Detection of atrial fibrillation after stroke due to large or small vessel disease: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Emerging evidence indicates a frequent occurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) detection among patients with established causes of ischemic stroke unrelated to AF. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate AF detection rates in stroke patients with large or small vessel disease, considering the AF detection modality and duration of cardiac rhythm monitoring.

Aims: We conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed and Scopus databases up to 2 March 2024, to identify randomized controlled trials, non-randomized prospective studies, and retrospective studies assessing the frequency of AF detection in stroke patients with large or small vessel disease.

Generation of a heterozygous Calsequestrin 2 F189L iPSC line (UMGi158-B) by CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to investigate the cardiac pathophysiology of Takotsubo Syndrome and Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia.

Takotsubo Syndrome (TTS) is a potentially life-threatening disease characterized by a transient left ventricular apical akinesia in response to β-adrenergic overstimulation. Since a genetic predisposition is assumed, we generated an iPSC-line carrying a p.F189L mutation in the calcium buffering protein Calsequestrin 2 (CasQ2).

Cellular and extracellular proteomic profiling of paradoxical low-flow low-gradient aortic stenosis myocardium.

Aims: Patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS), low transvalvular flow (LF) and low gradient (LG) with normal ejection fraction (EF)-are referred to as paradoxical LF-LG AS (PLF-LG). PLF-LG patients develop more advanced heart failure symptoms and have a worse prognosis than patients with normal EF and high-gradient AS (NEF-HG). Despite its clinical relevance, the mechanisms underlying PLF-LG are still poorly understood.

Concurrent Acute Myocardial Infarction and Stroke: Challenges in Diagnosis and Treatment.

Acute myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke occurring simultaneously in one patient is a rare clinical event. These medical emergencies involve many diagnostic and treatment challenges due to different causes, treatment modalities, and shifting priorities. Presence and exacerbation of bronchiectasis has been considered as a risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and can trigger a cardioembolic stroke.

Simulation of cardiac arrhythmias in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

The effects and mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias are still incompletely understood and an important subject of cardiovascular research. A major difficulty for investigating arrhythmias is the lack of appropriate human models. Here, we present a protocol for a translational simulation of different types of arrhythmias using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CM) and electric cell culture pacing.

Cellular calcium handling and electrophysiology are modulated by chronic physiological pacing in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

Electric pacing of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CM) has been increasingly used to simulate cardiac arrhythmias in vitro and to enhance cardiomyocyte maturity. However, the impact of electric pacing on cellular electrophysiology and Ca handling in differentiated hiPSC-CM is less characterized. Here we studied the effects of electric pacing for 24 h or 7 days at a physiological rate of 60 beats/min on cellular electrophysiology and Ca cycling in late-stage, differentiated hiPSC-CM (>90% troponin, >60 days postdifferentiation).

Integrating federated learning for improved counterfactual explanations in clinical decision support systems for sepsis therapy.

In recent years, we have witnessed both artificial intelligence obtaining remarkable results in clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) and explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) improving the interpretability of these models. In turn, this fosters the adoption by medical personnel and improves trustworthiness of CDSSs. Among others, counterfactual explanations prove to be one such XAI technique particularly suitable for the healthcare domain due to its ease of interpretation, even for less technically proficient staff.

Placental Sonomorphologic Appearance and Fetomaternal Outcome in Fontan Circulation.

Pregnancies in women with Fontan circulation are on the rise, and they are known to imply high maternal and fetal complication rates. The altered hemodynamic profile of univentricular circulation affects placental development and function. This study describes placental sonomorphologic appearance and Doppler examinations and correlates these to histopathologic findings and pregnancy outcomes in women with Fontan circulation.

Benefits and limitations of implantable loop recorders in the very elderly.

Background: Implantable loop recorder (ILR) allows rhythm-monitoring up to 3 years. They are recommended in patients with recurrent syncope and for the detection of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with cryptogenic thromboembolic events. AF and syncope occur more often in elderly patients.

Adherence-enhancing interventions for pharmacological and oxygen therapy in patients with COPD: a systematic review and component network meta-analyses.

Introduction: Adherence to COPD management strategies is complex, and it is unclear which intervention may enhance it.

Objectives: We aim to evaluate the effectiveness of adherence-enhancing interventions, alone or compared to interventions, for patients with COPD.

Methods: This review comprises a component network meta-analysis with a structured narrative synthesis.

Non-Invasive Ultrasound Therapy for Severe Aortic Stenosis: Early Effects on the Valve, Ventricle, and Cardiac Biomarkers (A Case Series).

