Marijana Tadic

• Prof. of Cardiology MD, PhD
• Professor of Cardiology at Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Introduction Evidence on left ventricular (LV) mechanics, assessed by speckle tracking echocardiography (STE), in children and adolescents with elevated blood pressure (BP)/hypertension is scanty. Aim The aim of the present meta-analysis was to provide an updated information on LV systolic function phenotyped by global longitudinal strain (GLS) an...

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of systolic blood pressure (SBP) values on admission on the outcome of mitral transcatheter edge‐to‐edge repair (M‐TEER). Methodology We included all patients who underwent interventional MV repair in our institution between January 2010 and October 2020. All data are obtained from t...

Previous studies showed the importance of right ventricular (RV) remodeling in patients with arterial hypertension and RV longitudinal strain was recognized as very sensitive parameter for detection of subtle cardiac impairment. However, its clinical importance in arterial hypertension has not been established so far. The present study aimed to eva...

Background: The aim of the current study was to investigate the predictive value of a multidirectional LV strain on adverse outcomes in a large population of uncomplicated hypertensive patients who were followed for a mean period of 10 years. Methods: This retrospective study included 591 recently diagnosed hypertensive patients who underwent clini...

Evidence on myocardial deformation, detected by speckle tracking echocardiography (STE), in patients with acromegaly is scanty. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to provide an updated information on left ventricular (LV) systolic function assessed by global longitudinal strain (GLS) in patients with acromegaly and preserved LVEF. Following t...

Background: Clinical complications of anorexia nervosa (AN) include cardiac structural and functional alterations. Available evidence on impaired myocardial deformation in AN patients without overt systolic dysfunction as assessed by left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is scanty and based on a few studies. The aim of the present meta-analysi...

Background Obesity is a risk factor for left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and diastolic dysfunction. Available evidence on impaired myocardial deformation in obese patients without apparent systolic dysfunction assessed by LV ejection fraction (LVEF) is based on single studies. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to provide a comprehensive an...

(1) Objective: We aimed to assess whether the candidate profile, the long-term outcomes and the predictors for long-term mortality after transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair (M-TEER) have changed over the last decade; (2) Methods: Long-term follow-up data (median time of 1202 days) including mortality, MACCE and functional status were ava...

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), a key biomarker of hypertensive heart disease (HHD), is an integrated marker of cardiovascular risk reflecting cardiac alterations induced by hemodynamic and non-hemodynamic factors operating in hypertension. The pathogenetic mechanisms underlying LVH and more generally hypertensive heart disease (HHD) are multip...

An increasing body of evidence shows that new antidiabetic drugs—particularly sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists—have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular outcome. The majority of these studies have been performed in patients with heart failure and the results have shown first po...

Background Mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (M-TEER) is an established treatment for functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) associated with a risk of creating iatrogenic stenosis. Objectives To investigate the impact of the P10 and its larger spacer compared to the narrower Ace and its smaller spacer on reduction of mitral valve orifice are...

The cardiovascular risk associated with LVH in the community and, particularly, in the hypertensive fraction of the general population, represents the rationale for its timely and accurate identification in order to implement adequate preventive strategies. Although electrocardiography (ECG) is the first-line and most economical method of diagnosin...

Background Breast cancer is a common and increasingly treatable disease. However, survivors have a significantly elevated risk of cardiac events afterwards. This study aimed to characterise cardiac changes during cardiotoxic cancer therapy using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. Methods This study involved 34 patients with histologic...

Aim Gender-based evidence on the association between serum uric acid (SUA) and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), as assessed by echocardiography, is still based on single studies. Thus, we performed a systematic meta-analysis of echocardiographic studies in order to provide an updated and comprehensive information on this issue. Methods The PubM...

Background The development of transcatheter tricuspid edge-to-edge repair for tricuspid regurgitation is a therapeutic milestone but a specific periprocedural risk assessment tool is lacking. TRI-SCORE has recently been introduced as a dedicated risk score for tricuspid valve surgery. Aims This study analyzes the predictive performance of TRI-SCOR...

