170 results match your criteria: "Maastricht University Medical Centre and Cardiovascular Research Institute[Affiliation]"

Diet and risk of atrial fibrillation: a systematic review.

Eur Heart J

October 2024

Department of Cardiology, Maastricht University Medical Centre and Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most prevalent sustained cardiac arrhythmia. Comprehensive modification of established AF risk factors combined with dietary interventions and breaking deleterious habits has been shown to reduce AF burden and recurrence. Numerous AF risk factors, such as diabetes, obesity or hypertension can be partially related to dietary and lifestyle choices.

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Recent highlights from the : Comprehensive management of atrial fibrillation.

Int J Cardiol Heart Vasc

August 2024

Institute of Pharmacology, West German Heart and Vascular Center, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.

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Autonomic Nervous System: A Therapeutic Target for Cardiac End-Organ Damage in Hypertension.

Hypertension

October 2024

Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark (L.A.G., T.J., D.L.).

More than 1.5 billion people worldwide have arterial hypertension. Hypertension increases the risks of death and cardiovascular disease, such as atrial fibrillation and heart failure.

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Focal monopolar pulsed field ablation from within the great cardiac vein for idiopathic premature ventricular contractions after failed radiofrequency ablation.

Heart Rhythm

October 2024

Department of Cardiology, Maastricht University Medical Centre and Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Centre for Heart Rhythm Disorders, University of Adelaide and Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia. Electronic address:

Background: Idiopathic epicardial premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) originating from the left ventricular summit are difficult to eliminate.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the feasibility and procedural safety of monopolar biphasic focal pulsed field ablation (F-PFA) from within the great cardiac vein (GCV) for treatment of idiopathic epicardial PVCs.

Methods: In 4 pigs, F-PFA (Centauri, CardioFocus) was applied from within the GCV followed by macroscopic gross analysis.

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Impaired Intracellular Calcium Buffering Contributes to the Arrhythmogenic Substrate in Atrial Myocytes From Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

Circulation

August 2024

Cluster of Excellence "Multiscale Bioimaging: From Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells" (F.E.F., A.L., F.S., F.H., S.E.L., A.E., N.V.), Georg-August-University Göttingen, Germany.

Background: Alterations in the buffering of intracellular Ca, for which myofilament proteins play a key role, have been shown to promote cardiac arrhythmia. It is interesting that although studies report atrial myofibrillar degradation in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (persAF), the intracellular Ca buffering profile in persAF remains obscure. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the intracellular buffering of Ca and its potential arrhythmogenic role in persAF.

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Targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome signalling for the management of atrial fibrillation.

Br J Pharmacol

December 2024

Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Inflammatory signalling via the nod-like receptor (NLR) family pyrin domain-containing protein-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome has recently been implicated in the pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the precise role of the NLRP3 inflammasome in various cardiac cell types is poorly understood. Targeting components or products of the inflammasome and preventing their proinflammatory consequences may constitute novel therapeutic treatment strategies for AF.

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Surgical Coronary Revascularization in Patients With Underlying Atrial Fibrillation: State-of-the-Art Review.

Mayo Clin Proc

June 2024

Clinical Department of Cardiac Surgery and Transplantology, National Medical Institute of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland; Thoracic Research Centre, Collegium Medicum Nicolaus Copernicus University, Innovative Medical Forum, Bydgoszcz, Poland; Department for the Treatment and Study of Cardiothoracic Diseases and Cardiothoracic Transplantation, IRCCS-ISMETT, Palermo, Italy; Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Department, Heart and Vascular Centre, Maastricht University Medical Centre and Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht, the Netherlands. Electronic address:

The number of individuals referred for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with preoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) is reported to be 8% to 20%. Atrial fibrillation is a known marker of high-risk patients as it was repeatedly found to negatively influence survival. Therefore, when performing surgical revascularization, consideration should be given to the concomitant treatment of the arrhythmia, the clinical consequences of the arrhythmia itself, and the selection of adequate surgical techniques.

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In contrast to obstructive sleep apnoea, the peak of sympathetic tone in central sleep apnoea occurs during the hyperventilation phase. To explore the temporal association of premature ventricular complex (PVC) burden in the context of the apnoea/hypopnoea-hyperpnoea cycle, the duration of apnoea/hypopnoea was defined as 100 %. We assessed the PVC burden throughout the apnoea/hypopnoea-hyperpnoea cycle during the periods of ±150 % in 50 % increments before and after the apnoea/hypopnoea phase.

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Article Synopsis
  • Current guidelines do not require transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) for well-anticoagulated patients before catheter ablation (CA) for atrial arrhythmias, but clinical practice often differs.
  • This study analyzed data from the LATTEE registry to find echocardiographic parameters that can effectively predict the absence of left atrial thrombus (LAT) in patients, which would help skip unnecessary TEE procedures.
  • Key echocardiographic criteria, such as a left ventricular ejection fraction over 65% and specific left atrial measurements, showed 100% sensitivity for identifying LAT-free patients, potentially allowing 35% of patients to avoid TEE before CA.
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Aim: Social media (SoMe) are emerging as important tools for research dissemination. Twitter/X promotion has been shown to increase citation rates in well-established journals. We aimed to test the effect of a SoMe promotion strategy on the Mendeley reader counts, the Altmetric Attention Score and the number of citations in an upcoming open-access journal.