: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) was developed for inoperable patients with severe aortic stenosis. However, despite TAVR advancements, some patients remain untreated due to complex comorbidities, necessitating less-invasive approaches. Non-invasive ultrasound therapy (NIUT), a new treatment modality, has the potential to address this treatment gap, delivering short ultrasound pulses that create cavitation bubble clouds, aimed at softening embedded calcification in stiffened valve tissue.

Early coronary revascularization among 'stable' patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes: the role of diabetes and age.

Aims: To investigate the impact of an early coronary revascularization (<24 h) compared with initial conservative strategy on clinical outcomes in diabetic patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) who are in stable condition at hospital admission.

Methods And Results: The International Survey of Acute Coronary Syndromes database was queried for a sample of diabetic and nondiabetic patients with diagnosis of NSTE-ACS. Patients with cardiac arrest, haemodynamic instability, and serious ventricular arrhythmias were excluded.

Estimating Dietary Protein and Sodium Intake with Sodium Removal in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients.

An increase in dietary protein intake (DPI) carries a risk with respect to increased sodium intake, which further leads to the development of cardiovascular morbidity in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Dialytic (DSR) and urinary sodium removal (USR) are potential indicators of sodium intake. In this single-center cross-sectional study with 60 prevalent PD patients, we analyze the correlation of DPI with sodium intake and the association between residual renal function (RRF) and comorbidity grade, expressed as the Davies score with sodium removal and protein metabolism indices such as normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR) and lean body mass (LBM).

Symmetric Dimethylarginine Predicts Previously Undetected Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Ischemic Stroke.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a stroke risk factor that often remains undetected at hospital admission. Long-term Holter monitoring helps to identify patients with previously unrecognized AF. Asymmetric (ADMA) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) are elevated in AF in cross-sectional studies.

Assessing the Reliability of Machine Learning Explanations in ECG Analysis Through Feature Attribution.

Feature attribution methods stand as a popular approach for explaining the decisions made by convolutional neural networks. Given their nature as local explainability tools, these methods fall short in providing a systematic evaluation of their global meaningfulness. This limitation often gives rise to confirmation bias, where explanations are crafted after the fact.

Arrhythmias in oncological patients: a compact overview for the clinician.

Chemotherapy is the cornerstone of antineoplastic treatment in patients with malignancies. The cardiotoxic effect of antineoplastic therapy has been known for many decades. Part of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity is the development of heart rhythm disturbances.

How can we use stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes to understand the involvement of energetic metabolism in alterations of cardiac function?

Mutations in the mitochondrial-DNA or mitochondria related nuclear-encoded-DNA lead to various multisystemic disorders collectively termed mitochondrial diseases. One in three cases of mitochondrial disease affects the heart muscle, which is called mitochondrial cardiomyopathy (MCM) and is associated with hypertrophic, dilated, and noncompact cardiomyopathy. The heart is an organ with high energy demand, and mitochondria occupy 30%-40% of its cardiomyocyte-cell volume.

Prognostic value of plasma big endothelin-1 in patients with light chain cardiac amyloidosis.

Background: Light chain cardiac amyloidosis (AL-CA) is associated with a high incidence of mortality. Big endothelin-1 (ET-1), the precursor of endothelial-vasoconstrictive ET-1, is closely related to the concentration of bioactive ET-1. Association between big ET-1 and prognosis of AL-CA has not yet been documented.

Prospects for artificial intelligence-enhanced electrocardiogram as a unified screening tool for cardiac and non-cardiac conditions: an explorative study in emergency care.

Aims: Current deep learning algorithms for automatic ECG analysis have shown notable accuracy but are typically narrowly focused on singular diagnostic conditions. This exploratory study aims to investigate the capability of a single deep learning model to predict a diverse range of both cardiac and non-cardiac discharge diagnoses based on a single ECG collected in the emergency department.

Methods And Results: In this study, we assess the performance of a model trained to predict a broad spectrum of diagnoses.

Self-supervised learning for improved calibrationless radial MRI with NLINV-Net.

Purpose: To develop a neural network architecture for improved calibrationless reconstruction of radial data when no ground truth is available for training.

Methods: NLINV-Net is a model-based neural network architecture that directly estimates images and coil sensitivities from (radial) k-space data via nonlinear inversion (NLINV). Combined with a training strategy using self-supervision via data undersampling (SSDU), it can be used for imaging problems where no ground truth reconstructions are available.