Lack of right ventricular hypertrophy is associated with right heart failure in patients with left ventricular failure.

Presence of right heart failure (RHF) is associated with a worse prognosis in patients with left ventricular failure (LVF). While the cause of RHF secondary to LVF is multifactorial, an increased right ventricular (RV) afterload is believed as the major cause of RHF. However, data are scarce on the adaptive responses of the RV in patients with LVF. Our aim was to understand the relationship of right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH) with RHF and RV systolic and diastolic properties in patients with LVF. 55 patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction of 40% or less were included in the present study. A comprehensive two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic examination was done to all participants. 12 patients (21.8%) had RHF, and patients with RHF had a significantly lower right ventricular free wall thickness (RVFWT) as compared to patients without RHF (5.3 ± 1.7 mm vs. 6.6 ± 0.9 mm, p = 0.02) and the difference remained statistically significant after adjusting for confounders (Δx̅:1.34 mm, p = 0.002). RVFWT had a statistically significant correlation with tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (r = 0.479, p < 0.001) and tricuspid annular lateral systolic velocity (r = 0.360, p = 0.007), but not with the indices of the RV diastolic function. None of the patients with concentric RVH had RHF, while 22.2% of patients with eccentric RVH and 66.7% of patients without RVH had RHF (p < 0.01 as compared to patients with concentric RVH). In patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction, absence of RVH was associated with worse RV systolic performance and a significantly higher incidence of RHF.

Combined past preeclampsia and gestational diabetes is associated with a very high frequency of coronary microvascular dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: A history of preeclampsia (pPE) and gestational diabetes (pGDM) are female-specific risk markers for atherosclerosis and future cardiovascular risk. In addition to increasing the risk of established risk factors for atherosclerosis, such as hypertension or diabetes, evidence suggests that pregnancy-related complications can also directly accelerate atherosclerosis by inducing endothelial dysfunction. A combination of both conditions is seen in a subset of patients with pregnancy, though it is not known whether this combination increases the overall risk for cardiovascular events. AIMS: Present study aimed to find the impact of combined pPE/pGDM on the prevalence of coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD). METHODS: A total of 24 patients with combined pPE/pGDM, 19 patients with isolated pPE and 63 patients with pGDM were included to the present study and a further 36 healthy women with no previous pregnancy-related complications served as controls. Coronary flow reserve was measured using echocardiography and CMD was defined as a coronary flow reserve ≤2.5. RESULTS: Patients with combined pPE/pGDM had a high prevalence of CMD (91%), which was significantly higher than controls (5.6%, p < 0.001) and patients with pGDM (55%, p = 0.01). A history of pPE on top of pGDM was associated with an increased risk of CMD (HR:6.28, 95%CI:1.69-23.37, p = 0.006) after multivariate adjustment, but pGDM did not increase the odds for CMD in those with pPE. CONCLUSIONS: Combined pPE/pDM is associated with a very high prevalence of CMD, which may indicate an increased risk for future cardiovascular events.

Pressure-dimension index: A novel "morphologic-functional" index of right ventricle that predicts short-term survival after left ventricular assist device implantation.

BACKGROUND: Right ventricular failure (RVF) after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation is a major cause of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Despite the availability of multiple imaging parameters, none of these parameters had adequate predictive accuracy for post-LVAD RVF. AIM: To study whether right ventricular pressure-dimension index (PDI), which is a novel echocardiographic index that combines both morphologic and functional aspects of the right ventricle, is predictive of post-LVAD RVF and survival. METHODS: 49 cases that underwent elective LVAD implantation were retrospectively analyzed using data from an institutional registry. PDI was calculated by dividing systolic pulmonary artery pressure to the square of the right ventricular minor diameter. Cases were categorized according to tertiles. RESULTS: Patients within the highest PDI tertile (PDI>3.62 mmHg/cm2 ) had significantly higher short-term mortality (42.8%) and combined short-term mortality and severe RVF (50%) compared to other tertiles (P < .05 for both, log-rank p for survival to 15th day 0.014), but mortality was similar across tertiles in the long-term follow-up. PDI was an independent predictor of short-term mortality (HR:1.05-26.49, P = .031) and short-term composite of mortality and severe RVF (HR:1.37-38.87, P = .027). CONCLUSIONS: Increased PDI is a marker of an overburdened right ventricle. Heart failure patients with a high PDI are at risk for short-term mortality following LVAD implantation.

