Early mitral inflow velocity to left ventricular global strain ratio predicts limited exercise capacity.

BACKGROUND: Estimation of left ventricular filling pressure (LVFP) is the essential part of the echocardiographic workup for exercise intolerance. The ratio of the mitral early filling velocity to the left ventricular global longitudinal strain (E/LVGLS) has emerged as a novel index of LVFP. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between E/LVGLS and exercise capacity. METHODS AND RESULTS: We retrospectively reviewed 90 patients with exertional dyspnea who underwent echocardiography and cardiopulmonary exercise test. Patients were classified into three groups according to their percent-predicted maximal oxygen consumption (ppVo2 ) (G â‰§ 75, ppVo2  > 75%, n = 20; G 50-75, ppVo2 75-50%, n = 57; G < 50, ppVo2  < 50%, n = 13). Measurements were (a) the relationship between ppVo2 and E/LVGLS and (b) the efficiency of integrated diastolic assessment using E/LVGLS, left ventricular volume, mitral annular early diastolic velocity (E'), and tricuspid regurgitation to identify the patient with impaired exercise capacity. Univariate linear regression analysis demonstrated that E/LVGLS had significant correlation with ppVo2 (ρ = 0.52, P < 0.001). The area under the ROC of E/LVGLS for ppVo2  < 50% was 0.86 (95%CI 0.75-0.97). The DeLong test showed that E/LVGLS was efficient to detect ppVo2  < 50% than E/E' (P = 0.007). When used in the integrated assessment of LVFP as the alternative for E/E', E/LVGLS improved risk classification for impaired exercise capacity. CONCLUSION: E/LVGLS may be a more efficient index than E/E' to identify exercise impairment as a single index and as a part of the integrated diastolic assessment.

Mitral systolic velocity at peak exercise predicts impaired exercise capacity in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

BACKGROUND: Nearly half of patients with heart failure have normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), but their prognosis is no better than those with reduced LVEF. Although peak oxygen consumption (VO2 ) is an independent predictor of mortality in heart failure, it is unclear how cardiac function during exercise contributes to peak VO2 . Therefore, we explored the useful parameters measured by exercise stress echocardiography to predict peak VO2 in patients with heart failure with preserved LVEF (HFpEF). METHODS AND RESULTS: We assessed 80 patients being investigated for effort intolerance or dyspnea and finally analyzed 50 patients who satisfied the HFpEF criteria. Mean peak VO2 was 16.4±2.8 mL/kg/min. Twenty-three patients (46.0%) achieved a peak VO2 <16.0 mL/kg/min (Weber class C or D). There was a significant relationship between mitral systolic velocity (S') and cardiac output (CO) at rest (R=.55, P<.0001) and peak exercise (R=.64, P<.0001). The absolute increase in S' from rest to peak exercise also correlated with the absolute increase in CO (R=.32, P=.02). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that S' at peak exercise independently predicted peak VO2 . Receiver-operator characteristic curve analysis identified that an S' at peak exercise of ≤8.13 cm/s predicted a peak VO2 <16.0 mL/kg/min (sensitivity 95.7%, specificity 44.4%, area under curve 0.70, 95% confidence interval 0.55-0.84, P=.004). CONCLUSIONS: Mitral systolic velocity at peak exercise accurately reflects peak VO2 and may facilitate stratification of risk in patients with HFpEF.

Multimetal-Substituted Epsilon-Iron Oxide ϵ-Ga0.31 Ti0.05 Co0.05 Fe1.59 O3 for Next-Generation Magnetic Recording Tape in the Big-Data Era.

From the viewpoints of large capacity, long-term guarantee, and low cost, interest in magnetic recording tapes has undergone a revival as an archive storage media for big data. Herein, we prepared a new series of metal-substituted ϵ-Fe2 O3 , ϵ-Ga(III) 0.31 Ti(IV) 0.05 Co(II) 0.05 Fe(III) 1.59 O3 , nanoparticles with an average size of 18 nm. Ga, Ti, and Co cations tune the magnetic properties of ϵ-Fe2 O3 to the specifications demanded for a magnetic recording tape. The coercive field was tuned to 2.7 kOe by introduction of single-ion anisotropy on Co(II) (S=3/2) along the c-axis. The saturation magnetization was increased by 44 % with Ga(III) (S=0) and Ti(IV) (S=0) substitution through the enhancement of positive sublattice magnetizations. The magnetic tape media was fabricated using an actual production line and showed a very sharp signal response and a remarkably high signal-to-noise ratio compared to the currently used magnetic tape.

