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Mattesi G, Pergola V, Bariani R, Martini M, Motta R, Perazzolo Marra M, Rigato I, Bauce B. Multimodality imaging in arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy - From diagnosis to management. Int J Cardiol 2024; 407:132023. [PMID: 38583594 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2024.132023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 03/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy (AC), an inherited cardiac disorder characterized by myocardial fibrofatty replacement, carries a significant risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) due to ventricular arrhythmias. A comprehensive multimodality imaging approach, including echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR), and cardiac computed tomography (CCT), allows for accurate diagnosis, effective risk stratification, vigilant monitoring, and appropriate intervention, leading to improved patient outcomes and the prevention of SCD. Echocardiography is primary tool ventricular morphology and function assessment, CMR provides detailed visualization, CCT is essential in early stages for excluding congenital anomalies and coronary artery disease. Echocardiography is preferred for follow-up, with CMR capturing changes over time. The strategic use of these imaging methods aids in confirming AC, differentiating it from other conditions, tracking its progression, managing complications, and addressing end-stage scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Riccardo Bariani
- Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, Italy
| | - Marika Martini
- Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, Italy
| | | | - Martina Perazzolo Marra
- Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, Italy
| | | | - Barbara Bauce
- Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, Italy
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Di Paolo M, Mezzetti E, Leoni M, Scatena A, Passino C. Sudden cardiac death during scuba diving: a case report of a patient with unknown hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Eur Heart J Case Rep 2024; 8:ytae217. [PMID: 38745730 PMCID: PMC11091920 DOI: 10.1093/ehjcr/ytae217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Background Scuba diving is a recreational activity usually considered at low impact on cardiovascular system. However, when diving, increased ambient pressure exerts several effects on the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, mainly due to redistribution of peripheral blood into the central circulation. This phenomenon, also known as blood shift, may produce a significant overload on a non-healthy heart. Case summary We present the case of a female patient who experienced sudden cardiac death during scuba diving: post-mortem cardiac magnetic resonance and autopsy revealed that the patient was affected by previously unknown hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Discussion Diving exposes the body to significant physiological changes that may overstress a diseased heart. This case suggests the need for some cardiovascular exams, such as an echocardiogram or, at least, an electrocardiogram, for screening cardiovascular abnormalities in subjects who wish to practice scuba diving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Di Paolo
- Department of Surgical Pathology, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Roma 55, 56100 Pisa, Italy
| | - Eleonora Mezzetti
- Department of Surgical Pathology, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Roma 55, 56100 Pisa, Italy
| | - Matteo Leoni
- Department of Surgical Pathology, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Roma 55, 56100 Pisa, Italy
| | - Andrea Scatena
- Department of Surgical Pathology, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Roma 55, 56100 Pisa, Italy
| | - Claudio Passino
- Interdisciplinary Center for Health Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy
- Cardiology Division, Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, Pisa, Italy
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Calo' L, Tatangelo M, Panattoni G, Crescenzi C, Squeglia M, Fanisio F, Romeo F, Toto F, de Ruvo E, Rebecchi M. Unlocking the enigma: decoding premature ventricular complexes for effective clinical assessment and risk management. Eur Heart J Suppl 2024; 26:i23-i28. [PMID: 38867874 PMCID: PMC11167976 DOI: 10.1093/eurheartjsupp/suae006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
The identification of ventricular premature complexes during a cardiological evaluation necessitates the implementation of diagnostic processes aimed at discerning the clinical context that may predispose individuals to a high risk of sudden cardiac death. Epidemiological studies reveal that ventricular premature beats occur in approximately 75% of healthy (or seemingly healthy) individuals, as long as there is no evidence of underlying structural heart disease, such as benign idiopathic ventricular extrasystole originating from the right and left ventricular outflow tracts. In the real world, however, ventricular ectopic beats with morphologies very similar to seemingly benign occurrences are not uncommon. They are notable in subjects exhibiting rapid and complex repetitive forms during exercise testing and Holter electrocardiogram. Additionally, these subjects may display more or less extensive scarring signs on cardiac magnetic resonance and may have a family history of cardiomyopathy and/or sudden cardiac death. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to critically analyse the process of evaluating premature ventricular complexes, which is crucial for accurate risk stratification. The latter cannot overlook some inevitable elements, including morphology, origin, complexity, and the associated clinical setting (absence or presence of structural heart disease).
