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.

Acute Coronary Syndrome Subphenotypes Based on Repeated Biomarker Measurements in Relation to Long-Term Mortality Risk.

Background: We aimed to identify patients with subphenotypes of postacute coronary syndrome (ACS) using repeated measurements of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and growth differentiation factor 15 in the year after the index admission, and to investigate their association with long-term mortality risk.

Methods And Results: BIOMArCS (BIOMarker Study to Identify the Acute Risk of a Coronary Syndrome) was an observational study of patients with ACS, who underwent high-frequency blood sampling for 1 year. Biomarkers were measured in a median of 16 repeated samples per individual.

Effect of BNT162b2 mRNA booster vaccination on VO in recreational athletes: A prospective cohort study.

Background And Aims: The goal of the present study was to systematically evaluate the effect of a booster vaccination with the BNT162b2 messenger RNA (mRNA; Pfizer-BioNTech®) vaccine on maximum oxygen uptake (VO ), potential signs of (peri)myocarditis, and sports participation.

Methods: Recreational athletes who were scheduled to undergo booster vaccination were evaluated with transthoracic echocardiography, serum measurements of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein(hsCRP) and high-sensitivity troponin I, and a bicycle cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) with serum lactate evaluation before the booster vaccine administration. Seven days postvaccination the test battery was repeated.

Prevalence of Mitral Annulus Disjunction and Mitral Valve Prolapse in Patients With Idiopathic Ventricular Fibrillation.

Background Idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF) is diagnosed in patients with ventricular fibrillation of which the origin is not identified after extensive evaluations. Recent studies suggest an association between mitral annulus disjunction (MAD), mitral valve prolapse (MVP), and ventricular arrhythmias. The prevalence of MAD and MVP in patients with IVF in this regard is not well established.

Preclinical Aortic Atherosclerosis in Adolescents With Chronic Disease.

Background Adolescents with chronic disease are often exposed to inflammatory, metabolic, and hemodynamic risk factors for early atherosclerosis. Since postmortem studies have shown that atherogenesis starts in the aorta, the CDACD (Cardiovascular Disease in Adolescents with Chronic Disease) study investigated preclinical aortic atherosclerosis in these adolescents. Methods and Results The cross-sectional CDACD study enrolled 114 adolescents 12 to 18 years old with chronic disorders including juvenile idiopathic arthritis, cystic fibrosis, obesity, corrected coarctation of the aorta, and healthy controls with a corrected atrial septal defect.

Candidate Plasma Biomarkers to Detect Anthracycline-Related Cardiomyopathy in Childhood Cancer Survivors: A Case Control Study in the Dutch Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

Background Plasma biomarkers may aid in the detection of anthracycline-related cardiomyopathy (ACMP). However, the currently available biomarkers have limited diagnostic value in long-term childhood cancer survivors. This study sought to identify diagnostic plasma biomarkers for ACMP in childhood cancer survivors.

Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality in Adult Patients With Repaired Aortic Coarctation.

Background The long-term burden of cardiovascular disease after repair of coarctation of the aorta (CoA) has not been elucidated. We aimed to determine the incidence of and risk factors for cardiovascular events in adult patients with repaired CoA. Additionally, mortality rates were compared between adults with repaired CoA and the general population.

Patient Selection for Routine Troponin Monitoring After Noncardiac Surgery.

Background Myocardial infarction is an important complication after noncardiac surgery. Therefore, perioperative troponin surveillance is recommended for patients at risk. The aim of this study was to identify patients at high risk of perioperative myocardial infarction (POMI), in order to aid appropriate selection and to omit redundant laboratory measurements in patients at low risk.

Clinical Course Long After Atrial Switch: A Novel Risk Score for Major Clinical Events.

Background Patients with transposition of the great arteries corrected by an atrial switch operation experience major clinical events during adulthood, mainly heart failure (HF) and arrhythmias, but data on the emerging risks remain scarce. We assessed the risk for events during the clinical course in adulthood, and provided a novel risk score for event-free survival. Methods and Results This multicenter study observed 167 patients with transposition of the great arteries corrected by an atrial switch operation (61% Mustard procedure; age, 28 [interquartile range, 24-36] years) for 13 (interquartile range, 9-16) years, during which 16 (10%) patients died, 33 (20%) had HF events, defined as HF hospitalizations, heart transplantation, ventricular assist device implantation, or HF-related death, and 15 (9%) had symptomatic ventricular arrhythmias.

Associations of Observational and Genetically Determined Caffeine Intake With Coronary Artery Disease and Diabetes Mellitus.

Background Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychostimulant and is associated with lower risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, whether these associations are causal remains unknown. This study aimed to identify genetic variants associated with caffeine intake, and to investigate evidence for causal links with CAD or T2DM.

Short-Term Variability of the QT Interval Can be Used for the Prediction of Imminent Ventricular Arrhythmias in Patients With Primary Prophylactic Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators.

Background Short-term variability of the QT interval (STV) has been proposed as a novel electrophysiological marker for the prediction of imminent ventricular arrhythmias in animal models. Our aim is to study whether STV can predict imminent ventricular arrhythmias in patients. Methods and Results In 2331 patients with primary prophylactic implantable cardioverter defibrillators, 24-hour ECG Holter recordings were obtained as part of the EU-CERT-ICD (European Comparative Effectiveness Research to Assess the Use of Primary Prophylactic Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators) study.

Sex differences in flow cytometry-based platelet reactivity in stable outpatients suspected of myocardial ischemia.

Background: Antiplatelet therapy is the mainstay of secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. Studies suggest that women do not obtain equal therapeutic benefit from antiplatelet therapy compared with men. The link between sex differences in platelet biology and response to antiplatelet therapies is unclear.

Automatic Triage of 12-Lead ECGs Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks.

BACKGROUND The correct interpretation of the ECG is pivotal for the accurate diagnosis of many cardiac abnormalities, and conventional computerized interpretation has not been able to reach physician-level accuracy in detecting (acute) cardiac abnormalities. This study aims to develop and validate a deep neural network for comprehensive automated ECG triage in daily practice. METHODS AND RESULTS We developed a 37-layer convolutional residual deep neural network on a data set of free-text physician-annotated 12-lead ECGs.

Current Perspectives on Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Cardiovascular Disease: A White Paper by the Editors.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected more than 3.0 million people worldwide and killed more than 200,000 as of April 27, 2020. In this White Paper, we address the cardiovascular co-morbidities of COVID-19 infection; the diagnosis and treatment of standard cardiovascular conditions during the pandemic; and the diagnosis and treatment of the cardiovascular consequences of COVID-19 infection.

Circulating Fatty Acids and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke: Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis in Up to 16 126 Participants.

Background We aimed at investigating the association of circulating fatty acids with coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke risk. Methods and Results We conducted an individual-participant data meta-analysis of 5 UK-based cohorts and 1 matched case-control study. Fatty acids (ie, omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid, omega-6 linoleic acid, monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids) were measured at baseline using an automated high-throughput serum nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics platform.