Abstract Background Heart failure (HF) is a disease associated with an important type of morbidity and mortality. The electrocardiogram (ECG), one of the tests used to evaluate HF, is low-cost and widely available. Objective To evaluate the performance of an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm applied to ECG to detect HF and compare it with the predictive power of major electrocardiographic alterations (MEA). Methods This work is a diagnostic accuracy cross-sectional study. All participants were from the Longitudinal Study of Adult […]

Abstract Background The degree of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is an independent risk factor for poor outcomes in patients with chronic coronary syndrome. Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) is the standard care for the management of ischemic heart failure to improve symptoms and prognosis. However, the predictors of improvement are still uncertain. Objective To assess the effect of myocardial revascularization on LV function and symptoms in patients with CCS and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), as well as to […]

Abstract Background: Cardiac surgery patients may be exposed to tissue hypoperfusion and anaerobic metabolism. Objective: To verify whether the biomarkers of tissue hypoperfusion have predictive value for prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay in patients with left ventricular dysfunction who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. Methods: After approval by the institution’s Ethics Committee and the signing of informed consent, 87 patients with left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction < 50%) undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery were enrolled. Hemodynamic and metabolic biomarkers […]

Research Letter A 48-year-old-man presented to the emergency room with abdominal pain and vomiting of 12-hour duration. He had a history of porto-splenic venous thrombosis ten years before admission that was treated with 6 months of oral anticoagulation and felt to be due to moderate protein C deficiency, which was not confirmed in subsequent laboratory tests. Vital signs were normal, he was afebrile and no remarkable findings were found on physical examination except for pain on palpation in the left […]

Introduction Here we report a challenging case of a rare systemic condition – immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) – that presented with a rare cardiovascular manifestation. Aortitis due to IgG4-RD is well-documented in the literature, but rarely has it been related to the involvement of the coronary arterial tree. We documented IgG4-RD with diffuse coronary periarteritis, presenting as acute heart failure in this particular case. Despite the initial severity, multidisciplinary teamwork was the key to expeditious diagnosis and initiating tailored life-saving […]

Abstract Background The right ventricular hypertrophy and dilation observed in pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) damages the left ventricle (LV) dynamics by flattening the interventricular septum. Objective To investigate whether low- to moderate-intensity resistance exercise training (RT) is beneficial to LV and cardiomyocyte contractile functions in rats during the development of monocrotaline (MCT)-induced PAH. Methods Male Wistar rats (Body weight: ~ 200 g) were used. To assess the time to potential heart failure onset (i.e., end point), rats were divided into […]

Abstract Background Chagas heart disease (CHD) is a slow progressing condition with fibrosis as the main histopathological finding. Objectives To study if cardiac fibrosis increases over time and correlates with increase in left ventricular (LV) size and reduction of ejection fraction (EF) in chronic CHD. Methods Retrospective study that included 20 individuals (50% men; 60±10 years) with chronic CHD who underwent two cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with late gadolinium enhancement with a minimum interval of four years between tests. […]