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Bevezetés: A bal oldali közös tüdővénás törzs a tüdővénák leggyakoribb anatómiai variációja, mely befolyásolhatja a tüdővéna-izoláció sikerességét. Célkitűzés: Célunk a beavatkozási adatok és a kimenetel összehasonlítása volt bal oldali közös tüdővénás törzs, illetve normál bal pitvari anatómia esetén, rádiófrekvenciás, illetve krioballonnal végzett katéterablatiót követően. Módszer: A Gottsegen György Országos Kardiovaszkuláris Intézetben 2019. 10. 01. és 2022. 03. 10. között paroxizmális és perzisztens pitvarfibrilláció miatt tüdővéna-izoláción átesett, a beavatkozás előtt cardialis CT-vizsgálattal rendelkező betegek adatait értékeltük retrospektív módon. Bal oldali közös törzsként definiáltunk minden olyan esetet, amelynél a bal oldali felső és alsó tüdővéna legalább 5 mm-rel a bal pitvari beszájadzás előtt összenyílt. Eredmények: A vizsgált populációból (n = 210) 42, bal oldali közös törzzsel (vizsgált csoport) és 60, normál bal pitvari anatómiával rendelkező (kontrollcsoport) beteg adatait elemeztük. A közös törzzsel rendelkező és a kontrollcsoport között a demográfiai adatok és a társbetegségek tekintetében nem találtunk szignifikáns különbséget. A beavatkozási adatokban (beavatkozási időtartam, sugáridő, bal pitvari tartózkodási idő, sugárdózis) rádiófrekvenciás és krioballonnal végzett ablatio esetén nem volt különbség a két csoport között. Rádiófrekvenciás ablatiót követően a sikerarány az 1 éves utánkövetésnél a közös törzzsel rendelkezők esetében 72,0%, a kontrollcsoportban 76,2% volt (p = 0,659). Krioballonos ablatio esetén a sikerarány 64,7%, illetve 69,2% volt közös törzs, illetve normálanatómia esetén (p = 0,641). Következtetés: A beavatkozási paraméterek és a klinikai kimenetel tekintetében nem volt szignifikáns különbség a bal oldali közös tüdővénás törzzsel és a normál bal pitvari anatómiával rendelkező betegek között. Mind a rádiófrekvenciás, mind a krioballonnal végzett ablatio jól alkalmazható ebben a populációban. Orv Hetil. 2023; 164(4): 140–147.

To assess rates of reclassification of severity and associated 5-year survival in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) after application of a CT-derived correction factor (CF) to refine the measurement of aortic valve area (AVA) and stroke volume index (SVi) using Doppler echocardiography.We enrolled 1450 patients with severe AS and preserved LVEF from a French registry. Multiplication of echocardiographic LV outflow tract diameter by a CT-derived CF of 1.13 to calculate the AVA and SVi using the continuity equation resulted in reclassification of 39% of patients from severe to moderate AS (AVA 1 cmRefined accuracy of echocardiographic LV outflow tract diameter measurement using a CF of 1.13 before derivation of AVA and SVi in patients with severe AS and preserved LVEF allows improved grading of severity, and prediction of prognosis. We recommend implementation of the CF during routine echocardiography when using the continuity equation for Doppler haemodynamic measurements.

Pembrolizumab, a humanised monoclonal antibody and immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) that blocks programmed death receptor 1 and its ligands, is an effective immunotherapy for malignancies such asmelanoma, lung, head and neck, cancers, and Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It has an overall response rate between 73% and 83%, with complete response rate of 27%–30%. It is well tolerated with minor side effects in 70% of cases characterised by fatigue, rash, pruritus and diarrhoea. In rare cases, more serious and life-threatening complications can occur at a rate of 0.3%–1.3%. We report a case of a woman in her 70s with non-small-cell lung cancer treated with ICI. She presented to the emergency department with left-sided ptosis and muscle weakness 3 weeks of her first dose of pembrolizumab infusion as a treatment plan of her cancer. She was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, myocarditis and myositis as ICI-induced immune-related adverse effects resistant to medical intervention. We wish to raise awareness of the triad of life-threatening complication of ICI therapy that accounts for 30%–50% of fatal complications.