Value of resting echocardiographic findings and dobutamine stress echocardiography for diagnosing myocardial ischemia in patients with suspected angina pectoris.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the diagnostic value of resting echocardiographic findings including total heart calcification (THC) score in combination with dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) for detection of myocardial ischemia. METHODS: Altogether, 110 patients with suspected angina pectoris underwent resting echocardiography and DSE. On the basis of resting echocardiography, we determined the THC score, left anterior descending artery diastole-to-systole velocity ratio (LAD-DSVR), and positive myocardial velocity during isovolumic relaxation phase (VIVR ) detected by color-coded tissue Doppler imaging. Myocardial ischemia was diagnosed by a 25% or greater reduction in the internal diameter of major coronary vessels with impaired fractional flow reserve (FFR ≤0.80). RESULTS: DSE had excellent specificity (89%) but modest sensitivity (52%) for wall-motion abnormality (WMA) analysis. Multivariate analysis showed that THC score ≥2 (odds ratio and 95% confidence interval: 4.49 [2.29-10.6]; P = 0.018), LAD-DSVR ≤1.5 (6.43 [1.39-20.3], P = 0.019), and duration of positive VIVR ≥71 msec (7.93 [3.72-12.1]; P < 0.001) were independent predictors of ischemia. The combination of inducible WMA and THC score yielded significantly higher sensitivity for ischemia detection than the inducible WMA alone (80% vs. 52%, P = 0.0008). Using receiver operating characteristics analyses, adding all three resting echocardiographic findings to clinical variables plus inducible WMA further improved prediction of ischemia (P = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS: Integration of DSE and resting echocardiographic findings describing degree of heart calcification, impaired LAD flow, and extent of delayed ejection motion of the myocardium improves detection of coronary angiogram-based FFR-guided ischemia.

A curious Takotsubo cardiomyopathy after COVID-19.

We present the case of a 66-year-old woman undergoing chronic dialysis who developed pneumonia and enteritis after being infected with COVID-19 and had severe wall motion reduction similar to a left ventricular aneurysm. There was concern that the condition might worsen due to left ventricular wall thinning and curious wall motion abnormalities, but echocardiography one month later showed normalization. After four months, simultaneous binuclear myocardial scintigraphy of thallium and BMIPP showed that the mismatch had disappeared. We considered that there may be other factors specific to COVID-19 infection in addition to the stress associated with infection and reviewed the literature.

Examination of the Suitability of Vericiguat in Non-Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction Patients with Improved Ejection Fraction.

Background/Objectives: Vericiguat has been shown to reduce cardiovascular mortality and hospitalisation for heart failure in patients with reduced ejection fraction. While Vericiguat is considered one of the standard treatments for heart failure, it is unclear under which conditions Vericiguat would be most effective. With a focus on the prognosis and improved EF of heart failure, we aimed to investigate in which cases Vericiguat is suitable for use in addition to standard cardioprotective drugs. Methods: We prospectively compared echocardiograms taken before and after the administration of Vericiguat in 46 patients with non-dialysis and without heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (non-HFpEF) (left ventricle ejection fraction [LVEF] < 50%) who were able to continue Vericiguat in addition to other standard heart failure drugs (the "Fantastic Four") for more than 6 months at our hospital. Patients who showed an improvement of 10 points or more in LVEF were defined as improved EF+. Results: LVEF improved significantly from 38 [33-45]% at the time of administration to 46 [35-54.5]% at 6 months (p < 0.001). When comparing patients with and without improved EF, a significant difference was observed in the Hb (OR = 1.66, 95%CI = 1.12-2.83, p = 0.028), early introduction (OR = 12.5, 95%CI = 1.58-149, p = 0.025), and initiation of Vericiguat after the administration of the Fantastic Four (OR = 9.79, 95%CI = 1.71-100.2, p = 0.022). Conclusions: In this study, the early administration of Vericiguat, haemoglobin value, and initiation of Vericiguat after the introduction of the Fantastic Four were identified as independent factors for eligibility in non-dialysis, non-HFpEF patients who were able to continue GDMT treatment for more than 6 months after adding Vericiguat.

