Wildlife susceptibility to infectious diseases at global scales.

Disease transmission prediction across wildlife is crucial for risk assessment of emerging infectious diseases. Susceptibility of host species to pathogens is influenced by the geographic, environmental, and phylogenetic context of the specific system under study. We used machine learning to analyze how such variables influence pathogen incidence for multihost pathogen assemblages, including one of direct transmission (coronaviruses and bats) and two vector-borne systems (West Nile Virus [WNV] and birds, and malaria and birds). Here we show that this methodology is able to provide reliable global spatial susceptibility predictions for the studied host-pathogen systems, even when using a small amount of incidence information (i.e., [Formula: see text] of information in a database). We found that avian malaria was mostly affected by environmental factors and by an interaction between phylogeny and geography, and WNV susceptibility was mostly influenced by phylogeny and by the interaction between geographic and environmental distances, whereas coronavirus susceptibility was mostly affected by geography. This approach will help to direct surveillance and field efforts providing cost-effective decisions on where to invest limited resources.

Semaglutide modulates prothrombotic and atherosclerotic mechanisms, associated with epicardial fat, neutrophils and endothelial cells network.

BACKGROUND: Obesity has increased in recent years with consequences on diabetes and other comorbidities. Thus, 1 out of 3 diabetic patients suffers cardiovascular disease (CVD). The network among glucose, immune system, endothelium and epicardial fat has an important role on pro-inflammatory and thrombotic mechanisms of atherogenesis. Since semaglutide, long-acting glucagon like peptide 1- receptor agonist (GLP-1-RA), a glucose-lowering drug, reduces body weight, we aimed to study its effects on human epicardial fat (EAT), aortic endothelial cells and neutrophils as atherogenesis involved-cardiovascular cells. METHODS: EAT and subcutaneous fat (SAT) were collected from patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Differential glucose consumption and protein cargo of fat-released exosomes, after semaglutide or/and insulin treatment were analyzed by enzymatic and TripleTOF, respectively. Human neutrophils phenotype and their adhesion to aortic endothelial cells (HAEC) or angiogenesis were analyzed by flow cytometry and functional fluorescence analysis. Immune cells and plasma protein markers were determined by flow cytometry and Luminex-multiplex on patients before and after 6 months treatment with semaglutide. RESULTS: GLP-1 receptor was expressed on fat and neutrophils. Differential exosomes-protein cargo was identified on EAT explants after semaglutide treatment. This drug increased secretion of gelsolin, antithrombotic protein, by EAT, modulated CD11b on neutrophils, its migration and endothelial adhesion, induced by adiposity protein, FABP4, or a chemoattractant. Monocytes and neutrophils phenotype and plasma adiposity, stretch, mesothelial, fibrotic, and inflammatory markers on patients underwent semaglutide treatment for 6 months showed a 20% reduction with statistical significance on FABP4 levels and an 80% increase of neutrophils-CD88. CONCLUSION: Semaglutide increases endocrine activity of epicardial fat with antithrombotic properties. Moreover, this drug modulates the pro-inflammatory and atherogenic profile induced by the adiposity marker, FABP4, which is also reduced in patients after semaglutide treatment.

Accumulation of Inflammatory Mediators in the Normal Pericardial Fluid.

There is paucity of studies that focus on the composition of pericardial fluid under resting conditions. The purpose of this study is to determine the levels of inflammatory mediators in pericardial fluid and their correlation with plasma levels in patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery. We conducted a prospective cohort study on candidates for elective aortic valve replacement surgery. Pericardial fluid and peripheral venous blood samples were collected after opening the pericardium. Levels of interleukin 1α (IL-1α); interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß); interleukin 2 (IL-2) interleukin 4 (IL-4); interleukin 6 (IL-6); interleukin 8 (IL8); interleukin 10 (IL10); tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) epidermal growth factor (EGF), soluble E-selectin, L-selectin, P-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) were determined in both pericardial fluid and serum samples. A total of 45 patients with a mean age of 74 years were included of which 66% were males. Serum levels of all study mediators were within normal limits. Serum and pericardial levels of IL-1 α, IL-1 ß, IL-2, IL-4, and IL-10 were similar. Levels of VEGF, EGF, VCAM-2, ICAM 1, E-selectin, P-selectin, and L-selectin were significantly lower in pericardial fluid than in serum. However, levels of IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, IFN-γ, MCP-1, and MCP-1 were significantly higher in the pericardial fluid than in serum. Under normal conditions, the pattern of distribution of different inflammatory mediators in the pericardial fluid does not reflect serum levels. This may either reflect the condition of the underlying myocardium and epicardial fat or the activity of the mesothelial and mononuclear cells present in pericardial fluid.