PURPOSE: To determine whether quantitative plaque characterization by using CT coronary angiography (CTCA) can discriminate between type 1 and type 2 myocardial infarction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of two prospective studies (ClinicalTrials.gov registration nos. NCT03338504 [2014–2019] and NCT02284191 [2018–2020]) that performed blinded quantitative plaque analysis on findings from CTCA in participants with type 1 myocardial infarction, type 2 myocardial infarction, and chest pain without myocardial infarction. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of type 1 myocardial infarction. RESULTS: Overall, 155 participants (mean age, 64 years ± 12 [SD]; 114 men) and 36 participants (mean age, 67 years ± 12; 19 men) had type 1 and type 2 myocardial infarction, respectively, and 136 participants (62 years ± 12; 78 men) had chest pain without myocardial infarction. Participants with type 1 myocardial infarction had greater total (median, 44% [IQR: 35%–50%] vs 35% [IQR: 29%–46%]), noncalcified (39% [IQR: 31%–46%] vs 34% [IQR: 29%–40%]), and low-attenuation (4.15% [IQR: 1.88%–5.79%] vs 1.64% [IQR: 0.89%–2.28%]) plaque burdens (P < .05 for all) than those with type 2. Participants with type 2 myocardial infarction had similar low-attenuation plaque burden to those with chest pain without myocardial infarction (P = .4). Low-attenuation plaque was an independent predictor of type 1 myocardial infarction (adjusted odds ratio, 3.44 [95% CI: 1.84, 6.96]; P < .001), with better discrimination than noncalcified plaque burden and maximal area of coronary stenosis (C statistic, 0.75 [95% CI: 0.67, 0.83] vs 0.62 [95% CI: 0.53, 0.71] and 0.61 [95% CI: 0.51, 0.70] respectively; P ≤ .001 for both). CONCLUSION: Higher low-attenuation coronary plaque burden in patients with type 1 myocardial infarction may help distinguish these patients from those with type 2 myocardial infarction. Keywords: Ischemia/Infarction, CT Angiography, Quantitative CT Clinical trial registration nos. NCT03338504 and NCT02284191 Supplemental material is available for this article. © RSNA, 2022

Prognosis of supraventricular tachycardias in neonates and infants is thought to be excellent with rare fatal outcomes. Nevertheless, initial management can be challenging. The aim of this study was to perform a retrospective analysis in neonates/infants with non-pos-toperative supraventricular tachycardias regarding risk factors for clinical outcome and type of antiarrhythmic drug therapy. The data of 157 patients aged < 1 year who presented between 2000 and 2015 with symptomatic tachycardias were retrospectively reviewed. Pharmacological therapy was successful in 151 patients (96%); 1 patient (1%) required catheter ablation and 5 patients (3%) died (1 death linked to hemodynamical reasons after effective arrhythmia control). Serious complications following acute medical therapy occurred in 4 patients of survivors. Patients with complications or death had a lower bodyweight, more frequent intrauterine tachycardia, transplacental therapy, urgent caesarian section, higher PRISM II score, longer period to control tachycardia, more frequent proarrhythmia, and major adverse event-defined as life-threatening event without a documented new arrhythmia-compared to the group without complications. There was no significant difference between the groups regarding prematurity, structural heart disease, and type of tachycardia. Proarrhythmia occurred in 6 cases and was related to intravenous drug use with class IC antiarrhythmics in 3/6 cases, digoxin in 2/6 cases, and amiodarone in 1/6 cases. ECG signs of impending proarrhythmia without new-onset arrhythmia requiring cessation of therapy were detected in 6 patients.Conclusion: Although rare, non-post-operative supraventricular tachycardia in neonates and infants might be a serious disease. Acute intravenous pharmacological treatment to control tachycardia might pose a risk for fatal or near-fatal outcome. Detection of proarrhythmia related to class IC antiarrhythmics in neonates might be especially difficult and requires alertness. What is Known • Prognosis of supraventricular tachycardias in children are thought to be excellent with fatal outcomes being rare. • Mortality is increased in the very young and in those with structural heart disease. What is New • Complicated outcome of non-post-operative supraventricular tachycardias in neonates is associated with lower bodyweight, age, prenatal tachycardia, higher PRISM II score, longer period to control tachycardia, and proarrhythmia. • Detection of class IC proarrhythmic effect is especially difficult in neonates because of their narrow QRS and warrants alertness.

Aims Stress echocardiography is widely used to identify obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). High accuracy is reported in expert hands but is dependent on operator training and image quality. The EVAREST study provides UK-wide data to evaluate real-world performance and accuracy of stress echocardiography. Methods and results Participants undergoing stress echocardiography for CAD were recruited from 31 hospitals. Participants were followed up through health records which underwent expert adjudication. Cardiac outcome was defined as anatomically or functionally significant stenosis on angiography, revascularization, medical management of ischaemia, acute coronary syndrome, or cardiac-related death within 6 months. A total of 5131 patients (55% male) participated with a median age of 65 years (interquartile range 57–74). 72.9% of studies used dobutamine and 68.5% were contrast studies. Inducible ischaemia was present in 19.3% of scans. Sensitivity and specificity for prediction of a cardiac outcome were 95.4% and 96.0%, respectively, with an accuracy of 95.9%. Sub-group analysis revealed high levels of predictive accuracy across a wide range of patient and protocol sub-groups, with the presence of a resting regional wall motion abnormalitiy significantly reducing the performance of both dobutamine (P Conclusion Stress echocardiography has high accuracy across UK-based hospitals and thus indicates stress echocardiography is being delivered effectively in real-world practice, reinforcing its role as a first-line investigation in the assessment of patients with stable chest pain.

