Optimizing Medical Pretreatment for Balloon Pulmonary Angioplasty: Overshoot or Stride Toward Optimal Multimodal Treatment.

In patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) who undergo balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA), pretreatment with PH-targeted medical therapy may be beneficial to improve clinical parameters and pulmonary hemodynamics. This study aims to describe clinical results of PH-targeted therapy prior to BPA. All consecutive patients with CTEPH who underwent BPA treatment were selected from our CTEPH database.

Inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: Evolution of prognosis over 10 years of new emerging therapies.

Therapies for inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) include balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) and PH-specific medical therapy. This study compares survival and its predictors before and after the introduction of BPA. BPA was independently associated with survival; however, there was no difference in overall survival between the two cohorts.

Long-term outcomes of successful left atrial appendage occlusion with focus on stroke prevention: 10-year follow-up of a single-center registry.

Background: Percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) is an alternative to anticoagulation in the prevention of stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, especially in patients with a contraindication for oral anticoagulation therapy (OAT).

Objective: The study sought to obtain long-term patient outcomes after successful LAAO in everyday clinical practice.

Methods: In this single-center registry spanning over 10 years, data of all consecutive patients that underwent percutaneous LAAO were collected.

Sexual function is impaired in women and men with pulmonary hypertension.

Background: Sexual health related quality of life (SHRQoL) is an important pillar of health related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of this study was to investigate sexual functioning in men and women with pulmonary hypertension (PH).

Methods And Results: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 78 patients were included, 49 were diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension and 29 with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (median age 53 [IQR: 46-67 years], 66.

Percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion in patients with a cardiac implantable electronic device.

Background: Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) may be a viable option for stroke prevention in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and a contraindication for oral anticoagulation. No evidence evaluating the safety of this procedure in patients with a cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) exists. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether CIED function is affected by LAAO and to explore LAAO procedural characteristics and complications in patients with a CIED.

Diagnosed with a common cancer at an unusual age: causal attributions of survivors of adolescent and young adult colorectal cancer.

Background: Insight into the causes of colorectal cancer (CRC) in adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients is limited. Without definitive information, patients often shape their own beliefs on the cause of their illness, developing causal attributions. This study aims to examine the causal attributions of CRC in AYA patients, compare these with middle-aged and older adults CRC patient groups and explore the association between causal attributions and psychological distress.