Yield of family screening for dilated cardiomyopathy: 10-year experience at a multidisciplinary cardiogenetic outpatient clinic.

Introduction: Current family screening approaches in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) depend on the presence or absence of a familial genetic variant, in which variant pathogenicity (i.e. benign or pathogenic) classification drives screening recommendations.

An Unusual Cause of Typical Chest Pain: The Value of CT Revealing Extracoronary Pathology.

This case highlights the prompt use of cardiac computer tomography angiography in a patient with intracardiac localization of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and chest pain in the acute setting. Information on anatomical associations of the metastases with the coronaries serves as the foundation for subsequent therapeutic and diagnostic strategies.

Importance of early use of tolvaptan in hyponatremic acutely decompensated heart failure patients, a retrospective study.

Background: Hyponatremia is one of the complicating findings in acute decompensated heart failure. Decrease in cardiac output and systemic blood pressure triggers activation of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, antidiuretic hormone, and norepinephrine due to the perceived hypovolemia. Fluid-overloaded heart failure patients are commonly treated with loop diuretics, acutely decompensated heart failure patients tend to be less responsive to conventional oral doses of a loop diuretic, while other different diuretics could work in different part of nephron circulation system.

Mechanical Circulatory Support for Right Ventricular Primary Graft Dysfunction After Heart Transplant: A Review.

Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is the most common cause of early mortality following heart transplantation. Although PGD can affect both ventricles, isolated right ventricular dysfunction (RV-PGD) is observed in nearly half of PGD patients. RV-PGD requires specific medical management to support the preload, afterload, and function of the failing RV; however, the use of mechanical circulatory support of the RV (RV-MCS) might be required when optimal medical therapy is insufficient in preventing forward failure and retrograde venous congestion.

Exopolysaccharides from Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis and Bifidobacterium adolescentis modulate Toll-like receptor signaling.

Background: Exopolysaccharides (EPS) from probiotic bacteria like bifidobacteria, have gained considerable attention for the beneficial effects they exert in the gastrointestinal environment. Here, we investigated whether EPS isolated from Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis and Bifidobacterium adolescentis can interact with Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in a structure-dependent way and subsequently we investigated whether they influence cytokine-production in dendritic cells (DCs).

Diversity of heart failure phenotypes in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy. More than just heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Introduction: Current guidelines recommend suspecting transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) in patients over 65 years of age with unexplained left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy in a non-dilated LV, heart failure (HF) and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or severe aortic stenosis. However, there is evidence indicating a high prevalence of ATTR-CM in other HF phenotypes. As such, this study aimed to characterize the diversity of HF phenotypes of ATTR-CM by examining the LV ejection fraction and LV dilatation using echocardiography.

Effect of Post-Loop Diuretic Urinary Sodium Level on Length of Stay and Rehospitalization in Acutely Decompensated Heart Failure Patients.

Background: In Indonesia, heart failure has become a major community problem because of the high cost of care, low quality of life, and premature death. Until now, loop diuretics are still the main therapy in patients with acute decompensated heart failure with clinical congestion. Diuretic responsiveness can be assessed objectively by measuring sodium urine.

Healthcare consumption of patients with left ventricular assist device: real-world data.

Background: A left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a life-saving but intensive therapy for patients with end-stage heart failure. We evaluated the healthcare consumption in a cohort of LVAD patients in our centre over 6 years.

Methods: All patients with a primary LVAD implantation at the University Medical Centre Utrecht in Utrecht, the Netherlands from 2016 through 2021 were included in this analysis.

Diagnostic value of late gadolinium enhancement at cardiovascular magnetic resonance to distinguish arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy from differentials.

Background: While late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) is proposed as a diagnostic criterion for arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), the potential of LGE to distinguish ARVC from differentials remains unknown. We aimed to assess the diagnostic value of LGE for ARVC diagnosis.

Methods: We included 132 subjects (60% male, 47 ± 11 years) who had undergone cardiac magnetic resonance imaging with LGE assessment for ARVC or ARVC differentials.

Cardiac magnetic resonance in advanced heart failure.

Heart failure (HF) is a chronic and progressive disease that often progresses to an advanced stage where conventional therapy is insufficient to relieve patients' symptoms. Despite the availability of advanced therapies such as mechanical circulatory support or heart transplantation, the complexity of defining advanced HF, which requires multiple parameters and multimodality assessment, often leads to delays in referral to dedicated specialists with the result of a worsening prognosis. In this review, we aim to explore the role of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in advanced HF by showing how CMR is useful at every step in managing these patients: from diagnosis to prognostic stratification, hemodynamic evaluation, follow-up and advanced therapies such as heart transplantation.

ECPELLA as a bridge-to-decision in refractory cardiogenic shock: a single-centre experience.

Background: In refractory cardiogenic shock, temporary mechanical support (tMCS) may be crucial for maintaining tissue perfusion and oxygen delivery. tMCS can serve as a bridge-to-decision to assess eligibility for left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation or heart transplantation, or as a bridge-to-recovery. ECPELLA is a novel tMCS configuration combining venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation with Impella.

FLAVOUR Study: FLow profiles And postoperative VasOplegia after continUous-flow left ventriculaR assist device implantation.

This study aims to associate the incidence of postoperative vasoplegia and short-term survival to the implantation of various left ventricular assist devices differing in hemocompatibility and flow profiles. The overall incidence of vasoplegia was 25.3% (73/289 patients) and 30.

Soluble Suppression of Tumorigenicity-2 Predicts Mortality and Right Heart Failure in Patients With a Left Ventricular Assist Device.

Background: Soluble suppression of tumorigenicity-2 (sST2) predicts mortality in patients with heart failure. The predictive value of sST2 in patients with a left ventricular assist device remains unknown. Therefore, we studied the relationship between sST2 and outcome after left ventricular assist device implantation.

Exopolysaccharide β-(2,6)-levan-type fructans have a molecular-weight-dependent modulatory effect on Toll-like receptor signalling.

Scope: Fructans are a group of dietary fibers which are known to have many beneficial effects including immune-modulating effects. A family of fructans are β-(2,6)-linked levan-type fructans that are known to serve as exopolysaccharides in the cell wall of many species of bacteria including commensal bacteria and probiotics. It is still largely unknown whether and how they can serve as immunomodulating molecules.

Cardiac [Tc]Tc-hydroxydiphosphonate uptake on bone scintigraphy in patients with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis: an early follow-up marker?

Purpose: There is a need for early quantitative markers of potential treatment response in patients with hereditary transthyretin (ATTRv) amyloidosis to guide therapy. This study aims to evaluate changes in cardiac tracer uptake on bone scintigraphy in ATTRv amyloidosis patients on different treatments.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, outcomes of 20 patients treated with the transthyretin (TTR) gene silencer patisiran were compared to 12 patients treated with a TTR-stabilizer.

Pre-Operative SARS-CoV-2 Testing in Asymptomatic Heart Transplantation Recipients.

Introduction: From the start of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, international guidelines have recommended pre-operative screening for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) before heart transplantation (HTx). Due to the changing prevalence of COVID-19, the chances of false positive results have increased. Because of increased immunity in the population and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 to current Omicron variants, associated mortality and morbidity have decreased.