Clinical implications of subclinical left ventricular dysfunction in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: The PARAGON-HF study.

Aims: Left ventricular (LV) subclinical impairment has been described in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). We assessed the relationship between LV myocardial deformation by strain imaging and recurrent hospitalization for heart failure (HF) or cardiovascular death in a large international HFpEF population.

Methods And Results: We assessed two-dimensional speckle-tracking based global longitudinal strain (GLS) in 790 patients (mean age 74 ± 8 years, 54% female) with adequate image quality enrolled in the PARAGON-HF echocardiography study.

Prognostic Value of Preprocedural LV Global Longitudinal Strain for Post-TAVR-Related Morbidity and Mortality: A Meta-Analysis.

Background: Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) demonstrates limited prognostic value for post-transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) outcomes. Evidence regarding the potential role of left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) in this setting is inconsistent.

Objectives: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis of aggregated data was to evaluate the prognostic value of preprocedural LV-GLS for post-TAVR-related morbidity and mortality.

Trajectory and correlates of pulmonary congestion by lung ultrasound in patients with acute myocardial infarction: insights from PARADISE-MI.

Aim: PARADISE-MI examined the efficacy of sacubitril/valsartan in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated by reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), pulmonary congestion, or both. We sought to assess the trajectory of pulmonary congestion using lung ultrasound (LUS) and its association with cardiac structure and function in a pre-specified substudy.

Methods And Results: Patients without prior heart failure (HF) underwent eight-zone LUS and echocardiography at baseline (±2 days of randomization) and after 8 months.

Infective endocarditis in adult patients with congenital heart disease.

Background: Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) predisposes to Infective Endocarditis (IE), but data about characterization and prognosis of IE in CHD patients is scarce.

Methods: The ESC-EORP-EURO-ENDO study is a prospective international study in IE patients (n = 3111). In this pre-specified analysis, adult CHD patients (n = 365, 11.

Impact of Sacubitril/Valsartan Compared With Ramipril on Cardiac Structure and Function After Acute Myocardial Infarction: The PARADISE-MI Echocardiographic Substudy.

Background: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors attenuate left ventricular (LV) enlargement after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Preclinical data suggest similar benefits with combined angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibition, but human data are conflicting. The PARADISE-MI Echo Study (Prospective ARNI Versus ACE Inhibitor Trial to Determine Superiority in Reducing Heart Failure Events After Myocardial Infarction) tested the effect of sacubitril/valsartan compared with ramipril on LV function and adverse remodeling after high risk-AMI.

Improved survival of left ventricular assist device carriers in Europe according to implantation eras: results from the PCHF-VAD registry.

Aims: Temporal changes in patient selection and major technological developments have occurred in the field of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), yet analyses depicting this trend are lacking for Europe. We describe the advances of European LVAD programmes from the PCHF-VAD registry across device implantation eras.

Methods And Results: Of 583 patients from 13 European centres in the registry, 556 patients (mean age 53 ± 12 years, 82% male) were eligible for this analysis.

European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)/American College of Rheumatology (ACR) SLE classification criteria item performance.

Background/objectives: The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)/American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2019 classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus system showed high specificity, while attaining also high sensitivity. We hereby analysed the performance of the individual criteria items and their contribution to the overall performance of the criteria.

Methods: We combined the EULAR/ACR derivation and validation cohorts for a total of 1197 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and n=1074 non-SLE patients with a variety of conditions mimicking SLE, such as other autoimmune diseases, and calculated the sensitivity and specificity for antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and the 23 specific criteria items.

Will vaccination refusal prolong the war on SARS-CoV-2?

Introduction: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel coronavirus that appeared in Wuhan, China in January 2020 and caused a global pandemic drastically changing everyday life. Currently, there are vaccine candidates in clinical trials and development, so it is only a matter of time before one is authorised for human use.

Materials And Methods: We collected public opinion survey results about attitudes towards SARS-CoV-2 vaccination conducted in 2020 in 26 European countries.

Telemonitoring in Heart Failure Management.

Telemonitoring (TM) aims to predict and prevent worsening heart failure (HF) episodes and improve self-care, patient education, treatment adherence and survival. There is a growing number of TM options for patients with HF, but there are numerous challenges in reaching positive outcomes. Conflicting evidence from clinical trials may be the result of the enormous heterogeneity of TM devices tested, differences in selected patient populations and variabilities between healthcare systems.

Twenty-Five Years of No-Touch Saphenous Vein Harvesting for Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: Structural Observations and Impact on Graft Performance.