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Is ageing a modifiable risk factor for atrial fibrillation?

Cardiovasc Res

April 2024

Gottfried Schatz Research Center, Division of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, Medical University of Graz, Neue Stiftingtalstraße 6, 8010 Graz, Austria.

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Atrial fibrillation: epidemiology, screening and digital health.

Lancet Reg Health Eur

February 2024

Danish Center for Clinical Health Services Research, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is highly prevalent with a lifetime risk of about 1 in 3-5 individuals after the age of 45 years. Between 2010 and 2019, the global prevalence of AF has risen markedly from 33.5 million to 59 million individuals living with AF.

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Structural and electro-anatomical characterization of the equine pulmonary veins: implications for atrial fibrillation.

J Vet Cardiol

April 2024

Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Agrovej 8, 2630 Taastrup, Denmark.

Introduction/objectives: Spontaneous pulmonary vein (PV) activity triggers atrial fibrillation (AF) in humans. Although AF frequently occurs in horses, the origin remains unknown. This study investigated the structural and electro-anatomical properties of equine PVs to determine the potential presence of an arrhythmogenic substrate.

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Unlocking Deprescribing Potential in Nursing Homes: Insights from a Focus Group Study with Healthcare Professionals.

Drugs Aging

March 2024

Departments of Health Services Research and Family Medicine, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Background: The nursing home population is characterized by multimorbidity and disabilities, which often result in extensive prescription of medication and subsequent polypharmacy. Deprescribing, a planned and supervised process of dose reduction or total cessation of medication, is a solution to combat this.

Objective: This study aimed to identify barriers and enablers of deprescribing as experienced by nursing home physicians (NHPs) and collaborating pharmacists in the specific nursing home setting.

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Inhibition of the acetylcholine-regulated potassium current prevents transient apnea-related atrial arrhythmogenic changes in a porcine model.

Heart Rhythm

May 2024

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Centre for Heart Rhythm Disorders, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Royal Adelaide Hospital, University of Adelaide, Australia; Department of Cardiology, Maastricht University Medical Centre and Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands. Electronic address:

Background: More than 50% of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) suffer from sleep disordered breathing (SDB). Obstructive respiratory events contribute to a transient, vagally mediated atrial arrhythmogenic substrate, which is resistant to most available antiarrhythmic drugs.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of pharmacologic inhibition of the G-protein-gated acetylcholine-regulated potassium current (I) with and without acute autonomic nervous system activation by nicotine in a pig model for obstructive respiratory events.

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Aims: TeleCheck-AF is a novel remote on-demand mobile health infrastructure around teleconsultations for patients with atrial fibrillation. Social media (SoMe) communication on Twitter contributed to the dissemination of this healthcare innovation by using the hashtag #TeleCheckAF. This study aims to analyse the SoMe network behind #TeleCheckAF and determine the key opinion leaders.

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P2X7 receptors: central drivers of the neurocardiac link between atrial fibrillation and depression?

Europace

February 2024

Gottfried Schatz Research Center, Division of Medical Physics & Biophysics, Medical University of Graz, Neue Stiftingtalstraße 6, 8010 Graz, Austria.

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Background: Despite its benefits, oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with hemorrhagic complications.

Aims: We aimed to evaluate clinical characteristics of AF patients at high risk of bleeding and the frequency of OAC use as well as identify factors that predict nonuse of OACs in these patients.

Methods: Consecutive AF patients hospitalized for urgent or planned reasons in cardiac centers were prospectively included in the registry in 2019.

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Aim: To evaluate changes in healthcare utilisation and comprehensive packages of care activities and procedures (referred in the Netherlands to as 'diagnose-behandelcombinatie (DBC) care products) during the implementation of the TeleCheck-AF approach (teleconsultation supported by app-based heart rate/rhythm monitoring) in a Dutch atrial fibrillation (AF) clinic.

Methods And Results: In the Maastricht University Medical Centre+ AF Clinic, data on healthcare utilisation and DBC care products for patients consulted by both a conventional approach in 2019 and the TeleCheck-AF approach in 2020 were analysed. A patient experience survey was performed.

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Objective: To evaluate adherence and adherence consistency to the handheld ECG device-based screening protocol and their association with adverse cerebral and cardiovascular outcomes in two systematic atrial fibrillation (AF) screening programmes.

Methods: In 2012 (Systematic ECG Screening for Atrial Fibrillation Among 75-Year Old Subjects in the Region of Stockholm and Halland, Sweden (STROKESTOP) study) and 2016 (Stepwise mass screening for atrial fibrillation using N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide (STROKESTOP II) study), half of all 75- and 76-year-old inhabitants of up to two Swedish regions were invited to participate in a systematic AF screening programme. Participants were instructed to perform 30-second measurements twice daily in STROKESTOP and four times daily in STROKESTOP II for 2 weeks.

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