Five Year Outcomes in Low-Risk Patients Undergoing Surgery in the PARTNER 3 Trial.

Background: Surgery remains an important treatment for low-risk patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS). We evaluated 5-year outcomes in low-risk patients undergoing isolated surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) or SAVR with concomitant procedures within the randomized PARTNER 3 trial.

Methods: In the PARTNER 3 trial, 454 patients underwent surgery for severe, symptomatic, tri-leaflet AS and were followed for 5 years.

A His bundle pacing protocol for suppressing ventricular arrhythmia maintenance and improving defibrillation efficacy.

Background: The excitable gap (EG), defined as the excitable tissue between two subsequent wavefronts of depolarization, is critical for maintaining reentry that underlies deadly ventricular arrhythmias. EG in the His-Purkinje Network (HPN) plays an important role in the maintenance of electrical wave reentry that underlies these arrhythmias.

Objective: To determine if rapid His bundle pacing (HBP) during reentry reduces the amount of EG in the HPN and ventricular myocardium to suppress reentry maintenance and/or improve defibrillation efficacy.

Left and right ventricular longitudinal systolic function following aortic valve replacement in the PARTNER 2 trial and registry.

Aims: Evaluation of left and right ventricular (RV) longitudinal systolic function may enhance risk stratification following aortic valve replacement (AVR). The study objective was to evaluate the changes in left and RV longitudinal systolic function and RV-pulmonary artery (RV-PA) coupling from baseline to 30 days and 1 year after AVR.

Methods And Results: Left ventricular (LV) longitudinal strain (LS), tricuspid annulus plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), and RV-PA coupling were evaluated in patients from the PARTNER 2A surgical AVR (SAVR) arm (n = 985) and from the PARTNER 2 SAPIEN 3 registry (n = 719).

Radioprotection for the imaging specialist during structural heart interventions: Not an option!

Structural heart interventions are steadily increasing, and the majority requires echocardiographic guidance. As a result, imaging specialists are exposed to the harmful effects of scattered ionizing radiation. This X-ray exposure must be quantified, its potential consequences should be monitored by occupational medicine and the "as low as reasonably achievable" principles of radioprotection should be optimized (including increasing the distance, decreasing the duration, using shielding radiation and providing safety training for the imaging specialist).

Percutaneous Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Mitral Valve Repair With MitraClip System in the Era of G4.

The use of transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair (TEER) in symptomatic patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) has dramatically increased over the last few years. Current guidelines consider TEER as a reasonable option in symptomatic patients with primary or chronic secondary severe MR with high or prohibitive surgical risk and favorable anatomy. However, several anatomical and morphological mitral features have restricted the use of this mini-invasive technique in its early experience.

Lessons Learned From the SoBeezy Program for Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experimentation and Evaluation.

Background: The SoBeezy program is an innovative intervention aimed at promoting and fostering healthy aging and aging in place by proposing to older adults concrete solutions to face daily life, tackle loneliness, promote social participation, and reduce the digital divide, thanks to a specific, easy-to-use voice assistant (the BeeVA smart display).

Objective: This study aims to assess the acceptability of the SoBeezy program and its voice assistant and to identify potential areas of improvement.

Methods: A 12-month experimentation of the program was deployed in real-life conditions among older adults living in the community in 4 pilot cities of France.

The Purkinje network plays a major role in low-energy ventricular defibrillation.

Background: During ventricular fibrillation (VF), targeting the excitable gap (EG) of reentry throughout the myocardium with low-energy surface stimulation shows promise for painless defibrillation. However, the Purkinje network may provide alternative pathways for reentry to evade termination. This study investigates the role of the Purkinje network in painless defibrillation.

Soft cervical collar in obstructive sleep apnoea: a pilot study.

https://bit.ly/2KiU3j1.

Pulmonary Atresia With Ventriculocoronary Arterial Connections and a Large Conoventricular Septal Defect.

Ventriculocoronary arterial connections are typically found in patients with pulmonary atresia with an intact ventricular septum. This report describes a case of ventriculocoronary arterial connections in a patient with pulmonary atresia with a ventricular septal defect. Our case supports recent data suggesting a primary coronary artery developmental anomaly in pulmonary atresia.

Death in patients with adaptive servo-ventilation for sleep apnea and no specific SERVE-HF profile: A case series study.

Purpose: The SERVE-HF study reported a risk of cardiovascular death associated with adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) for central sleep apnea in patients with chronic heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Therefore, we adopted in May 2015 a safety procedure in our 32 patients with ASV since 2006. It led to ASV removal in four patients due to ≤45% LVEF.

Relationship Between Fibrosis Detected on Late Gadolinium-Enhanced Cardiac Magnetic Resonance and Re-Entrant Activity Assessed With Electrocardiographic Imaging in Human Persistent Atrial Fibrillation.

Objectives: This study sought to assess the relationship between fibrosis and re-entrant activity in persistent atrial fibrillation (AF).

Background: The mechanisms involved in sustaining re-entrant activity during AF are poorly understood.

Methods: Forty-one patients with persistent AF (age 56 ± 12 years; 6 women) were evaluated.

Novel Radiofrequency Ablation Strategies for Terminating Atrial Fibrillation in the Left Atrium: A Simulation Study.

Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is the cornerstone of atrial fibrillation (AF) therapy, but few strategies exist for when it fails. To guide RFA, phase singularity (PS) mapping locates reentrant electrical waves (rotors) that perpetuate AF. The goal of this study was to test existing and develop new RFA strategies for terminating rotors identified with PS mapping.