Perinatal and cardiac outcomes of women with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Cardiovascular evaluation of pregnant women with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND

The effect of physiological circulatory changes during pregnancy on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) has been reported with limited data. This study aimed to provide information regarding outcomes of pregnant women with HCM and to identify predictors of major adverse cardiac event (MACE).

METHODS

A total of 45 pregnancies with HCM were retrospectively reviewed. The primary endpoint was a MACE that occurred within an 8‑week period after delivery, including maternal death, heart failure (HF), syncope, and malignant ventricular arrhythmias (VAs). Baseline and outcome data were analyzed for all patients. Patients with and without MACE were compared, and patients with obstructive HCM were compared with those who had non-obstructive HCM. The study population was divided into two subgroups of patients having or not having an implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation (ICD).

RESULTS

At least one MACE occurred in 11 patients (24.4%); six patients developed HF (13.3%), six had a ventricular tachyarrhythmia (13.3%), and two had syncope (4.4%). New York Heart Association functional class of ≥ II, presence of HF signs before pregnancy, increased left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) gradient were significantly associated with MACE. Fatal VAs were seen during pregnancy in one of five HCM patients with ICD. In the ROC curve analysis, an LVOT gradient higher than 53.5 mm Hg predicted the presence of MACE with a sensitivity of 90.9% and a specificity of 73.5%. This study is the largest series in the literature representing pregnant women who had HCM and ICD.

CONCLUSION

The current data suggest that HF and high LVOT gradients are important risk factors for the development of cardiac complications.

Deep Learning-Based Electrocardiograph in Evaluating Radiofrequency Ablation for Rapid Arrhythmia

This study is aimed at analyzing the important role of deep learning-based electrocardiograph (ECG) in the efficacy evaluation of radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of tachyarrhythmia. In this study, 158 patients with rapid arrhythmia treated by radiofrequency ablation were divided into effective treatment group (142 cases) and ineffective treatment group (16 cases). ECG examination was performed on all patients, and the indicators of ECG examination were quantified by the deep learning-based convolutional neural network model. The indicators of ECG examination of the effective treatment group and the ineffective treatment group were compared. The results showed that compared with the ineffective treatment group, the end-systolic volume (ESV), end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume index (ESVI), and end-diastolic volume index (EDVI) of the effective treatment group were significantly decreased, and the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was significantly increased (P < 0.05). After radiofrequency ablation, the ventricular rate of patients in the effective treatment group was significantly lower than that of the ineffective treatment group at 12 h and 24 h after treatment (P < 0.05). In addition, compared with patients in the ineffective treatment group, the QT dispersion of the ECG in the effective treatment group was significantly higher (P < 0.05). The accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity of ECG in evaluating the therapeutic effect of patients with tachyarrhythmia were 86.81%, 84.29%, and 77.27%, respectively. The area under the curve was determined as 0.798 according to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of the subjects. In summary, indicators of ECG examination based on deep learning can provide auxiliary reference information for the efficacy evaluation of radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of tachyarrhythmia.

Autonomic Responses during Labor: Potential Implications for Takotsubo Syndrome

Takotsubo syndrome is a serious complication of labor. Although the pathophysiologic role of excessive sympathetic activation is established in this process, concurrent vagal responses have not been adequately described. Moreover, it remains unclear whether autonomic activity depends on the mode of delivery. Here, we explored the hypothesis that the different management of cesarean and vaginal delivery may elicit diverse responses affecting both autonomic arms. For this aim, continuous electrocardiographic recording was performed in 20 women during labor, and non-invasive indices of sympathetic and vagal activity were compared between the two modes of delivery. We report sympathetic prevalence during cesarean delivery, caused by marked vagal withdrawal, whereas autonomic activity was rather stable during vaginal delivery. These differences may be attributed to the effects of anesthesia during cesarean delivery, along with the protective effects of oxytocin administration during vaginal delivery. Our results provide further insights on autonomic responses during labor that may prove useful in the prevention of complications, such as takotsubo syndrome.