Magnetic resonance-conditional cardiac implantable electronic devices: an Italian perspective on the prevalence of mixed-brand systems over time.

The historical restriction of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) has been lifted by certified MRI-conditional systems in recent years. Mixed-brand CIED systems consisting of a generator from one manufacturer and at least one lead from another manufacturer are not certified for MRI. We evaluated the temporal trend in the prevalence of mixed-brand systems in the era of MRI-conditional systems.

Interventricular Septal Hematoma Complicating Left Bundle Branch Area Pacing: A Case Report-The Devil Is Not So Black as He Is Painted.

Background: This case report outlines the presentation of an emerging complication arising from left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP).

Case Summary: A 43-year-old male with no history of cardiac problems experienced recurrent episodes of syncope with no prodromal symptoms. During monitoring in the emergency department, the patient underwent an episode of asystole, leading to LBBAP implantation.

Age-related increases in cardiac excitability, refractoriness and impulse conduction favor arrhythmogenesis in male rats.

The effects of excitability, refractoriness, and impulse conduction have been independently related to enhanced arrhythmias in the aged myocardium in experimental and clinical studies. However, their combined arrhythmic effects in the elderly are not yet completely understood. Hence, the aim of the present work is to relate relevant cardiac electrophysiological parameters to enhanced arrhythmia vulnerability in the in vivo senescent heart.

The Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak on Syncope Units Activities in Italy: A Report from the Italian Multidisciplinary Working Group on Syncope (GIMSI).

The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on Syncope Units (SUs) Activities in Italy. Data about types of SU activities and admissions were obtained from 10 SUs throughout Italy, certified by the Italian Multidisciplinary Working Group on Syncope (GIMSI), from 10 March 2020 to 31 December 2020 and compared with the same time frame in 2019. A remarkable reduction in overall non-invasive diagnostic tests (-67%; < 0.

Pro-inflammatory genetic profile and familiarity of acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a multifactorial disease with a complex pathogenesis where lifestyle, individual genetic background and environmental risk factors are involved. Altered inflammatory responses are implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and a premature AMI of parents is associated with an increased risk of the disease in their offspring (Offs). However, the genetic background of familiarity for AMI is still largely unknown.

Interference by heterophilic antibodies in immunoassays: wrong increase of myoglobin values.

Aim of this work is to illustrate how analytical interference in immunoassay may produce serious errors in clinical laboratory results. The sophisticated quality assurance schemes used in many laboratories do not identify erroneous results arising from aberrant samples. Recently attention has been focused on the incidence and implication of false-positive results arising from the presence of certain substances in a patient's serum that interfere with one or more steps in immunoassays.

Heme oxygenase-1 expression in the left atrial myocardium of patients with chronic atrial fibrillation related to mitral valve disease: its regional relationship with structural remodeling.

Atrial fibrillation becomes a self-perpetuating arrhythmia as a consequence of electrophysiologic and structural remodeling involving the atrium. Oxidative stress may be a link between this rhythm disturbance and electrophysiologic remodeling. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) marker of oxidative stress was more expressed in left atrial sites with stronger structural remodeling in patients affected by chronic atrial fibrillation (CAF) and mitral valve disease (MD).

Myocyte changes and their left atrial distribution in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation related to mitral valve disease.

It has been found that the pulmonary veins and adjacent left atrial posterior wall (LAPW) are deeply involved in both the initiation and maintenance of atrial fibrillation (AF), and the identification of these high-risk sites has aroused great interest in investigating their histopathologic substrate. We used light and conventional electron microscopy to evaluate the differential myocyte and interstitial changes in LAPW and left atrial appendage (LAA) samples from 28 patients with chronic AF undergoing mitral valve surgery and from 12 autoptic controls. There were always more myocytes with loss of sarcomeres in the LAPW than in the LAA (19.

The ventricular epicardial fat is related to the myocardial mass in normal, ischemic and hypertrophic hearts.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the extent of the ventricular epicardial fat and its relationship with the underlying myocardium, neither of which is still completely understood.

Methods: A total of 117 autoptic human hearts was subdivided into four groups: normals (N), ischemics (I), hypertrophics (H) and hypertrophic-ischemics (HI). In each heart, the ventricular myocardial and epicardial fat weights were measured.

Regional left atrial interstitial remodeling in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation undergoing mitral-valve surgery.

Ablation of the left atrial free wall around the pulmonary vein ostia (LAFW) may be effective in the treatment of chronic atrial fibrillation associated with mitral disease (CAF-MVD). Using light and conventional electron microscopy analyses, we wanted to evaluate, in CAF-MVD, the interstitial remodeling in the LAFW as well as in a more remote region, such as the left atrial appendage (LAA). LAFW and LAA samples were obtained from 33 CAF-MVD patients during combined mitral surgery and radiofrequency ablation and from 16 autoptic controls.