Cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading global causes of morbidity and mortality, posing considerable health and economic burden on patients and medical systems worldwide. This phenomenon is attributed to two main motives: poor regeneration capacity of adult cardiac tissues and insufficient therapeutic options. Thus, the context calls for upgrading treatments to deliver better outcomes. In this respect, recent research has approached the topic from an interdisciplinary perspective. Combining the advances encountered in chemistry, biology, material science, medicine, and nanotechnology, performant biomaterial-based structures have been created to carry different cells and bioactive molecules for repairing and restoring heart tissues. In this regard, this paper aims to present the advantages of biomaterial-based approaches for cardiac tissue engineering and regeneration, focusing on four main strategies: cardiac patches, injectable hydrogels, extracellular vesicles, and scaffolds and reviewing the most recent developments in these fields.

(1) Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). (2) Methods: The aim was to identify the incidence, severity, and risk factors for AKI during the first 100 days after allo-HSCT; we performed a prospective observational study on 135 consecutive patients. (3) Results: The mean age was 38.3 ± 11.9 years (50.6% females), AKI developed in 93 patients (68.9%), the median time of appearance was 28 days, and the mean serum creatinine at the time of AKI was 1.8 ± 0.8 mg/dL. A total of 36 (38.7%) patients developed stage 1 AKI, 33 (35.5%) patients developed stage 2, and 24 (25.8%) patients developed stage 3; eight (8.6%) patients required temporary hemodialysis, and the mortality rate in these patients was 87.5%. Death was twice as frequent in the AKI subgroup, without statistical significance. Cyclosporine overdose (HR = 2.36, 95% CI: 1.45–3.85, p = 0.001), tacrolimus overdose (HR = 4.72, 95% CI: 2.22–10.01, p < 0.001), acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) (HR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.13–3.40, p = 0.01), and CRP level (HR = 1.009, 95% CI: 1.007–1.10, p < 0.001) were independent risk factors for AKI. Sepsis (HR = 5.37, 95% CI: 1.75–16.48, p = 0.003) and sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HR = 5.10, 95% CI: 2.02–12.85, p = 0.001) were found as independent risk factors for AKI stage 3. (4) Conclusions: AKI occurs with high incidence and increased severity after allo-HSCT. Careful monitoring of calcineurin inhibitors and proper management of sepsis may reduce this risk.

Background and Objectives: The prognosis of patients with aortic stenosis (AS) adding pulmonary hypertension (PHT) is worse than in those with normal pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), and there are few results reported for the association between PHT and adverse outcomes of AS. We aimed to determine the predictive factors for the development of PHT in patients with surgical AS and to identify those factors that may predict the surgical prognosis. We aimed to identify the independent predictors for PHT regression at 2 years after surgery. Additionally, we tried to evaluate the involvement of PHT as an additional perioperative risk factor in patients with AS undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR). Materials and Methods: We carried out a two-year prospective study on 340 patients with AS undergoing surgical AVR. Results: The independent predictors for the occurrence of PHT in patients with surgical AS were: age > 75 years (RR = 6, p = 0.001), a restrictive left ventricle diastolic filling pattern (LVDFP) (RR = 9, p = 0.001) and associated moderate mitral regurgitation (MR) (RR = 9, p = 0.0001). The presence of severe PHT increased by 7.6 times the early postoperative risk of death, regardless of the presence of other parameters. The independent predictors for early postoperative mortality were: severe PHT, restrictive left ventricle diastolic pattern, age > 75 years, interventricular septum (IVS) thickness >18 mm and the presence of comorbidities. Conclusions: The presence of a severe PHT in patients with AS undergoing surgical AVR is associated with an early postoperative increased mortality rate. The mean PAP is a more reliable parameter for prognosis appreciation than the LV systolic function.

