Michael Böhm

• Prof. Dr. med.
• Universitätsklinikum des Saarlandes

Aims To document the prevalence of QRS prolongation in patients with HFrEF and HFmrEF/HFpEF, the association between QRS duration and outcomes, and the effect of dapagliflozin according to QRS duration across the spectrum of LVEF. Methods A pooled analysis of the DAPA-HF and DELIVER trials, excluding patients with a paced rhythm and CRT was conduc...

Background QT interval measurement in the presence of right ventricular pacing (RVP) represents a clinical challenge due to altered ventricular activation resulting in a prolonged QT-interval. The aim of this study is to compare the QT interval in patients before and after ventricular pacing to develop a new formula for QT interval assessment in pa...

Background Atrioventricular valve regurgitation (AVVR) results in atrial remodeling, thus promoting the formation of a substrate for atrial fibrillation (AF). On the other hand, AF may cause functional AVVR by annular dilatation of the atria. In this vicious circle, the identification of the leading pathomechanism and consequently the optimization...

Background Patients who have undergone prior pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for atrial fibrillation (AF) often require a repeat ablation for AF recurrence. The optimal ablative strategy for the redo procedure and predictors of AF recurrence thereafter remain largely unknown. Purpose We aimed to characterise the ablation strategies applied at re-PV...

Background Haemodynamic data months after mechanical thrombectomy for pulmonary embolism (PE) are scarce. Aims To assess the haemodynamic effects of mechanical thrombectomy in acute PE with right heart overload. Methods In this prospective, open-label study, patients with acute symptomatic, computed tomography-documented PE with signs of right he...

Introduction AFFIRM-AHF and IRONMAN demonstrated lower rates of the combined endpoint recurrent heart failure (HF) hospitalizations and cardiovascular death (CVD) by using intravenous (IV) ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) and ferric derisomaltose (FDI), respectively in patients with HF and iron deficiency (ID) utilizing prespecified COVID-19 analyses....

Aims Low systolic blood pressure (SBP) and high resting heart rate (RHR) are both risk indicators for heart failure (HF) outcomes. The purpose of this analysis is to evaluate the associations between RHR and SBP at baseline and time to events in HF patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) in the QUALIFY international registry. Methods and r...

Background Hypertension is associated with increased mental anxiety and depression. Renal denervation (RDN) reduces blood pressure (BP) in patients with uncontrolled, resistant hypertension (rHTN). The Global SYMPLICITY Registry (GSR) DEFINE is a prospective, open-label, single-arm, all-comer worldwide study, enrolling patients to undergo RDN. Whet...

Introduction Current guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension 2018 of European Society for Cardiology (ESC) do not recommend use of renal denervation (RDN) (as device-based therapy) for treatment of hypertension except as part of clinical studies. However, in the meantime several randomized sham-controlled clinical trials were designe...

Introduction Hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) has been suggested to induce photosensitivity, thereby increasing the incidence of skin cancers. After a pharmacovigilance alert, HCT was frequently withdrawn or substituted by other diuretics. The aim of this study was to compare the association of exposure to HCT with cancer risk versus alternative diuretics...

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background The electrophysiological inducibility of atrial fibrillation (AF) after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) has been identified as a predictor of future AF recurrence. Stimulation protocols have not been sufficiently studied prospectively with respect to their reliability for inducing A...

Background and objective High resting heart rate (HR) associates with cardiovascular death (CVD) and heart failure hospitalisation (HFH) in patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), but data are sparse in patients with preserved (HFpEF) or mildly reduced (HFmrEF) ejection fraction. Empagliflozin reduced the risk of CVD and HFH in HFpEF in th...

Purpose Hypertension represents the most common cardiovascular risk factor for premature death worldwide. Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) is one of the most commonly used antihypertensive and diuretic drug worldwide. Recently, pharmacoepidemiologic studies associated the use of HCTZ with increased risk of skin cancer. As a result, prescriptions of HCTZ...

Background/Introduction The Global SYMPLICITY Registry (GSR) was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of renal denervation (RDN) in real-world patients. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are limited to allow assessment of the effects of RDN on patients with a wide range of comorbidities. The current analysis examines blood pressure (BP) redu...

Objective Current guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia, or secondary cardiovascular (CV) prevention recommend combination drug treatments with single pill combinations (SPC). This concept is expected to improve adherence to treatment and, as a consequence, to reduce the risk of adverse CV outcomes associated with the...

