24-h Recordings Research Articles

Diurnal Variation of L-Arginine and the Cardiovascular Risk Markers Asymmetric and Symmetric Dimethylarginine and Homoarginine in Rotating Night Shift Workers and Controls.

Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) interfere with nitric oxide (NO) formation from L-arginine via different mechanisms. ADMA is a biomarker of cardiovascular disease and mortality, whilst SDMA is a biomarker of mortality after ischemic stroke. Homoarginine, another L-arginine-derived amino acid, is associated with stroke and congestive heart failure. Acute ischemic events like myocardial infarction show a time-of-day variation in the timing of their onset, as do NO-mediated vascular function and blood pressure. We studied whether the plasma concentrations of L-arginine-related amino acid metabolites show diurnal variation in a clinical study comparing 12 non-night shift workers with 60 rotating night shift workers. The plasma concentrations of L-arginine-related biomarkers, melatonin, and cortisol were measured every 3 h during a 24-h period. In addition, 24-h blood pressure recordings were performed. In non-night shift workers, L-arginine and homoarginine plasma concentrations showed diurnal variation with a 12-h period, which were both attenuated in night shift workers. ADMA and SDMA showed a 24-h rhythmicity with no significant differences in phase between night shift and non-night shift workers. The plasma profiles of melatonin and cortisol were not significantly different between both groups, suggesting that the rotating night shift work does not have a major influence on central suprachiasmatic nuclei clock timing. In addition, systolic and diastolic blood pressure patterns were similar between both groups. Our data show diurnal variation of dimethylarginines with the timing of their acrophases corresponding to the published timing of the peak incidence of cardiac ischemic events.

Home blood pressure-centered approach - from digital health to medical practice: HOPE Asia Network consensusstatement 2023.

Recent innovations in digital technology have enabled the simultaneous accumulation, and the linking and analysis of time-series big data relating to several factors that influence blood pressure (BP), including biological indicators, physical activity, and environmental information. Various approaches can be used to monitor BP: in the office/clinic; at home; 24-h ambulatory recording; or with wearable and cuffless devices. Of these, home BP monitoring is a reliable and convenient method, and is recommended for hypertension management by current national and international guidelines. This recommendation is based on evidence showing that home BP is an important predictor of cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and kidney disease in patients with hypertension. In addition, lifetime personalized health record (PHR)-based home BP with telemonitoring combined with co-interventions has been shown to lower BP more effectively than the traditional approach based on office BP. Thus, home BP represents a key metric for personalized anticipation medicine, from digital healthcare to digital medicine. This paper summarizes the latest evidence on home BP monitoring and proposes a Hypertension Cardiovascular Outcome Prevention and Evidence in Asia (HOPE Asia) Network consensus on a home BP-centered approach to the management of hypertension.

Evaluation of cardiac electromechanics in patients with newly diagnosed hypertension.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between subclinical left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction and ECG parameters in newly diagnosed hypertension patients. In this cross-sectional study, adults diagnosed with hypertension based on 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitor recordings were included. The patients were classified into two groups based on the presence of subclinical LV systolic dysfunction according to LV global longitudinal strain (LVGLS). Findings were compared between the two groups. A total of 244 patients (female, 55.7%) were included. Based on LVGLS, 82 (33.6%) patients had subclinical LV systolic dysfunction. The proportion of early repolarization pattern (ERP) on ECG was significantly higher in patients with subclinical LV systolic dysfunction than in patients with normal LV systolic function [24 (28.6%) vs. 8 (5%), P < 0.001]. PR and corrected QT intervals were also significantly longer in patients with subclinical LV systolic dysfunction than in patients with normal LV systolic function [median (interquartile range), 148 (132-158) vs. 141 (127-152), P = 0.036 and 443 (427-459) vs. 431 (411-455), P = 0.007, respectively]. According to multivariate regression analysis ERP, early (E) wave velocity/late (A) wave velocity (E/A), and LV mass index were independently associated with subclinical LV systolic dysfunction. In newly diagnosed hypertension patients, the ERP on admission ECG could be a sign of subclinical systolic dysfunction.

