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Many interventionists are infatuated by the recent resurgence of the coilwire design with the Super Arrow-Flex® sheath (Teleflex, Inc., NC, United States of America). This exclusive sheath is a highly flexible, durable, conduit intended for use in diagnostic and interventional procedures with several advantages and maximum effectiveness in challenging cases. We report failure to easily advance memory shape occluders through Super Arrow-Flex® sheaths larger than the recommended implant French size. We detail the technical reasons behind this non-previously reported drawback and describe benchside tests as possible solutions.

Percutaneous closure of secundum atrial septal defect (sASD) in children with interrupted inferior vena cava is challenging, especially in case of deficient aortic rim. Trans-jugular access is generally preferred in this scenario. Patients with situs inversus and sASD also carry technical difficulties for transcatheter closure because of the orientation of the atrial septum. We report a successful case of percutaneous closure of a sASD with deficient aortic rim using an occlutech figulla flex II ASD device through the left internal jugular vein in a child with situs inversus, dextrocardia, and interrupted IVC. This case was facilitated by the absence of left-sided hub of the Occlutech device to provide stable opening of the device into the left atrium, whereas the ball-connection of the delivery system allowed an angle of almost 180 degrees between the device and the atrial septum.

Kawasaki disease (KD) can be associated with high morbidity and mortality due to coronary artery aneurysms formation and myocardial dysfunction. Aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of non-invasive myocardial work in predicting subtle myocardial abnormalities in Kawasaki disease (KD) children with coronary dilatation (CADL). A total of 100 patients (age 8.7 ± 5 years) were included: 45 children with KD and CADL (KD/CADL) (Z-score > 2.5), 45 age-matched controls (CTRL) and, finally, an additional group of 10 children with KD in absence of coronary dilatation (KD group). Left ventricular (LV) systolic function and global longitudinal strain (GLS) were assessed. Global myocardial work index (MWI) was calculated as the area of the LV pressure-strain loops. From MWI, global Constructive Work (MCW), Wasted Work (MWW) and Work Efficiency (MWE) were estimated. Despite normal LV systolic function by routine echocardiography, KD/CADL patients had lower MWI (1433.2 ± 375.8 mmHg% vs 1752.2 ± 265.7 mmHg%, p . MWI, MCW and MWE were significantly reduced in KD children despite normal LVEF and normal GLS. These abnormalities seems independent from CADL. Thus, in KD with normal LVEF and normal GLS, estimation of MWI may be a more sensitive indicator of myocardial dysfunction.

Introduction: The paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS) and Kawasaki disease (KD) have overlapping features. This study aimed to describe the strain segmental analysis among both entities. Methods: Retrospective review of strain segmental analysis within 4 weeks of presentation of symptoms among children diagnosed with PIMS-TS between April and June 2020 and a historic cohort of typical KD from the Royal Brompton Hospital, London. Results: We included 33 PIMS-TS patients (23 males, 69.7%) at a mean age of 8 ± 4,9 years old and 45 KD patients (31 males, 68,9%) at a mean age of 5,8 ± 4,5 years old. PIMS-TS patients were older at presentation (p = 0.038). Left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) was normal in both groups (63,3% vs 63,5%; p= 0,89), 4/33 PIMS-TS children (12,1%) had coronary arteries abnormalities (CAA), whereas 100% of KD cohort had CAA. Both groups had a normal global longitudinal strain (GLS), but in PIMS-TS it was significantly reduced compared to the KD group (-20% vs -22%; p=0,008). Basal segments were the most affected in PIMS-TS with significant difference in the basal anterior and anterolateral strain compared to KD (respectively -18,2% vs -23,4%; p < 0,001 and - 16,7% vs -22,7%; p < 0,001). PIMS-TS had a greater anterior, anterolateral and posterior segments involvement with a significant reduction in the anterolateral mid-wall longitudinal strain (-18,3% vs -22%; p=0,002). Apical segments were less involved, with a significant difference only in the septal and inferior apical strain (respectively p=0.001 and p=0,032). Conclusions: These preliminary data showed that after 4 weeks from the onset of symptoms, all PIMS-TS patients had a normal LVEF but they had a significant reduction in GLS and different segmental involvement compared to KD cohort. We hypothesize that these findings may be related to direct myocardial damage in PIMS-TS rather than caused by coronaries perfusion abnormalities.

