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Pericardial diseases have gained renewed clinical interest, leading to a renaissance in the field. There have been many recent advances in pericardial diseases in both multimodality cardiac imaging of diagnoses, such as recurrent, transient constrictive and effusive-constrictive pericarditis, and targeted therapeutics, especially anti-interleukin (IL)-1 agents that affect the inflammasome as part of autoinflammatory pathophysiology. There remains a large educational gap for clinicians, leading to variability in evaluation and management of these patients. The latest pericardial imaging (American Society of Echocardiography, European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging) and clinical guidelines (European Society of Cardiology) are >8-10 years of age and may not reflect current practice. Recent clinical trials involving anti-IL-1 agents in recurrent pericarditis, including anakinra (AIRTRIP), rilonacept (RHAPSODY), and goflikicept have demonstrated their efficacy. The present document represents an international position statement from world leaders in the pericardial field, focusing on novel concepts and emphasizing the role of multimodality cardiac imaging as well as new therapeutics in pericardial diseases., Competing Interests: Funding Support and Author Disclosures Dr Klein has received research grants from Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals and Cardiol Therapeutics, and is on advisory boards for Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Cardiol Therapeutics, and Pfizer. Dr Cremer has received research grants from Kiniksa Pharmaceutics and Novartis, and is on advisory boards for Kiniksa Pharmaceutics and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum. Antonio Abbate has received consulting fees from Cardiol Therapeutics, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Implicit Biosciences, Novo Nordisk, Olatec, R-Pharm, Serpin Pharma, and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum. Dr Asher has received royalties from Wolters-Kluwer Publishing Company. Dr Brucato’s institution has received funding from Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals as an investigative site, unrestricted research grants from Swedish Orphan Biovitrum and ACARPIA, and travel and accommodation for advisory committee from Swedish Orphan Biovitrum and Kiniksa. Dr Hoit is speaker for Philips Medical. Dr Kwon has received a research grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (1R01HL170090-01) and has research agreements with Circle cvi42 and Myocardial Solutions. Dr LeWinter has received a research grant from and is on an advisory board for Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals. Dr Lin is on an advisory board for Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals. Dr Luis is a consultant for Medtronic, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Cardiol Therapeutic, and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum Pharmaceuticals; Dr Ordovas has received a research grant from the American College of Radiology; Dr Schenone is on the speaking bureau for Bristol Myers Squibb; Dr Weber is on advisory boards for Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Novo Nordisk, and Horizon Therapeutics; Dr Imazio is on advisory boards for Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals and Cardiol Therapeutics. The other authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Sarcopenia refers to a reduction in skeletal muscle mass and strength. Despite the known association between single-slice muscle measurements on lumbar computed tomography and poor outcomes in various clinical settings, studies using thoracic muscle measurements on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) have been limited., Methods: Patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) between 2010 and 2020 were included if they were ≥ 50 years of age with preoperative CMR. Manual unilateral pectoralis major and minor skeletal muscle area measurements were made at the carina and normalized for body size by height to obtain skeletal muscle index (SMI). Sarcopenia was defined as the lowest sex-stratified SMI tertile and higher-risk as the highest fiftieth percentile Society of Thoracic Surgeons' (STS) mortality score., Results: A total of 133 patients were included, 35 (26.3%) females. The average age was 64 ± 9 years, with most Caucasian (93.2%). Compared to non-sarcopenic patients, sarcopenic patients were older with lower body mass index. During a median follow-up of 27.3 (7.6-60.4) months, 10 (22.2%) deaths occurred in the sarcopenic group and 8 (9.1%) in the non-sarcopenic group (p = 0.039 by log-rank test). On subgroup analysis (66 patients), higher-risk sarcopenic patients had 10 (37.0%) deaths compared to 8 (20.5%) in higher-risk non-sarcopenic patients (p = 0.011 by log-rank test)., Conclusions: Simple unilateral pectoralis muscle measurements on preoperative CMR can be used as an adjunct to traditional risk scores for predicting mortality post-SAVR., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors report no relationships that could be construed as a conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with a wide range of cardiovascular complications. The main manifestations include diseases of the coronary arteries, valves, pericardium, and myocardium. Multimodality cardiovascular imaging techniques are critical for evaluating the extent of cardiac manifestations in SLE patients, which can provide valuable prognostic information. However, their utility has previously not been well defined. This review provides a state-of-the-art update on the