Albuminuria Prevalence in Fontan Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Patients with a Fontan circulation are at risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD), which is defined as persistently reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) <60ml/min/1.73 or elevated marker of kidney injury such as urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) >30mg/g. We determined the prevalence of albuminuria in patients with a Fontan circulation.

Pregnancy in women with congenital heart disease: New insights into neonatal risk prediction.

Background: Advances in managing adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) have led to an increased number of women with CHD reaching childbearing age. This demographic shift underscores the need for improved understanding and prediction of complications during pregnancy in this specific ACHD population. Despite progress in maternal cardiac risk assessment, the prediction of neonatal outcomes for ACHD pregnancies remains underdeveloped.

Serum Neurofilament Light and Postoperative Delirium in Cardiac Surgery: A Preplanned Secondary Analysis of a Prospective Observational Study.

Background: Impaired cognition is a major predisposing factor for postoperative delirium, but it is not systematically assessed. Anesthesia and surgery may cause postoperative delirium by affecting brain integrity. Neurofilament light in serum reflects axonal injury.

Potential for recovery after extremely prolonged VV-ECMO support in well-selected severe COVID-19 patients: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: VenoVenous ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (VV-ECMO) has been widely used as supportive therapy for severe respiratory failure related to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) due to coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). Only a few data describe the maximum time under VV-ECMO during which pulmonary recovery remains possible. The main objective of this study is to describe the outcomes of prolonged VV-ECMO in patients with COVID-19-related ARDS.

Partial anomalous pulmonary venous return in adults: Insight into pulmonary hypertension.

Background: Partial anomalous pulmonary venous return (PAPVR) is a rare condition that may lead to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). We sought to determine the prevalence of PAPVR, the follow-up rate of incidentally discovered PAPVR, the repercussions of volume and pressure overload on the right ventricle (RV), and the prevalence and predictors of PAH.

Methods And Results: Fifty PAPVR patients aged ≥18 years were included.

Antithrombotic Therapy Duration after Patent Foramen Ovale Closure for Stroke Prevention: Impact on Long-Term Outcome.

Background: The optimal duration of antithrombotic therapy (ATT) after patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure remains under debate. This study sought to compare the clinical outcome of patients receiving antithrombotic agents for a short (6 months) versus extended (>6 months) period after the procedure.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using a propensity score matching analysis on 259 consecutive patients (131 males, 43 ± 10 years) undergoing PFO closure due to cryptogenic stroke, with complete follow-up (median duration of 10 [4-13] years).

Diagnostic and Prognostic Accuracy of Aortic Valve Calcium Scoring in Patients With Moderate-to-Severe Aortic Stenosis.

Assessing the true severity of aortic stenosis (AS) remains a challenge, particularly when echocardiography yields discordant results. Recent European and American guidelines recommend measuring aortic valve calcium (AVC) by multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT) to improve this assessment. To define, using a standardized MDCT scanning protocol, the optimal AVC load criteria for truly severe AS in patients with concordant echocardiographic findings, to establish the ability of these criteria to predict clinical outcomes, and to investigate their ability to delineate truly severe AS in patients with discordant echocardiographic AS grading.

Relative Contribution of Afterload and Interstitial Fibrosis to Myocardial Function in Severe Aortic Stenosis.

Objectives: The present study aimed at investigating the respective contribution of afterload and myocardial fibrosis to pre- and post-operative left ventricular (LV) function by using stress-strain relationships.

Background: Separating the effect of myocardial dysfunction and afterload on pump performance has important implications for the prognosis and management of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS).

Methods: A total of 101 patients with isolated severe AS (57% men; mean age 71 years) and 75 healthy control subjects underwent resting 2-dimensional and speckle-tracking echocardiography to measure global circumferential strain (GCS) and global longitudinal strain (GLS), as well as end-systolic wall stress (ESWS).

Mechanical Ventilation Management during Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. An International Multicenter Prospective Cohort.

Current practices regarding mechanical ventilation in patients treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for acute respiratory distress syndrome are unknown. To report current practices regarding mechanical ventilation in patients treated with ECMO for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and their association with 6-month outcomes. This was an international, multicenter, prospective cohort study of patients undergoing ECMO for ARDS during a 1-year period in 23 international ICUs.

Assessment of Left Ventricular Reverse Remodeling by Cardiac MRI in Patients Undergoing Repair Surgery for Severe Aortic or Mitral Regurgitation.

Objective: To evaluate left ventricular (LV) reverse remodeling after repair surgery for mitral regurgitation (MR) or aortic regurgitation (AR), aiming at determining optimal preoperative thresholds for normalization of LV volumes and function after surgery.

Design: Observational prospective cohort study.

Setting: Single-center, academic, tertiary care cardiovascular center.

Assessment of aortic valve calcium load by multidetector computed tomography. Anatomical validation, impact of scanner settings and incremental diagnostic value.