Usefulness of post-systolic index in facilitating stratification of risk in patients with intermediate- or low-risk non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Although there is reportedly a usefulness of left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV GLS) on 2D speckle-tracking echocardiography in excluding significant coronary artery disease (CAD) in suspected intermediate- or low-risk non-ST-segment elevation-acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS), the efficacy of post-systolic index (PSI) in this context is yet unknown. Therefore, we explored the usefulness of PSI in facilitating stratification of risk in patients with intermediate- or low-risk NSTE-ACS. METHODS AND RESULTS: We assessed 50 consecutive patients suspected of intermediate- or low-risk NSTE-ACS, and finally analyzed 43 patients whose echocardiographic images were suitable for strain analysis. All patients underwent CAG. Among the 43 analyzed patients, 26 had CAD, and 21 underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Patients with CAD had higher PSI (25% [20.8-40.3%] vs 15% [8.0-27.5%], P = 0.007). Receiver-operator characteristic curve analysis identified that a PSI of > 20% detected performance of PCI (sensitivity 80.7%, specificity 70.6%, area under curve [AUC] 0.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.57-0.88). Moreover, the AUC obtained using the GRACE risk score was 0.57 (95% CI 0.39-0.75), and increased to 0.75 (95% CI 0.60-0.90) when PSI and LV GLS were added. Thus, the addition of PSI and LV GLS improved the classification of performance of PCI (net reclassification improvement [95%CI] 0.09 [0.0024-0.18], P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Post-systolic index is a useful parameter that can facilitate stratification of risk in patients with intermediate- or low-risk NSTE-ACS. We recommend measuring PSI in routine clinical practice.

Successful conservative treatment for left ventricular free wall rupture after acute myocardial infarction.

Left ventricular free wall rupture (LVFWR) is a rare but fatal complication of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). An 81-year-old female patient with several cardiovascular risk factors presented to the emergency department with symptoms of developing a chronic stomachache and cold sweat. An echocardiograph showed wall motion abnormalities from the lateral to posterior wall, as well as pericardial effusion containing clots of up to 17 mm in the posterior wall that indicated LVFWR after AMI. Although she was conscious after being brought to the initial care unit, she suddenly lost consciousness and fell into electromechanical dissociation (EMD). Endotracheal intubation was immediately initiated and her pericardial drainage and intra aortic balloon pump (IABP) placement, and hemodynamics recovered. Although she had 100% obstruction in the left circumflex artery (LCX) #12 on coronary angiography (CAG), she was discharged to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) without percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Conservative treatment such as intubation, sedation, pericardiocentesis and strict blood pressure management as well as treatment by IABP long-term support led to the patient being uneventfully discharged after 60 days.

The impact that myocarditis for post-acute COVID-19 syndrome may be dermatomyositis-like myocarditis: A case report.

Myocarditis is often reported as a complication of COVID-19 infection or post-vaccination, but there are few reports of "myocarditis for Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome", and many unknowns still remain. Apart from that, an association between COVID-19 infection and dermatomyositis has also been reported. We describe the clinical presentation of acute myocarditis in a patient who had developed COVID-19 syndrome one-month earlier. A healthy 49-year-old man experienced typical COVID-19 symptoms. Thirty-two days later, he was admitted because of fever and severe fatigue, chest pain and bradycardia. Blood tests showed major inflammation. PCR for SARS-CoV-2 on nasopharyngeal swab (ID NOW™) was positive, but diagnosed as a previous infection due to a high CT value. Because of haemodynamic worsening with both an increase in cardiac troponin I and NT-pro BNP levels and reduced wall motion on echocardiography, acute myocarditis was suspected. Myocardial biopsy revealed severe lymphocytic infiltration and interstitial edema between myocardial fibers. These findings led to the diagnosis of fulminant myocarditis. Interestingly, myocardium was also stained with human myxovirus resistance protein 1 (MxA). We consider that there may be an aspect of "dermatomyositis-like myocarditis with SARS-CoV-2" in our case. This is the first case of fulminant myocarditis for Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome in which diagnosis of active myocarditis was proven by pathological examination following myocardial biopsy and strong association with dermatomyositis was suggested pathologically.

A vegetation in a unique location without exposure to regurgitation or a shunt jet: A case report.

Bacteria can adhere to cardiac endothelium damaged by regurgitation or a shunt jet; however, healthy cardiac endothelium is supposedly resistant to bacterial adhesion. A 22-year-old man presented to our emergency department with fever. Physical examination revealed no obvious cardiac murmur, but there was evidence of splinter hemorrhages and Janeway lesions. Transthoracic echocardiography did not reveal vegetative lesions, but a 15 × 7-mm vegetation was identified on the surface of the left ventricular muscle just below the anterolateral commissure of the mitral valve without regurgitation or a shunt jet by means of transesophageal echocardiography. Surgery was performed on the seventh day, but the patient's postoperative course was unstable. Some complications occurred because the vegetation existed in a unique location. Although the patient continued to have an uncontrollable infection over the subsequent course, he was discharged on the 94th hospital day. We present a case of a vegetation in a unique location without exposure to regurgitation or a shunt jet. This case indicates that vegetative lesions may develop even in the absence of regurgitation and shunt jets. In case of infective endocarditis where a vegetation exists in a unique location, comprehensive testing or strategy are required to treat this condition. .