cardiovascular manifestations of lupus, as well as the role of multimodality cardiac imaging in guiding management of patients with SLE., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Significant tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is associated with poor outcome and high operative mortality resulting from late presentation. Yet, the optimal timing for intervention is unknown., Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of echocardiographic parameters to inform early intervention in asymptomatic TR., Methods: Using the Cleveland Clinic echocardiography database 2004 to 2018, the authors identified a consecutive cohort of asymptomatic patients with moderate to severe (3+) or severe (4+) TR. Quantitative TR and right heart parameters were retrospectively determined, and their prognostic utility for all-cause mortality was assessed., Results: In 325 asymptomatic patients (mean age: 67.9 years; 79.4% female) with at least 3+ TR, there were 132 deaths (40.6%), with a median survival time of 9.9 years (95% CI: 7.9-12.7 years). By contrast, the median survival time in an age- and sex-matched cohort of symptomatic TR patients was 4.4 years (95% CI: 2.8-5.9 years). Among all the echocardiographic parameters evaluated, right ventricle free wall strain (RVFWS) and tricuspid regurgitant volume (RVol) were the strongest predictors of mortality in asymptomatic TR. The optimal discriminatory thresholds for these parameters were RVFWS <-19% and RVol >45 mL. The 5-year survival rates by number of risk factors (RF) were 93% (95% CI: 86%-96%), 65% (95% CI: 55%-74%), and 38% (95% CI: 26%-49%) for no RF, 1 RF, and both RFs, respectively. Compared with symptomatic TR, mortality was lower for asymptomatic TR with no RF (HR: 0.10; 95% CI: 0.04-0.29) or 1 RF (HR: 0.29; 95% CI: 0.14-0.58), but similar for asymptomatic TR with both RFs (HR: 1.11; 95% CI: 0.56-2.19)., Conclusions: RVFWS and RVol are key prognostic markers that can be serially monitored to inform optimal timing of intervention for severe asymptomatic TR., Competing Interests: Funding Support and Author Disclosures Dr Gillinov has served as a consultant to AtriCure, Medtronic, Edwards Lifesciences, CryoLife, Abbott, and ClearFlow; and has rights to equity in ClearFlow. Dr Desai has been supported by the Haslam Family endowed chair in cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. The current research was supported by a philanthropic gift from the Haslam family, Bailey family, and Khouri family. Dr Desai has research and consulting agreements with Bristol Myers Squibb, Medtronic, and Caristo Diagnostics. All other authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The authors report etiologies and outcomes and devise a risk model in a large contemporary cohort of patients with isolated tricuspid regurgitation (TR)., Background: Isolated TR is a challenging clinical entity with heterogeneous etiology and often poor outcomes, with a paucity of recent research regarding the epidemiology of isolated TR., Methods: Consecutive patients with isolated TR graded at least moderate to severe on echocardiography from January 2004 to December 2018 (n = 9,045, mean age 70.4 ± 15.4 years, 60.3% women) were studied. TR etiologies were individually adjudicated as secondary or primary, with subcategories. All-cause death during follow-up was the primary endpoint, with associations between etiology and outcomes analyzed and a risk model created., Results: Primary and secondary TR etiologies were present in 470 (5.2%) and 8,575 (94.8%) patients, respectively. The main secondary etiologies were left heart disease in 4,664 (54.4%), atrial functional in 2,086 (24.3%), and pulmonary disease in 1,454 (17.0%), and the main primary etiologies were endocarditis in 222 (47.2%), degenerative or prolapse in 86 (18.3%), and prosthetic valve failure in 79 (16.8%). There were 3,987 deaths (44.0%) over a mean follow-up period of 2.6 ± 3.3 years. In unadjusted analyses, patients with secondary TR had worse survival than those with primary TR (HR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.32-1.85), but this result was not statistically significant in multivariable analysis. The authors devised and internally validated a risk score for predicting 1-year mortality in these patients., Conclusions: Secondary TR constituted 95% of isolated significant TR and conferred worse survival than primary TR in unadjusted but not adjusted analyses. The present novel risk score stratifies the risk for 1-year death and may influence decision making for management in these high-risk patients., Competing Interests: Funding Support and Author Disclosures Dr Wang is supported by the National Heart Foundation of New Zealand Overseas Clinical and Research Fellowship (grant 1775). Dr Desai is supported by the Haslam Family endowed chair in cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, a generous philanthropic gift from the Haslam family, Bailey family, and Khouri family. Dr Desai has research and consulting agreements with Myokardia, Medtronic, and Silence Therapeutics. Dr Gillinov is a consultant to AtriCure, Medtronic, Edwards Lifesciences, CryoLife, Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, and ClearFlow; and has rights to equity in ClearFlow. All other authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose., (Copyright © 2022 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) varies with sex and is an independent predictor of mortality. We sought to investigate sex differences in the exercise protocol selected, CRF levels, and their relationships with long term all-cause mortality., Methods: In a 25-year stress testing registry spanning from 1991 to 2014, consecutive