Apps and Online Platforms for Patients with Heart Failure

The use of the internet for health advice and information has burgeoned over recent years. This corresponds with an increasing number of people living with heart failure and, in the context of a greater focus on patient engagement, producing accurate online health information is becoming vitally important. To help meet this need, major cardiology societies have designed dedicated, patient-specific areas on their websites. This article aims to provide an overview of the patient information resources from three main professional societies: the European Society of Cardiology, American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. A summary of the content of these dedicated websites and two smartphone apps is provided, along with a brief look into the future role of these technologies and resources in supporting both patients and their clinicians in the management of heart failure

Women in Cardiology

Cardiology; WomenCardiología; MujeresCardiologia; Done

Staphylococcus Aureus Infective Endocarditis: JACC Patient Pathways.

A 19-year-old female patient presented with Staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis, with suspected subdural brain hemorrhage, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, and septic renal as well as spleen infarcts. The patient had extensive vegetations on the mitral and tricuspid valves and underwent urgent mitral and tricuspid repair. This paper discusses the clinical case and current evidence regarding the management and treatment of Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis.S

Role of the tricuspid regurgitation after mitraclip and transcatheter aortic valve implantation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Treatment of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is common after surgery for mitral and/or aortic valves. The prognostic role of moderate to severe TR in patients undergoing mitraclip or transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is not well-defined. Thus, the aim of this article is to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of articles valuing the prognostic role of TR for patients undergoing mitraclip and TAVI

Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Heart Failure: A Multiparametric Approach

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a debilitating viral infection and, to date, 628,903 people have died from it, numbers that cannot yet be compared to the 50 million who died in the 1918 flu pandemic. As COVID-19 became better understood, cardiovascular manifestations associated with it were identified. This led to a complete healthcare restructuring with virtual clinics and changes to the triaging of critically ill patients. There are a lot of questions over how COVID-19 affects patients with heart failure (HF) as this condition is a leading cause of cardiovascular death. This review describes the cardiovascular implications of COVID-19 and new practices surrounding the use of telehealth to follow up and triage patients with HF. Current practices supported by medical societies, the role of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and, finally, a brief note regarding the management of advanced HF patients will also be discussed

European survey on valvular heart disease clinical experience from the European Society of Cardiology council on valvular heart disease.

editorial reviewedAIMS: The aim of this survey is to analyze how current recommendations on valvular heart disease (VHD) management have been adopted. Identifying potential discrepancies between recommendations and everyday clinical practice would enable us to better understand and address the remaining challenges in this controversial and complex field. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 33 questions, distributed via email to all European Society of Cardiology (ESC) affiliated countries through the newsletter of the ESC council on VHD, were answered by 689 respondents, mainly from tertiary care settings. The results of this survey showed that VHD patients are mostly managed by tertiary care centres, where multi-disciplinary heart teams are frequently a reality. Cardiac computed tomography (CT) is often used in the preprocedural planning of transcatheter interventions, particularly for sizing and deliverability assessment. Echocardiography represents the most widely used imaging modality in the diagnostic, intra-operative and follow-up phase of VHD patients. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is still largely underused, also for conditions such as mitral annular disjunction, or for the assessment of left ventricle volumes where it is considered as the gold standard, despite 3D volumes by echocardiography having proved good comparability with CMR. As for endocarditis, despite still underused, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) represents the approach of choice for the diagnosis of native and prosthesis valve endocarditis (up to 46% of the respondents use it). In this context, positron emission tomography-CT is largely underused. CONCLUSION: There is widespread adoption of current recommendation on the evaluation of VHD and these are frequently used to guide patient management. Nonetheless, there are still many discrepancies across centres and countries which need to be addressed with the aim of improving patients' management and outcomes and ultimately positively impacting on healthcare resources

EACVI/EHRA Expert Consensus Document on the role of multi-modality imaging for the evaluation of patients with atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the commonest cardiac rhythm disorder. Evaluation of patients with AF requires an electrocardiogram, but imaging techniques should be considered for defining management and driving treatment. The present document is an expert consensus from the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) and the European Heart Rhythm Association. The clinical value of echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), computed tomography (CT), and nuclear imaging in AF patients are challenged. Left atrial (LA) volume and strain in echocardiography as well as assessment of LA fibrosis in CMR are discussed. The value of CT, especially in planning interventions, is highlighted. Fourteen consensus statements have been reached. These may serve as a guide for both imagers and electrophysiologists for best selecting the imaging technique and for best interpreting its results in AF patients