Objectives: To validate aortic valve calcium (AVC) load measurements by multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT), to evaluate the impact of tube potential and slice thickness on AVC scores, to examine the accuracy of AVC load in distinguishing severe from nonsevere aortic stenosis (AS) and to investigate its effectiveness as an alternative diagnosis method when echocardiography remains inconclusive.

Methods: We prospectively studied 266 consecutive patients with moderate to severe AS who underwent MDCT to measure AVC load and a comprehensive echocardiographic examination to assess AS severity. AVC load was validated against valve weight in 57 patients undergoing aortic valve replacement.

Impact of left ventricular outflow tract ellipticity on the grading of aortic stenosis in patients with normal ejection fraction.

Background: The pathophysiology of paradoxical low-gradient (LG) severe aortic stenosis (SAS) remains controversial. As low transvalvular flow has been implicated, we sought to investigate the impact of left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) ellipticity on the estimation of the LV stroke volume, the calculation of the aortic valve area (AVA) by use of the continuity equation and on AS severity grading.

Methods: We studied 190 consecutive patients (mean age: 72 ± 13 years; male: 57%) with SAS (indexed AVA < 0.

Coronary vasospasm complicating cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a clinical condition that was first described in 2004. The syndrome may occasionally be observed in long-term cannabis users and is characterized by a set of features: severe cyclic nausea and vomiting, recurrent epigastric or periumbilical pain, relief of symptoms with hot baths, and cannabis use cessation. The pathophysiology is not fully understood but is probably related to Cannabinoid-1 (CB-1) receptors dysregulation.

Efficacy and safety of biodegradable polymer biolimus A9-eluting stent versus durable polymer everolimus-eluting stent in diabetic patients: a prospective non-randomized single-centre long-term comparison.

Objective: Biodegradable polymer drug-eluting stents may improve biocompatibility and reduce the risk of very late stent thrombosis (ST) but outcomes are nevertheless unknown in diabetic patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the long-term efficacy and safety of the biodegradable polymer biolimus A9-eluting stent (BP-BES) in comparison with the current reference durable polymer everolimus-eluting stent (DP-EES) in diabetic patients.

Methods And Results: 119 BP-BES and 178 DP-EES were implanted respectively in 105 and 146 diabetic patients presenting similar clinical and peri-procedural characteristics.

Prognostic significance of LGE by CMR in aortic stenosis patients undergoing valve replacement.

Background: Prior studies have shown that late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) can detect focal fibrosis in aortic stenosis (AS), suggesting that it might predict higher mortality risk.

Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate whether LGE-CMR can predict post-operative survival in patients with severe AS undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR).

Methods: We prospectively evaluated survival (all-cause and cardiovascular disease related) according to LGE-CMR status in 154 consecutive AS patients (96 men; mean age: 74 ± 6 years) without a history of myocardial infarction undergoing surgical AVR and in 40 AS patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Inverted (Reverse) Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy following Cerebellar Hemorrhage.

Background. First described in 2005, inverted takotsubo is one of the four stress-induced cardiomyopathy patterns. It is rarely associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage but was not previously reported after intraparenchymal bleeding.

Natural history of paradoxical low-gradient severe aortic stenosis.

Background: Up to 30% of patients with severe aortic stenosis (SAS; indexed aortic valve area <0.6 cm(2)/m(2)) present with low transvalvular gradient despite a normal left ventricular ejection fraction. Presently, there is intense controversy as to the prognostic implications of such findings.

Impact of preoperative symptoms on postoperative survival in severe aortic stenosis: implications for the timing of surgery.

Background: The impact of symptoms on the natural history of patients with severe aortic stenosis (SAS) has been well documented. By contrast, the implications of preoperative symptoms on postoperative outcomes remain poorly defined.

Methods: The long-term survival of 812 patients greater than 65 years old with SAS undergoing bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement (AVR) was analyzed according to their preoperative symptoms.

Aortic valve area, stroke volume, left ventricular hypertrophy, remodeling, and fibrosis in aortic stenosis assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging: comparison between high and low gradient and normal and low flow aortic stenosis.

Background: Recent works using echocardiography suggested that low gradient (LG), low flow (LF) aortic stenosis (AS) has more pronounced left ventricular (LV) concentric remodeling, smaller LV cavity size, and more interstitial fibrosis compared with high gradient (HG) normal flow (NF) AS. Therefore, we evaluated the accuracy of echocardiographic measurements and compared remodeling and fibrosis in different types of AS by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR).

Methods And Results: A total of 128 patients (73±11 years of age; 75 men) with aortic valve area (AVA) <0.

Recovery after balloon aortic valvuloplasty in patients with aortic stenosis and impaired left ventricular function: predictors and prognostic implications.

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate predictors of recovery after balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) among patients with aortic stenosis and depressed left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Predictors for recovery after BAV are not clearly defined. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) predicts outcome after surgical and transcatheter aortic valve replacement.