Myocarditis (MC) is defined as an immunological inflammatory reaction with various etiologies, clinical presentations and prognoses within the myocardium. Currently, parvovirus B19 (PVB19) has become the main factor leading to this disease, replacing the previously dominant viruses A and B. In the case of chronic heart failure with subsequent dilated cardiomyopathy, approximately 67% have a viral etiology, and most of them are the result of PVB19 infection. However, the analysis showed a correlation between PVB19 infection and the risk of developing inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy (DCMi). PVB19 is detected in 23% of patients with DCMi. Chronic infection may also contribute to progressive left ventricular failure in patients with a history of MC. The above effect suggests the active replication of PVB19 only in heart biopsies with inflammation due to MC or DCMi. Moreover, the supply of IFN-β to suppress the active transcription of PVB19 accompanied by DCMi over a period of 6 months results in the normalization of NT-proBNP and an improvement in LVEF along with NYHA performance. The small number of reports on this topic and inaccuracies resulting from constantly conducted research and ongoing changes make it impossible to clearly answer the question of whether PVB19 is a factor inducing de novo MC and DCM or only accompanies the above conditions. However, large clinical cohort studies lead to the perception of PVB19 as a viral etiological agent capable of causing de novo MC together with DCMi.

Median sternotomy is one of the most common procedures in cardiac surgery. This corresponds to the relatively high frequency of infections where surgical incisions are performed. In the prevention of healing disorders, the medical staff intervention is important, as is the patient. The management of wound infection after sternotomy requires a holistic approach. It requires the implementation of adequate antibiotic therapy, surgical treatment of the wound, and, if necessary, reconstruction of tissue defects using skin, muscle, and skin–muscle grafts or greater omentum. The prevention of surgical site infection should be based on asepsis and antisepsis at every stage of surgical treatment; the elimination of modifiable risk factors; and an appropriate, staged, and tension-free technique of chest closure. The described actions are aimed at avoiding the most serious complication associated with a high mortality rate in the form of mediastinitis. The therapeutic procedures are strictly dependent on the degree of tissue involvement and the presented clinical manifestation. During the preparation of this manuscript, scientific publications available on the Pubmed platform were analyzed. The scope of the search was limited to the years 2014–2024. The key words were “sternotomy wound infection”. A total of 114 publications were analyzed, and 56 of them were included. A total of 23 papers were used to discuss the topic.

Background/Objective: Risk stratification in elderly patients with heart failure (HF) is very difficult. There is a lack of reliable tools for assessing the risk of death in this population of patients. The aim of this study was to determine the association between albumin–bilirubin (ALBI) score and long-term mortality in hospitalized elderly patients with decompensated HF. Methods: The study included 242 consecutive HF patients aged over 65 years hospitalized for worsening chronic HF at our institution between 2019 and 2023. The ALBI score was calculated according to the appropriate formula. Results: The median (IQR) age of the study population was 68.00 (range 66.0 to 74.6) years and 21.1% were female. The mean follow-up time was 352 ± 293 days. During the follow-up period, 47.1% patients died. The ALBI score generated good prognostic power (area under the curve = 0.822, p < 0.01) and specificity (86%) as well as acceptable sensitivity (68%) when predicting long-term mortality. Patients with higher ALBI scores (≥−2.191) had significantly worse long-term survival than patients with lower ALBI scores (<−2.191) [37 (25.2%) vs. 77 (81.1%); log rank p < 0.001]. Conclusions: This is the first study demonstrating that ALBI score has good prognostic power and allows for the successful prediction of mortality during long-term follow-up in the analyzed cohort.

The role of oxidative/antioxidative system imbalances in advanced heart failure (HF) has not been fully investigated. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with one-year mortality in patients with advanced HF, with particular emphasis on oxidative/antioxidative balance parameters. We analyzed 85 heart transplant candidates who were hospitalized at our institution for right heart catheterization. Ten milliliters of coronary sinus blood was collected to measure oxidative/antioxidative markers. The median age was 58 (50–62) years, and 90.6% of them were male. The one-year mortality rate was 40%. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that ceruloplasmin (OR = 1.342 [1.019–1.770], p = 0.0363; per unit decrease), catalase (OR = 1.053 [1.014–1.093], p = 0.0076; per unit decrease), and creatinine (OR = 1.071 [1.002–1.144], p = 0.0422; per unit increase) were independently associated with one-year mortality. Ceruloplasmin, catalase, and creatinine had areas under the curve of 0.9296 [0.8738–0.9855], 0.9666 [0.9360–0.9971], and 0.7682 [0.6607–0.8756], respectively. Lower ceruloplasmin and catalase in the coronary sinus, as well as higher creatinine in peripheral blood, are independently associated with one-year mortality in patients with advanced HF. Catalase and ceruloplasmin have excellent prognostic power, and creatinine has acceptable prognostic power, allowing the distinction of one-year survivors from nonsurvivors.

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is one of the most common congenital heart defects, introducing significant hemodynamic disturbances to the circulatory system. This narrative review analyzed articles published between 2012 and 2025 and indexed in PubMed. The aim was to synthesize key information on the etiopathogenesis of BAV, its potential complications and associated risks, as well as available pharmacological and surgical treatment strategies, with emphasis on indications and contraindications for specific surgical techniques. Analyses demonstrate that isolated BAV with typical valvular aortopathy is associated with a more favorable prognosis compared to valvular aortopathy syndromes. Valve phenotype shows important sex-related relationships in its presentation and progression. From a hemodynamic perspective, BAV alters blood flow angles, which may contribute to weakening of the aortic wall and secondary valve changes. BAV is also frequently associated with genetic disorders such as Marfan syndrome. The heterogeneity of aortopathies linked to BAV creates significant challenges for echocardiographers, cardiologists and cardiac surgeons, particularly in determining the optimal timing and strategy for surgical intervention.

Oxidative stress reflects an imbalance between the systemic manifestation of reactive oxygen species and cells’ ability to neutralize them by antioxidant systems. The role of oxidative stress in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is not fully understood. The aim of the study was to examine selected parameters of oxidative stress in patients with HCM compared to the control group. We enrolled 85 consecutive HCM patients and 97 controls without HCM. The groups were matched for sex, the body mass index, and age. Oxidative stress markers included superoxide dismutase (SOD), ceruloplasmin (CER), and lipofuscin (LPS). The median age of the HCM patients was 53 (40–63) years, and 41.2% of them were male. HCM patients, compared to the control ones, had significantly increased levels of CER and LPS. The areas under the receiver operating characteristics curves (AUC) indicated a good discriminatory power of CER (AUC 0.924, sensitivity 84%, and specificity 88%), an acceptable discriminatory power of LPS (AUC 0.740, sensitivity 66%, and specificity 72%), and poor discriminatory power of SOD (AUC 0.556, sensitivity 34%, and specificity 94%) for HCM detection. CER with good predictive strength, as well as LPS with acceptable predictive power, allows for HCM detection. The utility of SOD for HCM detection is limited.