Correlation and agreement between 2D and 3D speckle-tracking echocardiography for left ventricular volumetric, strain, and rotational parameters in healthy volunteers and in patients with mild mitral stenosis.

BACKGROUND: Recent advances had allowed measurement of myocardial deformation parameters using 3D speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE). Agreement between these two modalities and interchangeability of findings remain as an issue since 2DSTE is more widely available than 3DSTE. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation and agreement between 2DSTE and 3DSTE in healthy volunteers and in patients with mild mitral stenosis (MS). METHODS: Data from 31 patients with mild MS and 27 healthy volunteers were included in this study. Data were analyzed for the correlation and agreement between 2DSTE and 3DSTE for volumetric, strain, and rotational parameters. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between 2DSTE and 3DSTE in both control and MS groups for left ventricular volumetric and rotational parameters. 3D global longitudinal strain (GLS) and global circumferential strain (GCS) were significantly higher in healthy volunteers (P < 0.001 for both), while only 3DGCS was significantly higher than 2DGCS in MS group (P < 0.001). The correlation between 3DSTE and 2DSTE was weak-to-moderate in both groups for strain and rotational parameters, and overall, correlation coefficients were higher in MS group. An exception was GLS in MS group, where coefficient of correlation was excellent (r = 0.907). Agreement between two modalities was poor for strain and rotational parameters, and the average bias was high. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the agreement between 2DSTE and 3DSTE for strain and rotational measures was poor with a high average bias. The agreement between 2DSTE and 3DSTE is affected by the presence of underlying MS and the direction of strain.

Right Ventricular Hypertrophy and Dilation in Patients With Human Immunodeficiency Virus in the Absence of Clinical or Echocardiographic Pulmonary Hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Involvement of right-sided heart chambers (RSHCs) in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is common and is usually attributed to pulmonary arterial or venous hypertension (PH). However, myocardial involvement in patients with HIV is also common and might affect RSHCs even in the absence of overt PH. Our aim was to define morphologic and functional alterations in RSHC in patients with HIV and without PH. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 50 asymptomatic patients with HIV and 25 control subjects without clinical or echocardiographic signs for PH were included in the study. Transthoracic echocardiography was used to obtain measurements. Patients with HIV had significantly increased right ventricular end-diastolic diameter (RVEDD) and right ventricular free wall thickness (RVFWT), as well as increased right atrial area and pulmonary arterial diameter, compared with control subjects. After adjustment for age, sex, and body surface area, RVFWT (average 1.81 mm, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.35-3.26 mm) and RVEDD (average 6.82 mm, 95% CI 2.40-11.24 mm) were significantly higher in subjects infected with HIV. More patients with right ventricular hypertrophy were on antiretroviral treatment, and RVFWT was on average 1.3 mm higher (95% CI 0.24-2.37 mm) in patients on antiretroviral treatment after adjustment for confounders. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that alterations in RSHCs were present in patients with HIV without PH.

An unusual "mass" within the left atrium: Localized aneurysm of a patent foramen ovale tunnel.

Masses on the interatrial septum are usually caused by myxomas or thrombi within a patent foramen ovale. We report a 53-year-old male patient with a hollow mass within the left atrium that was incidentally found during a routine transthoracic echocardiography. Further investigation of the mass with transesophageal two- and three-dimensional echocardiography has revealed that the mass was a localized aneurysm of a patent foramen ovale tunnel. While aneurysms of interatrial septum are relatively common in normal population, to the best of our knowledge, present case is the first report of a localized aneursym of a patent foramen ovale tunnel.

A "congenitally corrected" variant of Ebstein's anomaly.