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Corrado D, Anastasakis A, Basso C, Bauce B, Blomström-Lundqvist C, Bucciarelli-Ducci C, Cipriani A, De Asmundis C, Gandjbakhch E, Jiménez-Jáimez J, Kharlap M, McKenna WJ, Monserrat L, Moon J, Pantazis A, Pelliccia A, Perazzolo Marra M, Pillichou K, Schulz-Menger J, Jurcut R, Seferovic P, Sharma S, Tfelt-Hansen J, Thiene G, Wichter T, Wilde A, Zorzi A. Proposed diagnostic criteria for arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy: European Task Force consensus report. Int J Cardiol 2024; 395:131447. [PMID: 37844667 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2023.131447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a heart muscle disease characterized by prominent "non-ischemic" myocardial scarring predisposing to ventricular electrical instability. Diagnostic criteria for the original phenotype, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), were first proposed in 1994 and revised in 2010 by an international Task Force (TF). A 2019 International Expert report appraised these previous criteria, finding good accuracy for diagnosis of ARVC but a lack of sensitivity for identification of the expanding phenotypic disease spectrum, which includes left-sided variants, i.e., biventricular (ABVC) and arrhythmogenic left ventricular cardiomyopathy (ALVC). The ARVC phenotype together with these left-sided variants are now more appropriately named ACM. The lack of diagnostic criteria for the left ventricular (LV) phenotype has resulted in clinical under-recognition of ACM patients over the 4 decades since the disease discovery. In 2020, the "Padua criteria" were proposed for both right- and left-sided ACM phenotypes. The presently proposed criteria represent a refinement of the 2020 Padua criteria and have been developed by an expert European TF to improve the diagnosis of ACM with upgraded and internationally recognized criteria. The growing recognition of the diagnostic role of CMR has led to the incorporation of myocardial tissue characterization findings for detection of myocardial scar using the late‑gadolinium enhancement (LGE) technique to more fully characterize right, biventricular and left disease variants, whether genetic or acquired (phenocopies), and to exclude other "non-scarring" myocardial disease. The "ring-like' pattern of myocardial LGE/scar is now a recognized diagnostic hallmark of ALVC. Additional diagnostic criteria regarding LV depolarization and repolarization ECG abnormalities and ventricular arrhythmias of LV origin are also provided. These proposed upgrading of diagnostic criteria represents a working framework to improve management of ACM patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Domenico Corrado
- Department of Cardio-Thoraco-Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua Medical School, Italy.
| | - Aris Anastasakis
- Unit of Inherited and Rare Cardiovascular Diseases, Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, Athens, Greece
| | - Cristina Basso
- Department of Cardio-Thoraco-Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua Medical School, Italy
| | - Barbara Bauce
- Department of Cardio-Thoraco-Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua Medical School, Italy
| | - Carina Blomström-Lundqvist
- Department of Cardiology, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | | | - Alberto Cipriani
- Department of Cardio-Thoraco-Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua Medical School, Italy
| | - Carlo De Asmundis
- Heart Rhythm Management Centre, Postgraduate Program in Cardiac Electrophysiology and Pacing, Universitair Ziekenhuis, Brussel - Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
| | - Estelle Gandjbakhch
- Sorbonne Universitè, APHP, Centre de Référence des Maladies Cardiaques héréditaires Groupe Hospitalier Pitié Salpêtrière-Charles Foix, Paris, France
| | | | - Maria Kharlap
- Department of cardiac arrhythmias, National Centre for Therapy and Preventive Medicine, Moscow, Petroverigsky, Russia
| | - William J McKenna
- Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College London, United Kingdom
| | - Lorenzo Monserrat
- Cardiovascular Genetics, Medical Department, Dilemma Solutions SL, A Coruña, Spain
| | - James Moon
- CMR Service, Barts Heart Centre, University College London, United Kingdom
| | - Antonis Pantazis
- Inherited Cardiovascular Conditions services, The Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Martina Perazzolo Marra
- Department of Cardio-Thoraco-Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua Medical School, Italy
| | - Kalliopi Pillichou