Introduction: Children with paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS CoV2 infection (PIMS-TS) present with evidence of multiorgan dysfunction. Cardiac features include partial or typical Kawasaki disease symptoms or ventricular impairment. The aim of this study was to assess short term sequelae of cardiac involvement in patients with PIMS-TS. Methods: 17 consecutive paediatric patients with PIMS-TS were referred for CMR at our institution. The referring criteria were: Echocardiographic finding of LV dysfunction at presentation (53%), dilated coronary arteries (27%) and high cardiac markers without LV dysfunction (20%). 16 patients completed the scan and were included into the analysis. Results: Age of the patients was 17 months-12 years (mean 6.4 years), 12 (80%) were male. Six (40%) patients required general anaesthesia. The time between the onset of the symptoms and the scan was 12-72 days. All patients had SARS CoV2 PCR negative at the time of scan, 2 patients were previously positive and 12 (80%) had positive IgG. CMR indexed volumes (ml/m2) were in normal range: LVEDV 65±11, LVESV 24±7, RVEDV 67±12, RVESV 27±7. LV mass index were normal 45±8 gr/m2. No overt areas of myocardial oedema or acute inflammation on STIR (short tau inversion recovery) images were found. Mildly reduced LV ejection fraction was found in 1 patient with subtle linear late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in the midventricular midmyocardial interventricular septum with negative STIR images. Another patient was found to have LGE of the proximal parts of mitral valve papillary muscles, but no abnormalities in the LV ejection fraction or mitral valve function were found. Two patients had a small pericardial effusion. 3 patients had dilated neck and/or innominate veins, 2 of them with phlebectatic appearance. One patient had enlarged liver, another liver and spleen. Conclusion: in conclusion no significant myocardial sequelae have been found in most of the patients presenting with PIMS-TS short-term after onset of symptoms. This might indicate rapid recovery of the cardiac inflammation in most of the patients. More follow up is needed to clarify if there will be any potential sequelae from the acute episode as well as the outcome of phlebectasia.

Background Balloon dilation and stenting of the atrial septum are techniques used to unload left heart cavities in acute or end-stage heart failure in children. However, they carry significant risks such as tamponade or device embolization. Case Presentation We report the first case of a child with an end-stage mitochondrial cardiomyopathy on a venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenator as a bridge to heart transplant where an atrial flow regulator device has been implanted. Conclusions This case illustrates the feasibility and safety of atrial flow regulator implantation in this setting. This procedure allowed to wean inotropic support while awaiting heart transplantation.

Background Pulmonary regurgitation (PR) and right ventricular (RV) dilatation and disfunction are common in patients with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (r-TOF). Aims To compare Echo data with the gold standard CMR in a paediatric population of r-TOF with significant PR, to assess the reliability of standard and advanced echo parameters. In addition, to evaluate their correlation with peak oxygen consumption (VO2). Methods and results All patients underwent standard echo-Doppler study, speckle tracking analysis, and CMR to assess PR and RV size and function. Thirty-six patients underwent also cardiopulmonary exercise test. Fourty-six patients (aged 13.7 ± 3.0) were included. Echo derived RV areas correlated with CMR RV volumes (p 21.9 cm2/m2 had a good sensitivity (83.3%) and specificity (73.5%) to identify a RV end-diastolic volume ≥ 150 ml/m2. RVEF was preserved in all patients, while TAPSE was reduced in 78.2% and RVGLS in 60.8%. Flow-reversal in pulmonary branches showed a sensitivity of 95.8% and a specificity of 59.1% to identify CMR pulmonary regurgitant fraction (RF) ≥ 35%. None of the CMR parameters correlated with peak VO2. Among the Echo data only right atrial strain (RAS) correlated with peak VO2. Conclusion In children, flow-reversal in pulmonary branches identifies hemodynamically significant RF with a good sensitivity but poor specificity. RV area by echocardiogram is a valid first-line parameter to screen RV dilation. RV longitudinal systolic dysfunction coexists with a still preserved EF. RAS correlates strongly with peak VO2 and should be added in their follow up.

