Current Cardiology Reviews - Volume 19, Issue 3, 2023

Sleep-related breathing disorders, including obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central sleep apnea (CSA), have a major impact on cardiovascular function. It has shown an association with hypertension, coronary artery disease, cardiac arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death, and congestive heart failure (CHF). This review focuses on highlighting the relationship between sleep apnea and CHF. We discuss the underlying pathophysiology, which involves the mechanical, neurohormonal, and inflammatory mechanisms; in addition, the similarities and differentiating clinical features of OSA in patients with CHF and without CHF. We have also discussed several treatment strategies, including weight loss, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), supplemental oxygen therapy, theophylline, acetazolamide, mandibular advancement device, and hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HGNS). We conclude that since there are several overlapping clinical features in patients with OSA with Heart Failure (HF) and without HF, early detection and treatment are crucial to decrease the risk of HF, coronary artery disease, and stroke.

Cardiotoxicity from chemotherapy regimens has been long reported. However, the understanding of cardiac side effects of biological therapies is rapidly evolving. With cancer patients achieving higher life expectancy due to the use of personalized medicine and novel targeted anticancer agents, the occurrence of cardiotoxicity is becoming more significant. Novel biological therapies include anti-HER2 antibodies, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, bruton kinase inhibitors, antivascular endothelial growth factors, proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulator drugs, and immune checkpoint inhibitors. Potential cardiovascular toxicities linked to these anticancer agents include hypertension, arrhythmias, QT prolongation, myocardial ischemia and infarction, left ventricular dysfunction, congestive heart failure, and thromboembolism. Cardiac biomarkers, electrocardiography, echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging are common diagnostic modalities used for early detection of these complications and timely intervention. This review discusses the various types of cardiotoxicities caused by novel anticancer biologic agents, their molecular and pathophysiological mechanisms, risk factors, and diagnostic and management strategies that can be used to prevent, minimize, and treat them.

Tricuspid regurgitation is a cardiac valvular anomaly that consists of the return of blood to the right atrium during systole due to incomplete valve closure. This structure can be visualized on ultrasound between 11 and 14 weeks of gestation in most cases. Despite being a common finding, even in healthy fetuses, the presence of tricuspid regurgitation may be associated with chromosomal and structural abnormalities. The evaluation of tricuspid flow and the presence of regurgitation on first-trimester ultrasound has shown promising results regarding its role in the early detection of aneuploidies, congenital heart defects, and other adverse perinatal outcomes. This review article aims to demonstrate the importance of tricuspid regurgitation as a secondary marker, and consequently, significant benefits of its early detection when added to the combined first-trimester screening. Its value will be discussed, namely its sensitivity and specificity, alone and together with other current markers in the fetal assessment performed in the first-trimester ultrasound.

Among the complex mechanisms of AF pathogenesis, intracellular calcium overload and oxidative stress play a major role, both triggered by inflammatory processes. The additional basic event taking place in AF is atrial fibrotic remodeling, again triggered by oxidative stress, which is determined by connexins rearrangement and differentiation of fibroblasts into active collagensecreting myofibroblasts. RhoA/ROCK system is the final pathway of a wide spectrum of molecular effectors such as Angiotensin II, platelet-derived growth factor, connective tissue growth factor and transforming growth factor β, that overall determine calcium dysregulation and pro-fibrotic remodeling. Both in experimental and clinical studies, RhoA/ROCK activation has been linked to superoxide ion production, fibrotic remodeling and connexins rearrangement, with important consequences for AF pathogenesis. ROCK pathway inhibition may therefore be a therapeutic or preventive target for special AF subgroups of patients.

Background: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has been one of the leading causes of mortality in the world. Despite common understanding regarding ACS as an older population’s or man's disease, the number of young women affected by this condition is increasing. Many studies have assessed the risk factors of ACS, but only a few studies focused on this subpopulation. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aim to evaluate the risk factors predisposing to ACS in the young women population. Methods: Nine online databases were screened from the date of inception to September 2021, where the acquired studies were evaluated using the PRISMA statement. The inclusion criteria were a case control study with women age cut-off of <50 years. The risk factors of acute coronary syndrome were analyzed using a random-effect model, expressed as summary statistics of odds ratio (OR) for categorical variable and standard mean difference (SMD) for continuous data with normal distribution, with 95% confidence interval (CI). Quality assessment was conducted using the STROBE statement. Results: Seven studies with the total of 7042 patients met the inclusion criteria of this metaanalysis. Diabetes mellitus, high BMI, obesity, hypercholestrolemia, hypertension, smoking, and family history significantly increased acute coronary syndrome risk in young women. Other risks such as heavy alcohol consumption, oral contraceptive use, and postmenopausal state were associated with higher risk of ACS. Conclusion: The independent risk factors which are strongly related to ACS in young women were diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia with odd ratios of 6.21, 5.32, and 4.07. Other risk factors which may be associated with an increased risk of ACS in young women were heavy alcohol consumption, oral contraceptive use, and postmenopausal state. Health promotion and effective intervention on this specific population regarding these risk factors can decrease young female cardiovascular morbidity and mortality as well as improved quality of life of women.