Contains fulltext : 286832.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) BACKGROUND: Direct evaluation of vascular inflammation in patients with COVID-19 would facilitate more efficient trials of new treatments and identify patients at risk of long-term complications who might respond to treatment. We aimed to develop a novel artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted image analysis platform that quantifies cytokine-driven vascular inflammation from routine CT angiograms, and sought to validate its prognostic value in COVID-19. METHODS: For this prospective outcomes validation study, we developed a radiotranscriptomic platform that uses RNA sequencing data from human internal mammary artery biopsies to develop novel radiomic signatures of vascular inflammation from CT angiography images. We then used this platform to train a radiotranscriptomic signature (C19-RS), derived from the perivascular space around the aorta and the internal mammary artery, to best describe cytokine-driven vascular inflammation. The prognostic value of C19-RS was validated externally in 435 patients (331 from study arm 3 and 104 from study arm 4) admitted to hospital with or without COVID-19, undergoing clinically indicated pulmonary CT angiography, in three UK National Health Service (NHS) trusts (Oxford, Leicester, and Bath). We evaluated the diagnostic and prognostic value of C19-RS for death in hospital due to COVID-19, did sensitivity analyses based on dexamethasone treatment, and investigated the correlation of C19-RS with systemic transcriptomic changes. FINDINGS: Patients with COVID-19 had higher C19-RS than those without (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 2·97 [95% CI 1·43-6·27], p=0·0038), and those infected with the B.1.1.7 (alpha) SARS-CoV-2 variant had higher C19-RS values than those infected with the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 variant (adjusted OR 1·89 [95% CI 1·17-3·20] per SD, p=0·012). C19-RS had prognostic value for in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 in two testing cohorts (high [≥6·99] vs low [

Aims To evaluate whether left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and global longitudinal strain (GLS), automatically calculated by artificial intelligence (AI), increases the diagnostic performance of stress echocardiography (SE) for coronary artery disease (CAD) detection. Methods and results SEs from 512 participants who underwent a clinically indicated SE (with or without contrast) for the evaluation of CAD from seven hospitals in the UK and US were studied. Visual wall motion scoring (WMS) was performed to identify inducible ischaemia. In addition, SE images at rest and stress underwent AI contouring for automated calculation of AI-LVEF and AI-GLS (apical two and four chamber images only) with Ultromics EchoGo Core 1.0. Receiver operator characteristic curves and multivariable risk models were used to assess accuracy for identification of participants subsequently found to have CAD on angiography. Participants with significant CAD were more likely to have abnormal WMS, AI-LVEF, and AI-GLS values at rest and stress (all P < 0.001). The areas under the receiver operating characteristics for WMS index, AI-LVEF, and AI-GLS at peak stress were 0.92, 0.86, and 0.82, respectively, with cut-offs of 1.12, 64%, and −17.2%, respectively. Multivariable analysis demonstrated that addition of peak AI-LVEF or peak AI-GLS to WMS significantly improved model discrimination of CAD [C-statistic (bootstrapping 2.5th, 97.5th percentile)] from 0.78 (0.69–0.87) to 0.83 (0.74–0.91) or 0.84 (0.75–0.92), respectively. Conclusion AI calculation of LVEF and GLS by contouring of contrast-enhanced and unenhanced SEs at rest and stress is feasible and independently improves the identification of obstructive CAD beyond conventional WMSI.