Purpose: The association between serum uric acid (SUA) and pulse wave velocity (PWV), has been extensively evaluated but with some discrepancies in results. A further limitation refers to the fact that only few data were analyzed taking into account the possible effects of gender. The purpose of this study was to estimate the association between SUA and arterial stiffness in general population and hypertensive patients, as a whole population and as divided by gender, by pooling results from existing studies. Materials and methods: Carotid-femoral and brachial-ankle PWV (cf- and ba-PWV) have been analyzed separately and subgroup analyses by gender are reported. Among 692 potentially relevant works, 24 articles were analyzed. Results: Seven studies referred to cf-PWV in the general population with an overall positive association at adjusted analysis for both males and females (beta regression coefficient (β): 0.07; 95%CI: 0.03; 0.11 and β: 0.06; 95%CI: 0.03; 0.09, respectively). Twelve studies referred to ba-PWV in the general population with the finding of a positive association at adjusted analysis for females (β: 0.04; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.01;0.07), but not for males (β: 0.13; 95%CI: −0.09; 0.34). In hypertensive patients only four studies evaluated cf-PWV and one ba-PWV with only one study (with cf-PWV) finding positive association. Conclusion: The association between SUA and cf-PWV resulted significant in general population in both males and females while it was only significant for female regarding ba-PWV. Furthermore, the few available studies found no significant relationship between SUA and both cf- and ba-PWV in hypertensive subjects.

Introduction Endothelial Dysfunction (ED) of peripheral arteries in Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) subjects has been demonstrated. Purpose We assessed endothelial function in subjects undergoing unconventional treatments for CHF, namely Heart Transplantation (HTX), continuous-flow Left Ventricular Assist Device implantation (LVAD), and repeated levosimendan infusions (r-LEVO). Methods Twenty HTX recipients (median time from HTX 21 months), 20 patients supported with LVAD (median time from implant 39 months), and 20 patients receiving monthly Levosimendan infusions (median time on treatment 28 months) were enrolled and compared to a group of 20 healthy subjects. ED was evaluated with ultrasound assessment of the diameter before and after ischemic stress at the brachial artery level. The difference between the two diameters normalized for the baseline value (Flow Mediated Dilation – FMD) has been used for the analysis. All the patients were stable at the time of FMD assessment, with those on r-LEVO being evaluated prior to infusion. Results FMD was significantly lower in HTX and LVAD groups with respect to controls (9.8±7.4, 9.3±5.7, and 15.6±6.4% respectively, p=0.01), but not in r-LEVO group (12.5±6.9%). When patients were analyzed according to time from the operation or on treatment, (< versus > of the median value), no differences were seen in HTX and r-LEVO group, while in LVAD group FMD was borderline significantly higher in patients with longer follow-up (8.4±6.4% versus 10.2±5.2%, p=0.05). Conclusions Based on this preliminary data we can inference the following: 1- FMD is abnormal in HTX recipients, despite their good functional status, probably due to factors unrelated to CHF (e.g. hypertension, renal insufficiency, denervation, and drug effects); 2- LVAD patients also show ED, with possible better adaptation in very long-term survivors; 3- Near-normal FMD values in CHF patients who remain stable with r-LEVO suggest that pulsed treatment may obtain favorable effects at peripheral level, persisting after clearance of the drug and its metabolites. Acknowledgement/Funding None

Introduction: Endothelial dysfunction (ED) of peripheral arteries in chronic heart failure (CHF) subjects has been demonstrated. We assessed endothelial function in subjects undergoing unconventional treatments for CHF, namely heart transplantation (HTX), continuous-flow left ventricular assist device implantation (LVAD), and repeated levosimendan infusions (r-LEVO). Methods: Twenty HTX recipients (median time from HTX 21 months), 20 patients supported with LVAD (median time from implant 39 months), and 20 patients receiving monthly Levosimendan infusions (median time on treatment 28 months) were enrolled and compared to a group of 20 healthy subjects. ED was evaluated with ultrasound assessment of the diameter before and after ischemic stress at the brachial artery level. The difference between the two diameters normalized for the baseline value (flow mediated dilation–FMD) has been used for the analysis. All the patients were stable at the time of FMD assessment, with those on r-LEVO being evaluated prior to infusion. Results: FMD was significantly lower in HTX and LVAD groups with respect to controls (9.8 ± 7.4, 9.3 ± 5.7, and 15.6 ± 6.4% respectively, p = 0.01), but not in r-LEVO group (12.5 ± 6.9%). When patients were analysed according to time from the operation or on treatment, (