Fetal and postnatal diagnosis and management of cardiac rhabdomyomas and association with tuberous sclerosis complex

AimCardiac rhabdomyomas are the most frequently seen pediatric cardiac tumors and are predominantly associated with tuberous sclerosis complex. These tumors often shrink and disappear spontaneously. This study evaluated the clinical and echocardiographic data of patients followed up in our Pediatric Cardiology Clinic for cardiac rhabdomyoma. MethodsThis study included patients with cardiac rhabdomyoma detected by echocardiography between 2008 and 2021. Data regarding the patients’ age at diagnosis, symptoms, physical examination findings, electrocardiography, 24-h Holter recordings, echocardiography, and follow-up data were obtained from the hospital records. ResultsThe age of the patients at the time of diagnosis ranged from 21-weeks gestational age to postnatal 10-months. A total of 49 tumors were detected in 10 patients. In all but 2 patients, the tumor was asymptomatic and the hemodynamic changes were not significant. One patient required surgery due to significant left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. Everolimus treatment was administered to 1 patient with right ventricular outflow tract obstruction. Five of the patients were diagnosed with tuberous sclerosis complex during the follow-ups. Except 1 patient who died post-surgery, the others demonstrated substantial regression of the tumors during the ongoing follow-ups. ConclusionAlthough it is a rare tumor, cardiac rhabdomyoma may lead to life-threatening symptoms. They are typically asymptomatic and usually resolve spontaneously. Novel medical treatments, such as everolimus, are promising as an alternative to surgery in patients with hemodynamic deterioration.

The Acoustic Repertoire of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Cres-Lošinj Archipelago (Croatia): Site Dependent Diel and Seasonal Changes

Describing the acoustic repertoire of cetaceans is necessary to understand the functionality of their sounds and the effect anthropogenic pressures have on animals living in a marine environment. This study provides a description of the acoustic repertoire of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Cres-Lošinj archipelago based on continuous 24-h recordings collected from two monitoring stations, both inside and outside the Natura 2000 Site of Community Importance, during an 8-day period in March/April 2020 and a 13-day period in July/August 2020. A total of 1008 h were visually and aurally analyzed to identify vocalizations and investigate diel and seasonal patterns in their parameters. Furthermore, sound pressure levels were calculated for the low (63 Hz–2 kHz) and high (2 kHz–20 kHz) frequency range. Bottlenose dolphins in the Cres-Lošinj archipelago were found to produce whistles, chirps, low frequency narrow-band sounds, burst pulse sounds, and echolocation clicks showing that dolphins are present at both monitoring stations, during both diel and seasonal periods, in a comparable manner. This paper also provides evidence that whistles, chirps, and low frequency narrow-band sounds change their parameters in relation to the background noise in the area, that varies according to diel and seasonal patterns. This suggests a vocal plasticity in the species and a coping strategy to avoid masking of relevant acoustic signals for the local population in the Cres-Lošinj archipelago.

#5805 ACCURACY OF FIXED 24-H AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE RECORDINGS FOR DIAGNOSING HIGH 48-H AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE IN HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS

Abstract Background and Aims Hypertension is highly prevalent in hemodialysis patients. Ambulatory-BP-monitoring (ABPM) during the 44-h interdialytic interval is recommended for hypertension diagnosis and management in these subjects. This study assessed the diagnostic accuracy of fixed 24-h ABPM recordings with 44-h BP in hemodialysis patients. Method 242 Greek hemodialysis patients that underwent valid 48-h ABPM (Mobil-O-Graph NG device) were included in the analysis. We used 44-h BP used as reference method and tested the accuracy of the following BP metrics: 1st 24-h without HD period (20h-1st), 1st 24-h including HD period (24h-1st) and 2nd 24-h (24h-2nd). Results All studied metrics showed strong correlations with 44-h SBP/DBP (20h-1st: r = 0.973/0.978, 24h-1st: r = 0.964/0.972 and 24h-2nd: r = 0.978/0.977, respectively). In Bland-Altman analysis, small between-method differences (−1.70, −1.19 and +1.45 mmHg) with good 95% limits-of-agreement ([−10.83 to 7.43], [−11.12 to 8.74] and [−6.33 to 9.23] mmHg, respectively) for 20h-1st, 24h-1st and 24h-2nd SBP were observed. The sensitivity/specificity and κ-statistic for diagnosing 44-h SBP≥130 mmHg were high for 20h-1st SBP (87.2%/96.0%, κ-statistic = 0.817), 24h-1st SBP (88.7%/96.0%, κ-statistic = 0.833) and 24h-2nd SBP (95.0%/88.1%, κ-statistic = 0.837). Similar observations were made for DBP. In ROC-analyses, all studied BP metrics showed excellent performance with high Area-Under-the-Curve values (20h-1st: 0.983/0.992; 24h-1st: 0.984/0.987 and 24h-2nd: 0.982/0.989 for SBP/DBP respectively). Conclusion Fixed 24-h ABPM recordings during either the first or the second day of interdialytic interval have high accuracy and strong agreement with 44-h BP in hemodialysis patients. Thus, ABPM recordings of either the first or the second interdialytic day could be used for hypertension diagnosis and management in these subjects.

