The relationship between symptoms and regurgitant severity in primary mitral regurgitation: a cardiovascular magnetic resonance study.

In the ACC/AHA guidelines, the presence of symptoms plays a central role in determining timing surgery in primary mitral regurgitation (MR). Studies have shown a disconnect between the severity of MR and symptoms. The purpose of this study is to assess risk factors for symptoms in patients with chronic primary MR.

Effects of nintedanib on circulating biomarkers of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: Biomarkers that change in response to nintedanib in subjects with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) would be valuable. We investigated the effects of nintedanib on circulating biomarkers in subjects with IPF in the INMARK trial.

Methods: Subjects with IPF were randomised 1:2 to receive nintedanib 150 mg twice daily or placebo for 12 weeks, after which all patients received open-label nintedanib for 40 weeks.

Design of CONQUEST, a novel, randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase 2b platform clinical trial to investigate new treatments for patients with early active systemic sclerosis with interstitial lung disease.

Objective: Safe, effective therapies are urgently needed for patients with systemic sclerosis. However, clinical trial recruitment is challenging given the limited number of people with systemic sclerosis and further restrictions imposed by eligibility criteria. Innovative approaches are needed to accelerate development of new therapies.

Predictors of first-pass isolation in patients with recurrent atrial fibrillation: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is superior to antiarrhythmics for the management of atrial fibrillation, but repeat ablation is often required for durable rhythm control. Factors influencing first-pass isolation (FPI) and whether FPI predicts durable isolation are not well known.

Objective: The study sought to determine factors associated with FPI and rates of chronic reconnection among those with and without FPI at index PVI in patients undergoing repeat ablation.