Background Mitral annular alterations in the context of heart failure often lead to severe functional mitral regurgitation (FMR), which should be treated with transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (M-TEER) according to current guidelines. M-TEER's effects on mitral valve (MV) annular remodeling have not been well elucidated. Methods 141 consecutive pa...

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that a hypertensive response to exercise (HRE) during dynamic or isometric stress tests assessing cardiac function is predictive of hypertension and cardiovascular events such coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke. Whether HRE represents a marker of masked hypertension (MH) in individuals with no...

Background: Diabetes mellitus worsens outcomes in patients suffering from heart disease undergoing cardiac procedures. Objectives: To investigate the impact of diabetes in patients undergoing mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (M-TEER). Methods: 1118 patients treated with M-TEER for functional (FMR) and degenerative (DMR) mitral regurgit...

Background Breast cancer is a common and increasingly treatable disease. However, survivors have a significantly elevated risk of cardiac events afterwards. This study aimed to characterise cardiac changes during cardiotoxic cancer therapy using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. Methods This study involved 34 patients with histologic...

The current guidelines from various medical societies provide a good summary of data regarding various preoperative exercise tests in patients prior to non-cardiac surgical interventions. However, there is no consensus among experts on the appropriateness of these methods for identifying risk groups for potential perioperative complications. A larg...

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome is a very important sleep-related breathing disorder related to increased cardiovascular and overall morbidity and mortality. It is associated with multisystemic target organ damage due to micro- and macrovascular changes, resulting in carotid and coronary atherosclerosis, increased arterial stiffness, retinal...

Aim: Whether exaggerated blood pressure response (EBPR) to exercise represents a marker of masked hypertension (MH) in individuals with no prior history of hypertension is still unclear. We investigated this issue through a review and a meta-analysis of studies providing data on this association in normotensive individuals undergone both to dynamic...

The hypertensive response to exercise testing, defined as exaggerated blood pressure response (EBPR), has been documented to be independently associated with unhealthy conditions, carrying an increased risk of future hypertension, cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. In treated hypertensives, EBPR is a marker of uncontrolled hypertension, a...

Background Evidence regarding favorable treatment of patients with functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) using transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) is constantly growing. However, there is only few data directly comparing TEER and surgical mitral valve repair (SMVr). Aims To compare baseline characteristics, short-term and 1-year outcomes in F...

Background and aim: Numerous studies targeting left ventricular (LV) systolic function by measuring LV ejection fraction (LVEF) in patients with pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL) either failed to reveal any impairment of this parameter or found a super-normal systolic function compared to essential hypertensives or normotensive controls. I...

The injury of the left ventricle (LV) during anticancer therapy has long been recognized, and guidelines recommend a specific set of parameters for determination of LV impairment. The influence of anticancer therapy on the right ventricle (RV) has been insufficiently investigated, and there are only a few studies that have considered the effect of...

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with the development of premature cardiovascular disease, which relates to the clustering of risk factors among which arterial hypertension stands out. However, the spectrum of blood pressure (BP) alterations in patients with DM not only is limited to a variety of hypertensive phenotypes (i.e., sustained, masked...

Background and aim: A growing body of evidence supports the view that masked hypertension (MH) (i.e. normal office and elevated out-of-office BP) is a blood pressure (BP) phenotype associated with increased risk of subclinical organ damage, cardiovascular disease and death as compared to true normotension. Whether left ventricular (LV) systolic fu...

Right ventricular remodeling has been neglected in patients with arterial hypertension as all studies have concentrated on the left ventricle and left atrial-ventricular and ventricular-arterial coupling. The development of novel imaging techniques has revealed significant impairment in the RV structure, systolic and diastolic function, and, afterw...