D-galactose Supplementation for the Treatment of Mild Malformation of Cortical Development with Oligodendroglial Hyperplasia in Epilepsy (MOGHE): A Pilot Trial of Precision Medicine After Epilepsy Surgery.

MOGHE is defined as mild malformation of cortical development with oligodendroglial hyperplasia in epilepsy. Approximately half of the patients with histopathologically confirmed MOGHE carry a brain somatic variant in the SLC35A2 gene encoding a UDP-galactose transporter. Previous research showed that D-galactose supplementation results in clinical improvement in patients with a congenital disorder of glycosylation due to germline variants in SLC35A2. We aimed to evaluate the effects of D-galactose supplementation in patients with histopathologically confirmed MOGHE, with uncontrolled seizures or cognitive impairment and epileptiform activity at the EEG after epilepsy surgery (NCT04833322). Patients were orally supplemented with D-galactose for 6months in doses up to 1.5g/kg/day and monitored for seizure frequency including 24-h video-EEG recording, cognition and behavioral scores, i.e., WISC, BRIEF-2, SNAP-IV, and SCQ, and quality of life measures, before and 6months after treatment. Global response was defined by > 50% improvement of seizure frequency and/or cognition and behavior (clinical global impression of "much improved" or better). Twelve patients (aged 5-28years) were included from three different centers. Neurosurgical tissue samples were available in all patients and revealed a brain somatic variant in SLC35A2 in six patients (non-present in the blood). After 6months of supplementation, D-galactose was well tolerated with just two patients presenting abdominal discomfort, solved after dose spacing or reduction. There was a 50% reduction or higher of seizure frequency in 3/6 patients, with an improvement at EEG in 2/5 patients. One patient became seizure-free. An improvement of cognitive/behavioral features encompassing impulsivity (mean SNAP-IV - 3.19 [- 0.84; - 5.6]), social communication (mean SCQ - 2.08 [- 0.63; - 4.90]), and executive function (BRIEF-2 inhibit - 5.2 [- 1.23; - 9.2]) was observed. Global responder rate was 9/12 (6/6 in SLC35A2-positive). Our results suggest that supplementation with D-galactose in patients with MOGHE is safe and well tolerated and, although the efficacy data warrant larger studies, it might build a rationale for precision medicine after epilepsy surgery.

ACCURACY OF FIXED 24-H AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE RECORDINGS FOR DIAGNOSING HIGH 44-H AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE IN HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS: A DIAGNOSTIC TEST STUDY

