Warfarin is an effective treatment for thromboembolic disease but has a narrow therapeutic index; optimal anticoagulation dosage can differ tremendously among individuals. We aimed to evaluate whether genotype-guided warfarin dosing is superior to routine clinical dosing for the outcomes of interest in Chinese patients.

Alcohol intake influences plasma lipid levels, and such effects may be moderated by genetic variants. We aimed to characterize the role of aggregated rare and low-frequency protein-coding variants in gene by alcohol consumption interactions associated with fasting plasma lipid levels.

Ischemic heart diseases are leading causes of death and reduced life quality worldwide. Although revascularization strategies significantly reduce mortality after acute myocardial infarction (MI), a large number of patients with MI develop chronic heart failure over time. We previously reported that a fragment of the extracellular matrix protein agrin promotes cardiac regeneration after MI in adult mice.

NPs (natriuretic peptides) are cardiac-derived hormones that promote natriuresis, diuresis, and vasodilation. Preclinical evidence suggests that nonhemodynamic triggers for NP release exist, with a few studies implicating inflammatory stimuli. We examined the association between inflammation and NP levels in humans.

Preclinical studies and pilot patient studies have shown that chronic infarctions can be detected and characterized from cardiac magnetic resonance without gadolinium-based contrast agents using native-T1 maps at 3T. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic capacity of this approach for characterizing chronic myocardial infarctions (MIs) in a multi-center setting.

Background Infective endocarditis (IE) remains a difficult to diagnose condition associated with high mortality. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) has recently emerged as another IE imaging modality, although diagnostic accuracy varies across observational studies and types of IE. This meta-analysis assessed the diagnostic performance of 18F-FDG PET/CT for IE and its subtypes. Methods We searched Pubmed, Cochrane, and Embase from January 1980 to September 2019 for studies reporting both sensitivity and specificity of 18F-FDG PET/CT for IE. Meta-Disc 1.4 was used to pool data for all cases of IE and its subgroups of native valve IE, prosthetic valve IE, and cardiac implantable electronic devices IE. Results We screened 2566 records from the search, assessed 52 full-text articles, and included 26 studies totaling 1358 patients (509 IE cases). Pooled sensitivity and specificity (95% CI, inconsistency I-square statistic) were 0.74 (0.70-0.77, 71.5%) and 0.88 (0.86-0.91, 78.5%) for all cases of endocarditis. Corresponding parameters for native valve IE were sensitivity 0.31 (0.21-0.41, 29.4%) and specificity 0.98 (0.95-0.99, 34.4%); for prosthetic valve IE: sensitivity 0.86 (0.81-0.89, 60.0%) and specificity 0.84 (0.79-0.88, 75.2%); and for cardiac implantable electronic devices IE: sensitivity 0.72 (0.61-0.81, 76.2%) and specificity 0.83 (0.75-0.89, 83.6%). Pooled sensitivities and specificities were higher for the 17 studies since 2015 than the 9 studies published before 2015. Conclusions 18F-FDG PET/CT had high specificity for all IE subtypes; however, sensitivity was markedly lower for native valve IE than prosthetic valve IE and cardiac implantable electronic devices IE. It is, therefore, a useful adjunct modality for assessing endocarditis, especially in the challenging scenarios of prosthetic valve IE and cardiac implantable electronic devices IE, with improving performance over time, related to advances in 18F-FDG PET/CT techniques.

Background Color-duplex ultrasonography (DUS) could be an alternative to computed tomography-aortography (CTA) in the lifelong surveillance of patients after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR), but there is currently no level 1 evidence. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of DUS as an alternative to CTA for the follow-up of post-EVAR patients. Methods Between December 16, 2010, and June 12, 2015, we conducted a prospective, blinded, diagnostic-accuracy study, in 15 French university hospitals where EVAR was commonly performed. Participants were followed up using both DUS and CTA in a mutually blinded setup until the end of the study or until any major aneurysm-related morphological abnormality requiring reintervention or an amendment to the follow-up policy was revealed by CTA. Database was locked on October 2, 2017. Our main outcome measures were sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, positive and negative likelihood ratios of DUS against reference standard CTA. CIs are binomial 95% CI. Results This study recruited prospectively 659 post-EVAR patients of whom 539 (82%) were eligible for further analysis. Following the baseline inclusion visit, 940 additional follow-up visits were performed in the 539 patients. Major aneurysm-related morphological abnormalities were revealed by CTA in 103 patients (17.2/100 person-years [95% CI, 13.9-20.5]). DUS accurately identified 40 patients where a major aneurysm-related morphological abnormality was present (sensitivity, 39% [95% CI, 29-48]) and 403 of 436 patients with negative CTA (specificity, 92% [95% CI, 90-95]). The negative predictive value and positive predictive value of DUS were 92% (95% CI, 90-95) and 39% (95% CI, 27-50), respectively. The positive likelihood ratio was 4.87 (95% CI, 2.9-9.6). DUS sensitivity reached 73% (95% CI, 51-96) in patients requiring an effective reintervention. Conclusions DUS had an overall low sensitivity in the follow-up of patients after EVAR, but its performance improved meaningfully when the subset of patients requiring effective reinterventions was considered. Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT01230203.

