The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Intermacs 2024 Annual Report: Focus on Outcomes in Younger Patients.

The 15th Annual Report from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support includes 29,634 continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices from the 10-year period between 2014 and 2024. The outcomes reported here demonstrate continued improved survival in the current era of fully magnetically levitated devices, with a significantly higher 1-year (85.7% vs 78.

Role of SARS-CoV-2-specific memory B cells promoting immune protection after booster vaccination in solid organ transplantation.

Introduction: Solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients display weak seroconversion and neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination and remain at risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). While B-cell memory is the hallmark of serological immunity, its role in driving successful vaccine responses and providing immune protection in SOT patients remains unclear.

Methods: We investigated the function and interplay of SARS-CoV-2-specific memory B cells (mBc), different cytokineproducing T cells, and cross-reactive NAb in driving seroconversion and protection against COVID-19 in two cohorts.

Congruency between clinician-assessed risk and calculated risk of 1-year mortality in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension: A retrospective chart review.

The objective of this analysis was to compare clinician-based and formally calculated risk assessments by REVEAL Lite 2 and COMPERA 2.0 and to characterize parenteral prostacyclin utilization within 90 days of baseline in high-risk patients. A multisite, double-blind, retrospective chart review of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) was conducted with an index period of January 2014-March 2017.

Prognostic value of repeated peak oxygen uptake measurements in patients with a left ventricular assist device.

Background: Peak oxygen uptake (pVO) predicts mortality in patients with heart failure on left ventricular assist device (LVAD) support. This follow-up of the PRO-VAD study examines the prognostic value of repeated pVO measurements during long-term follow-up.

Methods: This multicenter follow-up study included patients from the original PRO-VAD cohort who performed a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) twice.

Revisiting Biomarkers of Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy: Addressing the Achilles Heel of Heart Transplantation.

Nearly half of heart transplant recipients will be diagnosed with cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) within five years after transplantation. Advanced CAV can lead to worsening heart failure as well as arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. The only curative therapy for end-stage CAV is re-transplantation.

Transforming Heart Failure Management: The Power of Strain Imaging, 3D Imaging, and Vortex Analysis in Echocardiography.

Heart failure (HF) remains a critical global health challenge, necessitating advancements in diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. This review explores the evolution of imaging technologies and their impact on HF management, focusing on three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE), myocardial strain imaging, and vortex dynamics imaging. Three-dimensional echocardiography enhances traditional echocardiography by providing more accurate assessments of cardiac structures, while myocardial strain imaging offers the early detection of subclinical myocardial dysfunction, crucial in conditions such as chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity and ischemic heart disease.

Dual Training in Interventional Cardiology: The Next Frontier.

Dual training in Interventional Cardiology (IC) with other cardiac subspecialties such as Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology (AHFTC) and Critical Care Cardiology (CCC) is becoming a pathway for trainees to acquire a needed skill set to deliver comprehensive care for increasingly complex patients in the intensive care unit and catheterization laboratory settings. The makeup of these training pathways varies depending on several factors, with the resultant role of the specialist reflecting this reality. Herein, we review the merits to combined fellowship training for the Interventional Cardiologist, the ideal structure of programs to facilitate this, and how the faculty position for such a unique specialist can enhance a program.

Baroreflex activation therapy in advanced heart failure: A long-term follow-up.

Aims: Baroreceptor activation therapy (BAT) is a promising new treatment strategy for patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). It provides symptomatic relief, improvement in left ventricular function and reduction of cardiac biomarkers. Data regarding the long-term effect of BAT on HFrEF are scarce.

Position statement of Polish Cardiac Society experts on cardiomyopathy.

Cardiomyopathies (CMs) are a very broad group of diseases, including genetically determined and acquired, and their classification is based on phenotypic characteristics. There is always a need to search for the etiology (often also to try to identify the genetic cause), which may determine the appropriate choice of clinical management. The geographical distribution of genetic variants varies as does the prevalence across populations, ethnic groups, regions, and countries.

Heart Transplantation and Left Ventricular Assist Devices: Long-Term Prognosis and Effects on Mental Health.

Heart transplantation and left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have emerged as crucial interventions for end-stage heart failure, dramatically improving patient outcomes. This narrative review examines their historical context, indications, procedures, and outcomes, as well as their impact on long-term survival, quality of life, functional status, and mental health. While heart transplantation remains the optimal treatment, donor scarcity limits its application.

Triple-Organ Transplantation: Dual Heart-Kidney Transplantation After Lung Transplantation.

We present a patient with a history of lung transplantation who subsequently underwent dual heart-kidney transplantation for nonischemic cardiomyopathy and chronic kidney disease, becoming one of the rare cases of triple-organ transplantation. This case underscores the evolving challenges and successes in managing complex transplant recipients.

Baroreflex Function in Cardiovascular Disease.

The baroreflex system is involved in modulating several physiological functions of the cardiovascular system and can modulate cardiac output, blood pressure, and cardiac electrophysiology directly and indirectly. In addition, it is involved in regulating neurohormonal pathways involved in the cardiovascular function, such as the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and vasopressin release. Baroreflex dysfunction is characterized by sympathetic overactivation and parasympathetic withdrawal and is associated with several cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension, heart failure, and coronary artery disease.

Catheter ablation vs advanced therapy for patients with severe heart failure and ventricular electrical storm.

Background: Current data on outcomes of an initial strategy of catheter ablation vs advanced therapy in patients with severe heart failure (HF) and electric storm (ES) are limited.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation vs left ventricular assist device (LVAD) or heart transplantation (HT) in patients with severe HF and ventricular ES.

Methods: Patients with severe HF and ES who underwent VT ablation, LVAD, or HT between 2012 and 2022 at our medical center were reviewed.

Mechanisms behind the high mortality rate in chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy: Unmasking a three-headed monster.

Chagas disease is a neglected tropical disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC), the most severe form of target organ involvement in Chagas disease, is characterized by a complex pathophysiology and a unique phenotype that differentiates it from other cardiomyopathies, highlighting its worse prognosis compared to other aetiologies of heart failure. The three pathophysiological mechanisms with the largest impact on this differential mortality include rapidly progressive heart failure, a high incidence of stroke, and a high burden of ventricular arrhythmias.