Echocardiographic parameters as predictors of three-months mortality in patients with 2019 Coronavirus infection

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 is a systemic entity, where cardiac involvement has been described. The echocardiogram is a diagnostic tool that describes myocardial damage with good certainty. Objectives Determine which echocardiographic parameters are predictors of mortality. Analyze if there is a difference in clinical, laboratory and echocardiographic variables in terms of patients who died versus those who survived. Investigate the cut-off point of the echocardiographic parameters that is best associated with mortality. Methods Prospective, analytical, comparative study. Patients admitted to the hospital with Coronavirus 2019 infection. Clinical, laboratory and echocardiographic variables will be assessed. The association with three-month mortality of the different variables will be determined. We used ROC-curves for the best cut-off associated with mortality. The association with three-month mortality was analized using Cox regression, unadjusted analysis of the variables was performed, as well as adjusted analysis for age and gender. Results 84 patients were included, a mortality of 29% was documented. Significant differences were found in the left atrial volumen index, the E/e', the proportion of dilatation of the right ventricle and diastolic dysfunction. Tricuspid annulus anterior systolic excursion (TAPSE), pulmonary artery acceleration time (PAA), tricuspid regurgitation velocity (TRV), pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP), left ventricular longitudinal strain (LVGLS), of the left atrium (LAGLS) and the right ventricular free wall longitudinal strain (RVFWLS). Right ventricular dilation, right ventricular shortening fraction, TAPSE, PASP, TRV, LVGLS, LAGLS, and RVFWLS were associated with mortality. Conclusion Right ventricular dilation, right ventricular shortening fraction, TAPSE, PASP, TRV, LVGLS, LAGLS, and RVFWLS are the echocardiographic parameters that were associated with three-month mortality. FUNDunding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None. Table 2

One clot after another in COVID-19 patient: diagnostic utility of handheld echocardiogram

ABSTRACT A 63-year-old woman was admitted with severe respiratory distress requiring mechanical ventilation and shock requiring vasopressor support. She was found to have COVID-19 pneumonia. Focused cardiac ultrasound performed for evaluation of shock was significant for right ventricular dilation and dysfunction with signs of right ventricular pressure overload. Given worsening shock and hypoxemia systemic thrombolysis was administered for presumed massive pulmonary embolism with remarkable improvement of hemodynamics and respiratory failure. In next 24 h patient’s neurologic status deteriorated to the point of unresponsiveness. Emergent computed tomography showed multiple ischemic infarcts concerning for embolic etiology. Focused cardiac ultrasound with agitated saline showed large right to left shunt due to a patent foramen ovale. This was confirmed by transesophageal echocardiogram, 5 months later. This case highlights strengths of focused cardiac ultrasound in critical care setting and in patients with COVID-19 when access to other imaging modalities can be limited.

Pulmonary hypertension and mitral regurgitation in an infant with an anatomically normal mitral valve

A full-term, female presented on her date of birth with severe pulmonary hypertension (PH) and mitral regurgitation (MR), requiring veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. After the treatment, her PH and MR were resolved with no anatomic abnormality present. We propose a positive feedback loop of PH causing right ventricular dilation and interventricular septal shifts, worsening MR, and elevated left atrial, and potentially pulmonary, pressures.

Role of echocardiography in screening and evaluation of athletes

The term athlete’s heart describes structural, functional and electrical adaptations of the cardiovascular system due to repetitive intense exercise. Physiological cardiac adaptations in athletes, however, may mimic features of cardiac diseases and therefore make it difficult to distinguish physiological adaptions from disease. Furthermore, regular exercise may also lead to pathological adaptions that can promote or worsen cardiac disease (eg, atrial dilation/atrial fibrillation, aortic dilation/aortic dissection and rhythm disorders). Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a major concern in sports cardiology, and preparticipation screening (PPS) has demonstrated to be effective in identifying athletes at risk for SCD. In Europe, PPS is advocated to include personal and family history, physical examination and ECG, with further workup including echocardiography only if the initial screening investigations show abnormal findings. We review the current available evidence for echocardiography as a screening tool for conditions associated with SCD in recreational and professional athletes and advocate to include screening echocardiography to be performed at least twice in an athlete’s career. We recommend that the first echocardiography is performed during adolescence to rule out structural heart conditions associated with SCD that cannot be detected by ECG, especially mitral valve prolapse, coronary artery anomalies, bicuspid aortic valve and dilatation of the aorta. A second echocardiography could be performed from the age of 30–35 years, when athletes age and become master athletes, to especially evaluate pathological cardiac remodelling to exercise (eg, atrial and/or right ventricular dilation), late onset cardiomyopathies and wall motion abnormalities due to myocarditis or coronary artery disease.