News • Diffusion-based generative model
Better MRI scans of beating hearts with AI
An AI-assisted model can take low-quality MRI heart scans and turn them into high quality images, while reducing the time needed to scan the heart by about 90%.
Search for: "cardiac dysfunction" - 57 articles found
News • Post-acute sequelae
Long Covid: Study tracks physical and cognitive impairments
Self-reported, persisting health problems after Sars-CoV-2 infection are commonly described. However, the long-term prognosis of post-Covid-19 syndrome is unknown. A new study aims to change this.
Sponsored • Beyond average
A technological solution for preventing device-detected subclinical AF?
As pharmacological options for subclinical Atrial Fibrillation and atrial high-rate episodes continue to run into challenges, new research suggests more physiological pacing solutions can help reduce risks of progression to clinical AF.
News • Lung-brain relationship
Long Covid: researchers track down cause of 'brain fog'
After a Covid-19 infection, patients may suffer from a variety of symptoms, including difficulty concentrating (“brain fog”). New research now linked the condition to impaired lung function.
News • Increased risk of atherosclerosis
Cardiometabolic risk factors impair heart microcirculation
A new study reveals that cardiometabolic risk factors and subclinical atherosclerosis impair the function of the microvessels that irrigate the heart, potentially increasing atherosclerosis risk.
News • Cardiac disease research
Endometriosis associated with increased risk for heart attack, stroke
New research from Denmark explores a possible connection between endometriosis and an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Details are presented at the ESC 2024 Congress.
News • ICD usage in HF patients
Kidney dysfunction as a predictor of sudden cardiac death
A prospective study has revealed that kidney dysfunction may be a powerful predictor of sudden cardiac death. Findings could lead to revisions in the guidelines for ICD usage.
Article • Prostate cancer treatment
MR-guided radiotherapy: a potential game changer
Prostate radiotherapy techniques have been transformed over the past two decades. One promisting technique in this context is magnetic resonance-guided radiotherapy. The latest clinical results show a dramatic reduction in side effects, improving patient outcomes and quality of life.
News • Soft, wireless implant
A dissolving cardiac device that monitors and treats heart disease
A new device could monitor and treat heart disease and dysfunction in the days, weeks or months following traumatic heart-related events — and harmlessly dissolve afterwards.
News • Sars-CoV-2 infection sequelae
From over 200 to 12 symptoms: Study sharpens definition of "Long Covid"
A study led by the National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER Initiative and supported by NYU Langone Health provides an expanded working definition of long Covid.
News • Parallel near-infrared interferometric spectroscopy
Brain blood flow monitoring: πNIRS for neuro-diagnostics
Monitoring the proper blood supply to the brain could be used to prevent or even treat neurological diseases. A new technique called πNIRS aims to do just that.
News • Myocardial infarction microscale model
"Heart attack on a chip" to find better therapy options
Researchers have developed a so-called “heart attack on a chip”, which could one day serve as a testbed to develop new heart drugs and even personalized medicines.
Article • Sex differences in heart failure
Why a closer look at a woman’s heart matters
The hearts of men and women are different – while this insight has been established for quite some time now, it might even surprise cardiologists just how deep these differences really run. In her presentation at this year’s ESC, Diana Bonderman, MD, gave a comprehensive roundup on sex differences in risk factors and subtypes of heart failure.
News • Sex-specific approaches needed
Dedicated women’s heart centers can improve accurate diagnoses
An important prospective study showcases improvement in outcomes for women with ischemic heart disease by attending a multidisciplinary women’s health center.
News • Cardiomyopathy research
Genetic defects can cause heart failure
Cardiomyopathy is not a uniform disease. Rather, individual genetic defects lead to heart failure in different ways, an international consortium reports.