Background It is important to evaluate whether a new treatment for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) provides additive benefit to background foundational treatments. As such, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of empagliflozin in patients with HFrEF in addition to baseline treatment with specific doses and combinations...

In heart failure (HF), acute decompensation can occur quickly and unexpectedly because of worsening of chronic HF or to new-onset HF diagnosed for the first time ('de novo'). Patients presenting with acute HF (AHF) have a poor prognosis comparable with those with acute myocardial infarction, and any delay of treatment initiation is associated with...

Background Right ventricular pacing (RVP) may cause electrical and mechanical desynchrony leading to impaired left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). We investigated the outcomes of RVP with His bundle pacing (HBP) and left bundle branch pacing (LBBP) for patients requiring a de novo permeant pacemaker (PPM) irrespective of baseline pacing indic...

Background Women are underrepresented in cardiovascular publications. We sought to investigate sex-specific differences in cardiovascular research over the last decade. Methods and results All 387,463 cardiovascular publications between 2010–2019 were retrieved from Web-of-Science and analyzed regarding the authors' sex, the average impact factor...

Background/Introduction The win ratio is a new methodology which utilizes multiple hierarchical endpoints to evaluate clinical outcomes in trials. The win ratio may have added benefit in device therapy trials like renal denervation (RDN) where anti-hypertensive medication burden can influence blood pressure (BP) changes. Purpose In this analysis,...

Background The principle of initial value (Wilder's law of initial value) proposes that the “direction of response of body function to any agent depends to a large degree on the initial value of that function”. Indeed, in several trials on renal denervation (RDN), pre-treatment blood pressure (BP) has been consistently and repeatedly found to predi...

Background Professional cyclists frequently present with physiological adaptations to endurance exercise with an increase in left ventricular wall thickness and mass. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) is an early and sensitive echocardiographic method to detect left ventricular dysfunction. However, it is unclear whether GLS is able to differentiate...

Background/Introduction The current ESC/ESH-Guidelines for the treatment of arterial hypertension (AH) recommend initiation and escalation of medical treatment using renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) blocker, diuretics (D) and/or calcium channel blockers (CCB). They also recommend a single pill (SP) regimen to improve persistence, to incr...

Background/Introduction Large randomized clinical trials have shown the efficacy of aspirin (ASA), angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and statins (S) in secondary prevention. However, adherence to medication is low in patients suffering from a cardiovascular event and decreases with each additional tablet. Therefore, a single pill (SP)...

Objectives We sought to assess central hemodynamic effects in 23 patients (18 male, 5 female) with a resting heart rate (HR) of ≥70 beats per minute (bpm) and chronic coronary syndrome after long-term ivabradine therapy (6 months) by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). Methods and results In a cross-over design, all patients were treated with ivabra...

Background Cardiac fibrosis and arterial hypertension are common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We studied the mechanisms of cardiac fibrogenesis and the role of blood pressure in mice with CKD. Methods and results 10-week-old male C57/BL6N (BL6) and SV129 wildtype (WT) mice were underwent 5/6 nephrectomy (remnant kidney model, RKM...

Background/Introduction Ventricular arrhythmias (VA) are common in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and can be refractory to drugs and catheter ablation. Promising results of sympathomodulatory treatment have been reported in these patients. Purpose This first in man study aims at investigating catheter-based renal denervation (RDN) using...

Background In dialysis patients statins are less effective than in other high risk patients due to a shift from cholesterol synthesis towards cholesterol absorption. The CARE FOR HOMe study investigates whether a shift towards cholesterol absorption occurs in non-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD), and whether the ratio of campesterol-to-lathost...

Objective The SPYRAL HTN-OFF MED Pivotal Trial was designed to assess the efficacy of renal denervation (RDN) to lower blood pressure (BP) in the absence of anti-hypertensive medications. Methods In this international, randomized, sham-controlled trial, patients with hypertension and office systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥150 mmHg and <180 mmHg wer...

Background: In patients with iron deficiency anemia, ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) and ferric derisomaltose (FDI) allow high-dose iron repletion. While FCM is reported to induce hypophosphatemia, the frequency of hypophosphatemia after an equivalent dosage of FDI had not been assessed prospectively. Methods: In the prospective, single-center, doub...