Objective: Hypertension is highly prevalent in hemodialysis patients. Ambulatory-BP-monitoring (ABPM) during the 44-h interdialytic interval is recommended for hypertension diagnosis and management in these subjects. This study assessed the diagnostic accuracy of fixed 24-h ABPM recordings with 44-h BP in hemodialysis patients. Design and method: 242 Greek hemodialysis patients that underwent valid 48-h ABPM (Mobil-O-Graph NG device) were included in the analysis. We used 44-h BP used as reference method and tested the accuracy of the following BP metrics: 1st 24-h without HD period (20h-1st), 1st 24-h including HD period (24h-1st) and 2nd 24-h (24h-2nd). Results: All studied metrics showed strong correlations with 44-h SBP/DBP (20h-1st: r = 0.973/0.978, 24h-1st: r = 0.964/0.972 and 24h-2nd: r = 0.978/0.977, respectively). In Bland-Altman analysis, small between-method differences (-1.70, -1.19 and +1.45 mmHg) with good 95% limits-of-agreement ([-10.83 to 7.43], [-11.12 to 8.74] and [-6.33 to 9.23] mmHg, respectively) for 20h-1st, 24h-1st and 24h-2nd SBP were observed. The sensitivity/specificity and ↓-statistic for diagnosing 44-h SBP grater or equal to 130 mmHg were high for 20h-1st SBP (87.2%/96.0%, ↓-statistic = 0.817), 24h-1st SBP (88.7%/96.0%, ↓-statistic = 0.833) and 24h-2nd SBP (95.0%/88.1%, ↓-statistic = 0.837). Similar observations were made for DBP. In ROC-analyses, all studied BP metrics showed excellent performance with high Area-Under-the-Curve values (20h-1st: 0.983/0.992; 24h-1st: 0.984/0.987 and 24h-2nd: 0.982/0.989 for SBP/DBP respectively). Conclusions: Fixed 24-h ABPM recordings during either the first or the second day of interdialytic interval have high accuracy and strong agreement with 44-h BP in hemodialysis patients. Thus, ABPM recordings of either the first or the second interdialytic day could be used for hypertension diagnosis and management in these subjects.

Diagnostic value of 24-h ECG recording in Long COVID patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction (CVAD) is a major complication for a large proportion of Long COVID (LC) patients. The main phenotype of CVAD is postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), commonly observed as a sequalae of COVID infection, thus defining a subset of LC patients. POTS is a cardiovascular autonomic disorder characterized by an excessive heart rate (HR) increase and symptoms of orthostatic intolerance when assuming upright posture, occurring predominantly in young and middle-aged women. Since the start of COVID-19 pandemic it has been observed that up to 30% of patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome develop POTS with such symptoms as tachycardia, orthostatic intolerance, fatigue, and cognitive impairment. The heterogeneity of POTS symptoms makes the diagnosis and appropriate management of POTS more difficult and one of the first steps for clinicians is to develop and test relevant diagnostic methods for POTS. Methods Patients with persistent symptoms, 3 months after an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection were referred to the multi-disciplinary LC unit at a hospital in Sweden. Consecutive patients seen at this unit from 2021 to 2022 underwent a 24-h ECG recording. LC patients with POTS verified by active standing test and/or head-up tilt testing were prospectively enrolled in the study database and were compared with LC patients without POTS according to 3 specific analyses based on 24-h ECG recording : (1) cardiac autonomic activity expressed by heart rate variability, HRV (SDNN and RMSSD in ms) parameters, (2) awakening HR increase (HR mean 10 min before vs. 30 min after awakening) and (3) HR spikes (number/h if at least over than 30 bpm and at least during 30 s). Control group consisted of healthy subjects from 24-h ECG recordings database (HRV analysis) of a hospital in France. Data were expressed as mean (± standard deviation, SD) and frequencies (%). Results A total of 120 LC patients (mean age: 42.7 +/-9.97 y, 88% women) and 100 healthy subjects (mean age: 46.4 +/-10.2 y, 82% women) were included. LC with POTS (42%) was associated with (1) a decrease in most HRV parameters (mean SDNN: 86.8 +/-24.3 vs. 108.7 +/-24.1 ms, p=0.03), and the most reduced components were those related to the parasympathetic tone (mean RMSSD: 34,5 +/-20.4 vs. 45.6 +/-22.1 ms, p=0.04), (2) an abrupt and sustained increase in HR during the first 30 min after awakening (+30%, p&amp;lt;0.05) and (3) a higher number of HR spikes per h (1.4 +/-0.8 vs. 0.8 +/-0.7/h, p&amp;lt;0.001) compared with healthy subjects (HRV) and LC patients without POTS (awakenings and HR peaks) respectively. Conclusion A triple analysis of 24-h ECG recordings revealed presence of autonomic dysfunction in LC patients with POTS compared with those without POTS. This novel analysis may be introduced in the clinic for screening and therapy monitoring.