Ebstein's anomaly is a rare CHD that is characterised by caudal displacement of the functional tricuspid annulus and a dysfunctional tricuspid valve owing to a failure of proper leaflet coaptation. We present a balanced variant of Ebstein's anomaly, in which the overgrowth of the septal leaflet had allowed proper coaptation of the tricuspid leaflets, thus preserving the valve function.

Reverberation and multiple shadow artifacts recorded from patients with intra-pericardial centrifugal continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices.

Artifacts are by-products of ultrasound imaging that may cause confusion or misdiagnosis if not interpreted correctly. There are, however, several disorders where a specific pattern of artifacts can aid in diagnosis, especially when the object in question cannot be visualized directly. In this manuscript, we report two patients with reverberation and shadow artifacts originating from the housing and the propeller of a continuous-flow intra-pericardial left ventricular assist device. Visualization of the artifacts required modified transthoracic views, so these artifacts should not pose a diagnostic challenge during a routine echocardiographic evaluation. However, we consider that shadow artifacts might be used to evaluate pump thrombosis in patients with intra-pericardial assist devices.

Digoxin is Not Related to Mortality in Patients with Heart Failure: Results from the SELFIE-TR Registry.

AIMS: Digoxin has been used in the treatment for heart failure for centuries, but the role of this drug in the modern era is controversial. A particular concern is the recent observational findings suggesting an increase in all-cause mortality with digoxin, although such observations suffer from biased results since these studies usually do not provide adequate compensation for the severity of disease. Using a nationwide registry database, we aimed to investigate whether digoxin is associated with 1-year all-cause mortality in patients with heart failure irrespective of phenotype. METHODS: A total of 1014 out of 1054 patients in the registry, of whom 110 patients were on digoxin, were included in the study. Multivariable adjustments were done and propensity scores were calculated for various prognostic indicators, including signs and symptoms of heart failure and functional capacity. Crude mortality, mortality adjusted for covariates, mortality in the propensity score-matched cohort, and Bayesian factors (BFs) were analyzed. RESULTS: Crude 1-year mortality rate did not differ between patients on and off digoxin (17.3% vs 20.1%, log-rank p = 0.46), and digoxin was not related to mortality following multivariable adjustment (hazard ratio 0.87, 95% confidence interval 0.539-1.402, p = 0.57). Similarly, all-cause mortality was similar in 220 propensity-score adjusted patients (17.3% vs 20.0%, log-rank p = 0.55). On Bayesian analyses, there was moderate to strong evidence suggesting a lack of difference between in unmatched cohort (BF10 0.091) and weak-to-moderate evidence in the matched cohort (BF10 0.296). CONCLUSIONS: In this nationwide cohort, we did not find any evidence for an increased 1-year mortality in heart failure patients on digoxin.

Interatrial Block and Electrocardiographic Markers of Repolarization in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19: Classical and Bayesian Analysis.

Objective: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ventricular arrhythmias. Several electrophysiological abnormalities on surface electrocardiography (ECG) are associated with AF and ventricular arrhythmias, either as markers of abnormal interatrial conduction or abnormal repolarization. The present study sought to understand whether such ECG markers are more common in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection during the pandemic. Methods: A total of 87 COVID-19 patients formed the study group, whereas 64 patients who were hospitalized for any reason other than COVID-19 infection served as controls. The frequency of partial and advanced interatrial block (IAB), QT and corrected QT (QTc) durations, QT dispersion (QTd), and T peak-to-end duration (Tpe) were measured from ECGs at admission. Results: Both partial and advanced IAB were more common in patients with COVID-19, although statistical significance was only observed for advanced IAB (11.5% in COVID-19 patients vs. 0.0% in controls, p=0.005). There were no differences between the groups for QTc, QTd or Tpe. On Bayesian analyses, there was strong evidence favoring an association between COVID-19 and advanced IAB (BF10:16), whereas there was no evidence for an association for partial IAB, QTc, QTd, or Tpe (BF10<1 for all). Conclusions: Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were more likely to have advanced IAB, which may explain why AF is more frequent in these patients.