The saphenous vein is the most common conduit used in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) yet its failure rate is higher compared to arterial grafts. An improvement in saphenous vein graft performance is therefore a major priority in CABG. No-touch harvesting of the saphenous vein is one of the few interventions that has shown improved patency rates, comparable to that of the left internal thoracic artery.

Global and regional myocardial function and outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve implantation for aortic stenosis and preserved ejection fraction.

Aim: To investigate the effects of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) on early recovery of global and segmental myocardial function in patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and to determine if parameters of deformation correlate with outcomes.

Methods: The echocardiographic (strain analysis) and outcome (hospitalizations because of heart failure and mortality) data of 62 consecutive patients with preserved LVEF (64.54 ± 7.

Echocardiographic Features of Patients With Heart Failure and Preserved Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction.

Background: The PARAGON-HF (Prospective Comparison of ARNI With ARB Global Outcomes in HF With Preserved Ejection Fraction) trial tested the efficacy of sacubitril-valsartan in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Existing data on cardiac structure and function in patients with HFpEF suggest significant heterogeneity.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to characterize cardiac structure and function, quantify their associations with clinical outcomes, and contextualize these findings with other HFpEF studies.

Effects of Sacubitril-Valsartan Versus Valsartan in Women Compared With Men With Heart Failure and Preserved Ejection Fraction: Insights From PARAGON-HF.

Background: Unlike heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, there is no approved treatment for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, the predominant phenotype in women. Therefore, there is a greater heart failure therapeutic deficit in women compared with men.

Methods: In a prespecified subgroup analysis, we examined outcomes according to sex in the PARAGON-HF trial (Prospective Comparison of ARNI With ARB Global Outcomes in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction), which compared sacubitril-valsartan and valsartan in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Cardiac implantable electronic devices with a defibrillator component and all-cause mortality in left ventricular assist device carriers: results from the PCHF-VAD registry.

Aims: To compare characteristics of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) recipients receiving a cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) with a defibrillator component (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator and cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillation, CIED-D) vs. those without one, and to assess whether carrying such a device contiguously with an LVAD is associated with outcomes.

Methods And Results: Overall, 448 patients were analysed (mean age 52 ± 13 years, 82% male) in the multicentre European PCHF-VAD registry.

2019 European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: To develop new classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) jointly supported by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

Methods: This international initiative had four phases. (1) Evaluation of antinuclear antibody (ANA) as an entry criterion through systematic review and meta-regression of the literature and criteria generation through an international Delphi exercise, an early patient cohort and a patient survey.

Effect of Rifampicin on the Pharmacokinetics of a Single Dose of Vemurafenib in Patients With BRAF Mutation-Positive Metastatic Malignancy.

Vemurafenib prolongs survival in patients with BRAF -mutated advanced melanoma. In vitro studies show cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 is involved in vemurafenib metabolism, but the effect of strong inducers or inhibitors of CYP3A4 on vemurafenib exposure in vivo is unknown. This phase 1, open-label, multicenter study evaluated the effect of rifampicin, a CYP3A4 inducer, on the pharmacokinetics of single-dose vemurafenib in 27 patients with BRAF mutation-positive metastatic malignancy.

Brainstem nuclei changes in migraine detected by transcranial sonography.

The aim of this study was to estimate the role of transcranial sonography in detecting basal ganglia changes as structural biomarkers in migraine. Transcranial sonography was performed on Aloka prosound α-10. Semiquantitative and planimetric methods were applied when basal ganglia changes were detected.

Remission and employment status in schizophrenia and other psychoses: One-year prospective study in Croatian patients treated with risperidone long acting injection.

Background: While numerous studies have confirmed the efficacy of risperidone long-acting injectable (RLAI) on many clinical outcomes in patients with schizophrenia, there is no data regarding its influence on employment status.

Subject And Methods: This was a 12-month observational study with flexible doses of RLAI on a Croatian population of patients with schizophrenia and other psychoses. Visits were at baseline and after 1, 3, 6 and 12 months of treatment.

Health-related quality of life outcomes with prasugrel among medically managed non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome patients: Insights from the Targeted Platelet Inhibition to Clarify the Optimal Strategy to Medically Manage Acute Coronary Syndromes (TRILOGY ACS) trial.

Background: Few studies have assessed treatment effects on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) treated without revascularization. The TRILOGY ACS trial randomized patients with ACS to either prasugrel or clopidogrel therapy plus aspirin. Outcomes showed a complex pattern suggestive of late benefits with respect to repeat clinical events and benefits confined to patients who underwent angiography.