Long-term outcomes of apixaban as main anticoagulant in patients with HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist devices.

Aims: HeartMate 3 (HM3) left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) offer improved haemocompatibility-related outcomes for end-stage heart failure patients, facilitating the exploration of alternative anticoagulation therapies beyond warfarin. This study presents a long-term evaluation of thrombotic and bleeding outcomes in HM3 LVAD patients transitioned from warfarin to apixaban.

Methods: We retrospectively identified HM3 LVAD patients at our single centre who transitioned from warfarin to apixaban.

Heart failure - An unexplored risk factor for infective endocarditis after pacemaker implantation.

Background: With the widespread use of permanent pacemakers (PPM), and increased mortality associated with pacemaker endocarditis, it is essential to evaluate comorbidities that could potentially increase the risk of infective endocarditis (IE). Heart failure (HF), a common comorbidity, has not been well studied as an independent risk factor for development of IE in individuals with PPM.

Methods: The US National Inpatient Sample database was used to sample individuals with PPM.

Inferior Wall ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Complicated by Left Ventricular Pseudoaneurysm, Cardiac Tamponade, and Partial Papillary Muscle Rupture.

Papillary muscle rupture (PMR) is a rare complication of myocardial infarction. Its incidence has been decreasing nowadays because of improved early revascularization techniques. When it occurs, surgical treatment is the only therapeutic lifesaving approach.