Synergism between obesity and HFpEF on neutrophils phenotype and its regulation by adipose tissue-molecules and SGLT2i dapagliflozin.

The adiposity invokes innate immune activity, coronary microvascular dysfunction and consequently heart failure preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Our aim was to study the neutrophils profile on obesity and cardiovascular disease and its regulation by adipose tissue-secretome and dapagliflozin. We have isolated neutrophils from patients undergoing open heart surgery (19 women and 51 men). Its migration activity was performed with culture-transwell, transcriptional studies of proteolytic enzymes, adhesion molecules or receptors were analysed by real-time PCR and proteomics (from 20 patients) analysis by TripleTOF mass spectrometer. Differentiated HL-60 (dHL-60) was used as a preclinical model on microfluidic for endothelial cells attaching assays and genes regulation with epicardial and subcutaneous fat secretomes from patients (3 women and 9 men) or dapagliflozin 1-10 µM treatments. The transcriptional and proteomics studies have determined higher levels of adhesion molecules in neutrophils from patients with obesity. The adhesion molecule CD11b levels were higher in those patients with the combined obesity and HFpEF factors (1.70 ± 0.06 a.u. without obesity, 1.72 ± 0.04 a.u. obesity or HFpEF without obesity and 1.79 ± 0.08 a.u. obesity and HFpEF; p < .01). While fat-secretome induces its upregulation, dapagliflozin can modulated it. Because CD11b upregulation is associated with higher neutrophils migration and adhesion into endothelial cells, dapagliflozin might modulate this mechanism on patients with obesity and HFpEF.

Biomechanical characteristics of different methods of neo-chordal fixation to the papillary muscles.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: Several techniques have been described for neo-chordal fixation to the papillary muscles without any reported clinical differences. The objective of this study is to compare in vitro the biomechanical properties of four of these common techniques. METHODS: We studied the biomechanical properties of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene neo-chordal fixation using four techniques: nonknotted simple stitch, nonknotted figure-of-eight stitch, knotted pledgeted mattress stitch, and knotted pledgeted stitch using commercially available prefabricated loops. Neo-chordae were submitted to a total of 20 traction-relaxation cycles with incremental loads of 1, 2, and 4 N. We calculated the elongation, the force-strain curve, elasticity, and the maximum tolerated load before neo-chordal failure. RESULTS: The elongation of the neo-chordae was lowest in the simple stitch followed by the figure-of-eight, the pledgeted mattress, and he commercially prefabricated loops (p < .001). Conversely, the elastic modulus was highest in the simple stitch followed by the figure-of-eight, the pledgeted mattress, and the prefabricated loops (p < .001). The maximum tolerated load was similar with the simple stitch (28.87 N) and with the figure-of-eight stitch (31.39 N) but was significantly lower with the pledgeted mattress stitch (20.51 N) and with the prefabricated loops (7.78 N). CONCLUSION: In vitro, neo-chordal fixation by nonknotted simple or nonknotted figure-of-eight stitches resulted in less compliance as opposed to the use of knotted pledgeted stitches. Fixation technique seemed to influence neo-chordal biomechanical properties, however, it did not seem to affect the strength of the suture when subjected to loads within physiological ranges.

Inflammatory and lipid regulation by cholinergic activity in epicardial stromal cells from patients who underwent open-heart surgery.

