Occupational radiation exposure of electrophysiology staff with reproductive potential and during pregnancy: an EHRA survey

Occupational health; Pregnancy; Radiation exposureSalud ocupacional; Embarazo; Exposición a la radiaciónSalut ocupacional; Embaràs; Exposició a la radiacióAims Electrophysiology (EP) is a growing field in cardiology, with an increasing involvement of young people. Nevertheless, concerns about radiation exposure and its impact on reproduction and pregnancy may discourage the choice of an EP career. The study is aimed at investigating the level of awareness and main sources of concern about the effects of radiation on reproductive potential and pregnancy, exploring the safety measures adopted in different EP labs, and verifying the adherence to the current guidelines. Methods and results An online survey was conducted using the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) infrastructure from April to June 2022. A total of 252 EP personnel (42% women) participated, from 50 countries and different professional roles. Most participants expressed concerns regarding the effects of radiation on reproductive capacity (67.1%) and offspring diseases (68.2%). Only 37.9% of participants were aware of the EHRA 2017 consensus document about occupational radiation exposure. Most participants (80.9%) considered that occupational radiation during pregnancy is not safe. EP female staff were not allowed to work in the EP lab during pregnancy in 48.1% of cases. Zero-fluoroscopy was the preferred choice to continue working in the EP lab during pregnancy. Conclusion EP staff, including both men and women, have concerns about the effects of radiation on reproductive capacity. Despite the recommendations issued by international bodies, implementation of the policies regarding pregnancy and occupational radiation exposure is heterogeneous. Zero-fluoroscopy is the preferred approach to ensure safety during pregnancy in the EP lab

Early time-restricted carbohydrate consumption vs conventional dieting in type 2 diabetes: a randomised controlled trial

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS Early time-restricted carbohydrate consumption (eTRC) is a novel dietary strategy that involves restricting carbohydrate-rich food intake to the morning and early afternoon to align with circadian variations in glucose tolerance. We examined the efficacy, feasibility and safety of eTRC in individuals with type 2 diabetes under free-living conditions. METHODS In this randomised, parallel-arm, open label, controlled trial, participants with type 2 diabetes and overweight/obesity (age 67.2±7.9 years, 47.8% women, BMI 29.4±3.7 kg/m$^{2}$, HbA$_{1c}$ 49±5 mmol/mol [6.6±0.5%]) were randomised, using computer-generated random numbers, to a 12 week eTRC diet or a Mediterranean-style control diet with matched energy restriction and macronutrient distribution (50% carbohydrate, 30% fat and 20% protein). The primary outcome was the between-group difference in HbA$_{1c}$ at 12 weeks. Body composition, 14 day flash glucose monitoring and food diary analysis were performed every 4 weeks. Mixed meal tolerance tests with mathematical beta cell function modelling were performed at baseline and after 12 weeks. RESULTS Twelve (85.7%) participants in the eTRC arm and 11 (84.6%) participants in the control arm completed the study, achieving similar reductions in body weight and fat mass. The two groups experienced comparable improvements in HbA$_{1c}$ (-3 [-6, -0.3] mmol/mol vs -4 [-6, -2] mmol/mol, corresponding to -0.2 [-0.5, 0]% and -0.3 [-0.5, -0.1]%, respectively, p=0.386), fasting plasma glucose, flash glucose monitoring-derived glucose variability and mixed meal tolerance test-derived glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, insulin clearance and plasma glucagon levels, without changes in model-derived beta cell function parameters, glucagon-like peptide-1, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and non-esterified fatty acid levels. The two diets similarly reduced liver function markers and triglyceride levels, being neutral on other cardiometabolic and safety variables. In exploratory analyses, diet-induced changes in body weight and glucometabolic variables were not related to the timing of carbohydrate intake. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION The proposed eTRC diet provides a feasible and effective alternative option for glucose and body weight management in individuals with type 2 diabetes, with no additional metabolic benefits compared with conventional dieting. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05713058 FUNDING: This study was supported by the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) and the Italian Society of Diabetology (SID)

Impact of acute changes of left ventricular contractility on the transvalvular impedance: validation study by pressure-volume loop analysis in healthy pigs

BACKGROUND: The real-time and continuous assessment of left ventricular (LV) myocardial contractility through an implanted device is a clinically relevant goal. Transvalvular impedance (TVI) is an impedentiometric signal detected in the right cardiac chambers that changes during stroke volume fluctuations in patients. However, the relationship between TVI signals and LV contractility has not been proven. We investigated whether TVI signals predict changes of LV inotropic state during clinically relevant loading and inotropic conditions in swine normal heart. METHODS: The assessment of RVTVI signals was performed in anesthetized adult healthy anesthetized pigs (n = 6) instrumented for measurement of aortic and LV pressure, dP/dtmax and LV volumes. Myocardial contractility was assessed with the slope (Ees) of the LV end systolic pressure-volume relationship. Effective arterial elastance (Ea) and stroke work (SW) were determined from the LV pressure-volume loops. Pigs were studied at rest (baseline), after transient mechanical preload reduction and afterload increase, after 10-min of low dose dobutamine infusion (LDDS, 10 ug/kg/min, i.v), and esmolol administration (ESMO, bolus of 500 µg and continuous infusion of 100 µg·kg-1·min-1). RESULTS: We detected a significant relationship between ESTVI and dP/dtmax during LDDS and ESMO administration. In addition, the fluctuations of ESTVI were significantly related to changes of the Ees during afterload increase, LDDS and ESMO infusion. CONCLUSIONS: ESTVI signal detected in right cardiac chamber is significantly affected by acute changes in cardiac mechanical activity and is able to predict acute changes of LV inotropic state in normal heart