BACKGROUND Wearable devices could be used to continuously monitor vital signs in hospitalised patients but require validation. OBJECTIVE This study aims to evaluate the clinical validity of a semi-automated wearable wrist device (ChroniSense Polso™, Yokneam Illit, Israel) to measure vital signs and provide National Early Warning Scores. METHODS Vital signs and National Early Warning Scores measured by the wearable device were compared to standard nurse-lead manual measurements. We enrolled adult patients (aged at least 18 years) who required vital sign measurements for at least every 6 hours in a UK Teaching District General Hospital. Wearable device measurements were not used for the clinical decision-making. The primary outcome was the agreement on the individual National Early Warning parameter scores and vital sign measurements: (1) respiratory rate, (2) oxygen saturation, (3) body temperature, (4) systolic blood pressure and (5) heart rate. Secondary outcomes were the agreement on the total National Early Warning Score, the incidence of adverse events, and user-acceptance. To compare the wearable device measurements with the standard measurements, we analysed vital sign measurements by limits of agreement (Bland-Altman analysis) and undertook kappa agreement analyses for National Early Warning Scores. A user experience survey was conducted with questions on comfort of the wrist device, safety, preference, and use. RESULTS We included 132 participants in the study with a mean age of 62 years; the majority were men (102, 77.3%). The highest weighted kappas were found for heart rate (0.69 [0.57 to 0.81] for all 385 measurements) and systolic blood pressure (0.39 [0.30 to 0.47] for all 339 measurements). Weighted kappas were low for respiration rate (0.03 [-0.001 to 0.05] for all 445 measurements), temperature (-0.00 [0.00 to 0.00] for all 231 measurements) and oxygen saturation (-0.11 [-0.20 to -0.02] for all 187 measurements). Weighted kappa using Cicchetti-Allison weights showed a kappa of 0.20 (0.03 to 0.38) when using all 56 total National Early Warning Scores scores. The user acceptance survey found that about half of participants found it comfortable to wear the device and liked the look of it. Most said they would wear the device during a next hospital visit and would recommend it to others. CONCLUSIONS This study shows promising use of a wearable device to measure vital signs in a hospital setting. Agreement between the standard measurements and wearable were acceptable for systolic blood pressure and heart rate but need to be improved for respiration rate, temperature, and oxygen saturation. Future work needs to improve the clinical validity of wearable devices and larger studies are required that assess clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of wearable devices for vital sign measurement. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028219

Aims To evaluate the potential associations between presentation cardiac troponin and the clinical impact of early computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) in intermediate-risk patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome. Methods and results In a large multicentre randomized controlled trial of patients with intermediate-risk chest pain due to suspected acute coronary syndrome, early CTCA had no effect on the primary outcome—death or subsequent Type 1 or 4b myocardial infarction—but reduced the rate of invasive coronary angiography. In this pre-specified secondary analysis, cardiovascular testing and clinical outcomes were compared between those with or without cardiac troponin elevation at presentation. Of 1748 patients, 1004 (57%) had an elevated cardiac troponin concentration and 744 (43%) had a normal concentration. Patients with cardiac troponin elevation had a higher Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events score (132 vs. 91; P Conclusion Presentation cardiac troponin had no demonstrable associations between the effects of early CTCA on reductions in non-invasive and invasive testing, or the lack of effect on coronary revascularization or the primary outcome in intermediate-risk patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome.

Why? To improve stress echocardiography interpretation standards, we introduced a structured 5-day interpretation course in 2017. In order to deliver the course during the world-wide pandemic, we transformed the existing boardroom style, workstation-based, interactive course into a cloud-based digital entity maintaining the same features. How? On completion of 6 lectures via live webinars, 15 participants performed, fully GDPR compliant, 80 recorded case analysis using a web-based reporting system over the course of 5 days. After self-reporting and generating preliminary reports the joint case review with the faculty, resulted in finalization of the reports and provided individual feedback for the participants. By the 5th day, participants had collected 80 reports for their e-logbook and were ready to sit the digital interpretation exam. Results Eighty-eight percent of participants passed the e-exam and received a certificate of completion with 15 re-accreditation and 30 CPD points by the British Society of Echocardiography and Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians, UK, respectively. The feedback by the participants was praising the pre-course provision of lectures and digital aids, the conduct of the course by the faculty and the technical support with an average score of 4.7 for each, on a scale from 1 to 5. Conclusion Our experience proved that interactive, multi-day; hands-on reporting course can be delivered using the digital platform. Online interpretation courses have great potential to improve the competency of imaging specialists. This digital teaching model could be suitable in other imaging-based training courses like cardiac CT and MRI.

Implantation numbers of conventional antibradycardia pacemakers (PM), implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) and cardiac resynchronisation therapy PMs and ICDs (CRT-P and D) have shown a minimal increase till 2017. Between 2017–2019 the implantation numbers have remained on a steady state level, the numbers of ILR, CRT-D and conventional ICDs have shown a slight increase, moreover the ratio of CRT-P against CRT-D has decreased. Year of 2020 was a special year due to the SARS-CoV2 pandemic, since the primary implantations without urgent indication have been limited and been postponed. In the last 2 years close speciality cooperation between the National Health Fund and the Board of the Hungarian Society of Cardiology Working Group of Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology established the reimbursement of implantation of leadless pacemakers and subcutaneous ICDs. Since 2020 a new special reimbursement possibility for His-bundle pacing modality for chronic heart failure patients without LBBB.

A leggyakoribb tartós ritmuszavar, a pitvarfibrilláció (PF) prevalenciája a 4%-ot is elérheti a 20 évnél idősebb populációban. A PF emeli a halálozás, a szívelégtelenség, a depresszió és a demencia kialakulásának a kockázatát, rontja az életminőséget, így mindezek által jelentős terhet ró a betegekre, orvosokra és az egészségügyi rendszerre egyaránt. Jelen közlemény az Európai Kardiológus Társaság (ESC) 2020-ban publikált irányelveit foglalja össze a PF ellátására vonatkozóan.