The modulation of acetylcholine (ACh) release by botulinum toxin injection into epicardial fat diminishes atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence. These results suggest an interaction between autonomic imbalance and epicardial fat as risk factors of AF. Our aim was to study the inflammatory, lipidic and fibroblastic profile of epicardial stroma from patients who underwent open-heart surgery, their regulation by cholinergic activity and its association with AF. We performed in vitro and ex vivo assays from paired subcutaneous and epicardial stromal cells or explants from 33 patients. Acute ACh effects in inflammation and lipid-related genes were analysed by qPCR, in intracellular calcium mobilization were performed by Fluo-4 AM staining and in neutrophil migration by trans-well assays. Chronic ACh effects on lipid accumulation were visualized by AdipoRed. Plasma protein regulation by parasympathetic denervation was studied in vagotomized rats. Our results showed a higher pro-inflammatory profile in epicardial regarding subcutaneous stromal cells. Acute ACh treatment up-regulated monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 levels. Chronic ACh treatment improved lipid accumulation within epicardial stromal cells (60.50% [22.82-85.13] vs 13.85% [6.17-23.16], P < .001). Additionally, patients with AF had higher levels of fatty acid-binding protein 4 (1.54 ± 0.01 vs 1.47 ± 0.01, P = .005). Its plasma levels were pronouncedly declined in vagotomized rats (2.02 ± 0.21 ng/mL vs 0.65 ± 0.23 ng/mL, P < .001). Our findings support the characterization of acute or chronic cholinergic activity on epicardial stroma and its association with AF.

Aortic Valve Replacement In Alkaptonuric Ochronosis.

Alkaptonuria is an autosomal recessive inborn error of metabolism of the aromatic amino acids. Deficiency of the homogentisate1,2-dioxygenase leads to an increased blood and urinary concentration of homogentisc acid resulting in a slow accumulation of its oxidation products in the connective tissues (ochronosis). The most common clinical manifestation of ochronosis is arthropathy whereas cardiac involvement is very infrequent. We report the case of a patient with ochronotic involvement of the aortic valve who underwent a valve replacement. Some aspects of pathogenesis, and treatment are discussed.

Cholinergic activity regulates the secretome of epicardial adipose tissue: Association with atrial fibrillation.

Botulinum toxin injection on epicardial fat, which inhibits acetylcholine (ACh) release, reduced the presence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients after heart surgery. Thus, we wanted to study the profile of the released proteins of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) under cholinergic activity (ACh treatment) and their value as AF predictors. Biopsies, explants, or primary cultures were obtained from the EAT of 85 patients that underwent open heart surgery. The quantification of muscarinic receptors (mAChR) by real-time polymerase chain reaction or western blot showed their expression in EAT. Moreover, mAChR Type 3 was upregulated after adipogenesis induction (p < 0.05). Cholinergic fibers in EAT were detected by vesicular ACh transporter levels and/or acetylcholinesterase activity. ACh treatment modified the released proteins by EAT, which were identified by nano-high-performance liquid chromatography and TripleTOF analysis. These differentially released proteins were involved in cell structure, inflammation, or detoxification. After testing the plasma levels of alpha-defensin 3 (inflammation-involved protein) of patients who underwent open heart surgery ( n = 24), we observed differential levels between the patients who developed or did not develop postsurgery AF (1.58 ± 1.61 ng/ml vs. 6.2 ± 5.6 ng/ml; p < 0.005). The cholinergic activity on EAT might suggest a new mechanism for studying the interplay among EAT, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, and AF.

Preliminary Aquatic Physical Therapy Core Sets for Children and Youth With Neurological Disorders: A Consensus Process.

PURPOSE: To report on the preliminary aquatic physical therapy core sets for children and youth with neurological disorders using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health-children and youth version. METHODS: A formal and structured consensus process was developed, integrating the findings of preparatory studies: a systematic literature review, expert survey with 69 participants, and a qualitative study with 43 participants. RESULTS: Five preliminary aquatic physical therapy core sets were described: a Comprehensive Core Set (64 categories); a Common Brief (13 categories); and 3 age-specific Core Sets: infant (below 6 years, 18 categories), school-age (from 6 to <14 years, 22 categories), and youth (from 14 to 18 years, 19 categories). CONCLUSIONS: Consensus among aquatic physical therapists' expert opinions identified the relevant intervention categories available when treating children and youth with neurological disorders. This list of intervention categories can be used in practice, research, education, and health administration.

Prevalence and Factors Associated With Injuries in Elite Spanish Volleyball.

