Absolute iron deficiency without anaemia in patients with chronic systolic heart failure is associated with poorer functional capacity.

Background: Functional status is one of the main concerns in the management of heart failure (HF). Recently, the FAIR-HF and CONFIRM-HF trials showed that correcting anaemia using intravenous iron supplementation improved functional variables in patients with absolute or relative iron deficiency. Relative iron deficiency is supposed to be a marker of HF severity, as ferritin concentration increases with advanced stages of HF, but little is known about the impact of absolute iron deficiency (AID).

Serum levels of mitochondrial inhibitory factor 1 are independently associated with long-term prognosis in coronary artery disease: the GENES Study.

Background: Epidemiological and observational studies have established that high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is an independent negative cardiovascular risk factor. However, simple measurement of HDL-C levels is no longer sufficient for cardiovascular risk assessment. Therefore, there is a critical need for novel non-invasive biomarkers that would display prognostic superiority over HDL-C.

Outcomes of Patients Undergoing Balloon Aortic Valvuloplasty in the TAVI Era: A Multicenter Registry.

Background: Few clinical data about indications and prognoses of patients undergoing balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) in the transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) era have been reported.

Methods: Data from all consecutive patients undergoing BAV in seven European centers from 2006 to 2013 were collected. Acute results and long-term outcomes were assessed.

Obesity Paradox: Origin and best way to assess severity in patients with systolic HF.

Objective: Obesity in patients with heart failure (HF) is a factor of better prognosis, supposedly partly because of the particular epidemiology of HF in this population. This study expected to compare the parameters of severity and mortality in patients with and without obesity, to better understand the origin of this paradox.

Methods: Two hundred twenty-two patients with nonischemic HF and systolic dysfunction were divided into two groups according to their body mass index (≥ 30 vs.

New concept of myocardial longitudinal strain reserve assessed by a dipyridamole infusion using 2D-strain echocardiography: the impact of diabetes and age, and the prognostic value.

Aims: Although dipyridamole is a widely used pharmacological stress agent, the direct effects on myocardium are not entirely known. Diabetic cardiomyopathy can be investigated by 2D-strain echocardiography. The aim of this study was to assess myocardial functional reserve after dipyridamole infusion using speckle-tracking echocardiography.

Reversal of Dilated Cardiomyopathy After Successful Radio-Frequency Ablation of Frequent Atrial Premature Beats, a New Cause for Arrhythmia-Induced Cardiomyopathy.

Incessant atrial premature beats as a potential cause for tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy was suspected in a patient presenting with dilated non-ischemic cardiomyopathy and severely altered left ventricular ejection fraction. The elimination of a left atrial focus by percutaneous RF ablation led to normalization of the clinical status, of atrial and ventricular dimensions and left ventricular systolic function.

The major element of 1-year prognosis in acute coronary syndromes is severity of initial clinical presentation: Results from the French MONICA registries.

Background: While the death rate from acute coronary syndromes (ACS) has been in decline for more than 50 years, out-of-hospital mortality remains high despite improvements in care.

Aim: To evaluate the importance of out-of-hospital mortality and identify the main predictors of in-hospital and 1-year mortality in France.

Methods: Analyses were based on data from the French MONICA population-based registry, which included all cases of ACS occurring in people aged 35-74 years during 2006 in three geographic areas in France.