Rajesh Puranik

The University of Sydney · Faculty of Medicine (Sydney Medical School)

Background/Introduction Cardiac screening of competitive athletes for conditions associated with sudden cardiac death is recommended by bodies including the European Society of Cardiology. High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) commenced cardiac screening of elite Olympic sport athletes in 2012. Purpose To report the 10 year outcomes and findi...

The coronary microcirculation plays a cardinal role in regulating coronary blood flow to meet the changing metabolic demands of the myocardium. Coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) refers to structural and functional remodeling of the coronary microcirculation. CMD plays a role in the pathogenesis of obstructive and non-obstructive coronary syn...

Background Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is increasingly used for the assessment of blood flow conditions in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). This requires patient-specific anatomy, typically obtained from segmented 3D cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) images. However, segmentation is time-consuming and requires expert input...

Background The prevalence and determinants of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) in patients with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) remain incompletely understood. Objectives To explore the prevalence of and factors associated with TR in patients with rTOF, specifically, the relationship of right ventricular (RV) dilatation with TR severity. Methods...

Background Despite historically being considered a channelopathy, subtle structural changes have been reported in Brugada Syndrome (BrS) on histopathology and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. It is not known if these structural changes progress over time. Objectives To assess if structural changes in BrS evolve over time with serial CMR a...

Background: Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is increasingly used to assess blood flow conditions in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). This requires patient-specific anatomy, usually obtained from segmented 3D cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) images. However, segmentation is time-consuming and needs expert input. This study aim...

CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONS are responsible for more deaths than any other cause in Australia, so prevention is a critical objective in both primary care and public health practice. The very well–established reversible risk factors for cardiac disease include smoking, lack of exercise, poorly controlled diabetes, high blood pressure and high choleste...

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is associated with increased myocarditis incidence. Constantly evolving evidence regarding incidence and case fatality of COVID-19 and myocarditis related to infection or vaccination, creates challenges for risk-benefit analysis of vaccination. Challenges are complicated further by emerging evidence of waning vaccine eff...

Background Cardiac screening of elite athletes including a 12‑lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is recommended by numerous international bodies. Current athlete ECG interpretation guidelines recommend the Bazett method to correct the QT interval (QTc). Objective This study sought to investigate normative QTc changes by age using athlete screening ECGs...

Aims: To identify biomarkers of cardiomyopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and to identify associations between functional status, metabolomic profile and myocardial fibrosis. Methods: In this prospective case control study, patients (n = 49) with T2DM without significant coronar...

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is associated with increased myocarditis incidence. Constantly evolving evidence regarding incidence and case fatality of COVID-19 and myocarditis related to infection or vaccination, creates challenge for risk-benefit analysis of vaccination programs. Challenges are complicated further by emerging evidence of waning vac...

Background Significant right ventricular (RV) dilatation has long been considered integral to the pathogenesis of functional tricuspid regurgitation (FTR). Objectives To explore the relationship of RV dilatation and FTR in patients with ‘pure’ RV volume overload. Methods Patients (>17yrs) with RV dilatation due to pre-tricuspid shunts (atrial sep...

Background: Despite developments in surgical techniques and medical care, people with a Fontan circulation still experience long-term complications; non-invasive therapies to optimize the circulation have not been established. Exercise intolerance affects the majority of the population and is associated with worse prognosis. Historically, people li...

The coronavirus pandemic has given everyone in society an education on the harms of spread of respiratory illness. Young healthy athletes are far less likely to suffer severe adverse consequences of viral illnesses than the elderly and frail, but they are not completely immune. Chronic fatigue (overtraining) is an uncommon outcome and myocarditis a...

Atherosclerosis, which is a primary cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths around the world, is a chronic inflammatory disease that is characterised by the accumulation of lipid plaques in the arterial wall, triggering inflammation that is regulated by cytokines/chemokines that mediate innate and adaptive immunity. This review focuses on IL-3...

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): JO is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program scholarship. CS is the recipient of a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Practitioner Fellowship (#1154992). Background Athletes sometimes experien...

Athletes sometimes experience transient arrhythmias during intense exercise, which may be difficult to capture with traditional Holter monitors. New and highly portable technology, such as smartphone electrocardiogram (ECG) devices, may be useful in documenting and contribute to diagnosis of exercise-induced arrhythmias. There are little data avail...

Background: Post-mortem cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is a non-invasive alternative to conventional autopsy. At present, diagnostic guidelines for cardiovascular conditions such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy have not been established. We correlated post-mortem CMR images to definite conventional autopsy findings and hypothesed that elevated T2...

Conventional autopsy is the gold standard for identifying unexplained death but due to declines in referrals, there is an emerging role for post-mortem imaging. We evaluated whether post-mortem magnetic resonance (PMMR) and computed tomography (PMCT) are inferior to conventional autopsy. Deceased individuals ≥ 2 years old with unexplained death ref...