CONTEXT: Prevalence studies have been carried out widely on elite volleyball players. However, the extent to which specific prevention strategies are used and the influence of the sport equipment on the occurrence of injuries have been sparsely investigated. OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of injuries sustained during 1 season in elite Spanish volleyball leagues and to investigate the association of injuries with factors such as player court position, injury mechanism, type of shoes used when playing, or participation in prevention activities. DESIGN: Descriptive cross-sectional epidemiology study: observational study. SETTING: European elite professional volleyball. PARTICIPANTS: Professional volleyball players from the elite Spanish volleyball league. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A self-report questionnaire assessed the presence of injury during a volleyball season. Questions included the type of injury, its anatomic location, participation in prevention strategies, shoe type, the injury mechanism, the season period, the period of leave, and the treatment received. RESULTS: In total, 490 players (71.2% response rate) completed and returned the questionnaire. The injury prevalence was 66.9%, and the average of injuries per player was 0.94 (0.85) (range: 0-4). Most Spanish elite volleyball players participated in prevention programs during the season (90.3%) and played volleyball with low-top shoes (83.6%), but these factors were not associated with the prevalence of injuries (P > .05). The anatomic regions with the most injuries were the ankle, knee, and shoulder; the most common types of injury were sprains, tendinopathies, and strains, usually occurring during blocking and attack actions during the in-season period. CONCLUSIONS: Despite most elite volleyball players participating in prevention programs, the results reveal a high injury prevalence. Further prospective research on the effectiveness of prevention strategies in elite volleyball is needed.

Acute Bioprosthetic Mitral Valve Thrombosis During Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane.

Bioprosthetic valve thrombosis is a rare complication. Left atrial dilatation, atrial fibrillation, hypercoagulability and low cardiac output are known risk factors. We report the case of a patient undergoing a bioprosthetic mitral valve replacement who required postoperative circulatory support with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and presented acute bioprosthetic valve thrombosis. Some aspects regarding pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment are discussed.

Multimodal manual therapy vs. pharmacological care for management of tension type headache: A meta-analysis of randomized trials.

BACKGROUND: Manual therapies are generally requested by patients with tension type headache. OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of multimodal manual therapy vs. pharmacological care for the management of tension type headache pain by conducting a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. METHODS: PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, CINAHL, EBSCO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Collaboration Trials Register, PEDro and SCOPUS were searched from their inception until June 2014. All randomized controlled trials comparing any manual therapy vs. medication care for treating tension type headache adults were included. Data were extracted and methodological quality assessed independently by two reviewers. We pooled headache frequency as the main outcome and also intensity and duration. The weighted mean difference between manual therapy and pharmacological care was used to determine effect sizes. RESULTS: Five randomized controlled trials met our inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled analyses found that manual therapies were more effective than pharmacological care in reducing frequency (weighted mean difference -0.8036, 95% confidence interval -1.66 to -0.44; three trials), intensity (weighted mean difference -0.5974, 95% confidence interval -0.8875 to -0.3073; five trials) and duration (weighted mean difference -0.5558, 95% confidence interval -0.9124 to -0.1992; three trials) of the headache immediately after treatment. No differences were found at longer follow-up for headache intensity (weighted mean difference -0.3498, 95% confidence interval -1.106 to 0.407; three trials). CONCLUSION: Manual therapies were associated with moderate effectiveness at short term, but similar effectiveness at longer follow-up for reducing headache frequency, intensity and duration in tension type headache than pharmacological medical drug care. However, due to the heterogeneity of the interventions, these results should be considered with caution at this stage.

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Denver Developmental Screening Test II.

UNLABELLED: The objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Denver Developmental Screening Test II in a population of Spanish children. Two hundred children ranging from 9 month to 6 years were grouped into two samples (healthy/with psychomotor delay) and screened in order to check whether they suffered from psychomotor delay. Children from three Early Intervention Centres and three schools participated in this study. Criterion validity was calculated by the method of extreme groups, comparing healthy children to those with development delay. Interobserver and intraobserver reliability were calculated using Cohen Kappa coefficient, and internal consistency was calculated via the Kuder-Richardson coefficient. The scale demonstrated 89% sensitivity, 92% specificity, a positive predicted value of 91% and a negative predicted value of 89%, whereas the positive and negative likelihood ratio was 11.12 and 0.12, respectively. Intraobserver reliability ranged from 0.662 to 1, and interobserver reliability ranged from 0.886 to 1. The Kuder-Richardson coefficient values ranged from 87.5 to 97.6%. CONCLUSION: The Spanish version of the Denver Developmental Screening Test II was found to have a good criterion validity, reliability and internal consistency and is a suitable screening test for use in a population of Spanish children.

