CVIA Journal

I have always thought that patients with cardiac disease are somewhat depressed or anxious about
their lives. Thus, I thought it worthwhile to express my views on the value of “Cardiac Rehabilitation” on patients who are depressed or anxious. I like the definition of Depression proposed by Medicine Net.
They define Depression as “An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the
way a person eats, sleeps, feels about himself or herself, and thinks about things”.
As a clinical cardiologist taking care of patients with acute and chronic cardiovascular disease, I get
the impression that all or at least, most of my patients with myocardial ischemia, i.e. stable ischemic heart
disease, unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction, or heart failure of any etiology have some form
of a psychiatric condition, e.g. depression or anxiety that relates to a concern about their ability to
function in society as they did in the past.

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C. Richard Conti, MD, MACC, Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA

When thinking about this topic, two areas of concern come easily to mind. One is the notion that cardiovascular trainees have about guidelines and their application to all patients. The second area of concern is their belief that conferences that utilize board review questions are the best way to pass the
certification examination (ABIM).

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This issue brings together important research papers from leading cardiologists in US and China in a combination of reviews, original research and case reports.

Three important papers in the issue are highlighted below.

Nikhil H. Shah, Steven J. Ross, Steve A. Noutong Njapo, Justin Merritt, Andrew Kolarich, Michael Kaufmann, William M. Miles, David E. Winchester, Thomas A. Burkart and Matthew McKillop

Better Than You Think—Appropriate Use of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators at a Single Academic Center: A Retrospective Review (DOI: 10.15212/CVIA.2021.0005)

In this important review paper, the authors study the use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) which can be life-saving devices, although they are expensive and may cause complications. In 2013, several professional societies published joint appropriate use criteria (AUC) assessing indications for ICD implantation. Data evaluating the clinical application of AUC are limited. Previous registry-based studies estimated that 22.5% of primary prevention ICD implantations were “non-evidence-based” implantations. On the basis of AUC, the authors aimed to determine the prevalence of “rarely appropriate” ICD implantation at their institution for comparison with previous estimates.

286 patients who underwent ICD implantation between 2013 and 2016 were reviewed. Appropriateness of each ICD implantation was assessed by independent review and rated on the basis of AUC.  Of 286 ICD implantations, two independent reviewers found that 89.5% and 89.2%, respectively, were appropriate, 5.6% and 7.3% may be appropriate, and 1.8% and 2.1% were rarely appropriate. No AUC indication was found for 3.5% and 3.4% of ICD implantations, respectively. Secondary prevention ICD implantations were more likely rarely appropriate or unrated. The reviewers found 3.5% and 3.4% of ICD implantations, respectively, were non-evidence-based implantations. The authors conclude that compared with prior reports, the prevalence of rarely appropriate ICD implantation was very low. The high appropriate use rate could be explained by the fact that AUC are based on current clinical practice. The AUC could benefit from additional secondary prevention indications. Most importantly, the authors insist that clinical judgement and individualized care should determine which patients receive ICDs irrespective of guidelines or criteria.

Zeyi Cheng, Miaomiao Qi, Chengyuan Zhang and Yanxia Mao

Myocardial Fibrosis in the Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (DOI: 10.15212/CVIA.2021.0008)

In this important research paper, the authors consider hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). This is a type of hereditary cardiomyopathy caused by gene mutation. Its histological features include cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and disarray as well as myocardial fibrosis. Gene mutation, abnormal

signal transduction, and abnormal energy metabolism are considered the main mechanisms of myocardial fibrosis. There is a strong correlation between myocardial fibrosis and the occurrence, development, and prognosis of HCM. The authors review the application of myocardial fibrosis in the diagnosis and treatment of HCM, focusing on research progress and the application of magnetic resonance imaging on the basis of the characteristics of fibrosis in the diagnosis and prognosis of HCM.

Lei Zhang, Tiewei Lv, Xiaoyan Liu, Chuan Feng, Min Zheng, Jie Tian and Huichao Sun

A Case of Pediatric Heart Failure Caused by Anomalous Origin of the Left Coronary Artery from

the Pulmonary Artery: Case Report and Literature Review (DOI 10.15212/CVIA.2019.0585)

This case report studies a case where the patient received a diagnosis of anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA), which is an extremely rare congenital heart defect that can cause severe heart failure during infancy, and is easily misdiagnosed

clinically. In this report, the authors show the process of misdiagnosis of the case and consult the relevant literature, hoping to improve the understanding and early diagnosis of ALCAPA.

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Professor Sandeep Nathan, MD, Director CICU/Co-Director Cardiac Cath Lab, UChicago Medicine, attended Tianjin Chest Hospital, Tianjin, China on 11th October 2019 to deliver a symposium to staff on advanced PCI.

Professor Nathan, a highly skilled cardiologist, specializes in interventional cardiovascular procedures; with vast experience of a wide range of coronary and peripheral vascular procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, including balloon angioplasty, stenting, atherectomy, thrombectomy and intravascular ultrasound imaging; in addition to his extensive clinical trial principal investigator/co-investigator experience.

