Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) with clinical and subclinical episodes occurring in nearly one-half of patients. AF in HCM historically has been characterized as a decisive disease complication associated with substantial risk for thromboembolic stroke and increased morbidity and mortality. However, there have been many advances in treatment strategy resulting in improved outcomes for this patient group. For example, stroke risk in HCM has been greatly reduced by using systemic oral anticoagulation initiated after the first clinical (symptomatic) AF episode, usually with preference given to direct anticoagulants over warfarin. In contrast, stroke risk scoring systems (such as CHA2DS2-VASc score) are not informative in HCM given the substantial potential for stroke events in patients with low scores, and therefore should not be used for anticoagulation decisions in this disease. A novel risk score specifically designed for HCM (HCM-AF score) can reliably identify most patients with HCM at risk for future AF. Although a strategy focused on controlling ventricular rate is effective in asymptomatic (or minimally symptomatic) patients with AF, restoring and maintaining sinus rhythm is required for most patients with marked AF symptom burden and impaired quality of life. Several antiarrhythmic drugs such as sotalol, disopyramide, and amiodarone, can be effective in suppressing AF episodes; albeit safe, long-term efficacy is supported by only limited data. Catheter AF ablation has emerged as an important treatment option for some patients, although freedom from AF after a single ablation is relatively low (35% at 3 years), multiple ablations and the concomitant use of antiarrhythmic drugs can control AF with more than two-thirds of patients maintaining sinus rhythm at 5 years. Surgical AF ablation with biatrial Cox-Maze IV performed as an adjunctive procedure during myectomy can reduce symptomatic AF episodes (70% of patients free from AF at 5 years). For the vast majority of patients who have HCM with AF, the implementation of contemporary therapies has allowed for improved quality of life and low HCM-related mortality.

Frequent premature atrial complexes (PACs) are associated with future incident atrial fibrillation (AF), but whether PACs contribute to development of AF through adverse atrial remodeling has not been studied. This study aimed to explore the effect of frequent PACs from different sites on atrial remodeling in a swine model.

The majority of people with diabetes are susceptible to cardiac dysfunction and heart failure, and conventional drug therapy cannot correct diabetic cardiomyopathy progression. Herein, we assessed the potential role and therapeutic value of USP28 (ubiquitin-specific protease 28) on the metabolic vulnerability of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Pulsed field ablation (PFA) has emerged as an alternative to radiofrequency ablation. However, data on focal point-by-point PFA are scarce. The aim of this study was to compare lesion durability and collateral damage between focally delivered unipolar/biphasic PFA versus radiofrequency in swine.

Bleeding rates on dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) within 1 month after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remain high in clinical practice, particularly in patients with acute coronary syndrome or high bleeding risk. Aspirin-free strategy might result in lower bleeding early after PCI without increasing cardiovascular events, but its efficacy and safety have not yet been proven in randomized trials.

Recent studies have shown that remnant cholesterol (RC) is associated with incident heart failure; however, its association with left ventricular (LV) structure and function is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the association between RC levels in young adulthood and LV structure and function in middle age.

The efficacy of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) versus invasive coronary angiography (ICA) among patients with stable chest pain has been studied in several trials with conflicting results.

Pericardial late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) is usually associated with active pericarditis, but it is not infrequently found in patients after cardiac surgery even a long time after the intervention. The clinical relevance of this finding and its histological correlates are unknown. We sought to determine the prevalence of chronic pericardial LGE in patients after cardiac surgery.