Effects of spray and stretch on postneedling soreness and sensitivity after dry needling of a latent myofascial trigger point.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate (1) the effect of spray and stretch versus control on reducing postneedling soreness of 1 latent myofascial trigger point (MTrP) and (2) whether higher levels of psychological distress are associated with increased postneedling pain intensity. DESIGN: A 72-hour follow-up, single-blind randomized controlled trial. SETTING: University community. PARTICIPANTS: Healthy volunteers (N=70; 40 men, 30 women) aged 18 to 36 years (mean age, 21±4y) with latent MTrP in 1 upper trapezius muscle. INTERVENTION: All subjects received a dry needling application over the upper trapezius muscle. Then, participants were randomly divided into 2 groups: an intervention group, which received spray and stretch over the needled trapezius muscle, and a control group, which did not receive any intervention. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Visual analog scale (at postneedling, posttreatment, and 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72h after needling), pressure pain threshold (at preneedling, postneedling, and 24 and 48h after needling). Psychological distress was evaluated by using the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. RESULTS: Repeated-measures analysis of variance demonstrated a significant interaction between group and time (F3,204.8=3.19; P<.05; ηp(2)=.04) for changes in postneedling soreness. Between-group differences were significant only immediately after intervention (P=.002), and there were no differences found between groups after 6 hours of the intervention (P>.05). Repeated measures of covariance showed that none of the psychological covariates affected these results. Somatization, anxiety, interpersonal sensitivity, and hostility were significantly correlated (P<.05) with postneedling pain intensity. Repeated-measures analysis of variance did not show a significant effect of spray and stretch on mechanical hyperalgesia (F2.6,175=1.9; P=.131; ηp(2)=.02). CONCLUSIONS: The spray and stretch had a short-term (<6h) effect in reducing postneedling soreness of a latent MTrP. Pressure pain threshold did not significantly change after spray and stretch. Psychological factors are related to postneedling pain.

Edoxaban treatment in a post-infarction experimental model.

BACKGROUND: The sequelae of myocardial infarction (MI) require specific pharmacological therapy to minimise the post-MI remodelling, which in many cases evolves into cardiovascular complications. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of edoxaban, an oral anticoagulant, on cardiac recovery in a rat model of permanent coronary artery ligation. METHODS: An experimental method to assess the post-MI remodelling in rats for 4 weeks, based on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and final histological analysis of the hearts was performed. The influence of daily oral treatment with edoxaban (20 mg/kg/day) for 28 days post-MI was analysed in comparison to vehicle. RESULTS: In our model, edoxaban was shown to be safe and bleeding was observed in 1 of 10 animals. General physical recovery of the treated animals was shown by higher body weight recovery compared with non-treated animals (38.6 ± 2.9 vs. 29.9 ± 3.1 g, respectively, after 28 days). There was not a pronounced effect of edoxaban in post-MI cardiac remodelling, but mitigated fibrosis was observed by the reduced expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and tumour growth factor ß1 in the peri-infarct zone. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis provided the experimental basis to support the feasibility of MRI to study cardiac function and characterise myocardial scarring in a rat model. Overall data suggested the safety of edoxaban in the model, and compared to placebo, it showed a better post-MI recovery, probably by reducing fibrosis of the heart. Further research on mid-term cardiac recovery with edoxaban after MI is justified.

Purulent Pericarditis as the First Manifestation of Esophageal Carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: Purulent pericarditis secondary to esophago-pericardial fistula is a serious complication that has been previously reported in patients with esophageal cancer treated with radio/chemotherapy and esophageal stenting. However, the presence of esophago-pericardial fistula as the first manifestation of advanced carcinoma of the esophagus is exceedingly infrequent. We report the case of a 61-year-old male who presented with sepsis, cardiac tamponade and septic shock who was found to have an esophago-pericardial fistula secondary to squamous carcinoma of the esophagus. Emergency pericardiocentesis was performed with subsequent hemodynamic improvement. The drained pericardial fluid was purulent in nature and cultures were positive for Streptococcus anginosus. A CT scan followed by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with tissue biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. A self-expanding covered stent was endoscopically placed to exclude the fistula and restore the esophageal lumen. In this report, we discuss some aspects related to the diagnosis and management of this serious clinical entity.