Összefoglaló. Bevezetés: Az inadekvát, aránytalan sinuscsomó-tachycardia a szív nomotop ingerképzési zavarával járó, nem ritka klinikai szindróma. A szívritmuszavar-entitást a nem paroxysmalis, magas nyugalmi sinusfrekvencia, a fizikai/pszichés stresszre adott aránytalan sinustachycardia, valamint főként palpitációs panaszok jellemzik. Célkitűzés: Az aránytalan sinuscsomó-tachycardiás betegeink gyógyszeres kezelésével szerzett tapasztalataink ismertetése. Módszerek: 2008 és 2018 között 104 beteget (92 nő, 12 férfi; átlagéletkor 31 ± 10 év) kezeltünk ezzel a szívritmuszavarral. A betegek kivizsgálásuk után 12 elvezetéses EKG-, terheléses EKG-, valamint 24 órás Holter-monitoros EKG-megfigyeléseken vettek részt a gyógyszeres kezelés előtt és után (bizoprolol: 2 × 5 mg/nap; ivabradin: 2 × 5 mg/nap). Az életminőség változását a European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) tüneti skálája szerint állapítottuk meg. Eredmények: Mindkét gyógyszer jelentősen csökkentette a nyugalmi sinusfrekvenciát (kontroll: 102 ± 10/min; bizoprolol: 78 ± 6/min; ivabradin: 74 ± 8/min, mindkettő: pKövetkeztetések: Vizsgálati eredményeink alapján megállapítható, hogy az aránytalan sinuscsomó-tachycardiás betegek gyógyszeres kezelésére: (1) a kardiospecifikus adrenerg béta-blokkoló bizoprolol és az If-csatorna-gátló ivabradin egyaránt hatékonynak és biztonságosnak bizonyult; (2) az azonos adagban adott két gyógyszer hatékonysága között számottevő különbség nem volt; (3) a gyógyszeres kezelés nemcsak a sinusfrekvenciát csökkentette, hanem a betegek panaszait, tüneteit is mérsékelte. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(46): 1953–1958. Summary. Introduction: The inadequate, inappropriate sinus-node tachycardia is not a rare clinical syndrome, defined as a disturbance of the nomotopic impulse formation of the heart. This cardiac arrhythmic entity is characterized by a non-paroxismal, increased sinus rate at rest, and/or inadequate response to physical and/or emotional stress and palpitations. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe our experiences with pharmacological therapy of patients with inappropriate sinus tachycardia syndrome. Methods: Between 2008 and 2018, 104 patients (92 women, 12 men, mean age: 31 ± 10 years) were treated with this cardiac arrhythmia entity. All patients underwent 12-lead ECG, 24-hour Holter-ECG monitoring and standard bicycle dynamic exercise tests before and after drug treatment (bisoprolol: 5 mg bid; ivabradine: 5 mg bid). Changes in the quality of life were estimated by using the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) score. Results: Both drugs decreased significantly the resting heart rate (control: 102 ± 10/min; bisoprolol 78 ± 6/min (pConclusions: Based on our clinical results, it can be pointed out that in the drug therapy of patients with inappropriate sinus node tachycardia: (1) bisoprolol (5 mg bid) and ivabradine (5 mg bid) proved to be equally effective and safe; (2) the heart rate reducing effect of the two drugs – given in the same dosage – did not differ considerably; (3) the pharmacological therapy significantly decreased not only the sinus frequency, but also reduced the symptoms of the patients. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(46): 1953–1958.

Background Cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) includes several extra-cardiac structures. A variety of abnormalities may be clinically important and, in some cases, explain the patient's symptoms. The incidence of extra cardiac findings (ECFs) on CCTA examination ranges between 7% and 56%, with the true prevalence likely affected by patient selection. Methods Cardiac CT scans with suspected coronary disease were prospectively and independently reviewed by a radiologist for the presence of ECFs. Data was collected from a prospectively collated database of all patients who underwent a CCTA scans between June 2011 and October 2015. Patients were followed up for one year after incidental findings were made. Results A total of 635 patients had a CCTA scan during the study period. Of these 325 (51.2%) were male, mean age was 66 [22–88] years, with a mean BMI of 27 [17–56]. Extra-cardiac findings were reported in 126 (19.8%) of these 62 (49%) were classified as clinically important and had further imaging and follow-up. The most common abnormalities were pulmonary nodules 61 (46.8%), Hiatus hernia 15 (12%), lymphadenopathy 12 (10%) and liver cysts 10 (8%), Figure 1a. Malignant tumours were identified in 2 (1.6%) patients and one (0.8%) had both aortic root dilatation and type B aortic dissection. Conclusion Non-cardiac abnormalities in patients undergoing CCTA provides useful information e.g. early diagnosis of lung malignancies and other life threatening conditions in up to 40% of patients. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