Hypertensive heart disease, characterized by left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, left atrial enlargement, and LV dysfunction, represents a relatively advanced stage of hypertension-mediated organ damage (HMOD) typically associated with unrecognized or inadequately controlled systemic hypertension. However, a growing amount of evidence supports the v...

Background and aim: There is evidence that a reduced nocturnal fall in blood pressure (BP) entails an increased risk of hypertensive-mediated organ damage (HMOD) and cardiovascular events. Most studies focusing on left ventricular (LV) systolic function, assessed by conventional LV ejection fraction (LVEF) in non-dippers compared to dippers failed...

(1) Background: Dyspnea is one of the most frequent symptoms among post-COVID-19 patients. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is key to a differential diagnosis of dyspnea. This study aimed to describe and classify patterns of cardiopulmonary dysfunction in post-COVID-19 patients, using CPET. (2) Methods: A total of 143 symptomatic post-COVID-...

Severe aortic stenosis (AS) is the most prevalent valvular heart disease in developed countries. Heart failure (HF) is a frequent comorbidity of this condition and represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. The spectrum of both conditions has become progressively wider in the last decade; HF has been divided in three groups according to lef...

Hypertension-mediated organ damage (HMOD) at cardiac level include a variety of abnormal phenotypes of recognized adverse prognostic value. Although the risk of cardiac HMOD is related with the severity of BP elevation, the interaction of numerous non-hemodynamic factors plays a relevant role in this unfavorable dynamic process. In particular, sex-...

The authors investigated the association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction trough a meta-analysis of echocardiographic studies providing data on RV mechanics as assessed by longitudinal strain (LS). A systematic search was conducted using PubMed, OVID-MEDLINE, and Cochrane library databases to se...

Aim: Current evidence on the effects of bariatric surgery on cardiac mechanics in patients with obesity is based on a few single studies. We investigated this issue through a meta-analysis of speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) studies that reported data on changes in left ventricular (LV) mechanics as assessed by global longitudinal strain (G...

Aim: We investigated the association between obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and subclinical systolic dysfunction through a meta-analysis of echocardiographic studies that provided data on left ventricular (LV) mechanics as assessed by global longitudinal strain (GLS). Design: The PubMed, OVID-MEDLINE, and Cochrane library databases were systemat...

Arterial hypertension remains the most frequent cardiovascular (CV) risk factor, and is responsible for a huge global burden of disease. Echocardiography is the first-line imaging method for the evaluation of cardiac damage in hypertensive patients and novel techniques, such as 2D and D speckle tracking and myocardial work, provide insight in subcl...

New antidiabetic therapy that includes sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists, and dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors showed significant benefit on cardiovascular outcomes in patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus, and this was particularly confirmed for SGLT2 inhibi...

Significant functional tricuspid regurgitation (FTR) represents a poor prognostic factor independent of right ventricular (RV) function. It is usually the consequence of left-sided cardiac diseases that induce RV dilatation and dysfunction, but it can also resulted from right atrial (RA) enlargement and consequent tricuspid annular dilatation. FTR...

Current evidence on the effects of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on cardiac mechanics in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is based on a few single studies. The authors investigated this topic through a meta‐analysis of speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) studies that provided data on left ventricular (LV) and right ventr...

Hypertension is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the human population. Nevertheless, the intricate network of pathophysiological mechanisms that lead to the development of hypertension in women still awaits to be fully understood. From young age to maturity and senescence, the female body transits through different stages, each...

We sought to investigate echocardiography-derived myocardial work in hypertensive patients with different left ventricular (LV) geometric patterns. This cross-sectional study included 211 hypertensive patients (74 with normal LV geometry, 53 with concentric remodeling, 46 with eccentric LV hypertrophy (LVH) and 38 with concentric LVH) who underwent...

Sacubitril/valsartan represents the combination that became “sine qua non” in the treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) with significant positive effect on major cardiovascular events [...]

