Cardiovascular Medicine

A meta-analysis of impact of low-flow/low-gradient aortic stenosis on survival after transcatheter aortic valve implantation Aims To determine whether low-flow/low-gradient (LF/LG) aortic stenosis affects survival after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), we performed a meta-analysis of currently available studies. Methods MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched through January 2019 using PubMed and OVID. Observational studies comparing all-cause mortality after TAVI for patients with classical LF/LG (C/LF/LG) aortic stenosis versus normal-flow/high-gradient (NF/HG) aortic stenosis, paradoxical LF/LG (P/LF/LG) aortic stenosis versus NF/HG aortic stenosis, and (3) C/LF/LG aortic stenosis versus P/LF/LG aortic stenosis were included. Study-specific estimates, risk and hazard ratios of mortality, were combined in the random-effects model. Results Our search identified nine eligible studies including a total of 5512 TAVI patients. Pooled analysis demonstrated significantly higher early mortality in C/LF/LG aortic stenosis than NF/HG aortic stenosis (risk ratio, 1.72; P = 0.02) and no statistically significant difference in early mortality between P/LF/LG aortic stenosis and NF/HG aortic stenosis (P = 0.67) and between C/LF/LG aortic stenosis and P/LF/LG aortic stenosis (P = 0.51). Midterm mortality in C/LF/LG (risk ratio/hazard ratio, 1.73; P = 0.0003) and P/LF/LG aortic stenosis (risk ratio/hazard ratio, 1.48; P < 0.0001) was significantly higher than that in NF/HG aortic stenosis. There was no statistically significant difference in midterm mortality between C/LF/LG aortic stenosis and P/LF/LG aortic stenosis (P = 0.63). Conclusion After TAVI, C/LF/LG aortic stenosis is associated with increased early mortality compared with NF/HG, and C/LF/LG and P/LF/LG aortic stenosis is associated with increased midterm mortality compared with NF/HG aortic stenosis despite no difference in early mortality between P/LF/LG aortic stenosis and NF/HG aortic stenosis. There is no difference in early and midterm mortality between C/LF/LG aortic stenosis and P/LF/LG aortic stenosis. Correspondence to Hisato Takagi, MD, PhD, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Shizuoka Medical Center, 762-1 Nagasawa, Shimizu-cho, Sunto-gun, Shizuoka 411-8611, Japan. E-mail: kfgth973@ybb.ne.jp Received 13 November, 2018 Revised 26 February, 2019 Accepted 2 April, 2019 Supplemental digital content is available for this article. Direct URL citations appear in the printed text and are provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal's Website (www.jcardiovascularmedicine.com). © 2019 Italian Federation of Cardiology. All rights reserved.

Acute myocarditis secondary to mushrooms ingestion as assessed by cardiac MRI: a case report and review of the literature No abstract available

Nationwide survey on the current practice of ventricular tachycardia ablation Methods We performed a nationwide survey on the current practice of ventricular tachycardia catheter ablation in Italy during the year 2016. Results Among 145 operators participating in the survey, 58 (40.0%) did not perform any ventricular tachycardia ablation in 2016. Among those performing ventricular tachycardia ablation, 9 operators (6.2%) performed only right ventricular endocardial catheter ablation, 52 (35.9%) performed endocardial catheter ablation both in the right and left ventricle (LV) and 26 (17.9%) performed both endocardial and epicardial LV catheter ablations. Seventy operators (89.7%) among the 78 performing LV and epicardial ablations treated patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy; ablations in the setting of other causes were less frequently performed. The following were considered as minimum requirements for ventricular tachycardia ablation: presence of a three-dimensional mapping system (120 operators, 82.8%), ICU in the hospital (118 operators, 81.4%), operator's training in high volume centers (93 operators, 64.1%). Twenty-eight operators (19.3%) performed catheter ablation in patients with electrical storm only after hemodynamic stabilization, 41 operators (28.3%) also during the acute phase and 9 operators (6.2%) never performed catheter ablation in electrical storm patients; the remaining 67 operators did not perform ventricular tachycardia ablation at all, or performed ablations only in the right ventricle. Conclusion The present survey provides a snapshot of the current invasive treatment of ventricular tachycardia by catheter ablation. The procedure, especially in the setting of ischemic cardiomyopathy, is performed nationwide. Complex cases, including those with electrical storm, should be managed within a preestablished integrated network of regional referral centers able to transfer patients as soon as possible. Correspondence to Pasquale Vergara, Arrhythmia Unit and Electrophysiology Laboratory, Department of Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery, Ospedale S. Raffaele, Milano, Italy Tel: +39 0226437436; fax: +39 02 26437326; e-mail: pasqualevergara@hotmail.com Received 14 December, 2018 Revised 29 April, 2019 Accepted 1 June, 2019 © 2019 Italian Federation of Cardiology. All rights reserved.

