogeneity, diverse clinical manifestations, and variable outcomes.

Dyspnea After Spinal Surgery and a Troubling X-Ray: A Case of Cement Embolism.

An older woman developed dyspnea after instrumented lumbar spinal fusion surgery. During clinical work-up, a chest radiography revealed a U-shaped object within the cardiac silhouette. Further imaging confirmed that the object was entrapped in the tricuspid subvalvular apparatus.

A More Targeted and Selective Use of Implantable Loop Recorders Improves the Effectiveness of Syncope Units: A Single-Center Experience.

Purpose: Syncope remains a common medical problem. Recently, the role of dedicated syncope units and implantable loop recorders has emerged in the investigation of unexplained syncope. This study aims to investigate the possibilities for a more rational and targeted use of various diagnostic tools.

Wireless Device Therapy in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Using the Combination of a Leadless Pacemaker and a Subcutaneous Defibrillator: A Report with 2-year Follow-up of Two Patients.

Cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) are essential tools in cardiology for tackling rhythm disturbances and have come a long way over the last decades. Technology is shifting toward leadless devices that spare the complications and limitations of traditional intravascular CIEDs. Herein, we report the simultaneous implantation of a leadless pacemaker (LP) and a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) in two patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, as well as their 2-year follow-up results, while explaining the preventive measures taken to steer around unwanted device interaction.

Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of 32 randomized trials.

Introduction: Several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have examined mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs) in heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). This systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) evaluated the comparative efficacy and safety of MRAs in HFrEF.

Materials And Methods: MEDLINE(Pubmed), Scopus, Cochrane and ClinicalTrials.

Ischemia testing and revascularization in patients with monomorphic ventricular tachycardia: A relic of the past?

Testing for myocardial ischemia in patients presenting with sustained monomorphic Ventricular Tachycardia(VT) even without evidence of acute myocardial infarction is a tempting strategy that is frequently utilized in clinical practice. Monomorphic VT is mainly caused by re-entry around chronic myocardial scar and active ischemia has no role in its pathogenesis, thus making testing for ischemia futile, at least in theory. This systematic literature review sought to address the usefulness of ischemia testing (mainly coronary angiography) in patients presenting with monomorphic VT through 8 selected studies after evaluating a total of 130 published manuscripts.

Oral Anticoagulation in Patients With Atrial High-Rate Episodes: Focus on Clinical Implications.

Background Although previous studies showed that atrial high-rate episodes (AHREs) are associated with a higher risk of developing incident atrial fibrillation (AF) and thromboembolic events, their clinical significance is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to define whether there is any clinical impact on the occurrence of ischemic and hemorrhagic events in patients with AHREs and initiation of oral anticoagulation (OAC). Methodology Patients with AHREs who had received cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs, i.

Echocardiography in new-onset heart failure: a mid-ventricular Takotsubo case report.

We report the case of an elderly woman with recent hip replacement surgery that presented with cardiogenic shock. The initial echocardiogram was suggestive of mid-ventricular Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, which was later confirmed due to absence of severe coronary artery disease and complete resolution of the patient's cardiac systolic dysfunction. Fluid and inotrope administration in the acute phase, and guideline-directed medical therapy for heart failure, thereafter, led to full recovery.

Noninvasive electrocardiographic risk factors for sudden cardiac death in dilated ca rdiomyopathy: is ambulatory electrocardiography still relevant?

Risk stratification for sudden cardiac death in dilated cardiomyopathy is a field of constant debate, and the currently proposed criteria have been widely questioned due to their low positive and negative predictive value. In this study, we conducted a systematic review of the literature utilizing the PubMed and Cochrane library platforms, in order to gain insight about dilated cardiomyopathy and its arrhythmic risk stratification utilizing noninvasive risk markers derived mainly from 24 h electrocardiographic monitoring. The obtained articles were reviewed in order to register the various electrocardiographic noninvasive risk factors used, their prevalence, and their prognostic significance in dilated cardiomyopathy.

"Health-Related Quality of Life in Operated Adult Patients with Tetralogy of Fallot and Correlation with Advanced Imaging Indexes and Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test" A Narrative Review.

Congenital heart diseases (CHD) are considered to be the second leading cause of death during infancy and childhood. However, due to advanced imaging techniques, more than 90% of children with complex CHD survive into adulthood, increasing the prevalence of CHD in the population. Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) is considered to be the most common, complex, cyanotic CHD.

The value of myocardial strain imaging in the evaluation of patients with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot: a review of the literature.

Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) is considered to be the most common, complex, cyanotic congenital heart disease (CHD) representing 7-10% of all congenital heart defects, whereas the patients with ToF are the most frequently operated in their early infancy or childhood. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) consists a valuable imaging technique for the diagnosis and serial follow-up of CHD patients. Furthermore, in recent years, advanced echocardiography imaging techniques have come to the fore, aiming to achieve a complete and more accurate evaluation of cardiac function using speckle tracking imaging modalities.