After acute infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a considerable number of patients remains symptomatic with pathological changes in various organ systems. This study aimed to relate the physical and mental burden of symptoms of long COVID patients to the findings of a somatic evaluation. In patients with persistent long COVID symptoms three months...

Subclinical alterations in cardiac structure and function include a variety of abnormal phenotypes of recognized adverse prognostic values, such as left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), concentric remodeling, systolic/diastolic dysfunction, left atrial dilatation, and alterations of LV geometry. The excess cardiovascular risk associated with these ma...

Objective This study sought to determine the potential change in trends in the baseline characteristics of patients with symptomatic severe mitral regurgitation who underwent transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair (M-TEER) over the last decade in a high-volume center. Methodology The investigation included 942 symptomatic patients with mod...

Objective: We aimed to investigate the demographic, clinical and hemodynamic characteristics of patients who underwent percutaneous mitral valve (MV) repair over the last decade, as well as to determine the potential changes in trends of these parameters among patients with structural and functional MR (SMR and FMR). Methodology: We analyzed all...

Background The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic demands a series of measures and, above all, the vaccination of a substantial proportion of the population. Acute myocarditis is a rare complication of the widely used mRNA-based vaccines.Case PresentationWe present a case series of four patients (three men and one woman, 16 to 47 years old) with acute peric...

Aim Whether obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) actually represents an independent risk factor for aortic dilation in the general population is unclear. We investigated this issue through a review and a meta-analysis of cardiac imaging studies that provided data on this vascular phenotype measured at the root or ascending tract level. Design A computeri...

Aim: Evidence on the impact of blood pressure (BP)-lowering drugs on left ventricular (LV) mechanics in hypertension is still limited. We performed a meta-analysis of speckle-tracking echocardiographic studies in order to provide a new piece of information on this topic. Methods: The PubMed, OVID-MEDLINE, and Cochrane library databases were anal...

Background: Arterial stiffness expressed by cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) is a marker of arteriosclerosis. It can increase vascular load, which in turn may affect the viscoelastic myocardial properties and the left ventricular compliance. In the present study, we sought to investigate the association between CAVI and left ventricular structur...

Aortic stenosis (AS) is the most frequent degenerative valvular disease in developed countries. Its incidence has been constantly rising due to population aging. The diagnosis of AS was considered straightforward for a very long time. High gradients and reduced aortic valve area were considered as “sine qua non” in diagnosis of AS until a growing b...

Background Acute chest pain with mild troponin rise and inconclusive diagnosis after clinical evaluation represents a diagnostic challenge. Triple-rule-out (TRO) CT may exclude coronary artery disease (CAD), as well as acute aortic syndrome and pulmonary embolism, but cannot help identify other causes of myocardial injury. Purpose To investigate th...

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Aim: We sought to assess the long-term changes in aortic root diameter in a population-based sample, focusing on new-onset aortic root dilatation, as well as on the demographic and clinical variables independently related to this dynamic process. Methods: A total of 1122 participants with measurable echocardiographic parameters at baseline and a...

Arterial hypertension represents the most frequent cardiovascular risk factor that is associated with cardiac remodeling. Hypertensive heart disease was defined by the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and diastolic dysfunction, and it has been diagnosed by echocardiography in everyday clinical practice. Interstitial myocardial fibrosi...

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) represents an important cardiovascular entity with increasing prevalence and relatively high mortality. The agreement about diagnostic algorithm for HFpEF is still missing. Echocardiographic approach remains the cornerstone in HFpEF diagnosis. Echocardiographic diastolic stress test provides nu...

Objective: In aortic stenosis (AS), chronic pressure overload on left ventricle (LV) leads to LV hypertrophy, impaired relaxation, increased chamber stiffness, fibrosis and left atrial (LA) dilatation. An enlarged LA may be a marker of longstanding diastolic dys�function (DD) and more advanced disease in AS. We aimed to assess the impact of LA volu...

