Effectiveness of point-of-care oral ivabradine for cardiac computed tomography.

BACKGROUND: Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) is increasing seen as a first line investigation in patients with suspected coronary artery disease. Heart-rate control improves the image quality and diagnostic accuracy of CCTA. Typically, beta-blockers are administered to induce sinus bradycardia. Sinus bradycardia may also be induced by ivabradine. We hypothesized that in a real-world population ivabradine would be an effective alternative to metoprolol at heart rate lowering for CCTA. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients who were exposed to an ivabradine-based (IB) versus a metoprolol-only (MO) protocol to achieve a target heart rate 65 and received heart-rate lowering medication: 1958 patients had MO, and 718 received IB protocol. Target heart rate of

The Future of Cardiac Molecular Imaging.

Molecular imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) serves numerous applications in clinical cardiology and research. Similar to other medical imaging technologies, this area has undergone and continues to experience rapid changes resulting from technological and medical advances. These have immediate impacts on diagnosis, treatment planning, and patient care, as well as supplying innovative tools for fundamental and translational research. A broad shift toward hybrid PET systems and incorporation of advanced computational tools has been accompanied by mechanism-specific, targeted radiopharmaceuticals that seek to address long-standing limitations in cardiac imaging. While this review addresses some of the still-emerging clinical uses of established radiopharmaceuticals, it too highlights newer imaging probes, applications, and imaging techniques and instrumentation on the horizon. We highlight molecular imaging advances in inflammatory and infiltrative myocardial conditions, heart metabolism, vascular and valvular diseases, neurohormonal dysregulation, and transformational technical advances such as the rise of artificial intelligence and theranostic approaches to cardiovascular disease.

Decreased left atrial global longitudinal strain predicts the risk of atrial fibrillation recurrence after cryoablation in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

PURPOSE: We aimed to investigate the association of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence with left atrial (LA) strain in nonvalvular paroxysmal AF patients after cryoablation. METHODS: We included 190 patients who underwent successful cryoablation due to paroxysmal AF. In addition to classical echocardiographic data, LA apical 2-chamber (A2C) strain, LA apical 4-chamber (A4C) strain, and LA global longitudinal strain (LA-GLS) values were calculated by speckle tracking echocardiography. Forty-eight-hour Holter monitoring was performed to all patients no later than 6 months after ablation. RESULTS: AF recurrence was detected in 42 patients (22.1%). End-systolic diameter, LA end-systolic diameter, LA-volume, LA-volume index, interatrial septum thickness, coronary sinus diameter, epicardial fat thickness (EFT), and septal E/E` ratio were significantly higher, LV-EF, IVRT, septal S and A` wave, lateral S wave, LA-A2C strain, LA-A4C strain, and LA-GLS were significantly lower in patients with AF recurrence. LA-GLS, LA-volume index, and EFT were found to be independent parameters for predicting AF recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: LA-GLS and LAVI should be included in routine evaluations to determine long-term AF recurrence preoperatively.

Morning blood pressure surge is associated independently with orthostatic hypotension in hypertensive patients under treatment.

OBJECTIVE: Morning blood pressure surge (MBPS) and orthostatic hypotension (OH) play a role in the occurrence of cardiovascular events. We aimed to investigate the association between MBPS and OH in hypertensive patients under treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We prospectively included 297 patients (mean age: 53.8±10.7 years, male/female: 101/196) with essential hypertension. Tilt table testing was performed for the diagnosis of OH. OH was classified into three groups as initial OH (0-15 s), classical OH (15 s to 3 min), and delayed OH (3-30 min). Patients were categorized into two main groups: patient with OH or without OH. We used sleep-through MBPS. The MBPS was calculated as the difference between the average blood pressure (BP) during the 2 h after awakening and the lowest night-time BP. RESULTS: We detected initial OH in two patients, classic OH in seven patients, delayed OH in 20 patients, and delayed OH with syncope in two patients. MBPS, thiazide diuretic, and α-blocker treatments were found to be associated independently with the occurrence of OH. Every 10 mmHg increase in MBPS was found to increase the rate of development of OH by 29.6%. The cut-off value of MBPS obtained by the receiver operator characteristic curve analysis was 35 mmHg for the prediction of OH occurrence (sensitivity: 58.0%, specificity: 68.0%). The area under the curve was 0.657 (95% confidence interval: 0.553-0.771, P=0.004). CONCLUSION: OH is a major problem in hypertensive patients. Increased MBPS, which can be detected easily by 24-h ambulatory BP monitor, predicts the occurrence of OH independently.