Left Ventricular Deformation and Vortex Analysis in Heart Failure: From Ultrasound Technique to Current Clinical Application.

Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, its symptoms and signs are not specific or can be absent. In this context, transthoracic echocardiography plays a key role in diagnosing the various forms of HF, guiding therapeutic decision making and monitoring response to therapy.

Effect of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement on Concomitant Mitral Regurgitation and Its Impact on Mortality.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of residual mitral regurgitation (MR) on mortality in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Background: MR is common in patients undergoing TAVR. Data on optimal management of patients with significant MR after TAVR are limited.

Von Willebrand disease type Vicenza: In search of a classification for the archetype of reduced von Willebrand factor survival.

Type Vicenza von Willebrand disease (VWD) features a von Willebrand factor (VWF) with a very short half-life, and is classified as a form of type 1 VWD. To test the appropriateness of type Vicenza VWD classification, the main features of 17 patients from eight unrelated families were analysed. They had low VWF antigen levels and function (always below 20 U/dl); ristocetin-induced platelet aggregation sometimes normal, sometimes reduced/absent (even in the same patient); normal platelet VWF levels; an increased VWF propeptide to VWF antigen ratio (8.

Athletes with valvular heart disease and competitive sports: a position statement of the Sport Cardiology Section of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology.

This article provides an overview of the recommendations from the Sports Cardiology section of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology on sports participation in individuals with valvular heart disease (VHD). The aim of these recommendations is to encourage regular physical activity including sports participation, with reasonable precaution to ensure a high level of safety for all affected individuals. Valvular heart disease is usually an age-related degenerative process, predominantly affecting individuals in their fifth decade and onwards.

CarDiac magnEtic Resonance for prophylactic Implantable-cardioVerter defibrillAtor ThErapy in Non-Ischaemic dilated CardioMyopathy: an international Registry.

Aims: The aim of this registry was to evaluate the additional prognostic value of a composite cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)-based risk score over standard-of-care (SOC) evaluation in a large cohort of consecutive unselected non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) patients.

Methods And Results: In the DERIVATE registry (www.clinicaltrials.

Toward the Effective Bioengineering of a Pathological Tissue for Cardiovascular Disease Modeling: Old Strategies and New Frontiers for Prevention, Diagnosis, and Therapy.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) still represent the primary cause of mortality worldwide. Preclinical modeling by recapitulating human pathophysiology is fundamental to advance the comprehension of these diseases and propose effective strategies for their prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. , and models have been applied to dissect many cardiovascular pathologies.

#SoMe for #IC: Optimal use of social media in interventional cardiology.

Social media allows interventional cardiologists to disseminate and discuss research and clinical cases in real-time, to demonstrate and learn innovative techniques, to build professional networks, and to reach out to patients and the general public. Social media provides a democratic platform for all participants to influence the conversation and demonstrate their expertise. This review addresses the use of social media for these purposes in interventional cardiology, as well as respect for patient privacy, how to get started on social media, the creation of high-impact social media content, and the role of traditional journals in the age of social media.

Machine learning-based analysis of alveolar and vascular injury in SARS-CoV-2 acute respiratory failure.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pneumopathy is characterized by a complex clinical picture and heterogeneous pathological lesions, both involving alveolar and vascular components. The severity and distribution of morphological lesions associated with SARS-CoV-2 and how they relate to clinical, laboratory, and radiological data have not yet been studied systematically. The main goals of the present study were to objectively identify pathological phenotypes and factors that, in addition to SARS-CoV-2, may influence their occurrence.

The risk of arterial thrombosis in carriers of natural coagulation inhibitors: a prospective family cohort study.

Background: Whether the carriership of inherited antithrombin (AT), protein C (PC), and protein S (PS) deficiency increases the risk of arterial thromboembolic events (ATE) is controversial. This information has the potential to inform the management of family members of probands with inherited deficiency of natural anticoagulants.

Patients/methods: We conducted a large prospective family cohort study in 640 subjects (of whom 341 carriers and 299 non-carriers) belonging to 86 families with inherited deficiency of AT, PC, or PS.

Negative impact of coronavirus on interventional cardiology fellows' training: Let's limit collateral damage of the pandemic.

Coronavirus disease pandemic has caused a dramatic reduction of elective and urgent interventional cardiology procedures, with a negative impact on training of interventional cardiology fellows. This study showed that 95% of interventional cardiology fellows during the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic believe that their training would be moderately or severely impacted by the health crisis. Interventional cardiology programs need to reorganize in order to ensure safe pathways for both urgent and elective cases, primarily for patients' care but also to grant an adequate caseload for trainees.

Assessment of the healthcare managerial skills offered by the Italian post-graduate schools of public health.

Background: The Italian National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, SSN) is facing relevant challenges due to decreased financing and increased healthcare costs (1). In this complex framework, most of the Italian Medical Doctors, after obtaining their Specialization degree in Public Health, develop their careers in organizational and managerial roles in public and private health organizations, i.e.

Small Vessel Disease: Another Component of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Phenotype Not Necessarily Associated with Fibrosis.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is characterized by myocardial disarray, small vessel disease (SVD), and fibrosis. The relationship between SVD and replacement-type fibrosis is still unclear.

Methods: Histopathologic assessment of replacement-type fibrosis and SVD in HCM patients with either end-stage heart failure (HF) or sudden cardiac death (SCD).

Sounds Stimulation on In Vitro HL1 Cells: A Pilot Study and a Theoretical Physical Model.

Mechanical vibrations seem to affect the behaviour of different cell types and the functions of different organs. Pressure waves, including acoustic waves (sounds), could affect cytoskeletal molecules via coherent changes in their spatial organization and mechano-transduction signalling. We analyzed the sounds spectra and their fractal features.

Cardiac and sudden death after chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention: Prognostic role of the target vessel.

Background: The role of the target vessel in percutaneous revascularization of chronic total occlusion (CTO) is unclear.

Objective: We sought to assess the long-term results of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for CTO lesions in each coronary artery and to investigate the impact of successful revascularization and previous myocardial infarction (MI) in the territory of the target vessel.

Methods And Results: Cohort observational study on 1,124 patients who have undergone CTO PCI attempt: 371 on left anterior descending artery (LAD), 485 right coronary artery, and 268 left circumflex.

Transcatheter Treatment of Residual Significant Mitral Regurgitation Following TAVR: A Multicenter Registry.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe baseline characteristics, and periprocedural and mid-term outcomes of patients undergoing transcatheter mitral valve interventions post-transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and examine their clinical benefit.

Background: The optimal management of residual mitral regurgitation (MR) post-TAVR is challenging.

Methods: This was an international registry of 23 TAVR centers.