Dr Guo Zhigang, Administrator, and Dr Liu Yin, Director, CCU Department, Tianjin Chest Hospital, were delighted to welcome Professor Nathan to the facility, and to have his insight on several case studies. Professor Nathan exchanged ideas on interventional strategies of 3 CHIP patients with Dr. Liu’s team and observed on various procedures.

Information and insights were exchanged on processes at Tianjin Chest Hospital, while Professor Nathan shared best practice management procedures from his department at UChicago Medicine; outlined optimal strategies for interventional therapy for critical coronary lesions and presented examples of cases of complicated coronary intervention. Dr Bai Miaona and Dr Liu Jingyu, CCU Department, Tianjin Chest Hospital, reported on several research projects and case studies from their departments at the hospital.

Such an international collaboration greatly benefited everyone in attendance. Tianjin Chest Hospital is a national coronary intervention training base and has established regular such academic exchange events with internationally renowned cardiologists and other related experts. It has far-reaching significance for improving the professional level of cardiovascular doctors in Tianjin Chest Hospital and for training early career doctors.

28th Great Wall International Congress of Cardiology (GW-ICC), 2017, News: Establishment of China Heart Society (CHS)

Society website: www.chs2030.org

Education Website: http://www.heartonline.cn

The China Heart Society (CHS) was established on October 13^th, 2017 at the 28^th GW-ICC, Beijing, China. Professor Ma Changsheng, the first director of CHS (also Founding Editor of Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications (CVIA)); Professor Zhang Jian, current President of CHS; Academician Chen Yihan, the president designate of CHS; and Prof. Wu Yongjian, the Executive Director of the Board, attended a press conference on the occasion of the society launch to outline the background, purpose, mission and innovative features of the new CHS society.

26th GW-ICC 2015 congress in Beijing, China: Professor C. Richard Conti, Editor-in-Chief, and Professor Hu Dayi, Founding Editor, of Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications (CVIA) discuss the need for an English language journal focusing on Chinese cardiology practice and how CVIA fills the gap. CVIA was founded on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the GW-ICC in 2014, with the first issue publishing to coincide with the 26th GW-ICC meeting in October 2015 in Beijing, China. The GW-ICC is one of the largest congresses in the Asian-Pacific region and is the most comprehensive and influential academic conference on cardiology. Held as a regular annual conference since 1990, GW-ICC has provided a platform for continuing education in cardiovascular disease diagnosis, treatment, and technology training, through events that leverage the expertise of internationally renowned cardiologists and scholars from the United States, Europe and Asia.

We are delighted to announce that Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications (CVIA) is now indexed by the Directory of Open Access Journals.

The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a service that indexes high quality, peer reviewed, open access research journals, periodicals and their articles’ metadata. It aims to be comprehensive and cover all open access academic journals that use appropriate quality control systems without being limited to particular languages or subject areas. It aims to increase the exposure and ease of use of open access academic journals thereby promoting their visibility, usage and impact.

A Welcome to New Editorial Board Members

I am very happy to announce that the following five distinguished colleagues have agreed to serve in the Editorial Board of Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications:

Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Jeroen J. Bax

Jeroen J. Bax is Director of non-invasive imaging and Director of the echo-lab at the Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands. His main interests include clinical cardiology, heart failure, cardiac resynchronization therapy and the application of all different imaging modalities to these clinical fields. Professor Bax is President of the European Society of Cardiology Board 2016-2018.

Congenital Heart Disease

Diego Moguillansky

Diego Moguillansky is Assistant Professor at the Congenital Heart Center, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA. His primary interests are adult congenital heart disease, and transition of care from pediatrics to adulthood in patients with cardiovascular disease.

Interventional Cardiology

Deepak L. Bhatt

Deepak L. Bhatt is Executive Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital Heart & Vascular Center and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Professor Bhatt specializes in cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology.

Antonio Colombo

Antonio Colombo is Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at EMO GVM Centro Cuore Columbus and Chief of Invasive Cardiology at San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy. He is a leading innovator and pioneer in interventional cardiology and has contributed significantly to today’s use of coronary stents and defined the role of intravascular ultrasound in this setting.

Thrombosis

Freek W.A. Verheugt

Freek Verheugt is Professor of Cardiology at the Heart-Lung Centre of the University Medical Centre of Nijmegen and Chairman of the Department of Cardiology at Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  His main interests are pharmacological and interventional treatments of acute coronary syndromes and atrial fibrillation.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our board members for their dedication to the journal and I look forward very much to working with them for many years to come.

Richard Conti

Editor-in-Chief

Join us in Beijing

– Become a GW-ICC congress delegate today!

The 28th Great Wall International Congress of Cardiology will be held in Beijing from October 12 – 15th 2017. The venue is the China National Convention Centre (CNCC), Beijing, China

Early bird registration: May 1st – August 20th, 2017

For more information:  http://gw-icc2017.org/

Email: secretariat@cardiounion.cn