Az elmúlt években 17 betegnél (15 nő, 2 férfi; életkor: 29,6±6,7 év) észleltünk AV-nodális reentry tachycardia (AVNRT) ablációs kezelése után fellépő ún. aránytalan sinuscsomó-tachycardia tünetcsoport (perzisztáló palpitáció, inadekvát sinustachycardia – IST) nyugalomban vagy kis fizikai/pszichés terhelésre, 24 órás Holter-monitoros EKG-felvételen a sinusfrekvencia napi átlaga ≥90/min) kialakulását. Mindegyik betegnél előzőleg típusos AVNRT miatt ún. lassúpálya rádiófrekvenciás abláció történt, 5 betegnél redo beavatkozás formájában. A perzisztáló panaszok (EHRA életminőségi score: 2,7±0,4) az ablációs kezelés után röviddel alakultak ki (3,3±0,9 hét). A palpitációs panaszok néhány hónapon belül (5±1,5 hónap) spontán vagy béta-blokkoló (bisoprolol 2×5 mg/nap) kezelésre megszűntek. A posztablációs betegcsoportban laboratóriumi screening (vérkép, TSH), EKG, echo-vizsgálatok, terheléses EKG, 24 órás Holter-monitoros és transztelefonos EKG-megfigyelések történtek. A Holter-monitoros EKG-megfigyelés kapcsán IST-re jellemző eltérést minimum-maximum-(átlagos) sinusfrekvencia/min 24 óra alatt: 56±5–160±8 (93±7)/min tapasztaltunk. Ezek az értékek béta-blokkoló kezelésre normalizálódtak: 52±5–125±8 (75+8)/min (p

Background Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) usually manifests as transient apical ballooning of the left ventricle and may mimic acute coronary syndrome. Concomitant right ventricle involvement may occur in about a third of the cases. Recurrence had been observed in up to 10% of TC with variable ventricular involvement. Despite this knowledge, there had been no report of a patient with multiple biventricular TC in the literature to date. In this study, we describe a rare case of a patient who presented twice with biventricular TC. Case summary A 52-year-old man with a previous episode of biventricular TC 5 months ago presented to our hospital with a 1 day history of shortness of breath and wheeze. He was treated initially for infective exacerbation of chronic obstructive airway disease. He was eventually intubated following a trial of non-invasive ventilation. He became hypotensive post-intubation and required intensive care support. An inpatient echocardiogram revealed biventricular apical ballooning. Invasive coronary angiogram showed no coronary artery disease. A repeat echocardiogram 14 days post-admission demonstrated full recovery of both ventricles. These findings were consistent with a second biventricular TC. Two months later, he was found deceased in the community seemingly from an unrelated cause. Discussion This case describes a middle-aged gentleman who suffered recurrent biventricular TC with no consistent triggers and an unrelated fatal sequel. None of these features were typical, and to our best knowledge had not been reported before. We hypothesize that his recurrent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations and various substance misuse might have predisposed him to this unusual presentation.

Abstract: Introduction: The inadequate, inappropriate sinus-node tachycardia is not a rare clinical syndrome, defined as a non-paroxysmal, increased sinus-rate at rest, and/or inadequate response to physical and/or emotional stress, and palpitations. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe our experiences with the investigations of our inappropriate sinus-node tachycardia patients. Method: In the last years, 104 patients (92 women, 12 men, mean age: 31 ± 10 years) were treated with this cardiac arrhythmia entity. All patients underwent 12 leads ECG, chest X-ray, echocardiography, Holter-monitoring and transtelephonic ECG observations. The quality of life score was estimated by using the European Heart Rhythm Association scale. Results: Patients had no structural heart disease (physical examination ECG, chest X-ray, echocardiography were normal), the laboratory values (TSH, blood count) were within normal limits, but the resting heart rates were repeatedly high (102 ± 8/min). The results of Holter recording (expressed as minimal-maximal [average] heart rate/min) without drug therapy showed high heart rate values (59 ± 8, 160 ± 14 [94 ± 6]/min). The standard bicycle ergometry showed an average loading capacity of 124 ± 23 watt (heart rate: control: 99 ± 12/min, top: 167 ± 13/min) with early, inadequate sinus tachycardia. To disclose the episodes of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, beside the Holter-monitoring transtelephonic ECG system was used. This diagnostic modality was very useful for the exclusion of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia episodes during the palpitation symptoms. Out of 104 patients, 4 patients (3.8%) showed familiar occurrence, another 16 patients (15.2%) had previous slow-pathway radiofrequency ablation due to atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia. Conclusions: Based on our clinical observations, it can be pointed out that inappropriate sinus-node tachycardia syndrome (1) occurs mainly in young women, mostly in students, inducing decreased quality of life scores (EHRA score: 2.3 ± 0.4); (2) the prevalence in our outpatient clinic was 0.7%; (3) the patient population is not homogeneous: familiar or postablation occurrence is possible in some patients; (4) transtelephonic ECG has been proved to be very useful to disclose episodes of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia in these patients. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(37): 1464–1470.