Background In women with congenital heart defects (CHD), changes in blood volume, heart rate, respiration, and edema during pregnancy may lead to increased risk of adverse outcomes and conditions. The American Heart Association recommends providers of pregnant women with CHD assess cardiac health and discuss risks and benefits of cardiac-related medications. We described receipt of American Heart Association-recommended cardiac evaluations, filled potentially teratogenic or fetotoxic (Food and Drug Administration pregnancy category D/X) cardiac-related prescriptions, and adverse conditions among pregnant women with CHD compared with those without CHD. Methods and Results Using 2007 to 2014 US healthcare claims data, we ascertained a retrospective cohort of women with and without CHD aged 15 to 44 years with private insurance covering prescriptions during pregnancy. CHD was defined as ≥1 inpatient code or ≥2 outpatient CHD diagnosis codes >30 days apart documented outside of pregnancy and categorized as severe or nonsevere. Log-linear regression, accounting for multiple pregnancies per woman, generated adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) for associations between the presence/severity of CHD and stillbirth, preterm birth, and adverse conditions from the last menstrual period to 90 days postpartum. We identified 2056 women with CHD (2334 pregnancies) and 1 374 982 women without (1 524 077 pregnancies). During the last menstrual period to 90 days postpartum, 56% of women with CHD had comprehensive echocardiograms and, during pregnancy, 4% filled potentially teratogenic or fetotoxic cardiac-related prescriptions. Women with CHD, compared with those without, experienced more adverse conditions overall (aPR, 1.9 [95% CI, 1.7-2.1]) and, specifically, obstetric (aPR, 1.3 [95% CI, 1.2-1.4]) and cardiac conditions (aPR, 10.2 [95% CI, 9.1-11.4]), stillbirth (aPR, 1.6 [95% CI, 1.1-2.4]), and preterm delivery (aPR, 1.6 [95% CI, 1.4-1.8]). More women with severe CHD, compared with nonsevere, experienced adverse conditions overall (aPR, 1.5 [95% CI, 1.2-1.9]). Conclusions Women with CHD have elevated prevalence of adverse cardiac and obstetric conditions during pregnancy; 4 in 100 used potentially teratogenic or fetotoxic medications, and only half received an American Heart Association-recommended comprehensive echocardiogram.

Aortic valve stenosis (AVS), which is the most common valvular heart disease, causes a progressive narrowing of the aortic valve as a consequence of thickening and calcification of the aortic valve leaflets. The beneficial effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) in cardiovascular prevention have recently been demonstrated in a large randomized, controlled trial. In addition, n-3 PUFAs serve as the substrate for the synthesis of specialized proresolving mediators, which are known by their potent beneficial anti-inflammatory, proresolving, and tissue-modifying properties in cardiovascular disease. However, the effects of n-3 PUFA and specialized proresolving mediators on AVS have not yet been determined. The aim of this study was to identify the role of n-3 PUFA-derived specialized proresolving mediators in relation to the development of AVS.

The novel coronavirus disease 2019, otherwise known as COVID-19, is a global pandemic with primary respiratory manifestations in those who are symptomatic. It has spread to >187 countries with a rapidly growing number of affected patients. Underlying cardiovascular disease is associated with more severe manifestations of COVID-19 and higher rates of mortality. COVID-19 can have both primary (arrhythmias, myocardial infarction, and myocarditis) and secondary (myocardial injury/biomarker elevation and heart failure) cardiac involvement. In severe cases, profound circulatory failure can result. This review discusses the presentation and management of patients with severe cardiac complications of COVID-19 disease, with an emphasis on a Heart-Lung team approach in patient management. Furthermore, it focuses on the use of and indications for acute mechanical circulatory support in cardiogenic and/or mixed shock.

Ex situ heart perfusion (ESHP) preserves the donated heart in a perfused, beating condition preventing cold storage-related ischemia and provides a platform to evaluate myocardial viability during preservation. However, myocardial function declines gradually during ESHP. Extracorporeal circulation systems are associated with the induction of systemic inflammatory and stress responses. Our aim was to evaluate the incidence of inflammation and induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress responses during an extended period of ESHP.

Heart failure is a prominent complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). The goal of this study was to provide longitudinal data on cardiac structure and function (and cross-sectional comparison to normal-weight and obese controls without T2D) in individuals followed from adolescence with youth-onset T2D.

Obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM) is characterized by unexplained left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy associated with dynamic LV outflow tract obstruction. Current medical therapies are nonspecific and have limited efficacy in relieving symptoms. Mavacamten is a first-in-class targeted inhibitor of cardiac myosin, which has been shown to reduce LV outflow tract obstruction, improve exercise capacity, and relieve symptoms of oHCM in the PIONEER-HCM phase 2 study.