Background Physicians’ adherence to guideline-recommended therapy is associated with short-term clinical outcomes in heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, its impact on longer-term outcomes is poorly documented. In this analysis we assessed the longer-term association of physicians’ adherence with clinical outcomes, in...

NLRP3-inflammasome-driven inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases. Identification of endogenous inflammasome activators is essential for the development of new anti-inflammatory treatment strategies. Here, we identified that apolipoprotein C3 (ApoC3) activates the NLRP3 inflammasome in human monocytes by inducing an al...

Heart failure (HF) treatment should be optimized in addition to guideline-directed and recommended drugs to achieve an appropriate heart rate (i.e. 50-60 bpm) by ivabradine in patients with a heart rate >70 bpm in sinus rhythm and with an ejection fraction ≤35%. Heart rate reduction was to reduce cardiovascular death and HF hospitalization dependen...

Importance A more precise identification of patients at “high cardiovascular risk” is preeminent in cardiovascular risk stratification. Objective To investigate the relationships between markers of cholesterol homeostasis, cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. Design, setting and participants We quantified markers of cholesterol homeosta...

Aims: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common in patients with diabetes and heart failure (HF) and increases the future risk of adverse cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. This analysis from the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial explores CV and renal outcomes in patients with vs. without AF at baseline and assesses the benefits of empagliflozin. Methods and results:...

Comorbidities are increasingly recognized as crucial components of the heart failure syndrome. Main specific challenges are polypharmacy, poor adherence to treatments, psychological aspects, and the need of monitoring after discharge. The chronic multimorbid patient therefore represents a specific heart failure phenotype that needs an appropriate a...

Herzklappenerkrankungen sind eine häufig auftretende Komorbidität bei Patienten mit chronischer Niereninsuffizienz – insbesondere im Endstadium der Erkrankung mit der Notwendigkeit zur Nierenersatztherapie. Ätiologisch sind sowohl eine Sklerose als auch Kalzifizierungen der Herzklappen und des Klappenrings von besonderer Relevanz. Diese treten zume...

Introduction Renal denervation (RDN) significantly reduces blood pressure (BP) and improves myocardial function in patients with resistant hypertension. Purpose This multicenter study aimed to investigate the intermediate term effect of RDN on left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS), a surrogate for diastolic myocardial function in RDN p...

Background Pressure overload dependent cardiac remodeling is characterized by a continuous functional loss of cardiomyocytes, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, cell death and fibrosis. The relevance of the MyD88- and NFκB-independent inflammatory TRIF (TIR-domain-containing adapter protein inducing IFN-β) signaling pathway in myocardial hypertrophy is inc...

Background Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with structural alterations of the left atria (LA) and increased occurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF). Obstructive respiratory events lead to intermittent hypoxia (IH) and ineffective inspiration against the occluded upper airways, which result in intrathoracic and cardiac transmural pressure...

Background Use of amlodipine for treatment of arterial hypertension (AH) and stabile angina pectoris (SAP) is sometimes limited by occurrence of peripheral edema and headache. Purpose As these side effects (SE) occur also on placebo in clinical trials, we aimed to explore the true magnitude of this phenomenon by determining the rate and placebo-ad...

Background Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) signaling mediates cardiac fibrosis. We studied the ability of the non-steroidal MR antagonist finerenone to prevent fibrotic remodeling. Methods and results In neonatal rat cardiac fibroblasts, finerenone prevented aldosterone-induced nuclear MR translocation. Treatment with finerenone decreased the expr...

Background Lowering blood pressure (BP) reduces clinical events. Renal denervation (RDN) is under investigation for treatment of uncontrolled hypertension and might represent a particularly attractive option for patients with high cardiovascular (CV) risk. To evaluate this proposal, it is important to determine whether baseline CV risk impacts the...

Background Raf Kinase Inhibitor Protein (RKIP) regulates myocardial remodeling under conditions of enhanced myocardial oxidative stress in pressure-overloaded left ventricle (LV) modulating myocardial production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). A second mode of action may be the mobilization of circulating fibroblasts (fibrocytes) from the bone-ma...

Herz und Nieren sind in ihrer physiologischen Interaktion eng miteinander verbunden. Kardiovaskuläre Erkrankungen sind die häufigste Todesursache bei Patienten mit chronischer Nierenerkrankung, wobei diese wiederum das Auftreten und das Fortschreiten kardiovaskulärer Erkrankungen begünstigen kann. Die Therapie der koronaren Herzkrankheit (KHK) und...