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of death worldwide. The global prevalence of heart failure is projected to increase rapidly in the coming decades, and significant attention has turned to improving biomarker-based risk prediction of incident HF. This paper aimed to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the evidence associating levels of galectin-3 with the risk of incident HF. Methods: A review of PUBMED-indexed peer-reviewed literature was performed. Nine studies met the inclusion criteria, and all nine had data eligible for conversion and pooling. A randomeffects meta-analysis was performed using hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals from a minimally adjusted model, a further adjusted model, and from subgroups within the further-adjusted model. Results: The minimally-adjusted model provided an HR of 1.97 (95% CI 1.74-2.23) when comparing the top quartile of log-gal-3 to the bottom quartile. The further-adjusted model provided an HR of 1.32 (95% CI 1.21-1.44) for the same comparison. The positive, significant association was conserved during sensitivity analysis. Conclusion: There is a significant positive association between circulating galectin-3 and the risk of incident heart failure. Given the complex mechanistic relationship between galectin-3 and cardiovascular pathophysiology, further investigation is recommended for the possible implementation of galectin-3 into clinical risk prediction models.

Introduction: It has been estimated that congestive heart failure (CHF) will reach epidemic proportions and contribute to large unsustainable impacts on health budgets for any cardiovascular condition. Against other major trends in cardiovascular outcomes, readmission and disease burden continue to rise as the demographics shift. Methods: The rise in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) among elderly women will present new challenges. Gold standard care delivers sustainable and cost-effective health improvements using organised care programs. When coordinated with large hospitals, this can be replicated universally. Results: A gradient of outcomes and ambulatory care needs to be shifted from established institutions and shared with clients and community health services, being a sizeable proportion of CHF care. Conclusion: In this review, we explore health technologies as an emerging opportunity to address gaps in CHF management.

Objectives: This meta-analysis aims to investigate the recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) post-ablation based on the various stages of fibrosis seen in the late gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging (LGE-MRI). Methods: Electronic databases were searched using specific terms and identified nine studies that met the inclusion criteria. A total of 1,787 patients underwent LGE-MRI to assess atrial fibrosis before catheter ablation for AF. We performed three analyses: first, we compared stage IV versus stage I (reference group). The second set examined the combined stages III and IV versus stages I and II (reference group). The third set compared stage IV versus combined stages I, II, and III. The metanalysis relied on a random-effects model to pool the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using the DerSimonian and Laird method. The data was analyzed using StatsDirect software in England. Results: The study showed a higher rate of AF recurrence after ablation in stage IV atrial fibrosis than in stage I (OR, 9.54; 95% CI, 3.81 to 28.89; P<00001). Also, in patients with combined stages III & IV of atrial fibrosis, AF recurrence was significantly higher after ablation than in stages I & II groups (OR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.61 to 3.50; P<00001). Similarly, compared to combined stages I, II, and III, patients with stage IV have higher odds of recurrence post-ablation (OR, 4.24; 95% CI, 2.39- 7.52, P < 0.001). Conclusion: This metanalysis demonstrates the strong association between left atrial fibrosis in LGE-MRI and AF post-ablation recurrence. The finding of this study will further assist clinicians in predicting the recurrence rate of AF based on the amount of fibrosis and tailor therapeutic decisions for further management.

In-stent restenosis (ISR) is a recognized complication following percutaneous coronary intervention in which the luminal diameter is narrowed through neointimal hyperplasia and vessel remodeling. Although rates of ISR have decreased in most recent years owing to newer generation drug-eluting stents, thinner struts, and better intravascular imaging modalities, ISR remains a prevalent dilemma that proves to be challenging to manage. Several factors have been proposed to contribute to ISR formation, including mechanical stent characteristics, technical factors during the coronary intervention, and biological aspects of drug-eluting stents. Presentation of ISR can range from asymptomatic to late myocardial infarction and could be difficult to differentiate from acute thrombus formation. No definite guidelines are present on the management of ISR. In this review, we will discuss the mechanisms underlying ISR and provide insight into patient-related and procedural risk factors contributing to ISR, in addition to highlighting common treatment approaches utilized in the management of ISR.

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is the most frequent valvulopathy in the general population, with usually a favourable prognosis. Although it can be associated with some complications, ventricular arrhythmias (VA) and sudden cardiac death (SCD) are the most worrying. The estimated risk of SCD in MVP is between 0.2% to 1.9% per year, including MVP patients with and without severe mitral regurgitation (MR). The association between SCD and MVP is expressed by a phenotype called “malignant MVP” characterized by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) findings such as bileaflet myxomatous prolapse and mitral annulus disjunction (MAD), ECG findings such as repolarization abnormalities, complex ventricular arrhythmias (c-VAs) and LV fibrosis of papillary muscles (PMs) and inferobasal wall visualized by late gadolinium enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR). Therefore, attention is raised for patients with “arrhythmic MVP” characterized from an ECG point of view by frequent premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) arising from one or both PMs as well as by T-wave inversion in the inferolateral leads. In athletes, SCD is the most frequent medical cause of death and in young subjects (< 35 years) usually is due to electrical mechanism affecting who has a silent cardiovascular disease and are not considered per se a cause of increased mortality. In MVP, SCD was reported to happen during sports activity or immediately after and valve prolapse was the only pathological aspect detected. The aim of the present paper is to explore the association between SCD and MVP in athletes, focusing attention on ECG, TTE in particular, and CMR findings that could help to identify subjects at high risk for complex arrhythmias and eventually SCD. In addition, it is also examined if sports activity might predispose patients with MVP to develop major arrhythmias.