Cardiovascular prevention in women: a narrative review from the Italian Society of Cardiology working groups on ‘Cardiovascular Prevention, Hypertension and peripheral circulation’ and on ‘Women Disease’ Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in women. Some authors highlighted that the female risk profile consists of traditional and emerging risk factors. Despite the lower prevalence of type 2 diabetes, years of life lost owing to the disease for women are substantially higher compared with men. In addition, pregnancy complicated by gestational diabetes represents a risk factor for CVD. Women with gestational diabetes have a higher prevalence of coronary artery disease that occur at a younger age and are independent of T2DM. Hypertension is an important cardiovascular risk factor in women. Estrogens and progesterone, known to have an impact on blood pressure levels, have also been proposed to be protective against sleep-disordered breathing. It is very difficult to understand whereas obstructive sleep apnea in women is independently associated with hypertension or if many confounders acting at different stages of the woman lifespan mediate this relation. The cardioprotective effect of physical activity in women of all ages is well known. Women are generally more physically inactive than men. During and after menopause, most women tend to reduce their physical activity levels and together with the reduction in basal metabolic rate, women experience loss of skeletal muscle mass with a negative change in the ratio of fat-to-lean mass. In conclusion, sex differences in the cardiovascular system are because of dissimilarities in gene expression and sex hormones; these result in variations in prevalence and presentation of CVD and associated conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension and vascular and cardiac remodeling. Changes in lifestyle and increase in physical activity could help in prevention of cardiovascular disease in women. Correspondence to Anna Vittoria Mattioli, MD, Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via del Pozzo, 71 - 41124 Modena, Italy Tel: +39 594224043; fax: +39 594223229; e-mail: annavittoria.mattioli@unimore.it Received 14 October, 2018 Revised 23 February, 2019 Accepted 2 June, 2019 © 2019 Italian Federation of Cardiology. All rights reserved.

Predictors of survival in patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation after transcatheter aortic valve implantation Aims Cardiac rehabilitation may improve physical and functional recovery after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), but outcome predictors in TAVI patients are usually based on assessments made before or at the time of TAVI without regard to cardiac rehabilitation referral. We aimed to assess exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation-derived parameters that may predict 3-year outcome in TAVI patients undergoing residential cardiac rehabilitation. Methods and results In 95 consecutive TAVI patients (82.7 ± 4.9 years, 65% women) who underwent a 3-week cardiac rehabilitation program, at 3-year follow-up 35 deaths occurred. Compared with survivors, nonsurvivors had longer stay in cardiac rehabilitation (29.5 ± 12.3 vs. 21.6 ± 7.5 days, P = 0.0001), worse serum creatinine at admission/discharge (1.59 ± 0.86 vs. 1.26 ± 0.43 mg/dl, P = 0.0164; 1.52 ± 0.61 vs. 1.23 ± 0.44 mg/dl, P = 0.011), higher Cumulative Illness Rated State Comorbidity Index (5.4 ± 1.5 vs. 4.6 ± 1.8, P = 0.036) and Barthel Index at admission/discharge (51.8 ± 24.5 vs. 68.1 ± 23.2, P = 0.0016; 73.5 ± 27.2 vs. 88.6 ± 15.3, P = 0.0007), higher Morse Fall Risk score (35.6 ± 24 vs. 24.3 ± 14.1, P = 0.0056), and were less likely to train above the median exercise workload (fit) (11 vs. 35%, P = 0.008) or perform the 6-min walk test (6MWT) at admission/discharge (NO-6MWT: 34 vs. 12%, P = 0.008) and walked less distance on admission (6MWT: 129.6 ± 88.3 vs. 193.3 ± 69.8 m, P = 0.008). Univariate predictors of 3-year survival were cardiac rehabilitation duration, serum creatinine, Cumulative Illness Rated State Comorbidity Index, Barthel Index and NO-6MWT at admission/discharge, 6MWT at admission, Morse Fall Risk score at discharge and fit. Multivariate analysis confirmed exercise tolerance, Barthel Index and sCr at discharge as predictors. Conclusion In TAVI patients who undergo cardiac rehabilitation, lower exercise tolerance, higher Barthel Index and sCr at discharge may predict 3-year mortality. Correspondence to Franco Tarro Genta, Department of Cardiology, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri, IRCCS, Presidio Major Via Santa Giulia 60, 10124 Torino, Italy Tel: +39 011 8151611; fax: +39 011 81516308; e-mail: franco.tarrogenta@icsmaugeri.it Received 6 January, 2019 Revised 20 May, 2019 Accepted 28 May, 2019 © 2019 Italian Federation of Cardiology. All rights reserved.

Traumatic mitral valve regurgitation: a case report and state-of-the-art review Traumatic mitral valve regurgitation is a rare and often insidious condition. Clinical presentation is variable and influenced by the anatomic structures injured; when papillary muscles are damaged, the clinical presentation is often acute, whereas, in the case of involvement of other anatomic structures of the valvular apparatus (e.g. chordae tendinae), the onset of symptoms may be delayed (days, weeks, or months). Therefore, diagnosis may be belated because of the heterogeneous clinical presentation. Traumatic mitral valve injury should be excluded in patients admitted to the emergency services with blunt chest trauma, in particular when signs or symptoms of acute heart failure occur. Echocardiography, particularly with the transoesophageal approach, may play a pivotal role in this setting. Herein, we present a case of severe mitral regurgitation because of blunt chest trauma and a systematic review of the literature. We examined 192 described cases, classified according to epidemiology, aetiology, anatomic features, clinical presentation, diagnosis, surgical/clinical management and prognosis. Correspondence to Giuseppe D. Sanna, MD, PhD, Clinical and Interventional Cardiology, Sassari University Hospital, Via Enrico De Nicola, 07100 Sassari, Sassari, Italy Tel: +39 792061521; fax: +39 079210512; e-mail: giuseppe.sanna@aousassari.it Received 11 January, 2019 Revised 7 February, 2019 Accepted 2 April, 2019 © 2019 Italian Federation of Cardiology. All rights reserved.

Transvenous single-chamber ventricular pacemaker implantation via the left superior vena cava to a collateral of the coronary sinus in a Fontan patient No abstract available

Sacubitril/valsartan improves medium-term reverse left ventricular remodeling: why wait? No abstract available

Long-term parameters of heart rate variability in patients with insulin-resistance No abstract available

An unusual trigger of Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy No abstract available