Safety and efficacy of a light antithrombotic regimen after left atrial appendage occlusion: Insights from the LOGIC (left atrial appendage occlusion in patients with gastrointestinal or IntraCranial bleeding) international multicenter registry.

Background: Antithrombotic therapy (AT) after left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) has the purpose of preventing device related thrombosis (DRT), avoiding embolic events; nevertheless, the correct antithrombotic regimen after LAAO is still under debate.

Aims: Aim of this substudy of the observational LOGIC registry was to describe the efficacy and safety of a light antithrombotic regimen, comprising single antiplatelet therapy or none, compared to a standard antithrombotic regimen, after a successful LAAO.

Methods: Patients with NVAF that underwent LAAO were previously included in the LOGIC registry.

Left atrial appendage occlusion in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and cerebral amyloid angiopathy: insights from the LOGIC (Left atrial appendage Occlusion in patients with Gastrointestinal or IntraCranial bleeding) international multicenter registry.

Objectives: Oral anticoagulation therapy (OAC) is often contraindicated in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) because of the high hemorrhagic risk. Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) can prevent thromboembolic events while avoiding long-term anticoagulation. However, a short period of antithrombotic therapy (AT) is still recommended after LAAO, and, therefore, it is unclear whether patients with CAA can be candidates for LAAO.

Electrical storm treatment by percutaneous stellate ganglion block: the STAR study.

Background And Aims: An electrical storm (ES) is a clinical emergency with a paucity of established treatment options. Despite initial encouraging reports about the safety and effectiveness of percutaneous stellate ganglion block (PSGB), many questions remained unsettled and evidence from a prospective multicentre study was still lacking. For these purposes, the STAR study was designed.

Left atrial appendage occlusion in the absence of intraprocedural product specialist monitoring: is it time to proceed alone? Results from a multicenter real-world experience.

Background: Percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) presents many technical complex features, and it is often performed under the intraprocedural surveillance of a product specialist (PS). Our aim is to assess whether LAAO is equally safe and effective when performed in high-volume centers without PS support.

Methods: Intraprocedural results and long-term outcome were retrospectively assessed in 247 patients who underwent LAAO without intraprocedural PS monitoring between January 2013 and January 2022 at three different hospitals.

Left atrial appendage occlusion after thromboembolic events or left atrial appendage sludge during anticoagulation therapy: Is two better than one? Real-world experience from a tertiary care hospital.

Background: The role of left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) for atrial fibrillation patients that during oral anticoagulant therapy (OAC) suffer from ischemic events or present LAA sludge, and the best postinterventional anticoagulant regimen, need to be defined. We present our experience with a hybrid approach of LAAO+ lifelong OAC therapy in this cohort of patients.

Methods: Out of 425 patients treated with LAAO, 102 underwent LAAO because, despite OAC, suffered from ischemic events or presented with LAA sludge.

Periprocedural outcome in patients undergoing left atrial appendage occlusion with the Watchman FLX device: The ITALIAN-FLX registry.

Introduction: The Watchman FLX is a novel device for transcatheter left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) specifically designed to improve procedural performance in more complex anatomies with a better safety profile. Recently, small prospective non-randomized studies have shown good procedural success and safety compared with previous experiences. Results from large multicenter registries are needed to confirm the safety and efficacy of the Watchman FLX device in a real-world setting.

Clinical outcomes of left atrial appendage occlusion in patients with previous intracranial or gastrointestinal bleeding: Insights from the LOGIC (Left atrial appendage Occlusion in patients with Gastrointestinal or IntraCranial bleeding) International Multicenter Registry.

Aims: To compare outcomes of patients who underwent left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and contraindication to anticoagulants due to history of either gastrointestinal (GI) or intracranial (IC) bleeding.

Methods: Patients with NVAF that underwent LAAO for GI or IC bleeding from seven centers were included in this observational study. Baseline characteristics, procedural features, and follow-up data were collected, and compared between the two groups.

Acute Myocarditis Associated With Desmosomal Gene Variants.