Video • Coronavirus medication research
Lab-grown beating heart cells could identify Covid drugs
Scientists have grown beating heart cells to attempt to identify drugs to prevent Covid-19-related heart damage. Concerns over the extent of cardiac damage among Covid patients emerged during the coronavirus pandemic and there are also suggestions that the impact on cardiomyocytes could contribute to the symptoms of long Covid. To explore these issues, a research team at the University of…
News • Cardiology research
Dynamic heart model gives insight into cardiac disease progression
Efforts to understand cardiac disease progression and develop therapeutic tissues that can repair the human heart are just a few areas of focus for the Feinberg research group at Carnegie Mellon University. The group's latest dynamic model, created in partnership with collaborators in the Netherlands, mimics physiologic loads on engineering heart muscle tissues, yielding an unprecedented view of…
Article • Gender issues
Promoting equity for women in cardiology in the UK
A national network of mentors and female role models, created by the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS), aims to encourage women to become cardiologists and end male dominance and negative and sexist comments.
Article • Gender bias
Sex-specific guidelines for cardiovascular diseases
Women are missing out on appropriate cardiac care because guidelines and medications often fail to take into account gender and conditions that specifically affect the female population. Women are also underrepresented in clinical trials for new cardiac therapies.
News • Disease of smallest heart blood vessels
Microvascular angina: the global health problem you've never heard of
For the first time, a prospective, international study has shown that chest pain caused by problems with the very small vessels supplying blood to the heart is an important health problem that increases the risk of heart attacks, stroke and death due to cardiovascular reasons. The study, which is published in the European Heart Journal, recruited 686 patients from 14 institutions in seven…
News • Venous cannula system
New circulation implant to bridge the waiting time for donor heart
With the first-in-man implantation of the Berlin Heart Venous Cannula at the LMU University Hospital Munich, Germany, Berlin Heart offers patients with a failing Fontan circulation a unique chance to survive the waiting time for a donor heart. These patients are in a life-threatening condition: their health has deteriorated so much that they desperately need a new heart, but because of their poor…
News • Research shows
Children are silent spreaders of COVID-19 virus
In the most comprehensive study of COVID-19 pediatric patients to date, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Mass General Hospital for Children (MGHfC) researchers provide critical data showing that children play a larger role in the community spread of COVID-19 than previously thought. In a study of 192 children ages 0-22, 49 children tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and an additional 18…
Article • Coronavirus in radiology
Why we need a global view of COVID-19
There are major complications from COVID-19 – ARDS, pulmonary embolism and neurological – that imaging can help detect, manage and/or follow up in the long term, radiologists from France and the UK explained during a recent ESR Connect session. ARDS is the most dreaded complication and the number one morbidity in COVID-19 patients. The incidence was up to 30% of patients in initial reports.…
News • FDA clearance
Ultrasound for COVID-19-related lung and cardiac complications
Royal Philips has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market a wide range of its ultrasound solutions for the management of COVID-19-related lung and cardiac complications.
Article • Highlights from the 30th TCT Meeting
Advancing transcatheter cardiovascular therapies
A remarkable number of studies and innovations were presented at the 30th anniversary of Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) meeting in San Diego, California. TCT 2019 will take place in San Francisco, CA between 25-29-Sep-2019. On the clinical side, the long-expected results from COAPT trial studying MitraClip device in patients with secondary mitral regurgitation and heart failure…
News • Research
First use of vasoprotective antibody in cardiogenic shock
Scientists at the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) have started a study to find out whether a monoclonal antibody restoring vascular integrity is safe and has positive effects on organ functions of patients with cardiogenic shock. The multicenter trial is sponsored by the University of Hamburg, financially supported by the biopharmaceutical company Adrenomed AG, and led by Dr.…
Article • Precision CV medicine
New biomarkers for cardiovascular disease
A range of new biomarkers and diagnostics for precision cardiovascular medicine were outlined in a session at the British Cardiovascular Society annual conference held recently in Manchester. Speakers from King’s British Heart Foundation Centre looked at how mass spectrometry allows clinicians to measure large numbers of proteins simultaneously, discussed a new biomarker for cardiac ischaemia…
Article • Weak heart
The many causes of dilated cardiomyopathy
A major study has been launched to investigate the interaction between genes and lifestyle factors and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Led by Professor Stuart Cook, at the National Heart and Lung Institute, this, the largest ever DCM study, will investigate why people develop DCM, with a focus on who is most at risk of sudden death or heart failure (HF). Six hospital trusts across England –…
Article • Cardiology & the sexes
Why heart attacks are different for women
MRI has a central role in picking up myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary disease, a condition that particularly affects women but is often left untreated, with potentially fatal outcome. Heart attack in women presents differently than in men and requires a different approach when it comes to detection and prevention, according to cardiologist Allison Hays.
