This study evaluates the impact of the 2018 allocation policy change on outcomes of orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) in patients bridged with intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABPs).

Ambulatory hemodynamic monitoring with an implantable pulmonary artery (PA) sensor is approved for patients with New York Heart Association Class III heart failure (HF) and a prior HF hospitalization (HFH) within 12 months. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of PA pressure-guided therapy in routine clinical practice with special focus on subgroups defined by sex, race, and ejection fraction.

The mesenchymal stem cell (MSC), known to remodel in disease and have an extensive secretome, has recently been isolated from the human heart. However, the effects of normal and diseased cardiac MSCs on myocyte electrophysiology remain unclear. We hypothesize that in disease the inflammatory secretome of cardiac human MSCs (hMSCs) remodels and can regulate arrhythmia substrates.

Persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) can change to paroxysmal AF after antiarrhythmic drug medication and cardioversion. We investigated whether electrical posterior box isolation (POBI) may improve rhythm outcome of catheter ablation in those patient groups.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) converts angiotensin II, a potent vasoconstrictor, to angiotensin-(1-7) and is also a membrane protein that enables coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infectivity. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation of ACE2 enhances ACE2 stability. This mode of posttranslational modification of ACE2 in vascular endothelial cells is causative of a pulmonary hypertension (PH)-protective phenotype. The oncoprotein MDM2 (murine double minute 2) is an E3 ligase that ubiquitinates its substrates to cause their degradation. In this study, we investigated whether MDM2 is involved in the posttranslational modification of ACE2 through its ubiquitination of ACE2, and whether an AMPK and MDM2 crosstalk regulates the pathogenesis of PH.

Mutations in the nuclear envelope genes encoding LMNA and EMD are responsible for Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy. However, LMNA mutations often manifest dilated cardiomyopathy with conduction disturbance without obvious skeletal myopathic complications. On the contrary, the phenotypic spectrums of EMD mutations are less clear. Our aims were to determine the prevalence of nonsyndromic forms of emerinopathy, which may underlie genetically undefined isolated cardiac conduction disturbance, and the etiology of thromboembolic complications associated with EMD mutations.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 infection causes severe pneumonia (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]), but the mechanisms of subsequent respiratory failure and complicating renal and myocardial involvement are poorly understood. In addition, a systemic prothrombotic phenotype has been reported in patients with COVID-19.

In Brugada syndrome (BrS), diagnosed in presence of a spontaneous or ajmaline-induced type-1 pattern, ventricular arrhythmias originate from the right ventricle outflow tract (RVOT). We developed a novel CineECG method, obtained by inverse electrocardiogram (ECG) from standard 12-lead ECG, to localize the electrical activity pathway in patients with BrS.

The development of multielectrode mapping catheters has expanded the spectrum of mappable ventricular tachycardias (VTs). Full diastolic pathway recording has been associated with a high rate of VT termination during radiofrequency ablation as well as noninducibility at study end. However, the role of diastolic pathway mapping on VT recurrence has yet to be clearly elucidated. We aimed to explore the role of complete diastolic pathway activation mapping on VT recurrence.

Cannabis, or marijuana, has potential therapeutic and medicinal properties related to multiple compounds, particularly Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol. Over the past 25 years, attitudes toward cannabis have evolved rapidly, with expanding legalization of medical and recreational use at the state level in the United States and recreational use nationally in Canada and Uruguay. As a result, the consumption of cannabis products is increasing considerably, particularly among youth. Our understanding of the safety and efficacy of cannabis has been limited by decades of worldwide illegality and continues to be limited in the United States by the ongoing classification of cannabis as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. These shifts in cannabis use require clinicians to understand conflicting laws, health implications, and therapeutic possibilities. Cannabis may have therapeutic benefits, but few are cardiovascular in nature. Conversely, many of the concerning health implications of cannabis include cardiovascular diseases, although they may be mediated by mechanisms of delivery. This statement critically reviews the use of medicinal and recreational cannabis from a clinical but also a policy and public health perspective by evaluating its safety and efficacy profile, particularly in relationship to cardiovascular health.

For the heart and the brain, clinical observations suggest that an acute ischemic event experienced by one organ is associated with an increased risk for future acute events and chronic dysfunction of the reciprocal organ. Beyond atherosclerosis as a common systemic disease, various molecular mechanisms are thought to be involved in this interaction. Molecular-targeted nuclear imaging may identify the contribution of factors, such as the neurohumoral, circulatory, or especially the immune system, by combining specific radiotracers with whole-body acquisition and global as well as regional multiorgan analysis. This may be integrated with complementary functional imaging markers and systemic biomarkers for comprehensive network interrogation. Such systems-based strategies go beyond the traditional organ-centered approach and provide novel mechanistic insights, information about temporal dynamics, and a foundation for future interventions aiming at optimal preservation of function of both organs.

To investigate the association between family history of atrial fibrillation (AF) with cardiovascular events (CVEs), major adverse cardiac events (MACE), and cardiovascular mortality.