THE CIRCADIAN PATTERN OF 24-HOUR AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART RATE IN THE CEREBRAL INFRACTION PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION AND HYPERTENSIVES PATIENTS

Aims: Evaluation of the circadian rhythm of 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure and pulse rate in the cerebral infraction patients with hypertension and hypertensives patients with purpose prognostic, prevention and treatment in two group.&#x0D; Objects and methods: This study included 140 cerebral infarction patients with hypertension, hospitalized for the first 7 days (mean age 65.5±10.4 years) and 143 primary hypertensive patients (mean age of 64.4±7.5 years). All had 24-h ambulatory recording, with measurement 30 every minutes in the daytime (6.00 am - 10.00 pm) and every 60 minutes at night (10.00 pm - 6.00 am). Results: Blood pressure in patients with cerebral infarction oscillated significantly more than in hypertensive patients; mean standard deviation of systolic blood pressure (25.8 mmHg) and diastolic blood pressure (15.8 mmHg) in patients with cerebral infarction respectively was significantly higher than those with hypertension (20 mmHg and 12.1 mmHg) with p &lt;0.01. The rate of non-dipping blood pressure at night, the overload of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, morning surge blood pressure in patients with cerebral infarction was significantly higher than that of hypertensive patients (92.1; 75.5; 60.2; 57.8 versus 64.3; 60.1; 49.1; 36.3 respectively; p &lt;0.01). Conclusion: It is necessary to monitor 24-hours ambulatory blood pressure in hypertensive patients and patients with cerebral infarction in the first week of admission to identify some phenomena such as nocturnal non-dipping blood pressure, the overload of blood pressure, especially morning surge blood pressure early to plan for prevention of target organ damage, particularly cerebral stroke in hypertensive patients.

Associations between indices of 24-hour heart rate variability and inflammation in individuals with major depressive disorder

Biological cardiac risk factors, including reduced heart rate variability (HRV) and inflammation, are already prominent in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) without existing cardiovascular disease. Although inverse relations between HRV and inflammation have been found across several populations, little work has been done concerning MDD. The present work thus intended to examine whether measures of HRV indices based on 24-h electrocardiograph recordings (24-h, daytime, nighttime) relate to levels of circulating inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in eighty antidepressant-free individuals with MDD. A sample of 40 age- and sex-matched non-clinical controls was also involved to verify biological alterations in MDD. Individuals with MDD exhibited reduced total 24-h HRV (i.e., triangular index) and reduced daytime HRV (i.e., triangular index, HF-HRV, LF-HRV, RMSSD), as well as increased levels of all inflammatory markers. Multivariate analyses adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, and smoking revealed robust inverse associations of total 24-h HRV (i.e., triangular index) and daytime HRV (i.e., Triangular index, HF-HRV, LF-HRV, RMSSD) with IL-6. An attenuated daytime HRV may relate to higher circulating levels of IL-6 in the context of MDD. These findings show that biological cardiac risk factors may act in concert in MDD.

Wrist photoplethysmography-based assessment of ectopic burden in hemodialysis patients

Background and Objective:Frequent ectopic beats in patients under hemodialysis may be associated with the occurrence of life-threatening arrhythmias. However, data regarding the prognostic significance of ectopic beats are limited due to the lack of accessible technology for long-term monitoring. This study aims to investigate the feasibility to assess the ectopic burden from continuously acquired wrist photoplethysmogram (PPG). Methods:The performance of two PPG-based ectopic beat detectors operating on the pulse-to-pulse basis was investigated against the reference ectopic beats detected from the electrocardiogram using 41 24-h recordings obtained from hemodialysis patients under uncontrolled conditions. The estimation accuracy of an average daily ectopic burden and the detection performance of high-risk ectopic burden (≥30 beats/h) were also compared to the reference electrocardiogram. Results:The sensitivity and positive predictive value of 68.1% and 59.5%, respectively, were reached by the better-performing PPG-based ectopic beat detector. A PPG-based average daily ectopic burden was estimated with a median error of 3 beats/h. Sensitivity of 82.7% and specificity of 89.8% were achieved when identifying high-risk ectopic burden in 1-h segments with at least 75% of acceptable-quality PPG. Conclusion:The study demonstrates the potential of the wrist PPG to monitor ectopic burden in an outpatient setting and identify patients eligible for early antiarrhythmic treatment.