The nonequilibrium behavior of oppositely charged polyelectrolyte(PE)/surfactant(S) mixtures has been the focus of recent investigations due to its industrial relevance. The studies indicated that the initial local inhomogeneities may significantly affect the characteristics of the formed PE/S nanoassemblies. However, this phenomenon is not clearly understood and it has not been investigated systematically. In the present work, the effects of polyelectrolyte and salt concentration gradients were studied in poly(diallyldimethylammoniumchloride) (PDADMAC)/ sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/ sodium chloride (NaCl) mixtures. The results revealed two distinct nonequilibrium phenomena at low ionic strengths. If the SDS concentration is significantly larger than that of the polyelectrolyte monomers (i.e. at surfactant excess), then the system can be instantly arrested in a stable colloidal dispersion state, where the size of the trapped overcharged aggregates is primarily dependent on the local PDADMAC concentration gradients. However, if the polyelectrolyte charges largely exceed the amount of surfactant molecules (i.e. at polyelectrolyte excess), then another nonequilibrium feature, e.g. a highly reproducible non-monotonic variation of the turbidity with time is observable. This is attributed to the extremely slow approach towards the equilibrium state due to the heterogeneous local distribution of the surfactant ions and their hindered repartitioning process between the PDADMAC/SDS complexes. The results of the present work may be exploited to tune the time dependent surface and bulk features of PE/S systems, which are of crucial importance for their commercial applications.

Poly-NIPAm microgel particles with two different cross-linking densities were prepared with the classical batch polymerization process. These particles were adsorbed onto modified silica surfaces, and their nanomechanical properties were measured by means of atomic force microscopy. It was found that these particles have a hard core-soft shell structure both below and above the volume transition temperature. The core-shell-like structure appears due to a higher reaction rate of the cross-linker compared to that of the monomer, leading to depletion of cross-linker in the shell region. The microgel beads with lower average cross-linking density were found to be less stiff below the volume transition temperature than the microgel with higher cross-linking density. Increasing the temperature further to just above the volume transition temperature led to lower stiffness of the more highly cross-linked microgel compared to its less cross-linked counterpart. This effect is explained with the more gradual deswelling with temperature for the more cross-linked microgel particles. This phenomenon was confirmed by dynamic light scattering measurements in the bulk phase, which showed that the larger cross-linking density microgel showed a more gradual collapse in aqueous solution as the temperature was increased.

Objectives: Guideline recommendations for patients with either a high or a low risk of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) are clear. However, the evidence for initial risk stratification in patients with an intermediate risk of CAD is still unclear, despite the availability of multiple non-invasive assessment strategies. The aim of this study was to synthesize the evidence for this population to provide more informed recommendations. Background: A meta-analysis was performed to systematically assess the diagnostic accuracy of vasodilator myocardial perfusion cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (pCMR) and dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) for the detection of relevant CAD. In contrast to previous work, this meta-analysis follows rigorous selection criteria in regards to the risk stratification and a narrowly prespecified definition of their invasive reference tests, resulting in unprecedentedly informative results for this reference group. Data Collection and Analysis: From the 5,634 studies identified, 1,306 relevant articles were selected after title screening and further abstract screening left 865 studies for full-text review. Of these, 47 studies fulfilled all inclusion criteria resulting in a total sample size of 4,742 patients. Results: pCMR studies showed a superior sensitivity [0.88 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.85–0.90) vs. 0.72 (95% CI: 0.61–0.81)], diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) [38 (95% CI: 29–49) vs. 20 (95% CI: 9–46)] and an augmented post-test probability [negative likelihood ratio (LR) of 0.14 (95% CI: 0.12–0.18) vs. 0.31 (95% CI: 0.21, 0.46)] as compared to DSE. Specificity was statistically indifferent [0.84 (95% CI: 0.81–0.87) vs. 0.89 (95% CI: 0.83–0.93)]. Conclusion: The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that pCMR has a superior diagnostic test accuracy for relevant CAD compared to DSE. In patients with intermediate risk of CAD only pCMR can reliably rule out relevant stenosis. In this risk cohort, pCMR can be offered for initial risk stratification and guidance of further invasive treatment as it also rules in relevant CAD.