News • Matrix-forming proteins
Experimental targeted therapy might prevent heart failure
Scientists used an experimental targeted molecular therapy to block a matrix-forming protein in heart cells damaged by heart attack, reducing levels of scarred muscle tissue and saving mouse models from heart failure. Researchers at the Cincinnati Children’s Heart Institute report in the journal Circulation testing a manufactured peptide called pUR4 to block the fibronectin protein in human…
News • Microbubbles
Bracco Imaging to innovate ultrasound for new personalized gene therapy
Bracco Imaging S.p.A., a global leader in diagnostic imaging, announced that it has initiated new experimental activities in its R&D Center in Geneva, Switzerland, to explore a new application for gas-filled microbubbles in the development of personalized gene therapy for treatment of chronic dysfunctional diseases related to lipid metabolism. Microbubbles have already revolutionized medical…
News • Animal testing
Scientists identify protein linked to chronic heart failure
Researchers in Japan have identified a receptor protein on the surface of heart cells that promotes chronic heart failure. The study, “Corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 2 exacerbates chronic cardiac dysfunction” suggests that inhibiting this protein could help treat a disease that affects more than 20 million people worldwide.
Sponsored • Point-of-care
The TUBE approach to perioperative point-of-care ultrasound
Anaesthetists working in perioperative medicine have increasingly taken a whole body approach to patient evaluation known as TUBE – Total Ultrasound Body Examination – thanks to the development of point-of-care ultrasound. Dr Christophe Aveline, Consultant Anaesthetist in critical care and surgery at the Sévigné Private hospital in Rennes, is an advocate of TUBE and works closely on its…
News • Connected to Heart
Fetal surgery successfully removes life-threatening tumor
For the first time, fetal medicine experts have performed prenatal heart surgery to remove a life-threatening tumor, called intrapericardial teratoma. The patient, who underwent the operation at 24 weeks of gestation while in his mother’s womb, is now a healthy three-year-old preschooler. “We have shown that we can accurately diagnose and provide a prognosis for this rare condition in utero,…
Article • Patient care
Advancing AF and renal dysfunction care
An innovative cardiac monitoring system that delivers continuous resynchronisation to patients, has shown a 35% risk reduction of hospitalisation for heart failure (HF) patients. The finding comes from the RESPOND-CRT (cardiac resynchronisation therapy) clinical trial, which was designed to investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of device-based optimisation using the SonR cardiac…
Article • Multimodality imaging
Algorithms define prosthetic valve dysfunction
Cardiologists have highlighted the importance of all imaging modalities – including echocardiography and cardiac CT – to evaluate prosthetic heart valves in a new series of recommendations. AF-patients who were admitted to an NHS hospital over the weekend faced a higher risk of dying over the next five years than others.
Article • Evaluation
CMR should complement echocardiography
MRI increasingly helps to diagnose cardiac disease, yet its role in clinical decision-making of acutely hospitalised patients has hardly been explored.
News • Heart Muscle Cells
Molecular strut controlls mechanics of a heartbeat
On top of the meaning and mystery that humans heap on the heart, it is first and foremost, a muscle. And one that beats about once a second for a person’s entire life, with no rest. Given its vital importance, it’s ironic researchers have only recently made direct observations of its subcellular parts in motion.
Article • Radiology in Malta
Small country takes a big leap
Living in a small Mediterranean island has its own advantages; nevertheless there are certain limitations. In healthcare, for example, resources may be somewhat more limited in such a small country and some of the latest technologies may not always be available to patients.
Article • Atrial fibrillation
Transthoracic echocardiography
The role transthoracic echocardiography plays in a number of common clinical scenarios was discussed by leading cardiac imaging experts at this year’s British Cardiovascular Society Conference.