Automatic screening of patients with atrial fibrillation from 24-h Holter recording using deep learning.

As the demand for atrial fibrillation (AF) screening increases, clinicians spend a significant amount of time identifying AF signals from massive amounts of data obtained during long-term dynamic electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring. The identification of AF signals is subjective and depends on the experience of clinicians. However, experienced cardiologists are scarce. This study aimed to apply a deep learning-based algorithm to fully automate primary screening of patients with AF using 24-h Holter monitoring. A deep learning model was developed to automatically detect AF episodes using RR intervals and was trained and evaluated on 23 621 (2297 AF and 21 324 non-AF) 24-h Holter recordings from 23 452 patients. Based on the AF episode detection results, patients with AF were automatically identified using the criterion of at least one AF episode lasting 6 min or longer. Performance was assessed on an independent real-world hospital-scenario test set (19 227 recordings) and a community-scenario test set (1299 recordings). For the two test sets, the model obtained high performance for the identification of patients with AF (sensitivity: 0.995 and 1.000; specificity: 0.985 and 0.997, respectively). Moreover, it obtained good and consistent performance (sensitivity: 1.000; specificity: 0.972) for an external public data set. Using the criterion of at least one AF episode of 6 min or longer, the deep learning model can fully automatically screen patients for AF with high accuracy from long-term Holter monitoring data. This method may serve as a powerful and cost-effective tool for primary screening for AF.

Multimodality strategy for cardiac damage assessment in falciparum malaria: A preliminary study

Malaria caused by the Plasmodium falciparum (P.f) parasite can result in life-threatening complications. Traditionally, cardiac involvement has not been included as a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality. Cardiac damage in P.f infection is probably underdiagnosed. To analyze the hypothesis of cardiac damage in apparently uncomplicated P.f infection with a multimodality strategy unavailable in most endemic countries. Cardiac biomarkers, ECG and 24 h ECG recording, transthoracic echocardiography with global strain analysis, and complete CMR analysis, including T2 (Fig. 1) and T1 mapping and extracellular volume quantification (ECV), were performed in patients hospitalized for malaria in a French tertiary center. Ten cases (sex ratio: 1 – mean age: 45 ± 13 years) imported from sub-Saharan Africa were prospectively included. Mean P.f parasitemia was 1.6 ± 1.7%. Hs-c Troponin T and NT pro BNP were mildly increased respectively in 1 and 2 patients. 24-h ECG recording revealed > 500 ventricular premature beats in 2 patients. Imaging revealed normal left and right ventricular systolic function, diastolic function and longitudinal global strain in all but one patient. CMR revealed 2 cases of focal late gadolinium enhancement consistent with the diagnosis of acute myocarditis in 1 case. ECV value was increased in 1 case (dilated cardiomyopathy). All patients were treated with piperaquine + dihydroartemisine and had a favorable outcome. Multimodality strategy reveals some cardiac abnormalities (ventricular ectopy, myocarditis) in patients hospitalized for falciparum malaria. Specificity of such findings remains questionable in this preliminary study. Further investigation is required to conclude about the hypothesis of a significant malaria-induced cardiac.

Ventricular bigeminy characterization in 24-h Holter monitoring from Andersen-Tawil patients: An initial proof of concept versus patients with ischemic heart disease

AimTo characterize ventricular bigeminy from 24-h Holter recordings of Andersen-Tawil syndrome (ATS) patients, a first comparison with a large database of post-myocardial infarction (post-MI) patients with frequent premature ventricular complexes (PVC) was performed. MethodsBaseline Holter recordings from 6 ATS1 patients and 618 post-MI patients were analyzed to assess total number of PVC, quantification of coupling intervals (CI), total number of bigeminy episodes, and percentage of PVC in bigeminy. ResultsA non-significant difference in total number of PVCs, mean CI and CI standard deviation was found. The median number of episodes of bigeminy (1038 vs 1; p = 0.004) and of PVC in bigeminy (51.1 vs 0.1%; p = 0.002) was significantly higher in ATS1 patients. Having ≥42 episodes of bigeminy or ≥ 36.1% of PVC in bigeminy distinguish PVC from ATS from post-MI patients with a sensitivity and specificity >80%. ConclusionIn this first approach, patients with ATS had a characteristic burden of episodes of ventricular bigeminy, compared with post-MI patients.