Background: Serelaxin is a recombinant form of human relaxin-2, a vasodilator hormone that contributes to cardiovascular and renal adaptations during pregnancy. Previous studies have suggested that treatment with serelaxin may result in relief of symptoms and in better outcomes in patients with acute heart failure. Methods: In this multicenter,...

Purpose of Review Interventional cardiology and in particular the field of renal denervation is subject to constant change. This review provides an up to date overview of renal denervation trials and an outlook on what to expect in the future. Recent Findings After the sham-controlled SYMPLICITY HTN-3 trial dampened the euphoria following early re...

The Editors’ Network of the European Society of Cardiology provides a dynamic forum for editorial discussions and endorses the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) to improve the scientific quality of biomedical journals. Authorship confers credit and important academic rewards. Recently, however, the IC...

Herzinsuffizienz betrifft Millionen von Menschen weltweit und ist von einer hohen Morbiditäts- und Mortalitätsrate begleitet. Durch das Altern der Gesellschaft und durch die verbesserte Prognose von Patienten nach akutem Myokardinfarkt steigt die Inzidenz von Herzinsuffizienz. Da der häufigste stationäre Aufnahmegrund in Deutschland die akut dekomp...

Three recent renal denervation studies in both drug-naïve and drug-treated hypertensive patients demonstrated a significant reduction of ambulatory blood pressure compared with respective sham control groups. Improved trial design, selection of relevant patient cohorts, and optimized interventional procedures have likely contributed to these positi...

Initial studies of catheter-based renal denervation (RDN) for uncontrolled HTN using radiofrequency ablation in the main renal arteries showed that RDN was effective in lowering office blood pressure (BP). However, the first randomized sham-controlled trial, SYMPLICITY-HTN-3, did not show significantly lower office or 24-h ambulatory systolic BP co...

Aims Medication non‐adherence is frequent and is associated with high morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). We investigated whether an interdisciplinary intervention improves adherence in elderly CHF patients. Methods and results The study population (mean age 74 years, 62% male, mean LVEF 47%, 52% in NYHA class III...

Aims: We aimed to evaluate the frequency, clinical features, and prognostic implications of cardiac arrest (CA) in takotsubo syndrome (TTS). Methods and results: We reviewed the records of patients with CA and known heart rhythm from the International Takotsubo Registry. The main outcomes were 60-day and 5-year mortality. In addition, predictors...

Objective: Use of amlodipine for treatment of arterial hypertension and stable coronary artery disease (CAD) is sometimes limited by occurrence of peripheral edema and headache. We aimed to explore the true magnitude of this phenomenon by determining the rate and placebo-adjusted rate of these side effects. Methods: We performed a meta-analysis...

The Editors’ Network of the European Society of Cardiology provides a dynamic forum for editorial discussions and endorses the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) to improve the scientific quality of biomedical journals. Authorship confers credit and important academic rewards. Recently, however, the IC...

Nonadherence to antihypertensive drugs therapy is known to be a serious issue in hypertension treatment. Liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) was shown to allow the assessment of such nonadherence in blood and urine sample. However, their sampling may represent a logistical challenge and are often not favored by the patients...

Objectives: First-generation radiofrequency renal denervation devices may have had limited efficacy due to incomplete circumferential ablation and dependence on individual operator technique. This study evaluated a next-generation catheter-based technology using ultrasound designed to maximize nerve coverage using circumferential ultrasound energy...

Background Physicians' adherence to guideline‐recommended therapy is associated with short‐term clinical outcomes in heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, its impact on longer‐term outcomes is poorly documented. Here, we present results from the 18‐month follow‐up of the QUALIFY registry. Methods and results Data at 1...

Background Sodium–glucose co‐transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have been shown to reduce the risk of incident heart failure hospitalization in individuals with type 2 diabetes who have, or are at high risk of, cardiovascular disease. Most patients in these trials did not have heart failure at baseline and the effect of SGLT2 inhibitors on outcomes i...

Aims Despite recent advances in the treatment of chronic heart failure (HF), mortality and hospitalizations still remain high. Additional therapies to improve mortality and morbidity are urgently needed. The efficacy of cardiac glycosides – although regularly used for HF treatment – remains unclear. DIGIT‐HF was designed to demonstrate that digitox...