Representativeness of the "Fiesole Misurata" study database for use in pharmaco-epidemiological investigations on adherence to antihypertensive medications

Background and aims Poor adherence to medications is a major health concern especially among older subjects. To plan future studies to improve adherence, an epidemiological study, called "Fiesole Misurata", was conducted. The aim of the present paper was to verify the representativeness of the database in evaluating the AntiHyper-Tensives (AHTs)-taking behaviour. Methods Demographic records of all subjects aged >= 65 years (n = 2,228) living in the community of Fiesole (Florence, Italy) was retrieved from the Registry Office of Fiesole Municipality. The corresponding healthcare records were obtained from administrative archives of the Local Health Authority (claim dataset). Moreover, a cohort of subjects aged >= 65 years (n = 385) living in the community was screened by means of a multidimensional geriatric evaluation (cross-sectional dataset). Results In claim dataset, biyearly prevalences of hospitalization for ischemic cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and stroke were 3.7, 3.0, and 3.2 %, respectively. In the cross-sectional dataset, prevalences were 11.2, 6.7, and 7.1 %, respectively. The most used drugs were angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (43.6 % in the claim dataset, 45.3 % in the cross-sectional dataset) and diuretics (35.6 % and 47.0 %, respectively). Among the incident users of AHTs, 63.5 % was highly adherent (>= 80 %) over the first 6 months of follow-up, while 14.3 and 22.2 % were intermediate (40-79 %) and low (< 40 %) adherent. The percentage of high adherers decreased with time and reached 31.2 % at the 24th month. Conclusions These findings indicate that "Fiesole Misurata" study database can be used to develop future strategies aimed at improving the adherence to AHTs in older individuals

Contact-force monitoring increases accuracy of right ventricular voltage mapping avoiding "false scar" detection in patients with no evidence of structural heart disease

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Long-Term Follow-Up In Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation Patients With Documented Isolated Trigger

AimsSupraventricular tachycardias may trigger atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) inducibility in patients referred for AF ablation and to evaluate the effects of SVT ablation on AF recurrences.Methods and results249 patients (mean age: 54 ± 14 years) referred for paroxysmal AF ablation were studied. In all patients, only AF relapses had been documented in the clinical history. 47 patients (19%; mean age: 42 ± 11 years) had inducible SVT during the electrophysiological study and underwent an ablation targeted only at SVT suppression. Ablation was successful in all 47 patients. The ablative procedures were: 11 slow-pathway ablations for atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia; 6 concealed accessory pathway ablations for atrioventricular re-entrant tachycardia; 17 focal ectopic atrial tachycardia ablations; 13 with only one arrhythmogenic pulmonary vein. No recurrences of SVT were observed during the follow-up (32 ± 18 months). 4 patients (8.5%) showed recurrence of at least one episode of AF. Patients with inducible SVT had less structural heart disease and were younger than those without inducible SVT.ConclusionA significant proportion of candidates for AF ablation are inducible for an SVT. SVT ablation showed a preventive effect on AF recurrences. Those patients should be selected for simpler ablation procedures tailored only to the triggering arrhythmia suppression

Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: State of the Art

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Il Reddito di Cittadinanza e il processo di attuazione locale: un’analisi delle capacità amministrative

Italy has been a laggard in Europe in the adoption of anti-poverty measures, particularly with reference to Minimum Income schemes. The first relevant intervention in this field, in terms of the size of the benefits granted and the breadth of the audience reached, was undoubtedly the Citizenship Income (Reddito di Cittadinanza – RdC), adopted by the Conte government in 2019. RdC is a monetary aid granted to poor families through an electronic card and associated with an activation or a social inclusion project. It is based on a multilevel design, involving national, regional, and municipal institutions (the National Insurance Agency, Job Centers, and municipal social services) and local actors (companies and the third sector). According to the literature, its poor results stem from the lack of adequate governance and organizational arrangements to manage it. The RdC, in fact, requires the capacity to design and manage different combinations of interventions, tailored tonthe complex needs of beneficiaries, as well as the ability to coordinate the multilevel and multi-actor network of public, private, and third sector organizations involved in the process. We thus propose an analytical framework to assess the presence of the specific administrative capacities needed to effectively implement a policy in each context. The framework is based on three dimensions: planning and management, coordination, and analysis. Each dimension is gauged using five different variables. We then apply the framework to the case of the Veneto Region to assess the impact of administrative capacities on the implementation of RdC. We do this by comparing the implementation between CPI (employment centres) and ATS (social assistant units). The analysis is based on interviews to case managers (N = 56) conducted between September 2020 and March 2021, and three focus groups (March-April 2021). We also implemented two surveys dedicated to CPI to assess any difference between the opinions of standard case-managers and the newly hired «navigator». The first was administered in October 2021 (N = 165), the second in June-July 2021 (N = 100). Thanks to this data we were able to assess each of the 15 variables identified, providing the reader with an overview of the Veneto experience

Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: An Overview on Guidelines

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is included in international consensus guidelines as a treatment with proven efficacy in well-selected patients on top of optimal medical therapy. Although all the guidelines strongly recommend CRT for LBBB with QRS duration greater than 150 milliseconds, lower strength of recommendation is reported for QRS duration of 120 to 150 milliseconds, especially if not associated with LBBB. CRT is not recommended for a QRS of less than 120 milliseconds. No indication emerges for guiding the implant based on echocardiographic evaluation of dyssynchrony. Many data indicate that CRT is underused and there is heterogeneity in its implementation