Role of basal autonomic functions in patients with increased morning blood pressure surge.

Morning blood pressure (BP) surge (MS) is associated with cardiovascular events. The autonomic nervous system plays an active role in the regulation of BP and its function can be evaluated by heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. This study aimed to evaluate autonomic nervous system functions in patients with increased MS. Patients who underwent ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) and 24-h rhythm Holter in our hospital during the same period between 2017 and 2022 were evaluated. HRV parameters were obtained from 24-h rhythm Holter recordings. MS values of the patients were calculated from ABPM records and patients were divided into four groups according to the MS quartiles. HRV parameters and other parameters were compared between the groups. A total of 129 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 57.2 ± 18.2 years, and 63 (48.8%) were male. HF, the square root of the mean squared differences of successive normal-to-normal intervals (rMSSD), and the proportion of adjacent RR intervals differing by >50 ms in the 24-h recording (pNN50) were statistically significant between the groups ( P = 0.039, P = 0.013, P = 0.011, respectively). In univariate regression analysis, low-frequency/high-frequency ratio was positively associated with MS and HF, SDNNi, rMSSD, and pNN50 were negatively associated ( β = 0.207, P = 0.019; β = -0.272, P = 0.002; β = -0.201, P = 0.022; β = -0.265, P = 0.002; β = -0.278, P = 0.001, respectively). Multiple linear regression analysis showed an independent association between HF, low-frequency/high-frequency ratio, rMSSD, pNN50, and MS ( β = -0.247, P = 0.005; β=0.206, P = 0.017; β = -0.209, P = 0.005; β = -0.227, P = 0.008, respectively). We found an independent association between HRV parameters associated with vagal tone and MS. The findings of our study suggest that the increased sympathetic activity detected in patients with high MS in previous studies may be due to a decrease in basal vagal tone.

Is heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) a valid marker of arterial stiffness in patients with systemic sclerosis?

Background/Aim: Both micro- and macro-vascular involvement has been researched in systemic sclerosis (SSc) for many years. In this study, the relationship of arterial stiffness with heart-type fatty acid binding protein (h-FABP), which is well-accepted as a cardiac marker, was investigated for the first time.&#x0D; Methods: In this case-control study, 40 patients diagnosed with SSc between the ages of 18 and 65 were included. Thirty healthy individuals of similar age and gender were included as the control group. Patients were excluded from the study if they had cardiovascular risk factors, active infections, and/or malignancies. Along with detecting biochemical markers in the blood, results from methods, such as 24-h blood pressure Holter recordings, pulse-wave velocities (PWV), and echocardiograms (ECHO) were obtained from patients.&#x0D; Results: The homocysteine mean level was higher in the patient group than in the control group (P &lt; 0.001). H-FABP and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) means were similar between the two groups (P = 0.286 and P = 0.340, respectively). Vascular parameters, including mean arterial pressure (MAP), augmentation index normalized to the 75 /min heart rate (AIx @ 75), and PWV were also similar between the two groups (P = 0.498, P = 0.382 and P = 0.180, respectively).&#x0D; Conclusion: It can be concluded that no ongoing myocardial damage occurs based on normotensive Holter findings, normal h-FABP levels, and ECHO findings in our patients. It is suggested that vasodilatory treatments, such as pentoxifylline and calcium channel blockers, which the patients receive for SSc treatment due to Raynaud Syndrome, may protect them from hypertension and therefore offer protection from myocardial damage.