- Department of Cardio-Thoraco-Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua Medical School, Italy
| | - Jeanette Schulz-Menger
- Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Buch - ECRC and Helios Clinics, DZHK Partnersite Berlin, Germany
| | - Ruxandra Jurcut
- Expert Center for Rare Genetic Cardiovascular Diseases, Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases "Prof.dr.C.C.Iliescu", UMF "Carol Davila", Bucharest, Romania
| | - Petar Seferovic
- University of Belgrade, Faculty of Medicine and Heart Failure Center, Belgrade University Medical Center, Belgrade
| | - Sanjay Sharma
- Cardiology Clinical Academic Group, St. George's, University of London, United Kingdom
| | - Jacob Tfelt-Hansen
- Section of Genetics, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Cardiology, The Heart Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Gaetano Thiene
- University of Padua Medical School, ARCA Associazione Ricerche Cardiopatie Aritmiche ETS, Padova, Italy
| | - Thomas Wichter
- Dept. of Internal Medicine / Cardiology, Heart Center Osnabrück - Bad Rothenfelde, Niels-Stensen-Kliniken, Marienhospital Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Arthur Wilde
- Amsterdam UMC location University of Amsterdam, Department of Cardiology, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Alessandro Zorzi
- Department of Cardio-Thoraco-Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua Medical School, Italy
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Varrenti M, Preda A, Frontera A, Baroni M, Gigli L, Vargiu S, Colombo G, Carbonaro M, Paolucci M, Giordano F, Guarracini F, Mazzone P. Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy: Definition, Classification and Arrhythmic Risk Stratification. J Clin Med 2024; 13:456. [PMID: 38256590 PMCID: PMC10816644 DOI: 10.3390/jcm13020456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a heart disease characterized by a fibrotic replacement of myocardial tissue and a consequent predisposition to ventricular arrhythmic events, especially in the young. Post-mortem studies and the subsequent diffusion of cardiac MRI have shown that left ventricular involvement in arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy is common and often develops early. Regarding the arrhythmic risk stratification, the current scores underestimate the arrhythmic risk of patients with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy with left involvement. Indeed, the data on arrhythmic risk stratification in this group of patients are contradictory and not exhaustive, with the consequence of not correctly identifying patients at a high arrhythmic risk who deserve protection from arrhythmic death. We propose a literature review on arrhythmic risk stratification in patients with ACM and left involvement to identify the main features associated with an increased arrhythmic risk in this group of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marisa Varrenti
- Electrophysiology Unit, De Gasperis Cardio Center, Niguarda Hospital, 20162 Milan, Italy (M.C.); (F.G.); (P.M.)
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Schlittler M, Pramstaller PP, Rossini A, De Bortoli M. Myocardial Fibrosis in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: A Perspective from Fibroblasts. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:14845. [PMID: 37834293 PMCID: PMC10573356 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241914845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common inherited heart disease and the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young people. Mutations in genes that encode structural proteins of the cardiac sarcomere are the more frequent genetic cause of HCM. The disease is characterized by cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and myocardial fibrosis, which is defined as the excessive deposition of extracellular matrix proteins, mainly collagen I and III, in the myocardium. The development of fibrotic tissue in the heart adversely affects cardiac function. In this review, we discuss the latest evidence on how cardiac fibrosis is promoted, the role of cardiac fibroblasts, their interaction with cardiomyocytes, and their activation via the TGF-β pathway, the primary intracellular signalling pathway regulating extracellular matrix turnover. Finally, we summarize new findings on profibrotic genes as well as genetic and non-genetic factors involved in the pathophysiology of HCM.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Marzia De Bortoli
- Eurac Research, Institute for Biomedicine (Affiliated to the University of Lübeck), 39100 Bolzano, Italy
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