Coronary vasomotor response incidence to intracoronary acetylcholine provocation test according to the severity of insignificant coronary artery stenosis in Korean population.

Background: Coronary artery spasm (CAS) is a cause of variant angina. However, the understanding of CAS patterns in the presence of mild-to-moderate coronary artery stenosis is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence and patterns of CAS in patients with insignificant coronary artery stenosis using intracoronary acetylcholine (ACH) provocation test.

Safety and feasibility of cardiac electrophysiology procedures in ambulatory surgery centers.

Background: Despite their improved safety, by and large, cardiac electrophysiology procedures including catheter ablation (CA), are presently performed in hospital outpatient departments.

Objective: This large multicenter study investigated the safety and outcomes associated with various cardiac electrophysiology procedures performed at 6 ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), primarily during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospitals Without Walls program.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes from consecutive electrophysiology procedures performed in ASCs with same-day discharge, including transesophageal echocardiography, cardioversion, cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) implantation, electrophysiology studies, and CA for atrial fibrillation (AF), atrial flutter (AFL)/supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular premature complexes (VPCs), and atrioventricular node.

The relationship between body composition and left ventricular performance in women with breast, lymphoma, or sarcoma cancer.

Background: To understand how body composition in those with elevated body mass index impacts left ventricular function decline during cancer treatment, we determined the association between baseline body mass index (BMI), intra-abdominal adipose tissue (IAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) with baseline to 3-month left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) change among women receiving potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy for breast cancer, lymphoma, or sarcoma.

Methods: Women underwent potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy, such as doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, paclitaxel, and trastuzumab, for treatment of breast cancer, lymphoma, or sarcoma. We obtained magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of body composition and cardiac function prior to treatment, and then a repeat MRI for cardiac function assessment at three months into treatment.

Early reduction in cardiorespiratory fitness and diastolic reserve following radiation therapy for lung cancer.

Background: Contemporary radiotherapy for the treatment of lung cancer is effective in targeting tumor tissue while limiting heart exposure, yet cardiac toxicity still occurs, often becoming clinically apparent years later. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is an independent predictor of cardiovascular, cancer-related, and overall mortality and may serve as a sensitive measure of subclinical cardiac toxicity following anti-cancer treatments. Prior work has demonstrated a significant relationship between reduced CRF and impaired left-ventricular (LV) diastolic reserve in cancer survivors following thoracic radiotherapy.

Guidelines for the Evaluation of Prosthetic Valve Function With Cardiovascular Imaging: A Report From the American Society of Echocardiography Developed in Collaboration With the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance and the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography.

In patients with significant cardiac valvular disease, intervention with either valve repair or valve replacement may be inevitable. Although valve repair is frequently performed, especially for mitral and tricuspid regurgitation, valve replacement remains common, particularly in adults. Diagnostic methods are often needed to assess the function of the prosthesis.

Response to interleukin-1 blockade with anakinra in women and men with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

Background: Interleukin-1 blockade with anakinra reduces high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels and prevents heart failure (HF) events after ST-segment myocardial infarction (STEMI). Sex-based differences in STEMI patients have been reported, but no data are available regarding response to anakinra.

Methods: We analyzed the systemic inflammation and composite end-point of new-onset HF or death in women and men with STEMI treated with anakinra from three different Virginia Commonwealth University Anakinra Response Trial (VCUART) randomized clinical trials.

Higher diet quality relates to better cardiac function in cancer survivors: The multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.

Background: Cancer therapies induce cardiac injury and increase cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. In non-cancer populations, higher diet quality is associated with protection against CVD, but the relationship between diet and cardiac function in cancer survivors is unknown.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort included 113 cancer survivors (55 breast, 53 prostate, three lung, and three blood) and 4233 non-cancer controls.

Pathogenic pathways and therapeutic targets of inflammation in heart diseases: A focus on Interleukin-1.

Background: An exuberant and dysregulated inflammatory response contributes to the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).

Methods: This narrative review includes original articles and reviews published over the past 20 years and found through PubMed. The following search terms (or combination of terms) were considered: "acute pericarditis," "recurrent pericarditis," "myocarditis," "cardiac sarcoidosis," "atherosclerosis," "acute myocardial infarction," "inflammation," "NLRP3 inflammasome," "Interleukin-1" and "treatment.

Skeletal muscle quality, measured via phase angle, and cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with obesity and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Objectives: Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is influenced by body composition quantity and quality in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and obesity. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) provides a noninvasive quantitative and qualitative body composition assessment. The aim of this study was to determine the role of phase angle (PhA), a BIA-measure of skeletal muscle quality and body cell mass, on CRF in patients with obesity and HFpEF.

Simultaneous exercise stress cardiac magnetic resonance and cardiopulmonary exercise testing to elucidate the Fick components of aerobic exercise capacity: a feasibility and reproducibility study and pilot study in hematologic cancer survivors.

Background: Patients treated for hematologic malignancy often experience reduced exercise capacity and increased fatigue; however whether this reduction is related to cardiac dysfunction or impairment of skeletal muscle oxygen extraction during activity is unknown. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) coupled with stress cardiac magnetic resonance (ExeCMR), may provide a noninvasive method to identify the abnormalities of cardiac function or skeletal muscle oxygen extraction. This study was performed to determine the feasibility and reproducibility of a ExeCMR + CPET technique to measure the Fick components of peak oxygen consumption (VO) and pilot its discriminatory potential in hematologic cancer patients experiencing fatigue.

Differences in treatment and outcomes among patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction with and without standard modifiable risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Unlabelled: There are limited data available on outcomes and pathophysiology behind ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in populations without standard modifiable risk factors (SMuRFs). The authors carried out this meta-analysis to understand the differences in treatment and outcomes of STEMI patients with and without SMuRFs.

Methods: A systematic database search was performed for relevant studies.

Mitral valve remodeling in the development of obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Approximately 2/3 of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) have significant left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO), which is caused by the interaction mitral valve apparatus and the hypertrophied septum. The contribution of mitral valve remodeling to the development of obstruction over time has never been described. We analyzed retrospectively 40 patients with HCM and no baseline obstruction followed up for a median of 2179 days.

Energy restriction or improvements in diet quality: identifying the best pathway for a longer and healthier life.

Obesity is a major risk factor for chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and it has increased to epidemic proportions. Unhealthy diet represents a modifiable risk factor for both obesity and NCDs, however, there is no universal dietary intervention to improve obesity-related NCDs and particularly to reduce the risk for major adverse cardiovascular events. Energy restriction (ER) and diet quality changes, with and without ER, have been widely investigated in preclinical and clinical studies, however, the potential underlying mechanisms driving the benefits of those dietary interventions remain largely unclear.

Interleukin-1 Blockers for the Treatment of Recurrent Pericarditis: Pathophysiology, Patient-Reported Outcomes, and Perspectives.

Recurrent pericarditis (RP) is the most troublesome complication of acute pericarditis reflecting an unresolving inflammation of the pericardial sac around the heart and associated with significant morbidity. Recent studies have shown interleukin-1 (IL-1) signaling to be central to the pathophysiology of cases of RP with evidence of activation of systemic inflammation. We herein review the literature and clinical trials discussing the utility of IL-1 blockade for RP.