BACKGROUND Differences in the quantity and distribution of coronary veins between patients with ischemic and nonischemic cardiomyopathy might affect the potential for the left ventricular (LV) lead targeting in patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). In the current study, we assessed and compared the suitability of the coronary venous system for the LV lead placement in isc...

BACKGROUND Classification of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is based on subjective criteria that crudely capture disease heterogeneity. Improved phenotyping of the syndrome may help improve therapeutic strategies. OBJECTIVE To derive cluster analysis-based groupings for patients hospitalized with ADHF, and compare their prognostic performance to hemodynamic classifications derived a...

Pigs with viable chronically dysfunctional myocardium and ischemic cardiomyopathy are at high risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). We sought to identify the arrhythmic mechanism of SCD, the relation to changes in left ventricular (LV) function, and inducibility of malignant arrhythmias before SCD. Juvenile pigs (n = 72) were instrumented with chronic stenoses on proximal left anterior descending...

Background—Autoantibodies against synthetic peptides of b-adrenergic receptors have been observed in human cardiomyopathy. However, it has never been shown that such antibodies really interact with native human b-adrenergic receptors, nor has the clinical impact of such an interaction been investigated in larger groups of patients. Methods and Results—We screened 104 patients with dilated or is...

Abstract Background The usefulness of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) for primary prevention arrhythmic sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients with non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) has been questioned. Efforts to improve risk stratification have included scores such as the “MADIT-ICD benefit score”, and use late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) magnetic resonance (CMR). purpo...

BACKGROUND Autoantibodies against synthetic peptides of beta-adrenergic receptors have been observed in human cardiomyopathy. However, it has never been shown that such antibodies really interact with native human beta-adrenergic receptors, nor has the clinical impact of such an interaction been investigated in larger groups of patients. METHODS AND RESULTS We screened 104 patients with dilat...

Despite tremendous advances in the management of cardiovascular diseases and cardiac arrest, there is paucity of information regarding sudden cardiac death in sub-Saharan Africa. We present a two-year review of sudden cardiac death cases among patients managed at a Nigerian tertiary hospital. Patients admitted from January 2012 to December 2013 were prospectively followed-up and cases of sudden...

BACKGROUND Recognizing that inhibitors of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) are increasingly employed in patients with pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular (RV) failure, we examined PDE5 expression in the human RV and its impact on myocardial contractility. METHODS AND RESULTS Tissue extracts from the RV of 20 patients were assayed for PDE5 expression using immunoblot and immunohistoche...

OBJECTIVES The authors sought to describe characteristics, treatments, and in-hospital outcomes of hospitalized heart failure (HF) patients stratified by etiology. BACKGROUND Whether characteristics and outcomes of HF patients differ by cardiomyopathy etiology is unknown. METHODS The authors analyzed data on 156,013 hospitalized HF patients from 319 U.S. hospitals participating in Get With ...