Background: The risk of adverse cardiovascular events in patients with acute myocarditis (AM) and desmosomal gene variants (DGV) remains unknown.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to ascertain the risk of death, ventricular arrhythmias, recurrent myocarditis, and heart failure (main endpoint) in patients with AM and pathogenic or likely pathogenetic DGV.

Methods: In a retrospective international study from 23 hospitals, 97 patients were included: 36 with AM and DGV (DGV[+]), 25 with AM and negative gene testing (DGV[-]), and 36 with AM without genetics testing.

Post-discharge arrhythmic risk stratification of patients with acute myocarditis and life-threatening ventricular tachyarrhythmias.

Aims: The outcomes of patients presenting with acute myocarditis and life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias (LT-VA) are unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence and predictors of recurrent major arrhythmic events (MAEs) after hospital discharge in this patient population.

Methods And Results: We retrospectively analysed 156 patients (median age 44 years; 77% male) discharged with a diagnosis of acute myocarditis and LT-VA from 16 hospitals worldwide.

Temporal Relation Between Second Dose BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine and Cardiac involvement in a Patient with Previous SARS-COV-2 Infection.

The Publisher regrets that this article is an accidental duplication of an article that has already been published, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.

Left atrial appendage occlusion in atrial fibrillation patients with previous intracranial bleeding: A national multicenter study.

Background: Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) represents the most serious complication of oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), and AF patients with previous ICH are a challenge for clinicians. Left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion has emerged as an alternative option for AF patients not suitable for OAT. Currently, few data are available on long term outcomes after LAA occlusion in this population.

Septal Late Gadolinium Enhancement and Arrhythmic Risk in Genetic and Acquired Non-Ischaemic Cardiomyopathies.

Background: In many genetic and acquired non-ischaemic cardiomyopathies (NICM) there have been frequent reports of involvement of the interventricular septum (IVS) by late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) at cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). However, no studies have investigated the relationship between septal LGE and arrhythmias in different NICM subtypes.

Methods: This study enrolled 103 patients with septal LGE at baseline CMR and different NICM: hypertrophic (n=29) or lamin A/C gene (LMNA)-associated (n=23) cardiomyopathy, and acute (n=30) or previous (n=21) myocarditis.

Ventricular Arrhythmias in Myocarditis: Characterization and Relationships With Myocardial Inflammation.

Background: Ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) have never been systematically investigated in patients with myocarditis at different stages.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare baseline and follow-up characteristics of VAs in patients with active myocarditis (AM) versus previous myocarditis (PM).

Methods: A total of 185 consecutive patients (69% males, age 44 ± 15 years, left ventricular ejection fraction 49 ± 14%) with myocarditis and VA at index hospitalization, including ventricular fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia (VT), nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT), and Lown's grade ≥2 premature ventricular complexes, were enrolled.

Programmed ventricular stimulation in patients with active vs previous arrhythmic myocarditis.

Introduction: No studies so far addressed the role of invasive programmed ventricular stimulation (PVS) in myocarditis patient's arrhythmic risk stratification.

Methods And Results: We present a single-center prospective study on 96 consecutive adult patients (44 ± 13 years, 70.1% males) with myocarditis and ventricular arrhythmias (VA) at index hospitalization.

Efficacy of virtual reality to reduce chronic low back pain: Proof-of-concept of a non-pharmacological approach on pain, quality of life, neuropsychological and functional outcome.

Objectives: Chronic pain, such as low-back pain, can be a highly disabling condition degrading people's quality of life (QoL). Not every patient responds to pharmacological therapies, thus alternative treatments have to be developed. The chronicity of pain can lead to a somatic dysperception, meaning a mismatch between patients' own body perception and its actual physical state.

Screening for Aphasia in NeuroDegeneration for the Diagnosis of Patients with Primary Progressive Aphasia: Clinical Validity and Psychometric Properties.

Background: We evaluated the psychometric proprieties of the Screening for Aphasia in NeuroDegeneration (SAND) battery in Italian primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and movement disorder (MD) patients.

Methods: The sample included 30 consecutive PPA and 45 MD patients who completed the SAND battery together with a clinical interview and a neurological/neuropsychological examination and 130 healthy controls (HC).

Results: The SAND battery showed good internal consistency and good convergent and divergent validity.