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Aims To assess the accuracy of measuring the right atrial volume (RAV) using two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) in a right ventricular focused (RVF) view compared to the conventional apical four-chamber (4Ch) view in patients with secondary tricuspid regurgitation (STR). We also compared the clinical correlates of the measures obtained using different methods. Methods and results The accuracy of RAV measurements obtained between 2DE-4Ch and RVF views in 384 patients with STR were compared using three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) as a reference. We used the analysis of variance to test the differences among RAVs obtained from the different 2DE and 3DE acquisitions and the receiving operating characteristics (ROC) curves to evaluate the association with the composite endpoint of hospitalization for heart failure or death. Compared to 3DE, RAV was significantly more underestimated when measurements were obtained from 4Ch rather than RVF (−24 vs. −14%, respectively, P < 0.001 for both). RAV underestimation in 4Ch and RVF view was relatively larger in lower grades of STR (−28 vs. −17% in mild, −23 vs. −14% in moderate, and −19 vs. −11% in severe STR, P = 0.001), and in the atrial compared to ventricular (−28 vs. −22%; P = 0.002) STR. RAV measured by 3DE and RVF showed the highest area under the curve (AUC = 0.67 for 3DE vs. 0.64 for RVF, P = 0.05), while 4Ch was significantly less related to the outcomes (AUC: 0.61, P = 0.021 vs. 3DE RAV). Conclusion In patients with STR, the use of RVF view improved the accuracy of 2DE RAV measurement as compared to the conventional 4Ch-derived measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and Objectives: Significant secondary tricuspid regurgitation (STR) is associated with poor prognosis, but its heterogeneity makes predicting patient outcomes challenging. Our objective was to identify STR prognostic phenogroups., Methods: We analyzed 758 patients with moderate-to-severe STR: 558 (74 ± 14 years, 55% women) in the derivation cohort and 200 (73 ± 12 years, 60% women) in the external validation cohort. The primary endpoint was a composite of heart failure hospitalization and all-cause mortality., Results: We identified 3 phenogroups. The low-risk phenogroup (2-year event-free survival 80%, 95%CI, 74%-87%) had moderate STR, preserved right ventricular (RV) size and function, and a moderately dilated but normally functioning right atrium. The intermediate-risk phenogroup (HR, 2.20; 95%CI, 1.44-3.37; P < .001) included older patients with severe STR, and a mildly dilated but uncoupled RV. The high-risk phenogroup (HR, 4.67; 95%CI, 3.20-6.82; P < .001) included younger patients with massive-to-torrential tricuspid regurgitation, as well as severely dilated and dysfunctional RV and right atrium. Multivariable analysis confirmed the clustering as independently associated with the composite endpoint (HR, 1.40; 95%CI, 1.13-1.70; P = .002). A supervised machine learning model, developed to assist clinicians in assigning patients to the 3 phenogroups, demonstrated excellent performance both in the derivation cohort (accuracy = 0.91, precision = 0.91, recall = 0.91, and F1 score = 0.91) and in the validation cohort (accuracy = 0.80, precision = 0.78, recall = 0.78, and F1 score = 0.77)., Conclusions: The unsupervised cluster analysis identified 3 risk phenogroups, which could assist clinicians in developing more personalized treatment and follow-up strategies for STR patients., (Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U.)