BACKGROUND: Treatment of individuals with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis is still handled controversially. Recommendations for treatment of asymptomatic carotid stenosis with carotid endarterectomy (CEA) are based on trials having recruited patients more than 15 years ago. Registry data indicate that advances in best medical treatment (BMT)...

Background Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction predicts adverse outcome in peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). We recently demonstrated beneficial effects associated with the prolactin release inhibitor bromocriptine at different doses when added to standard heart failure therapy in PPCM. Here, we evaluated for the first time the therapeutic potential...

Aims: The randomized sham-controlled SPYRAL HTN-OFF MED trial demonstrated that renal denervation (RDN) using a multi-electrode catheter lowers ambulatory blood pressure (BP) in non-medicated hypertensive patients. The current report describes the effects of RDN on heart rate (HR) in this population. Methods and results: Patients were enrolled w...

Die arterielle Hypertonie ist die häufigste chronische Erkrankung, die zu Komplikationen wie Schlaganfall, Demenz, Herzinfarkt und Herzinsuffizienz sowie Niereninsuffizienz führen kann. Die Zahl der hypertensiven Patienten wird bis 2025 weltweit auf bis zu 1,6 Mrd. Menschen ansteigen. Die neuen Leitlinien der Europäischen Gesellschaft für Kardiolog...

Background Central arteriovenous fistula (AVF) creation is under investigation for treatment of severe hypertension. We evaluated the effects of AVF for initiation of hemodialysis on systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure in patients with end‐stage renal disease. Methods and Results Data search included PubMed, Web of Science, and t...

Die arterielle Hypertonie ist die häufigste chronische Erkrankung, die zu Komplikationen wie Schlaganfall, Demenz, Herzinfarkt und Herzinsuffizienz sowie Niereninsuffizienz führen kann. Die Zahl der hypertensiven Patienten wird bis 2025 weltweit auf bis zu 1,6 Mrd. Menschen ansteigen. Die neuen Leitlinien der Europäischen Gesellschaft für Kardiolog...

The Editors' Network of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) provides a dynamic forum for editorial discussions and endorses the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) to improve the scientific quality of biomedical journals. Authorship confers credit and important academic rewards. Recently, however,...

Background: We aimed to explore whether interventional closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) results in reduction of composite outcome [stroke/transitory ischemic attack (TIA), death, and thrombolysis in myocardial infarction-TIMI bleeding], stroke and stroke/TIA compared to medical treatment in patients with cryptogenic stroke. Methods and resul...

Aims Atrial fibrillation is the most prevalent sustained arrhythmia associated with arrhythmic ventricular contractions, incident heart failure, increased morbidity and mortality. The relationship between arrhythmic contractions and ventricular remodelling is incompletely understood. The aim of this study was to characterize the influence of irregu...

The clinical course of takotsubo syndrome (TTS) can be complicated by several life-threatening conditions.1 In particular, cardiogenic shock (CS) represents one of the leading causes of mortality in the acute phase and occurs in a considerable number of patients with TTS, with an incidence of ≈10%.2,3 At present, no established guidelines are avail...

Background The role of intraaortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP) in cardiogenic shock is still a subject of intense debate despite the neutral results of the IABP-SHOCK II trial (Intraaortic Balloon Pump in Cardiogenic Shock II) with subsequent downgrading in international guidelines. So far, randomized data on the impact of IABP on long-term cli...

Background Many patients at high cardiovascular risk do not reach targets for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and blood pressure (BP). Depression is a frequent comorbidity in these patients and contributes to poor medication adherence. Objective The aim of this study was to elucidate the associations between adherence to lipid-and BP-l...

Purpose of Review Hyperkalaemia is a frequent and sometimes life-threatening condition that may be associated with arrhythmia and cardiac dysfunction. Evaluating the prevalence of hyperkalaemia in patients with heart failure (HF) and potential treatments of this condition is essential for patients using renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system inhibito...

Introduction: Epidemiological and clinical studies have shown a relevant association between heart rate and cardiovascular mortality. Experimental studies identified vascular effects of heart rate reduction with the If channel inhibitor ivabradine. Therefore, the effects of heart rate reduction on endothelial function and indices of arterial stiff...

Aims: It is unknown whether different training modalities exert differential cellular effects. Telomeres and telomere-associated proteins play a major role in cellular aging with implications for global health. This prospective training study examines the effects of endurance training, interval training (IT), and resistance training (RT) on telome...