all-comer patients who underwent exercise stress testing at Cleveland Clinic were categorized by sex, stress protocol and imaging modality. All tests were conducted by one or more of stress test technicians, sonographers and nuclear medicine technologists, and interpreted by cardiologists. The primary outcome all-cause mortality was analyzed in using multivariable Cox regression., Results: In 120,705 patients, the mean age was 53.3 ± 12.5 years, and 41% were female. Females were more commonly referred for non-Bruce exercise protocols (modified Bruce, Cornell 0, 5 and 10, Naughton and modified Naughton) with odds ratio of 2.62; 95% confidence interval (95%CI) (2.54-2.70) after adjusting for age and comorbidities. When also adjusting for the protocol chosen, females achieved lower CRF with beta -1.40, 95% CI (-1.43, -1.37). There were 8426 (6.9%) deaths during a mean follow-up of 8.7 years. Both female sex and CRF were independently associated with lower all-cause mortality with hazards ratio (95%CI) of 0.44 (0.41-0.46) and 0.41 (0.39-0.42) respectively, after adjusting for age, co-morbidities and protocol chosen., Conclusions: Women were more likely referred for less demanding exercise protocols, more imaging protocols and achieved lower CRF than men. Despite this, female sex was associated with significantly lower long term mortality for equivalent CRF level in adjusted analyses., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Mitral annular disjunction (MAD) is an increasingly recognized entity associated with mitral valve prolapse (MVP), ventricular arrhythmias and death. Few studies have investigated the utility of myocardial deformation analysis in MAD. We compared chamber quantification including strain by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) between MVP patients with and without MAD., Methods: Forty-two patients with MVP (21 with MAD, 21 without MAD) and 21 controls were studied. Global, basal and basal inferolateral (BIL) segmental strains were measured and compared using velocity-vector imaging TTE and feature-tracking CMR., Results: Mean age was 54 ± 17 years, 19 (46%) were female, and 19 (46%) underwent surgical mitral valve repair with no deaths during follow-up in the 2 groups with MVP. Patients with MAD and MVP had lower basal longitudinal strain by TTE than those with MVP without MAD. Those with MAD and MVP had lower magnitude in BIL and basal segments by circumferential and radial strain by CMR compared to those with MVP without MAD and controls. Amongst global strain parameters, CMR-derived global circumferential strain was independently associated with MAD diagnosis odds ratio 1.49 (per 1%), 95% confidence interval 1.09-2.05, P = 0.014, with optimal threshold of -18.0% having 76% sensitivity and specificity for MAD., Conclusion: Abnormal circumferential and radial strain patterns in the basal segments by CMR may be useful for identifying regional LV dysfunction associated with MAD., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and cardiac computed tomography (CCT) in diagnosing infective endocarditis (IE)., Background: TEE is a mainstay imaging modality for IE, while the use of CCT is becoming increasingly prevalent. Data directly comparing the diagnostic performance of these two imaging modalities for IE are limited., Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of published literature in Embase, PubMed and Cochrane databases through October 1, 2020 for studies comparing diagnostic performance of CCT and TEE for the diagnosis of IE in the same patient populations. A meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy was performed using the bivariate model based on studies that used surgical pathology as a reference standard for defining endocarditis. From a total of 10 studies included in the meta-analysis, a total of 872 patients were evaluated., Results: The pooled sensitivities and specificities of TEE for detecting vegetations were 96% and 83% respectively, whereas for CCT, they were 85% and 84%, respectively. In the prosthetic valve sub-group, the pooled sensitivities and specificities of TEE for detecting vegetations were 89% and 74% respectively, whereas for CCT, they were 78% and 94%, with CCT being more specific than TEE (p < 0.05). The pooled sensitivities and specificities of TEE for detecting periannular complications were 70% and 96% respectively, whereas for CCT, they were 88% and 93%, respectively. CCT showed a trend (p = 0.06) towards higher sensitivity than TEE for detection of periannular complications. The pooled sensitivities and specificities of TEE for detecting leaflet perforation were 79% and 93% respectively, whereas for CCT, they were 48% and 93% respectively, with TEE being more sensitive (p < 0.05). The two modalities also showed comparable diagnostic performance for detecting fistulae, paravalvular leaks and prosthetic valve dehiscence., Conclusion: In a contemporary comparative meta-analysis, TEE and CCT demonstrated both good diagnostic accuracy for detecting valvular involvement and complications of IE. TEE performed better for detecting leaflet defects, whereas CCT performed better in cases of prosthetic valve involvement, and showed a trend towards improved detection of periannular complications. Appropriate, complementary use of both TEE and CCT in a multimodality imaging approach in clinical practice may achieve the highest diagnostic performance., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors declare that they have no relevant conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2020 Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Coronary heart disease remains one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in