KCNQ1 suppression-replacement gene therapy in transgenic rabbits with type 1 long QT syndrome.

Background And Aims: Type 1 long QT syndrome (LQT1) is caused by pathogenic variants in the KCNQ1-encoded Kv7.1 potassium channels, which pathologically prolong ventricular action potential duration (APD). Herein, the pathologic phenotype in transgenic LQT1 rabbits is rescued using a novel KCNQ1 suppression-replacement (SupRep) gene therapy.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement in Germany with need for a surgical bailout.

Background: In transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), complications may force the need for a surgical bailout, but knowledge is rare about outcomes in Germany.

Methods: Using national health records, we investigated all TAVR in German hospitals between 2007 and 2020, focusing on 2018-2020. We extracted data on those interventions with need for a surgical bailout.

Center Volumes Correlate with Likelihood of Stent Implantation in German Coronary Angiography.

Aims: Literature on percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) stated an inverse relationship between hospital volume and mortality, but the effects on other characteristics are unclear.

Methods: Using German national records, all coronary angiographies with coronary artery disease in 2017 were identified. We applied risk-adjustment to account for differences in population characteristics.

Gene- and variant-specific efficacy of serum/glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 inhibition in long QT syndrome types 1 and 2.

Aims: Current long QT syndrome (LQTS) therapy, largely based on beta-blockade, does not prevent arrhythmias in all patients; therefore, novel therapies are warranted. Pharmacological inhibition of the serum/glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 (SGK1-Inh) has been shown to shorten action potential duration (APD) in LQTS type 3. We aimed to investigate whether SGK1-Inh could similarly shorten APD in LQTS types 1 and 2.

Mechano-electrical interactions and heterogeneities in wild-type and drug-induced long QT syndrome rabbits.

Electromechanical reciprocity - comprising electro-mechanical (EMC) and mechano-electric coupling (MEC) - provides cardiac adaptation to changing physiological demands. Understanding electromechanical reciprocity and its impact on function and heterogeneity in pathological conditions - such as (drug-induced) acquired long QT syndrome (aLQTS) - might lead to novel insights in arrhythmogenesis. Our aim is to investigate how electrical changes impact on mechanical function (EMC) and vice versa (MEC) under physiological conditions and in aLQTS.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aortic valve replacement procedures in Germany.

Background: COVID-19 has caused the deferral of millions of elective procedures, likely resulting in a backlog of cases. We estimate the number of postponed surgical aortic valve replacement (sAVR) and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.

Methods: Using German national records, all isolated TAVR and sAVR procedures between 2007 and 2020 were identified.

Hospital intervention volume affects outcomes of emergency transcatheter aortic valve implantations in Germany.

The literature has shown an inverse volume-outcome relationship for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). However, little is known about emergency admissions in Germany. Using German national electronic health records, we identified all isolated balloon-expandable and self-expanding transfemoral TAVI in 2018.

COVID-19 pandemic affects STEMI numbers and in-hospital mortality: results of a nationwide analysis in Germany.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to extensive restrictions in Germany in 2020, including the postponement of elective interventions. We examined the impact on ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) as an acute and non-postponable disease.

Methods: Using German national records, all STEMI between 2017 and 2020 were identified.

Impact of Procedure Volume on the Outcomes of Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement.

Background:  Literature demonstrated that procedure volumes affect outcomes of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation. We evaluated the outcomes of surgical aortic valve replacement.

Methods:  All isolated surgical aortic valve replacement procedures in Germany in 2017 were identified.

Survival of Patients Treated With Extracorporeal Hemoadsorption and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Results From a Nation-Wide Registry.

Extracorporeal hemoadsorption with the CytoSorb adsorber is increasingly being used during the past years. The use in combination with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is feasible, but frequency of its use and outcomes have not been assessed in larger cohorts. We analyzed all patients treated with veno-venous (VV) ECMO either with or without CytoSorb in Germany from 2017 to 2019.

Annual hospital procedural volume and outcome in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for respiratory failure.

Background: The hospital mortality of patients suffering from pulmonary failure requiring venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO) or extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO R) is high. It is unclear whether outcome correlates with a hospital's annual procedural volume.