Endurance athletes should be tested for fatal heart condition
Some athletes who take part in endurance exercise such as marathon running, endurance triathlons or alpine cycling can develop irregularities in their heartbeats that can, occasionally, lead to their sudden death. Evidence published in the European Heart Journal by Professor La Gerche and colleagues has shown that doctors who try to detect these arrhythmias by focusing on the left ventricle of…
Article • Research
A recipe for long-lasting livers
People waiting for organ transplants may soon have higher hopes of getting the help that they need in time. Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology have developed a new technique that extends the time that donor organs last and can also resuscitate organs obtained after cardiac arrest.
Firm imposes press embargo
Another patient in the final stages of heart failure has received an artificial heart at Nantes UniversityHospital Centre, according to Carmat, the manufacturer of the device. Report: John Brosky
Vector flow mapping via echocardiography
‘There are aspects of the heart’s physiology that we know about, but now we can see them, and this is absolutely different,’ said Patrizio Lancellotti, President of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging.
News • Research
Seeking radiological routes to cure cardiac diseases
Radiotherapy is being proposed to treat heart diseases, specifically for hypertension and atrial fibrillation (AF).
Listen to your heart 24 hours a day
The ‘Fire of Life’ developed by Schiller is an intuitive visual presentation of frequency-domain heart rate variability (HRV) that makes the assessment of 24-hour results fast and simple.
TAVI rises another step in the United Kingdom
A hospital with a reputation for trailblazing heart surgery has taken transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) onto the next step in the UK.
Researchers Find Protein 'Switch' Central to Heart Cell Division
In a study that began in a pair of infant siblings with a rare heart defect, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have identified a key molecular switch that regulates heart cell division and normally turns the process off around the time of birth. Their research, they report, could advance efforts to turn the process back on and regenerate heart tissue damaged by heart attacks or disease.
Cardiology drives innovation
‘Cardiology is one of the most innovative medical disciplines. Many modern technologies, such as catheterisations or imaging procedures, were triggered by cardiology,’ declared Professor Dr Gerald Maurer MD.
New ESC Cardiac Pacing and Resynchronization Guidelines
The 2013 ESC Guidelines on Cardiac Pacing and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy¹ developed in collaboration with the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), have created a new classification system for bradyarrhythmias according to mechanisms rather than aetiology.
From bad breath to cardiac infarction
More than half of Germany’s population aged between 18 and 74 years cannot show off a gapless set of teeth, and that’s similar in France and worse only in Poland, according to a 2012 study, which also investigated oral hygiene.
A women's heart too often kills her
The biggest cause of death for most adult women in industrialised nations is coronary heart disease (CHD). Why the disease affects the genders differently is still not fully understood. European Hospital Editor Brigitte Dinkloh asked Professor Rafaelle Bugiardini MD FESC, from the Department of Internal Medicine Department, University of Bologna, whether he could explain the reasons and what…
Diabetes and CAD
Anja Behringer reports on a neglected risk factor. With an aging population multimorbidity is increasingly a major challenge for hospital care. Diabetes is one of the medical conditions frequently encountered in multimorbid patients since cardiac and vascular diseases are often accompanied by dysfunctions of the blood sugar metabolism.
Congenital heart disease
New research carried out in the UK has revealed that young children with congenital heart disease are at risk of having harmful toxins in their blood, particularly following surgery. Mark Nicholls reports
MitraClip Therapy Demonstrates Benefits
Results of an observational study presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) meeting in Paris demonstrate that the percutaneous catheter-based MitraClip treatment improves symptoms and promotes reverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling in patients with mitral regurgitation (MR), who do not respond to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).
When the heart gives up
This April the 77th Annual Meeting of the German Cardiac Society (DGK) presented over 300 events with 1,800 speakers, covering the entire spectrum of cardiovascular diseases, from fundamental research to clinical routine. Professor Gerd Hasenfuss, Director of the Department of Cardiology and Pulmonology and Chair of the Heart Research Centre in Gottingen, particularly requested a focus on …