With M-protein positive, could transthyretin amyrodosis be easily excluded? Not necessarily! Wild-type transthyretin amyrodosis with Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia: a case report.

Background: Generally, it is said that amyloid light-chain (AL) develops not only in multiple myeloma but also in Waldenström's macroglobulinemia. We experienced a case of M-protein positive and diagnosed as wild-type transthyretin amyrodosis (ATTRwt) accompanied with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia. Case summary: The patient was 72-year-old male, and the main complaint was dyspnoea in April 2020 and visited a nearby doctor. He was introduced to the Department of Haematology at our hospital for high levels of serum immunoglobulin M, M-protein positivity, and cardiac hypertrophy with a suspect of AL amyloidosis. Duodenal mucosal biopsy and abdominal skin biopsy showed no amyloid deposits, and left iliac bone marrow biopsy diagnosed Waldenström's macroglobulinemia and with no amyloid, and Kumamoto criteria score 1. Last of all, ATTRwt was diagnosed for endocardial biopsy. Discussion: This is a very rare case of ATTRwt with Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia.

Six recurrences of myocarditis in 3 years: A case report.

A recent study revealed that recurrence of myocarditis occurs in a significant proportion of patients, but multiple recurrences of myocarditis have rarely been reported. The pathophysiology and best treatments for multiple recurrences of myocarditis remain unclear. A 60-year-old man presented to our emergency department with fever and chest pain. Physical examination, imaging, and laboratory findings were consistent with fulminant myocarditis. Paired titers confirmed adenovirus infection. The patient was treated with intra-aortic balloon pump and percutaneous cardiopulmonary support for 7 days and was discharged with near-normal electrocardiographic and echocardiographic findings on day 26. Over the subsequent 3 years, the patient experienced six episodes of recurrence of myocarditis with a progressive decrease in his ability to perform activities of daily living. At the time of his sixth recurrence, he died of ventricular fibrillation. Autopsy revealed mild enlargement of the left ventricle, extensive inflammatory cell infiltration, and mild interstitial fibrosis, suggesting left ventricle remodeling because of repetitive myocarditis. We have presented a case of multiple recurrences of myocarditis. This is the largest number of recurrences in a single patient reported to date. Further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying pathogenesis and best treatment of this condition. .

Exercise-Stress Echocardiography and Effort Intolerance in Asymptomatic/Minimally Symptomatic Patients With Degenerative Mitral Regurgitation Combined Invasive-Noninvasive Hemodynamic Monitoring.

Background Effort intolerance, measured objectively by reduced peak oxygen consumption (Vo2), has been considered as an important prognosticator in degenerative mitral regurgitation (MR). However, its mechanism is unknown. Methods and Results In 25 asymptomatic/minimally symptomatic patients with grade III+ or greater degenerative MR undergoing semisupine invasive exercise testing, Doppler estimates and invasive measurement of systolic (SPAP) and mean pulmonary artery pressure (MPAP) and cardiac output (CO) were simultaneously obtained. Echocardiographic estimates of SPAP, MPAP, and CO correlated well with invasive measurement at peak exercise (bias, SPAP, -0.7±7.4 mm Hg; MPAP, 1.2±6.3 mm Hg; CO, 0.2±2.5 L/min). Heart rate reserve (ß, 3.997; 95% CI, 2.704-5.290 per 41.5% increase; P<0.001), MPAP/CO slope (ß, -3.846; 95% CI, -5.926 to -1.766 per 4.85 mm Hg/L per minute increase; P=0.001), and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion/SPAP slope (ß, 4.094; 95% CI, 2.252-5.936 per 0.22 mm/mm Hg increase; P=0.003) were associated with peak Vo2 even after adjustment for increase in MR vena contracta during exercise and peak SPAP. The MPAP/CO slope of 4.13 had a sensitivity and a specificity for predicting effort intolerance (%predicted peak Vo2 <70%) of 57% and 91%, respectively, whereas the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion/SPAP slope of 0.25 had a respective sensitivity and specificity of 86% and 82%. Conclusions The agreement between echocardiographic and invasive measures of pulmonary artery pressures and CO during exercise is acceptable. In patients with degenerative MR, effort intolerance is predominantly because of chronotropic incompetence, abnormal pulmonary vascular reserve, and limited right ventricular contractile reserve and not simply because of exercise-induced MR or pulmonary hypertension.