International journal of cardiology
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Postoperative atrial fibrillation (PoAF) is a common complication after cardiac surgery. A pre-existing atrial substrate appears to be important in postoperative development of dysrhythmia, but its preoperative estimation is challenging. We tested the hypothesis that a combination of clinical predictors, noninvasive surrogate markers for atrial fibrosis defining abnormal left atrial (LA) mechanics, and biomarkers of collagen turnover is superior to clinical predictors alone in identifying patients at-risk for PoAF. ⋯ In patients without a previous history of AF, using age and biomarkers of collagen synthesis and regulation, a noninvasive tool was developed to identify those at risk for new-onset PoAF.
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Regional and global longitudinal strain (RLS-GLS) are considered reliable indexes of myocardial viability in chronic ischemic patients and prediction of left ventricular (LV) functional recovery after acute myocardial infarction (MI) with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). We tested in the present study whether RLS and GLS could also identify transmural extent of myocardial scar and predict LV functional recovery and remodeling in patients with reduced LVEF after acute MI. ⋯ In patients with reduced LVEF after acute MI, RLS and GLS allow: (1) identification of transmural extent of myocardial scar and (2) predict LV global functional recovery and remodeling at 8-month follow-up.