Echocardiography in Cardiac Assist Devices.

In patients with medically refractory heart failure or cardiogenic shock, both temporary and durable mechanical circulatory support devices can be used to support cardiac circulation. Both transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) are widely available, relatively noninvasive, and avoid radiation exposure. Thus, echocardiography is an invaluable tool that provides vital information aiding in preprocedure evaluation, placement, management, and weaning of cardiac assist devices. The purpose of this article is to review the utility of both TTE and TEE in managing patients with cardiac assist devices.

Torsemide vs Furosemide Among Patients With New-Onset vs Worsening Chronic Heart Failure: A Substudy of the TRANSFORM-HF Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Differences in clinical profiles, outcomes, and diuretic treatment effects may exist between patients with de novo heart failure (HF) and worsening chronic HF (WHF). Objectives: To compare clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of torsemide vs furosemide in patients hospitalized with de novo HF vs WHF. Design, Setting, and Participants: All patients with a documented ejection fraction who were randomized in the Torsemide Comparison With Furosemide for Management of Heart Failure (TRANSFORM-HF) trial, conducted from June 18 through March 2022, were included in this post hoc analysis. Study data were analyzed March to May 2023. Exposure: Patients were categorized by HF type and further divided by loop diuretic strategy. Main Outcomes and Measures: End points included all-cause mortality and hospitalization outcomes over 12 months, as well as change from baseline in the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire Clinical Summary Score (KCCQ-CSS). Results: Among 2858 patients (mean [SD] age, 64.5 [14.0] years; 1803 male [63.1%]), 838 patients (29.3%) had de novo HF, and 2020 patients (70.7%) had WHF. Patients with de novo HF were younger (mean [SD] age, 60.6 [14.5] years vs 66.1 [13.5] years), had a higher glomerular filtration rate (mean [SD], 68.6 [24.9] vs 57.0 [24.0]), lower levels of natriuretic peptides (median [IQR], brain-type natriuretic peptide, 855.0 [423.0-1555.0] pg/mL vs 1022.0 [500.0-1927.0] pg/mL), and tended to be discharged on lower doses of loop diuretic (mean [SD], 50.3 [46.2] mg vs 63.8 [52.4] mg). De novo HF was associated with lower all-cause mortality at 12 months (de novo, 65 of 838 [9.1%] vs WHF, 408 of 2020 [25.4%]; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.50; 95% CI, 0.38-0.66; P < .001). Similarly, lower all-cause first rehospitalization at 12 months and greater improvement from baseline in KCCQ-CSS at 12 months were noted among patients with de novo HF (median [IQR]: de novo, 29.94 [27.35-32.54] vs WHF, 23.68 [21.62-25.74]; adjusted estimated difference in means: 6.26; 95% CI, 3.72-8.81; P < .001). There was no significant difference in mortality with torsemide vs furosemide in either de novo (No. of events [rate per 100 patient-years]: torsemide, 27 [7.4%] vs furosemide, 38 [10.9%]; aHR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.40-1.14; P = .15) or WHF (torsemide 212 [26.8%] vs furosemide, 196 [24.0%]; aHR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.89-1.32; P = .42; P for interaction = .10), In addition, no significant differences in hospitalizations, first all-cause hospitalization, or total hospitalizations at 12 months were noted with a strategy of torsemide vs furosemide in either de novo HF or WHF. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients discharged after hospitalization for HF, de novo HF was associated with better clinical and patient-reported outcomes when compared with WHF. Regardless of HF type, there was no significant difference between torsemide and furosemide with respect to 12-month clinical or patient-reported outcomes.

Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in heart transplant recipients with biopsy-negative graft dysfunction.