Left Ventricular Papillary Fibroelastoma.

INTRODUCTION: Cardiac papillary fibroelastoma is a rare benign primary cardiac tumor typically found on the valvular structures of the heart. Nonvalvular papillary fibroelastomas are exceedingly rare. We report the case of a 66-year-old male who presented with cerebellar infarctions and was found to have a mobile mass attached to the endocardial surface of the anteroseptal wall of the left ventricle. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated late gadolinium enhancement. Surgical excision of the cardiac mass was performed via the transaortic approach without intra-operative complications. Histopathologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of a papillary fibroelastoma. Some aspects related to the etiology, diagnosis and management of this entity are discussed.

Outcomes of rapid deployment aortic valve replacement with concomitant cardiac procedures.

Background: Rapid deployment aortic valve replacement (RD-AVR) has been recently introduced with encouraging results. Outcomes of isolated RD-AVR include good hemodynamic profile, facilitation of minimally invasive techniques, and reduction of surgical times. However, role of this prosthesis in concomitant surgery is not well known. Methods: In 2016, we formed a registry to monitor the introduction of this prosthesis, RApid Deployment Aortic Replacement (RADAR). We aim to report mid-term outcomes focusing on patients who had RD-AVR combined with other surgical procedures. Results: Between July 2012 and February 2021, 370 patients were included in this registry (mean age, 75.8±8.0 years; 64.32% male; mean EuroSCORE II, 3.5±2.8). Of these, 128 (34.59%) had concomitant procedures including myocardial revascularization surgery in 69 patients (53.91%), surgery on the ascending aorta in 34 (26.56%), and procedures on other valves in 10 patients (7.81%). There were no significant differences between the isolated AVR and concomitant AVR groups in postoperative complications, in-hospital mortality (4.72% vs. 3.32%, P=0.524), or hemodynamic behavior of these prostheses. Three-year survival was 83.73% and 89.89% in the isolated and concomitant AVR group respectively. There was no difference in survival between the two groups (log-rank test, P=0.4124). Conclusions: Our results support the safety and efficacy of the Edwards INTUITY valve system even in complex aortic valve disease with additional cardiac procedures. RD-AVR could become a useful tool for concomitant surgeries where surgical times are expected to be prolonged.

Ischemic ventricular septal rupture with patent coronary bypass grafts due to occluded septal branch, a case report.

BACKGROUND: Ischemic ventricular septal rupture (VSR) is a lethal complication that occurs either after spontaneous or iatrogenic occlusion of one of the major epicardial coronary vessels. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a VSD after a septal branch occlusion in a patient with patent coronary artery grafts to both the left anterior descending and posterior descending arteries. METHODS: We present a rare case of anterior ischemic VSR due to the occlusion of a major septal branch. The patient had previous coronary artery bypass grafts and his left internal mammary artery conduit to the anterior descending artery was patent. The culprit lesion that resulted in the development of the VSR was the occlusion of a major septal branch. DISCUSSION: The presence of collateral circulation in chronic coronary occlusive disease may provide a protective effect against the development of transmural myocardial necrosis which may reduce the risk of septal rupture. This case highlights the fact that patent coronary artery grafts may not protect from future ischemic VSR. CONCLUSION: Major septal branches with significant disease should be assessed for percutaneous options if technically feasible as dictated by the Heart Team.

Does Pacemaker Implantation After Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement Impact Long-Term Morbidity and Mortality? A Focused Review.

Permanent pacing remains a serious complication that can occur in the postoperative period of surgical aortic valve replacement. The reported incidence is variable, and there are many perioperative factors that have been linked with a greater need for permanent pacing. Permanent pacing can also be associated with late lead-related and cardiac complications that can affect late outcome. However, the degree of late dependence on pacemakers is varied, and some studies have shown that a substantial proportion of patients do not need long-term pacing. Some groups have found that permanent pacing was associated with a negative impact on long-term survival in these patients. A common finding among these studies is that the groups of patients with pacemakers had higher preoperative surgical risk and comorbidity status. This makes it difficult to establish whether permanent pacing on its own represents a risk factor for late mortality or whether it is simply a marker that reflects the higher complexity and comorbidities in this group of patients.