Methods: Data on all V-V ECMO and ECCO R cases treated from 2007 to 2019 were retrieved from the German Institute for Medical Documentation and Information.

Oxytocin exerts harmful cardiac repolarization prolonging effects in drug-induced LQTS.

Background: Oxytocin is used therapeutically in psychiatric patients. Many of these also receive anti-depressant or anti-psychotic drugs causing acquired long-QT-syndrome (LQTS) by blocking HERG/I. We previously identified an oxytocin-induced QT-prolongation in LQT2 rabbits, indicating potential harmful effects of combined therapy.

Use and Outcomes of Acute Treatment Strategies in Patients with Severe Aortic Valve Stenosis.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the acute treatment of patients with severe aortic valve stenosis in Germany.

Methods And Results: Three treatment strategies in 11,027 patients acutely admitted due to aortic valve stenosis were compared from 2014 until 2018 using German nationwide records: The annual number of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures (1,294 to 1,827) and balloon valvuloplasty (BV only) procedures (170 to 233) in patients acutely admitted increased, but surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) procedures decreased (426 to 316). In comparison to BV only patients (mean age 81.

In-hospital outcomes of patients undergoing concomitant aortic and mitral valve replacement in Germany.

Objectives: To evaluate in-hospital outcomes of concomitant mitral valve replacement (MVR) in patients undergoing conventional aortic valve replacement due to aortic stenosis in a nationwide cohort.

Methods: Administrative data from all patients with aortic stenosis undergoing conventional aortic and concomitant MVR (reason for MVR not specified) between 2017 and 2018 in Germany were analysed.

Results: A total of 2597 patients with a preoperative logistic EuroScore of 9.

Coronary angiography following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA): a review of outcomes and clinical considerations.

Introduction: In patients suffering a sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), the prevalence of a coronary artery lesion as the underlying cause is relatively high, but many other causes have been described. For this reason, identifying patients who would benefit from an emergency coronary angiography is important.

Areas Covered: In the present manuscript, we reviewed the literature covering some relevant studies regarding the role of coronary angiography in patients with OHCA, including our local algorithm for the management of patients with OHCA.

Docosahexaenoic acid normalizes QT interval in long QT type 2 transgenic rabbit models in a genotype-specific fashion.

Aim: Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a cardiac channelopathy predisposing to ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Since current therapies often fail to prevent arrhythmic events in certain LQTS subtypes, new therapeutic strategies are needed. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a polyunsaturated fatty acid, which enhances the repolarizing IKs current.

Outcomes of female and male patients suffering from coronary artery disease: A nation-wide registry of patients admitted as emergency.

Presentation and mortality of coronary artery disease (CAD) substantially differs in both sexes. Most of the existing data analyzing sex differences is older than 10 years and mostly was retrieved in clinical trials, which are potentially structured with a bias against the inclusion of women, leading to a potential selection-bias. Meanwhile, with better diagnostic and therapeutic options, actual data analyzing sex differences in emergency CAD patients is rare.

In-hospital outcomes of self-expanding and balloon-expandable transcatheter heart valves in Germany.

Introduction: The effect of valve type on outcomes in transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TF-TAVR) has recently been subject of debate. We investigate outcomes of patients treated with balloon-expanding (BE) vs. self-expanding (SE) valves in in a cohort of all these procedures performed in Germany in 2018.

Coronary artery bypass grafting versus stent implantation in patients with chronic coronary syndrome and left main disease: insights from a register throughout Germany.

Background: Recent randomized controlled trials have sparked debate about the optimal treatment of patients suffering from left main coronary artery disease. The present study analyzes outcomes of left main stenting versus coronary bypass grafting (CABG) in a nationwide registry in patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS).

Methods: All cases suffering from CCS and left main coronary artery disease treated either with CABG or stent, were identified within the database of the German bureau of statistics.

Device interaction between cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) and subcutaneous defibrillator (S-ICD).

Combined implantation of cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) with subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) appears a suitable option to reduce the amount of intracardiac leads and complications for patients. Here we report on a patient with ischemic cardiomyopathy carrying an S-ICD in which a CCM device was implanted. During crosstalk testing post-CCM implantation, the S-ICD misannotated QRS complexes and T waves.