AIMS: Graft dysfunction (GD) after heart transplantation (HTx) can develop without evidence of cell- or antibody-mediated rejection. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has an evolving role in detecting rejection; however, its role in biopsy-negative GD has not been described. This study examines CMR findings, evaluates outcomes based on CMR results, and seeks to identify the possibility of rejection missed through endomyocardial biopsy by using CMR in HTx recipients with biopsy-negative GD. METHODS AND RESULTS: HTx recipients with GD [defined as a decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) by >5% and LVEF < 50%] in the absence of rejection by biopsy or allograft vasculopathy and who underwent CMR were included in the study. The primary outcome was a composite of all-cause mortality, re-transplantation, or persistent LVEF < 50%. Overall, 34 HTx recipients developed biopsy-negative GD and underwent CMR. Left ventricular late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) on CMR was observed in 16 patients with two distinct patterns: diffuse epicardial (n = 13) and patchy (n = 3) patterns. Patients with LGE developed GD later after HTx [4 (1.4-6.8) vs. 0.8 (0.3-1.2) years, P < 0.001], were more often symptomatic (88% vs. 56%, P = 0.06), and had greater haemodynamic derangement (pulmonary capillary wedge pressure: 19 ± 7 vs. 13 ± 3 mmHg, P = 0.002) as compared with those without LGE. No significant difference was observed in the primary composite outcome between patients with LGE and those without LGE (50% vs. 38% of patients with events, P = 0.515). During a median follow-up of 3.8 years, mean LVEF improved similarly in the LGE-negative (37-55%) and LGE-positive groups (32-55%) (P = 0.16). CONCLUSIONS: Biopsy-negative GD occurs with and without LGE when assessed by CMR, indicative of possible rejection/inflammation occurring only in a subset of patients. Irrespective of LGE, LVEF improvement occurs in most GD patients, suggesting that other neurohormonal or immunomodulatory mechanisms may also contribute to GD development.

Machine learning helps predict long-term mortality and graft failure in patients undergoing heart transplant.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to develop a risk prediction model using a machine learning to predict survival and graft failure (GF) 5 years after orthotopic heart transplant (OHT). METHODS: Using the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplant (ISHLT) registry data, we analyzed 15,236 patients who underwent OHT from January 2005 to December 2009. 342 variables were extracted and used to develop a risk prediction model utilizing a gradient-boosted machine (GBM) model to predict the risk of GF and mortality 5 years after hospital discharge. After excluding variables missing at least 50% of the observations and variables with near zero variance, 87 variables were included in the GBM model. Ten fold cross-validation repeated 5 times was used to estimate the model's external performance and optimize the hyperparameters simultaneously. Area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) for the GBM model was calculated for survival and GF 5 years post-OHT. RESULTS: The median duration of follow-up was 5 years. The mortality and GF 5 years post-OHT were 27.3% (n = 4161) and 28.1% (n = 4276), respectively. The AUC to predict 5-year mortality and GF is 0.717 (95% CI 0.696-0.737) and 0.716 (95% CI 0.696-0.736), respectively. Length of stay, recipient and donor age, recipient and donor body mass index, and ischemic time had the highest relative influence in predicting 5-year mortality and graft failure. CONCLUSION: The GBM model has a good accuracy to predict 5-year mortality and graft failure post-OHT.

Papillary fibroelastoma diagnosed through multimodality cardiac imaging: a rare tumour in an uncommon location with review of literature.

We describe the case of a woman presenting with transient ischaemic attack, who was found to have a papillary fibroelastoma arising from the aortic wall, an extremely rare location. We describe the multimodality imaging techniques used in diagnosing this patient and review the most recent literature on evaluation and management of patients with cardiac papillary fibroelastomas.

Role of cardiac MRI in nonischemic cardiomyopathies.

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) with its higher spatial resolution is considered the gold standard for evaluating ventricular mass, volumes, and ejection fraction. CMR can be used for accurate diagnosis of several conditions, especially cardiomyopathies. The purpose of this article is to review the utility of CMR in the diagnosis and management of nonischemic cardiomyopathies. We have reviewed both common and rare types of nonischemic cardiomyopathies in detail and elaborated on the specific CMR findings in each. We believe that CMR is an invaluable tool, not only in differentiating nonischemic from ischemic cardiomyopathy, but also in aiding the accurate diagnosis and management of the subtype of nonischemic cardiomyopathy. CMR should routinely be integrated in the diagnostic workup of various cardiomyopathies.

Insights into the Mechanism of Severe Mitral Regurgitation: RT-3D TEE Guided Management with Pathological Correlation.

Mitral valve perforation is an uncommon but important complication of infective endocarditis. We report a case of a 65-year-old man who was diagnosed to have infective endocarditis of his mitral valve. Through the course of his admission he had a rapid development of hemodynamic instability and pulmonary edema secondary to acutely worsening mitral regurgitation. While the TEE demonstrated an increase in the size of his bacterial vegetation, Real Time 3D TEE was ultimately the imaging modality through which the valve perforation was identified. Through this case report we discuss the advantages that RT-3D TEE has over traditional 2D TEE in the management of valve perforation.