Aims: This study evaluates whether multi-chamber myocardial deformation analysis using speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) can enhance validated current staging systems and improve risk stratification for patients with moderate-to-severe aortic stenosis (AS)., Methods and Results: We reanalyzed 2D, Doppler, and STE data obtained from two cohorts: derivation (654 patients, median age: 82 years; 51% men) and validation (237 patients, median age: 77 years; 55% men) with at least moderate AS (aortic valve area<1.5 cm2). The receiver operator characteristic curve analysis identified optimal cut-off values linked to outcomes: 15% for left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS), 13% for peak atrial longitudinal strain (PALS), and 19% for right ventricular free-wall strain (RVFWS). Patients have been divided into five stages: Stage 0 - no left-side damage (LVGLS≥15% and PALS≥13%); Stage 1 - partial left-side damage (LVGLS <15% or PALS <13%); Stage 2 - definite left-side damage, (LVGLS<15% and PALS<13%); Stage 3, no right-side damage (RVFWS≥19%); and Stage 4, right-side damage (RVFWS<19%). In a multivariable Cox regression analysis, the new staging scheme remained independently associated with an increased risk of all-cause death (adjusted-hazard ratio [aHR]: 1.28; 95%CI: 1.10-1.48; p=0.001). This new staging classification exhibited higher predictive power (AUC 0.67; 95% CI 0.62-0.73) than those proposed by Généreux (AUC 0.62; 95% CI 0.56-0.67; p=0.002) and Tastet (AUC 0.64; 95% CI 0.58-0.70; p=0.041) for 2-year all-cause death, with similar findings in the validation cohort., Conclusions: Our staging system for detecting cardiac damage, incorporating multi-chamber myocardial deformation, exhibits a stronger association with outcomes than previously validated systems., (© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Aims: To assess the accuracy of measuring the right atrial volume (RAV) using two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) in a right ventricular focused (RVF) view compared to the conventional apical four-chamber (4Ch) view in patients with secondary tricuspid regurgitation (STR). We also compared the clinical correlates of the measures obtained using different methods., Methods and Results: The accuracy of RAV measurements obtained between 2DE-4Ch and RVF views in 384 patients with STR were compared using three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) as a reference. We used the analysis of variance to test the differences among RAVs obtained from the different 2DE and 3DE acquisitions and the receiving operating characteristics (ROC) curves to evaluate the association with the composite endpoint of hospitalization for heart failure or death. Compared to 3DE, RAV was significantly more underestimated when measurements were obtained from 4Ch rather than RVF (-24 vs. -14%, respectively, P < 0.001 for both). RAV underestimation in 4Ch and RVF view was relatively larger in lower grades of STR (-28 vs. -17% in mild, -23 vs. -14% in moderate, and -19 vs. -11% in severe STR, P = 0.001), and in the atrial compared to ventricular (-28 vs. -22%; P = 0.002) STR. RAV measured by 3DE and RVF showed the highest area under the curve (AUC = 0.67 for 3DE vs. 0.64 for RVF, P = 0.05), while 4Ch was significantly less related to the outcomes (AUC: 0.61, P = 0.021 vs. 3DE RAV)., Conclusion: In patients with STR, the use of RVF view improved the accuracy of 2DE RAV measurement as compared to the conventional 4Ch-derived measurements., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest Dr. Muraru and Dr. Badano are members of the speaker bureaus of GE Healthcare and Philips Medical Systems, and received research grants from GE Healthcare, Philips Medical Systems, TomTec Imaging Systems, and ESaOTE SpA. The remaining authors have nothing to disclose., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Aims: We sought to investigate the association of left atrial strain with the outcome in a large cohort of patients with at least moderate aortic stenosis (AS)., Methods and Results: We analysed 467 patients (mean age 80.6 ± 8.2 years; 51% men) with at least moderate AS and sinus rhythm. The primary study endpoint was the composite of all-cause mortality and hospitalizations for heart failure. After a median follow-up of 19.2 (inter-quartile range 12.5-24.4) months, 96 events occurred. Using the receiver operator characteristic curve analysis, the cut-off value of peak atrial longitudinal strain (PALS) more strongly associated with outcome was <16% {area under the curve (AUC) 0.70 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.63-0.78], P < 0.001}. The Kaplan-Meier curves demonstrated a higher rate of events for patients with PALS < 16% (log-rank P < 0.001). On multivariable analysis, PALS [adjusted HR (aHR) 0.95 (95% CI 0.91-0.99), P = 0.017] and age were the only variables independently associated with the combined endpoint. PALS provided incremental prognostic value over left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain, LV ejection fraction, and right ventricular function. Subgroup analysis revealed that impaired PALS was also independently associated with outcome in the subgroups of paucisymptomatic patients [aHR 0.98 (95% CI 0.97-0.98), P = 0.048], moderate AS [aHR 0.92, (95% CI 0.86-0.98), P = 0.016], and low-flow AS [aHR 0.90 (95% CI 0.83-0.98), P = 0.020]., Conclusion: In our patients with at least moderate AS, PALS was independently associated with outcome. In asymptomatic patients, PALS could be a potential marker of sub-clinical damage, leading to better risk stratification and, potentially, earlier treatment., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: D.S. and L.B. are members of the speaker bureaus of GE healthcare and Philips Medical Systems, and received research grants from GE Healthcare, Philips Medical Systems, TomTec Imaging Systems, and ESaOTE SpA. The remaining authors have nothing to disclose., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)