New Zealand (NZ) and globally. The All New Zealand Acute Coronary Syndrome Quality Improvement (ANZACS-QI) programme includes the CathPCI registry which records all those referred for diagnostic coronary angiography (DCA) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in NZ. We present the methods and three-years of data from the ANZACS-QI CathPCI registry., Methods: The data was extracted from the ANZACS QI CathPCI registry from 01/09/2014 to 24/09/2017. The ANZACS-QI data dictionary defines all the clinical, procedural and outcomes variables collected, and standard statistical analyses were applied., Results: 40,870 patients underwent cardiac catheterisation, with a mean age of 65 years, and males making up 67% of the cohort. Indications included acute coronary syndrome 55%, angina with suspected stable coronary disease 28%, valve surgery workup 8%, planned PCI 3%, heart failure/cardiomyopathy 3%, arrhythmia 1% and other 2%. For those undergoing DCA alone, radial access was used in 85% and two-thirds had at least one major artery with >50% stenosis. PCI was performed in 39% of patients. Drug-eluting stents were used in 97%., Conclusion: The CathPCI registry records the characteristics and outcomes of all patients undergoing DCA and PCI in NZ hospitals. As part of the ANZACS-QI programme the registry provides an important platform for quality improvement, research and to inform clinical practice., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Right ventricular dysfunction is increasingly being recognized as a marker of poor prognosis in a variety of cardiovascular diseases. Hence, identification and accurate quantification of the degree of impairment is crucial. Although echocardiography remains the mainstay for right ventricular evaluation, multimodality noninvasive cardiac imaging provides additional useful corroborative assessment. Cardiac MRI is particularly useful for accurate quantification of right ventricular volumes and function, as well as myocardial tissue characterization. This article outlines the clinically useful applications of multimodality imaging for comprehensive assessment of the right heart and associated structures in the setting of right ventricular failure., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors have nothing to disclose., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Approximately 5% of coronary angiographies detect LMS disease >50%. Recent randomized trials showed PCI has comparable outcomes to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in low or intermediate risk candidates. In clinical practice, PCI is frequently utilized in those with prohibitive surgical risk. We reviewed contemporary national results of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for left main coronary disease (LMS) disease in New Zealand., Methods: All patients undergoing PCI for LMS disease from 01/09/2014-24/09/2017 were extracted from the All New Zealand Acute Coronary Syndrome-Quality Improvement registry with national dataset linkage, analyzing characteristics and in-hospital outcomes., Results: The cohort included 469 patients, mean age 70.8 ± 10.7 years, male 331 (71%), and the majority 339 (72%) were unprotected LMS. Indications include ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) 83 (18%) and NSTEMI or unstable angina 229 (49%). Compared with protected LMS, unprotected LMS were more likely to present with an acute coronary syndrome (73% versus 48%, P < 0.001), and to die in-hospital (9.4% versus 3.9%, P = 0.045). In those with unprotected LMS, in-hospital mortality after acute STEMI PCI was higher than for other indications (21.1% versus 6.1%, P < 0.001). Independent predictors of in-hospital death and major adverse cardiovascular events included STEMI, femoral access and worse renal function., Conclusion: Our LMS PCI cohort had high mortality rates, especially those presenting with STEMI and an unprotected LMS. This reflects the contemporary real-world practice of LMS PCI being predominantly performed in high risk patients which differs from randomized trial populations, and this should be considered before comparing with CABG outcomes., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is considered for severe aortic valve disease at high and now intermediate risk for surgical aortic valve replacement. Risk stratification plays a critical role decision-making for intervention and modality. We compared the prognostic utility of surgical risk scores for TAVI in this meta-analysis., Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane and Web of Science databases from 1 January 1980 to 31 December 2015 were searched. Studies were systematically reviewed for inclusion, and data extracted for pooled analyses., Results: Amongst 1688 articles searched, 47 full-text articles were screened and 24 studies (12,346 TAVI cases) included for analyses. Pooled c-statistics (95% confidence interval) for operative mortality were EuroSCORE 0.62 (0.57-0.67), EuroSCORE II 0.62 (0.59-0.66), STS Score 0.62 (0.59-0.65). Pooled calibration odds ratios (95%CI) were EuroSCORE 0.31 (0.25-0.38), EuroSCORE II 1.26 (1.06-1.51), STS 0.95 (0.72-1.27). C-statistics (95%CI) for 1-year mortality were EuroSCORE 0.62 (0.57-0.67), EuroSCORE II 0.66 (0.61-0.71) and STS Score 0.58 (0.53-0.64)., Conclusion: Surgical risk scores at most modestly discriminated operative and 1-year mortality. The EuroSCORE grossly over-estimated operative mortality while the EuroSCORE II and STS Scores fitted better to TAVI outcomes with their own limitations. There is a need for the development and validation of TAVI-specific risk models., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)