Introduction Since its establishment 25 years ago, the "Club 30" of the Polish Cardiac Society has gathered young Polish scientists with meaningful achievements in cardiology. 1 The "Club 30" Scientific Platform has been created to facilitate initiation of and participation in multicenter studies among its users, and to promote integration of scientific community. 2 Multicenter cooperation, empowered by the platform, results in an increase in the number of enrolled patients and, consequently, enhances research quality and chances for publication in high-profile journals. In patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFl), oral anticoagulation (OAC) reduces

Background Biomarkers of left atrial (LA) overload are considered factors affecting the efficacy of atrial fibrillation (AF) treatment. Increasing obesity rates contribute to a growing number of obese patients qualified for electrical cardioversion (CVE). aims The aim of the study was to evaluate serum concentrations of biomarkers of LA overload and their impact on the efficacy of CVE. methods A total of 82 patients with persistent AF who underwent successful CVE were prospectively enrolled in the study. The study population was divided into the obese group (OG) and the nonobese group (NOG). The serum levels of the following biomarkers were measured on the day of admission and at follow -up: high -sensitivity C -reactive protein (hs-CRP), N -terminal pro -B-type natriuretic peptide, copeptin, galectin 3, growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15), and renalase. results Baseline and follow -up hs-CRP levels were increased in the OG compared with the NOG. Four -week CVE efficacy was 38.8% in the OG and 60.6% in the NOG. Time of the observation, allocation to the groups, and CVE outcomes showed no associations with most LA biomarkers during follow-up. Baseline concentrations of 2 biomarkers of LA overload were associated with clinical characteristics of the study group, that is, log 10 serum GDF-15 and log 10 serum renalase levels correlated positively with the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score. conclusions Although obesity modifies the long -term efficacy of CVE, the OG and NOG did not differ significantly in most biomarkers of LA overload, except hs-CRP. The efficacy of CVE seems to be independent of the levels of biomarkers. A favorable procedure outcome did not affect their blood concentrations.

The presence of AS with preserved EF did not change the adipokine serum profile. Adipokines levels were modified by coexisting atherosclerosis but not the typical cardiovascular risk factors or the hemodynamic type of AS.

AimsThe aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of left atrial thrombus (LAT) on transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) in patients with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter (AF/AFl) with reference to the presence of heart failure (HF) and its subtypes. Methods and resultsThe research is a sub-study of the multicentre, prospective, observational Left Atrial Thrombus on Transoesophageal Echocardiography (LATTEE) registry, which comprised 3109 consecutive patients with AF/AFl undergoing TOE prior to direct current cardioversion or catheter ablation. TOE parameters, including presence of LAT, were compared between patients with and without HF and across different subtypes of HF, including HF with preserved (HFpEF), mid-range (HFmrEF), and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). HF was diagnosed in 1336 patients (43%). HF patients had higher prevalence of LAT than non-HF patients (12.8% vs. 4.4%; P < 0.001). LAT presence increased with more advanced type of systolic dysfunction (HFpEF vs. HFmrEF vs. HFrEF: 7.4% vs. 10.5% vs. 20.3%; P < 0.001). Univariate analysis revealed that HFrEF (odds ratio [OR] 4.13; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 3.13-5.46), but not HFmrEF or HFpEF, was associated with the presence of LAT. Multivariable logistic regression indicated that lower left ventricular ejection fraction (OR per 1%: 0.94; 95% CI 0.93-0.95) was an independent predictor of LAT formation. Receiver operator characteristic analysis showed LVEF ≤48% adequately predicted increased risk of LAT presence (area under the curve [AUC] 0.74; P < 0.0001). ConclusionThe diagnosis of HFrEF, but neither HFmrEF nor HFpEF, confers a considerable risk of LAT presence despite widespread utilization of adequate anticoagulation.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disease with a serious prognosis. The aim of this study was to identify biomarkers for PAH in the breath phase and to prepare an automatic classification method to determine the changing metabolome trends and molecular mapping. A group of 37 patients (F/M: 8/29 women, mean age 60.4 ± 10.9 years, BMI 27.6 ± 6.0 kg/m2) with diagnosed PAH were enrolled in the study. The breath phase of all the patients was collected on a highly porous septic material using a special patented holder PL230578, OHIM 002890789-0001. The collected air was then examined with gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The algorithms of Spectral Clustering, KMeans, DBSCAN, and hierarchical clustering methods were used to perform the cluster analysis. The identification of the changes in the ratio of the whole spectra of biomarkers allowed us to obtain a multidimensional pathway for PAH characteristics and showed the metabolome differences in the four subgroups divided by the cluster analysis. The use of GC/MS, supported with novel porous polymeric materials, for the breath phase analysis seems to be a useful tool in selecting bio-fingerprints in patients with PAH. The four metabolome classes which were obtained constitute novel data in the PAH population.