Background Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) currently represents the gold standard of treatment for thoracic aortic injury (TAI). Nevertheless, there is an ongoing debate surrounding its safety and subsequent cardiovascular effects. Our aim is to assess heart and vascular structure and function remodeling after TEVAR in TAI young patients. Methods We evaluated 20 patients (18 men, age 41 ± 14 years, 11 treated with Gore CTAG, 9 with Medtronic Valiant) with office and 24-hr blood pressure (BP) with specific vascular stiffness analysis (Mobil-O-Graph), aortic diameters (computed tomography scan) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI echocardiogram). Evaluation was done after a median time of 5.0 ± 3.5 years from the trauma. Results After TAI 12 patients (55%) developed hypertension. When patients were divided according to treating time, those treated for more than 3 years show higher LVMI, PWV, and ascending aorta dilatation. Conclusions Our study shows that TEVAR for TAI is associated with heart and vascular remodeling. The presence of TEVAR modifies aortic functional properties and could induce an increase in BP that can promote aortic and cardiac damage, even in young patients.

Purpose: Only few studies evaluated biomarkers useful for defining the cardiovascular risk of a subject in a pre-clinical condition (i.e. healthy subjects). In this context we sought to determine the relationships of Plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI‐1), P-Selectin, Tissue Inhibitors Metalloproteinases type 1 (TIMP-1) and Cystatin-C with subclinical Target Organ Damage (TOD) in normotensive and normoglycemic subjects without known cardiovascular and kidney diseases. Materials and Methods: 480 blood donors participated at the present analysis. TOD was evaluated as Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV), Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH) and Intima Media Thickness (IMT) and carotid plaque presence) grouped together under carotid TOD. Results: 3.1% of the subjects showed a PWV higher than 10 m/sec with those subjects exerting significantly lower values of P-Selectine (0.068 ± 0.015 vs 0.08 ± 0.036 mg/L, p =.014). 8.8% of the subjects showed carotid TOD that was associated with higher Cystatin-C values (0.67 ± 0.17 vs 0.63 ± 0.14 mg/L, p =.045). Finally 23.8% of the subjects showed LVH with no significant differences regarding biomarkers. Despite some significant correlations between biomarkers and TOD, at the multivariate analysis none came out to be as significant predictor of the assessed TOD. Conclusions: in normotensive and normoglycemic healthy subjects, the evaluated biomarkers of atherosclerotic process didn’t show any significant association with cardiac, carotid and vascular TOD while age and BP are its principal predictors.

Reference hemoglobin (Hb) values for the definition of anemia are still largely based on the 1968 WHO Scientific Group report, which established a cutoff value of

Objective: Prior studies have suggested that the principal determinants of arterial stiffening are age, BP and others CV risk factors such as dyslipidemia and diabetes. However, scanty data are available on the role of psychological factors on arterial stiffness. The aim of the current cross-sectional study was to evaluate the association between depression, anxiety, perceived stress, Type A personality, and Type D personality and Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) in a cohort of hypertensive patients, using baseline examination data of the TIPICO project. Methods: A total of 259 outpatients (ages 18–80 years) followed by the Hypertension Unit of S. Gerardo Hospital (Monza, Italy) affected by essential hypertension were recruited. Aortic stiffness was evaluated by c-f PWV. Moreover, anamnestic data, clinical BP, and laboratory data were evaluated. Patients were asked to complete a battery of psychological questionnaires under the guidance of a psychologist. Results: At T0 mean age was 55.9±10.1years, SBP/DBP were 135.6±17.7/82.5±9.1 mmHg and PWV was 8.6±2.1m/s. The multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis showed that age (beta = 0.284, p < 0.001), pulse pressure (beta = 0.369, p < 0.001), dyslipidemia (beta = 0.130, p = 0.012), family history of CV disease (beta = −0.123, p = 0.017), and depression (beta = 0.126, p = 0.014) were significantly and independently associated with PWV. Conclusion: Among psychological factors, higher levels of depression is related to higher PWV, while anxiety, perceived stress, Type-A personality and Type-D personality are not. Depression assessment and target intervention to reduce it should be recommended in hypertensive patients.