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Differences in the left atrial (LA) tissue loss can occur following different pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) techniques. Purpose Our prospective study compared the biomarker, the LA mechanical, and the electrophysiological findings as indicators of LA myocardial damage after a high-power short duration (HPSD) with contact force radiofrequency catheter and second-generation cryoballoon (CB2) ablation of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods :We enrolled 40 patients with paroxysmal AF [16 (40%) women, mean age = 55.9 ± 12.4 years] who underwent HPSD (n = 21) or CB2 (n = 19). Biomarker levels (hs-cTnT, CK-MB, hs-CRP, LDH) and the transport function of the LA by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) were compared pre and post procedurally. High-density mapping (HDM) was performed in sinus rhythm using a multielectrode diagnostic catheter in each group to define isolated left atrial low voltage area (LVA; Results Postablation hs-cTnT and hs-CRP levels were comparable in the ablation groups (HPSD: 1249 ± 469 and 9.53 ± 10.30 vs. CB2: 995 ± 280 and 12.36 ± 5.76, p = 0.065 and p = 0.732), while CK-MB and LDH levels were significantly higher following CB2 ablation (HPSD: 6.61 ± 2.62 and 349.9 ± 65.6 vs. CB2: 26.01 ± 6.88 and 451.6 ± 91.3, p Conclusions The LA scar tissue was significantly higher following CB2 ablation, but did not affect medium-term efficacy. However, tissue loss did not reduce the transport function of the LA.

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction In recent times, high-power short-duration (HPSD) radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has emerged as an alternative strategy for pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in atrial fibrillation (AF). Purpose We aimed to compare HPSD approach and conventional, ablation-index (AI) guided PVI using contact force sensing ablation catheters in respect of efficacy, safety, procedural characteristics, and outcome. Methods A total of 184 consecutive AF patients with first PVI were enrolled (age: 60 ± 11 years, paroxysmal: 56.5%, persistent: 43.5%) between November 2016 and December 2019. An ablation protocol of 50W energy with 15-20 g contact force was used for a duration of 8-12 sec based on the loss of capture concept in the HPSD group (n = 91) meanwhile, PVI was achieved according to the conventional power settings (posterior wall 25W, AI: 400, anterior wall 35W, AI: 550 ) in the control group (n = 93). During 1-year follow-up, documented AF for more than 30 seconds was considered as recurrence. Results Radiofrequency time and procedural time were significantly shorter using HPSD ablation (26.0 ± 12.7 min vs. 42.9 ± 12.6 min, p Conclusions HPSD RFA for AF was demonstrated to be safe, and lead to significantly improved 1-year outcome in our mixed patient population. HPSD protocol significantly shortened procedural and radiofrequency time with decreased fluoroscopy time and radiation exposure.

Prognosis of supraventricular tachycardias in neonates and infants is thought to be excellent with rare fatal outcomes. Nevertheless, initial management can be challenging. The aim of this study was to perform a retrospective analysis in neonates/infants with non-pos-toperative supraventricular tachycardias regarding risk factors for clinical outcome and type of antiarrhythmic drug therapy. The data of 157 patients aged1 year who presented between 2000 and 2015 with symptomatic tachycardias were retrospectively reviewed. Pharmacological therapy was successful in 151 patients (96%); 1 patient (1%) required catheter ablation and 5 patients (3%) died (1 death linked to hemodynamical reasons after effective arrhythmia control). Serious complications following acute medical therapy occurred in 4 patients of survivors. Patients with complications or death had a lower bodyweight, more frequent intrauterine tachycardia, transplacental therapy, urgent caesarian section, higher PRISM II score, longer period to control tachycardia, more frequent proarrhythmia, and major adverse event-defined as life-threatening event without a documented new arrhythmia-compared to the group without complications. There was no significant difference between the groups regarding prematurity, structural heart disease, and type of tachycardia. Proarrhythmia occurred in 6 cases and was related to intravenous drug use with class IC antiarrhythmics in 3/6 cases, digoxin in 2/6 cases, and amiodarone in 1/6 cases. ECG signs of impending proarrhythmia without new-onset arrhythmia requiring cessation of therapy were detected in 6 patients.Conclusion: Although rare, non-post-operative supraventricular tachycardia in neonates and infants might be a serious disease. Acute intravenous pharmacological treatment to control tachycardia might pose a risk for fatal or near-fatal outcome. Detection of proarrhythmia related to class IC antiarrhythmics in neonates might be especially difficult and requires alertness. What is Known • Prognosis of supraventricular tachycardias in children are thought to be excellent with fatal outcomes being rare. • Mortality is increased in the very young and in those with structural heart disease. What is New • Complicated outcome of non-post-operative supraventricular tachycardias in neonates is associated with lower bodyweight, age, prenatal tachycardia, higher PRISM II score, longer period to control tachycardia, and proarrhythmia. • Detection of class IC proarrhythmic effect is especially difficult in neonates because of their narrow QRS and warrants alertness.