We aimed to investigate short- and long-term blood-pressure (BP) variability and left-ventricular (LV) structure, function, and mechanics in women with gestational hypertension and preeclampsia, as well as the relationship between BP variability and LV mechanics. This cross-sectional study included 140 pregnant women (45 normotensive controls, 50 p...

Aim Information on systolic dysfunction, as assessed by left ventricular (LV) mechanics in secondary hypertension is still largely limited. We performed a systematic meta- analysis of 2D/3D speckle tracking studies in order to provide an updated comprehensive information on this topic. Methods The PubMed, OVID-MEDLINE, and Cochrane library databas...

Chronic total occlusion (CTO) of coronary arteries is a common finding in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). Although tremendous advances have been made in the interventional treatment of CTOs over the past decade, correct patient selection remains an important parameter for achieving optimal results. Non-invasive imagi...

(1) Background: Long COVID syndrome refers to long-term sequelae of the novel viral disease, which occur even in patients with initially mild disease courses. However, there is still little evidence of the actual organic consequences and their frequency, and there is no standardized workup to diagnose long COVID syndrome yet. In this study, we aim...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the short- and long-term blood pressure (BP) variability and right ventricular (RV) remodeling in women with gestational hypertension and preeclampsia, as well as their association. This cross-sectional study included 161 pregnant women (56 normotensive controls, 55 patients with gestational hypertension, and 5...

AimInformation on systolic dysfunction, as assessed by left-ventricular (LV) mechanics, in patients with pheochromocytoma after surgical treatment is scanty. We performed a systematic meta-analysis of speckle tracking echocardiographic studies to provide an updated comprehensive information on this issue.Methods The PubMed, OVID-MEDLINE, and Cochra...

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome is the most common sleep-breathing disorder, which is associated with increase cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. OSA increases risk of resistant arterial hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and stroke. Studies showed the significant relationship between OSA and c...

Right ventricular (RV) systolic function has an important role in the prediction of adverse outcomes, including mortality, in a wide range of cardiovascular (CV) conditions. Because of complex RV geometry and load dependency of the RV functional parameters, conventional echocardiographic parameters such as RV fractional area change (FAC) and tricus...

Aim: Evidence on systolic dysfunction, as assessed by left ventricular (LV) mechanics, in hypertensive heart disease phenotyped by abnormal LV geometric patterns is still limited. Thus, we performed a systematic meta-analysis of 2D/3D speckle-tracking studies in order to provide an updated comprehensive information on this topic. Methods: The Pu...

Studies show that patients with elevated triglycerides and well-controlled LDL levels under statin therapy still have a significant residual risk of cardiovascular (CV) events. Despite many attempts to reduce triglycerides with different hypolipidemic drugs, no therapeutic option has given satisfactory results so far. The initial enthusiasm that om...

Aim: Available evidence on systolic dysfunction in systemic hypertension, as assessed by left ventricular (LV) mechanics, is still based on single studies. Thus, we performed a systematic meta-analysis of two-dimensional speckle-tracking studies in order to provide an updated comprehensive information on this issue. Methods: The PubMed, OVID-MED...

Right ventricular (RV) systolic function represents an important independent predictor of adverse outcomes in many cardiovascular (CV) diseases. However, conventional parameters of RV systolic function (tricuspid annular plane excursion (TAPSE), RV myocardial performance index (MPI), and fractional area change (FAC)) are not always able to detect s...

Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease with a high prevalence of cardiac involvement in autopsic studies. Cardiac sarcoidosis is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Endomyocardial biopsy is a specific technique, but unfortunately not sensitive enough. Non-invasive cardiac imaging has an important role in the e...

COVID-19 infection primarily causes severe pneumonia complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome and multiorgan failure requiring a ventilator support. We present a case of a 55-year-old male, admitted with COVID-19. He was obese but had no other medical conditions. His blood pressure was measured by his general physician on several occasion...