Cartilaginous Intrusion of the Atrioventricular Node in a Quarter Horse with a High Burden of Second-Degree AV Block and Collapse: A Case Report

Second-degree atrioventricular (AV) block is the most common cardiac arrhythmia in horses, affecting 40-90% depending on breed. Usually, the AV blocks occur while the horses are resting and disappear upon exercise and are, therefore, considered to be uneventful for horses. However, if the AV blocks occur frequently, this may result in syncope and collapse. Identifying the cause of second-degree AV block is difficult and often subscribed to high vagal tone. In this report, we present an eight-year-old Quarter horse with a high burden of second-degree AV blocks and multiple collapses. The clinical examination, including neurological examination, blood analysis, 24-h ECG recording and cardiac echocardiography, did not reveal any signs of general or cardiovascular disease besides a high burden of second-degree AV blocks (~300 blocks per hour) and a hyperechoic area in the AV nodal region. An implantable loop recorder (ILR) was inserted to monitor the cardiac rhythm. The ILR detected several consecutive second-degree AV blocks and pauses above 5 s. However, unfortunately, no recordings were available during the collapses. Eventually, the horse was euthanized and the heart inspected. The aortic root was severely cartilaginous and appeared to penetrate the AV node, especially in the His bundle region, possibly explaining the hampered AV conduction. Nevertheless, it is still uncertain if the AV nodal disruption caused the collapses and more knowledge on AV nodal diseases in horses is warranted.

EEG Markers of Treatment Resistance in Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy: From Standard EEG Findings to Advanced Signal Analysis.

Idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) represents a common form of epilepsy in both adult and pediatric epilepsy units. Although IGE has been long considered a relatively benign epilepsy syndrome, a remarkable proportion of patients could be refractory to treatment. While some clinical prognostic factors have been largely validated among IGE patients, the impact of routine electroencephalography (EEG) findings in predicting drug resistance is still controversial and a growing number of authors highlighted the potential importance of capturing the sleep state in this setting. In addition, the development of advanced computational techniques to analyze EEG data has opened new opportunities in the identification of reliable and reproducible biomarkers of drug resistance in IGE patients. In this manuscript, we summarize the EEG findings associated with treatment resistance in IGE by reviewing the results of studies considering standard EEGs, 24-h EEG recordings, and resting-state protocols. We discuss the role of 24-h EEG recordings in assessing seizure recurrence in light of the potential prognostic relevance of generalized fast discharges occurring during sleep. In addition, we highlight new and promising biomarkers as identified by advanced EEG analysis, including hypothesis-driven functional connectivity measures of background activity and data-driven quantitative findings revealed by machine learning approaches. Finally, we thoroughly discuss the methodological limitations observed in existing studies and briefly outline future directions to identify reliable and replicable EEG biomarkers in IGE patients.

Short-term blood pressure variability and outcomes in non-dialysis chronic kidney disease.

BackgroundBlood pressure variability (BPV) is associated with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality, and has been demonstrated in dialysis patients, but has been poorly studied and remains controversial in non-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. We investigated the effect of short-term BPV on prognosis in this population.MethodsA total of 245 stage 1–4 CKD patients with 24-h ambulatory blood pressure recordings were recruited. BPV was evaluated by standard deviation, coefficient of variation, and variation independent of the mean, respectively. All subjects were followed up to the composite end-point event or until January 15, 2020. Patients were divided into two groups based on 24-h median variation independent of the mean, and demographics, laboratory indicators and echocardiogram results were compared. Logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors for increased BPV. Multivariate Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were used to explore the relationship between BPV and renal prognosis and major cardiovascular events.ResultsThe mean age was 42.07 ± 12.66 years, with 141 males (57.55%). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that high BMI (OR 1.110, P = 0.017), hyperkalemia (OR 2.227, P = 0.040), increased left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (OR 1.103, P = 0.010) and hypertension (OR 2.525, P = 0.002) were independent risk factors for high BPV. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that renal and cardiovascular outcomes were better in the low BPV group than in the high BPV group (P = 0.006; P = 0.002). After adjusting for age, sex and traditional kidney related risk factors, BPV were not independently associated with renal outcomes. High BPV (HR 4.662, P = 0.017) was the main independent risk factor for major cardiovascular events in CKD.ConclusionsIn non-dialysis CKD, short-term BPV was associated with major cardiovascular disease but not renal progression. BMI, hypertension, potassium balance, and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter influenced short-term BPV.