When treated medically, mitral regurgitation due to flail leaflet is associated with excess mortality and high morbidity. Surgery is almost unavoidable within 10 years after the diagnosis and appears to be associated with an improved prognosis; this finding suggests that surgery should be considered early in the course of the disease.

Background and Purpose: The aim of these experiments was to evaluate the significance of the chemical reaction between hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S) and nitric oxide (NO) for the control of vascular tone. Experimental Approach: The effect of sodium hydrosulphide (NaHS; H 2 S donor) and a range of NO donors, such as sodium nitroprusside (SNP), either alone or together, was determined using phenylephrine (PE)-precontracted rat aortic rings and on the blood pressure of anaesthetised rats. Key Results: Mixing NaHS with NO donors inhibited the vasorelaxant effect of NO both in vitro and in vivo. Low concentrations of NaHS or H 2 S gas in solution reversed the relaxant effect of acetylcholine (ACh, 400 nM) and histamine (100 mM) but not isoprenaline (400 nM). The effect of NaHS on the ACh response was antagonized by CuSO 4 (200 nM) but was unaffected by glibenclamide (10 mM). In contrast, high concentrations of NaHS (200-1600 mM) relaxed aortic rings directly, an effect reduced by glibenclamide but unaffected by CuSO 4 . Intravenous infusion of a low concentration of NaHS (10 mmol kg -1 min -1 ) into the anaesthetized rat significantly increased mean arterial blood pressure. L-NAME (25 mg kg -1 , i.v.) pretreatment reduced this effect. Conclusions and Implications: These results suggest that H 2 S and NO react together to form a molecule (possibly a nitrosothiol) which exhibits little or no vasorelaxant activity either in vitro or in vivo. We propose that a crucial, and hitherto unappreciated, role of H 2 S in the vascular system is the regulation of the availability of NO.

In patients with degenerative MR in sinus rhythm at diagnosis, the incidence of AF occurring under conservative management is high and similar whether the cause of MR is flail leaflet or simple MVP. After onset of AF, an increased cardiac mortality and morbidity are both observed under conservative management. The risk of AF increases with advancing age and larger LA dimension. These data suggest that the clinical management of MR should take into account the high incidence, excess risk, and predictors of AF.

The evolving profile of CP, with increasingly older patients and those with radiation-induced disease in the past decade, significantly affects postoperative prognosis. Long-term results of pericardiectomy are disappointing for some patient groups, especially those with radiation-induced CP. By contrast, surgery alleviates or improves symptoms in the majority of late survivors.

NCT01633398.

Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ACTRN12610000374066).

Background-Constrictive pericarditis is a potentially reversible cause of heart failure that may be difficult to differentiate from restrictive myocardial disease and severe tricuspid regurgitation. Echocardiography provides an important opportunity to evaluate for constrictive pericarditis, and definite diagnostic criteria are needed. Methods and Results-Patients with surgically confirmed constrictive pericarditis (n=130) at Mayo Clinic (2008)(2009)(2010) were compared with patients (n=36) diagnosed with restrictive myocardial disease or severe tricuspid regurgitation after constrictive pericarditis was considered but ruled out. Comprehensive echocardiograms were reviewed in blinded fashion. Five principal echocardiographic variables were selected based on prior studies and potential for clinical use: (1) respiration-related ventricular septal shift, (2) variation in mitral inflow E velocity, (3) medial mitral annular e' velocity, (4) ratio of medial mitral annular e' to lateral e', and (5) hepatic vein expiratory diastolic reversal ratio. All 5 principal variables differed significantly between the groups. In patients with atrial fibrillation or flutter (n=29), all but mitral inflow velocity remained significantly different. Three variables were independently associated with constrictive pericarditis:(1) ventricular septal shift, (2) medial mitral e', and (3) hepatic vein expiratory diastolic reversal ratio. The presence of ventricular septal shift in combination with either medial e'≥9 cm/s or hepatic vein expiratory diastolic reversal ratio ≥0.79 corresponded to a desirable combination of sensitivity (87%) and specificity (91%). The specificity increased to 97% when all 3 factors were present, but the sensitivity decreased to 64%. Conclusions-Echocardiography allows differentiation of constrictive pericarditis from restrictive myocardial disease and severe tricuspid regurgitation. Respiration-related ventricular septal shift, preserved or increased medial mitral annular e' velocity, and prominent hepatic vein expiratory diastolic flow reversals are independently associated with the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis. (Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. 2014;7:526-534.)

AimsGrowth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15), ST2, high-sensitivity troponin T (hsTnT), and N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are biomarkers of distinct mechanisms that may contribute to the pathophysiology of heart failure (HF) [inflammation (GDF15); ventricular remodelling (ST2); myonecrosis (hsTnT); and wall stress (NT-proBNP)]. Methods and resultsWe compared circulating levels of GDF15, ST2, hsTnT, and NT-proBNP, as well as their combinations, in compensated patients with clinical HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFREF) (n ¼ 51), HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) (n¼ 50), and community-based controls (n ¼ 50). Compared with controls, patients with HFPEF and HFREF had higher median levels of GDF15 (540 pg/mL vs. 2529 and 2672 pg/mL, respectively), hsTnT (3.7 pg/mL vs. 23.7 and 35.6 pg/mL), and NT-proBNP (69 pg/mL vs. 942 and 2562 pg/mL), but not ST2 (27.6 ng/mL vs. 31.5 and 35.3 ng/mL), adjusting for clinical covariates. In receiver operating characteristic curve analyses, NT-proBNP distinguished HFREF from controls with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.987 (P , 0.001); GDF15 distinguished HFPEF from controls with an AUC of 0.936 (P , 0.001); and the combination of NT-proBNP and GDF15 distinguished HFPEF from controls with an AUC of 0.956 (P , 0.001). NT-proBNP and hsTnT levels were higher in HFREF than in HFPEF (adjusted P , 0.04). The NT-proBNP:GDF15 ratio distinguished between HFPEF and HFREF with the largest AUC (0.709; P , 0.001). ConclusionsOur study provides comparative data on physiologically distinct circulating biomarkers in HFPEF, HFREF, and controls from the same community. These data suggest a prominent role for myocardial injury (hsTnT) with increased wall stress (NT-proBNP) in HFREF, and systemic inflammation (GDF15) in HFPEF.Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction † ST2 † Growth differentiation factor 15 † High-sensitivity troponin T † N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide † These authors contributed equally to the study.