A transfemoral (Tf) approach currently represents the access of choice in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for severe aortic valve stenosis (AVS) [ 1 , 2 ]. Although continuous device iterations, increasing …

Permanent right ventricular pacing (RVP) is recommended by international guidelines for treating bradyarrhythmia due to its association with improved clinical outcomes [ 1 ]. However, chronic RVP can lead to electrical and mechanical dyssynchrony …

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major public health challenge, also due to its association with the development of heart failure (HF), a condition characterized by high mortality, frequent hospitalizations, and extensive utilization of …

Quantification of cardiac dimensions in diastole and systole is fundamental to detect cardiac diseases such as heart failure and cardiac hypertrophy. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) remains the most established cardiac imaging method owing to …

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become an established treatment strategy for severe aortic stenosis in high-risk patients [ 1 ], and has significantly increased among younger and lower risk patients [ 2 , 3 ]. Therefore, long-term …

Oral anticoagulation (OAC) is effective for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) but carries a risk of major bleeding, including intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). ICH is associated with a high recurrence rate and devastating …

Heart failure (HF) is a complex clinical syndrome with an increasing lifetime risk related to demographic changes. By now, HF affects up to 4% of the general population [ 1 , 2 ] with a corresponding 1-year mortality rate of 8% and tremendous 5 …

Aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common acquired heart valve disease in the Western world [ 1 ]. When symptomatic, the 2-year mortality rate of severe AS is around 50% [ 2 ]. Over the last decade, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has …

Congenital pericardial defects (CPDs) are rare congenital abnormalities characterized by the complete or partial absence of the pericardium. They are often asymptomatic and discovered incidentally through imaging. Some individuals can experience …

Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) are well-established non-invasive modalities for the diagnostic workup of patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease (CAD) [ 1 , 2 ]. Recent …

Significant tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is a condition of recognized importance due to its high prevalence and its association with elevated morbidity and mortality [ 1 , 2 ]. One of the major challenges in understanding TR is its etiological …

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death in Germany [ 1 ] for both women and men (2020: 86 and 179 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants) [ 2 ]. To reduce this high mortality rate, appropriate management is important. National and …

Heart failure (HF) secondary to tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy (TIC) is a type of dilated cardiomyopathy characterized by left ventricular (LV) dilation and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) due to tachyarrhythmias. These …

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common supraventricular arrhythmia and one of the leading causes of stroke and systemic thromboembolic events [ 1 ]. The left atrial appendage (LAA) is recognized as the primary site of thrombus formation [ 2 ].

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and mitral regurgitation (MR) are two highly prevalent conditions in industrialized nations, affecting 9% and 19% of the population, respectively, with particularly high rates among the elderly [ 1 , 2 ].

With an estimated population-wide prevalence of 0.5%, and prevalences of 2–9% in populations aged over 75 years [ 1 ], aortic valve stenosis (AVS) constitutes the most common acquired cardiac valve dysfunction and is understood to be the …

Over the past years, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) was set up as a standard treatment for older patients or patients with increased operative risk [ 1 , 2 ].

During the initial years following its adoption in clinical practice, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) was perceived as a highly complex procedure, with periprocedural management resembling surgical interventions rather than …

Catheter ablation (CA) has been shown to represent an effective treatment option of sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) in structural heart disease (SHD), irrespective of ischemic (ICM) or non-ischemic (NICM) origin [ 1 , 2 ]. VT ablation can …