Background and Objectives: The 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) represented a significant challenge for the medical community. The first aim of this study was to examine the COVID-19 impact on the follow-up of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and to establish the advantages of multiparametric home monitoring. Also, we tried to establish the main prognostic predictors at 2-years follow-up and the value of LV diastolic filling pattern (LVDFP) in increasing mortality and morbidity. Materials and Methods: We conducted a prospective study of 142 patients with DCM assessed by in-patient visit in the pre-pandemic period and hybrid (face-to-face, online consultation and telemedicine home monitoring with a dedicated application) during the pandemic period. The statistical analysis compared the strategy used in the pre-pandemic with management during the pandemic, in terms of clinical assessment, hospitalizations/emergency room visits due to HF exacerbation and total mortality. Results: We did not observe significant changes in blood pressure (BP), heart rate (FC), weight and symptoms or an increased rate of adverse drug events between the two periods. We successfully titrated HF medications with close monitoring of HF decompensations, which were similar in number, but were mostly managed at home during the pandemic. There was also no statistically significant difference in emergency room visits due to severe decompensated HF. Mortality in the first and second year of follow-up was between 12.0 and 13%, similar in the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods, but significantly higher in patients with restrictive LVDFP. Clinical improvement or stability after 2 years was more frequent in patients with nonrestrictive LVDFP. The main prognostic predictors at 1 and 2-years follow-up were: the restrictive LVDFP, significantly dilated LV, comorbidities (DM, COPD), older age, associated severe mitral regurgitation and pulmonary hypertension. Conclusions: The pandemic restrictions determined a marked decrease of the healthcare use, but no significant change in the clinical status of DCM patients under multiparametric home monitoring. At 2-years follow-up, the presence of the restrictive LVDFP was associated with an increased risk of death and with a worse clinical status in DCM patients.

In this study, we tried to compare the efficacy and safety of betaxolol vs. metoprolol immediately postoperatively in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients and to determine whether prophylaxy for atrial fibrillation (AF) with betaxolol could reduce hospitalization and economic costs after cardiac surgery. Our trial was open-label, randomized, multicentric enrolling 1352 coronary surgery patients randomized to receive betaxolol or metoprolol. The primary endpoints were the composites of 30-day mortality, in-hospital AF (safety endpoints), duration of hospitalization and immobilization, quality of life, and the above endpoint plus in-hospital embolic event, bradycardia, gastrointestinal symptoms, sleep disturbances, cold extremities (efficacy plus safety endpoint). At the end of the study the incidence and probability of early postoperative AF with betaxolol was lower than with metoprolol in coronary surgery (P<0.0001). In the two study groups minor side effects were similar and no major complication was reported (P<0.001). Patient compliance was good and the general condition improved due to shortened hospitalization and immobilization with subsequent improvement in the psychological status, less arrhythmias and lack of significant side effects. In conclusion, because of its efficacy and safety, betaxolol was superior to metoprolol for the prevention of the early postoperative AF in coronary surgery.

Background and Objectives: Chronic severe aortic valve disease is associated with important changes in left ventricle (LV) performance associated with eccentric or concentric LV hypertrophy. We aimed to assess the immediate prognostic implications of the type of the LV diastolic filling pattern (LVDFP) compared with LV systolic performance in patients with severe aortic regurgitation (AR) undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR) and to define the independent echographic predictors for the immediate and long-term prognoses. Materials and Methods: We performed a prospective study enrolling 332 AR patients undergoing AVR, divided into two groups: Group A—201 pts with normal LV systolic function, divided into two subgroups (A1: 129 pts with a nonrestrictive LVDFP and A2: 72 pts with restrictive LVDFP), and Group B—131 pts with LV systolic dysfunction (LV ejection fraction LVEF < 50%), divided into two subgroups (B1: 83 pts with a nonrestrictive LVDFP and B2: 48 pts with restrictive LVDFP). Results: The early postoperative mortality rate was higher in patients with a restrictive LVDFP (11.12% in A2 and 12.5% in B2) compared with normal LV filling (2.32% in A1 and 7.63% in B1, p < 0.0001), regardless of the LVEF. The restrictive LVDFP—defined by at least one of the following echographic parameters: an E/A > 2 with an E wave deceleration time (EDt) < 100 ms; an isovolumetric relaxation time (IVRT) < 60 ms; or an S/D ratio < 1 in the pulmonary vein flow—was an independent predictor for early postoperative mortality, increasing the relative risk by 8.2-fold. Other independent factors associated with early poor prognosis were an LV end-systolic diameter (LVESD) > 58 mm, an age > 75 years, and the presence of comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-COPD or diabetes mellitus). On a medium-term, an unfavorable evolution was associated with: an age > 75 years (RR = 8.1), an LV end-systolic volume (LVESV) > 95 cm³ (RR = 6.7), a restrictive LVDFP (RR = 9.8, p < 0.0002), and pulmonary hypertension (RR = 8.2). Conclusions: The presence of a restrictive LVDFP in patients with AR undergoing AVR is associated with both increased early and medium-term mortality rates. The LV diastolic function is a more reliable parameter for prognosis than LV systolic performance (RR 9.2 versus 2.1). Other independent predictors for increased early postoperative mortality rate were: an age > 75 years, an LVESD > 58 mm, and comorbidities (diabetes mellitus, COPD), and for unfavorable evolution at 2 years postoperatively: an age > 75 years, an LVESV > 95 cm³, and severe pulmonary hypertension.