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Premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) are common in the general population, usuallyasymptomatic, and deemed to be benign in structurally normal hearts. The spectrum of “benign” outflow tract PVCs ranges from single PVCs to recurrent non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT). Short-coupled right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) PVCs may trigger polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) in some patients and can be high risk. In many patients, PVCs can be morefrequent and cause symptoms ofpalpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, and heart failure.In the presence of underlying heart disease, they may indicate an increasedrisk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. A high PVC burdenmay lead to ventricular dysfunction and worsen underlying cardiomyopathy.PVCs may also be a marker of underlying pathophysiologic processes such as myocarditisand other acquired and inherited infiltrative cardiomyopathies. In this unique case report, we describe the use of a novel non-contact mapping array for mapping RVOT PVCs.

BACKGROUND: Smartphone technologies have been recently developed to assess heart rate and rhythm, but their role in accurately detecting atrial fibrillation (AF) remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: We sought to perform a meta-analysis using prospective studies comparing Smartwatch technology with current monitoring standards for AF detection (ECG, Holter, Patch Monitor, ILR). METHODS: We performed a comprehensive literature search for prospective studies comparing Smartwatch technology simultaneously with current monitoring standards (ECG, Holter, and Patch monitor) for AF detection since inception to November 25th, 2019. The outcome studied was the accuracy of AF detection. Accuracy was determined with concomitant usage of ECG monitoring, Holter monitoring, loop recorder, or patch monitoring. RESULTS: A total of 9 observational studies were included comparing smartwatch technology, 3 using single-lead ECG monitoring, and six studies using photoplethysmography with routine AF monitoring strategies. A total of 1559 patients were enrolled (mean age 63.5 years, 39.5% had an AF history). The mean monitoring time was 75.6 days. Smartwatch was non-inferior to composite ECG monitoring strategies (OR 1.06, 95% CI 0.93 – 1.21, p=0.37), composite 12 lead ECG/Holter monitoring (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.62 – 1.30, p=0.57) and patch monitoring (OR 1.28, 95% CI 0.84 - 1.94, p=0.24) for AF detection. The sensitivity and specificity for AF detection using a smartwatch was 95% and 94%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Smartwatch based single-lead ECG and photoplethysmography appear to be reasonable alternatives for AF monitoring.

Background: This study aims to investigate the demographic and clinical characteristics and echocardiographic and microbiological findings of the patients as well as the outcomes of surgery undergoing surgical treatment with the diagnosis of infective endocarditis in Turkey.

WOS: 000326896200011, PubMed ID: 23835297, Objective: The aim of this retrospective multicenter study was to investigate the clinical manifestations, microbiological profile, echocardiographic findings and management strategies of infective endocarditis (IE) in Turkey. Methods: The study population consisted of 248 Turkish patients with IE treated at 13 major hospitals in Turkey from 2005 to 2012 retrospectively. All hospitals are tertiary referral centers, which receive patients from surrounding hospitals. Data were collected from the medical files of all patients hospitalized with IE diagnosed according to modified Duke Criteria. Results: One hundred thirty seven of the patients were males. Native valves were involved in 158 patients while in 75 participants there was prosthetic valve endocarditis. Vegetations were detected in 223 patients (89%) and 52 patients had multiple vegetations. Mitral valve was the most common site of vegetation (43%). The most common valvular pathology was mitral regurgitation. The most common predisposing factor was rheumatic valvular disease (28%). Positive culture rate was 65%. Staphylococci were the most frequent causative microorganisms isolated (29%) followed by enterococci (11%). In-hospital mortality rate was 33%. Conclusions: Compared to IE in developed countries younger age, higher prevalence of rheumatic heart disease, more frequent enterococci infection and higher rates of culture negativity were other important aspects of IE epidemiology in Turkey.

Objectives: The aim of the this study was to investigate the relationship between the degree of mitral regurgitation (MR), left ventricular (LV) dysfunction determined by strain (S)/strain rate (SR) imaging and plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels. Materials and methods: This is an observational cross- sectional study which included 31 consecutive patients (15[48.4%] male) who had applied to our outpatient clin- ics and diagnosed as mitral regurgitation and 25 (12 [48.0%] male) healthy persons as control subjects. The mitral regurgitation patients were divided into two groups: those with moderate MR (n=14[45.2%]) and those with severe MR (n=17[54.8%]), and maximum strain / strain rate measurements of left ventricular wall segments and plasma brain natriuretic peptide levels were determined in these two groups and controls. Results: S/SR values of all wall segments of left ventricle were found to be decreased in patient with severe MR when compared with the control subjects and patients with moderate MR (p