Background Left ventricular non-compaction has been associated with heart failure, arrhythmia, thromboembolism and sudden death. The prevalence of non-compaction in patients with coarctation of the aorta and its clinical significance remains unknown, although obstructive left heart disease is common in patients with non-compaction. We sought to eva...

Left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is a complex clinical condition with no diagnostic gold standard. At present, there is trepidation about the accuracy of the diagnosis, the correlation to clinical outcomes and the long-term medical management. This article reviews the current imaging criteria, the limitations of echocardiography and cardiac m...

The genetic etiology and heritability of left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) in adults is unclear. This study sought to assess the value of genetic testing in adults with LVNC. Adults diagnosed with LVNC while undergoing screening in the context of a family history of cardiomyopathy were excluded. Clinical data for 35 unrelated patients diagnosed...

Background Left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is a complex clinical condition with several diagnostic criteria but no diagnostic gold standard. We aimed to evaluate our thresholding technique in a group of patients with LVNC and assess the risk of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE). Methods We retrospectively analy...

Background Myocardial pathology is common in hemodialysis patients. To explore the effects of different aspects of dialysis treatment on its evolution, we examined the impact of change in markers of volume status, hemodynamics and solute clearance on left ventricular (LV) parameters in a randomized trial of extended dialysis hours. Methods ACTIVE...

Objective Left ventricular non-compaction is an architectural abnormality of the myocardium, associated with heart failure, systemic thromboembolism, and arrhythmia. We sought to assess the prevalence of left ventricular non-compaction in patients with single ventricle heart disease and its effects on ventricular function. Methods Cardiac MRI of 9...

Background: The Task Force Criteria (TFC) for arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) was updated in 2010 to improve specificity. There was concern however that the revised cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) criteria was too restrictive and not sensitive enough to detect early forms of the condition. We previously described pat...

Imaging modalities are central to diagnosis and prognostication of confirmed or suspected inherited cardiomyopathies. The availability and use of cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) to supplement traditional modalities has increased substantially and has several advantages over traditional imaging techniques. CMR is unique in its abilit...

Objectives: To report the compliance and results of an electrocardiogram (ECG) cardiac screening program in male and female elite Australian cricketers. Design: cross-sectional study. Methods: Elite cricketers were offered screening in accordance with Cricket Australia policy. Players who consented provided a personal and family history, physi...

Aims: The optimal timing for pulmonary valve replacement in asymptomatic patients with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) and pulmonary regurgitation remains uncertain but is often guided by increases in right ventricular (RV) end-diastolic volume. As cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) performance is a strong prognostic indicator, we assesse...

Objectives Concerns exist over the long-term consequences of subclavian artery ligation in subclavian flap repair for coarctation of the aorta. We sought to analyse upper limb structural and functional performance in adults who have had surgery in childhood for coarctation of the aorta, using either subclavian flap repair or end to end aortic anast...

Aims: To assess the reported prevalence of left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) in different adult cohorts, taking in to consideration the role of diagnostic criteria and imaging modalities used. Methods and results: A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting LVNC prevalence in adults. Studies were sourced from Pre-Medline, Med...

Background X-linked dilated cardiomyopathy (XLDCM) is a rare but rapidly progressive cardiomyopathy caused by dystrophin gene mutation. Mutations are more often associated with Duchenne and Becker Muscular Dystrophy, which are characterized by skeletal muscle weakness or limb girdle dystrophy. However, patients with isolated XLDCM have normal skel...

Aims Pulmonary regurgitation (PR) and right ventricular (RV) dilatation are common in repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF). Left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is an important risk factor in rTOF. The effect of PR/RV dilatation on LV performance and RV-LV interactions in rTOF are incompletely understood. We examined LV responses and exercise capacity...

Screening asymptomatic people with a resting electrocardiogram (ECG) has been theorized to detect latent cardiovascular disease. However, resting ECG screening is not recommended for numerous populations, such as asymptomatic middle-aged (sedentary) people, as it is not sufficiently sensitive to detect coronary artery disease. While the issues rais...

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a catastrophic complication of many cardiac conditions often occurring without warning. In these cases, a post-mortem examination is required to elucidate the cause of death and is regarded as the ‘gold standard’. However, in circumstances of certain religious/cultural beliefs and advanced body decomposition an alterna...

Background Increasing evidence suggests the presence of structural changes affecting the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) in patients with Brugada Syndrome (BrS). The aim of this study was to characterise the RV morphology in BrS and explore associations between morphologic, clinical, electrical, and genetic parameters using non-invasive mult...

Supplementary methods. (DOCX)

Example of right ventricular outflow tract measurement using (A) cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and (B) echocardiogram. (TIFF)

Rare variants seen in cohort and ACMG classification. (DOCX)

Correlation between morphologic and electrical parameters. (DOCX)

Example of right ventricular outflow tract volumetric measurement with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. (TIFF)

Minimum data set CMR and echocardiogram ssssmeasurements. (PDF)

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is an inherited cardiomyopathy that predominantly affects the right ventricle. With a prevalence in the range of 1:5000 to 1:2000 persons, ARVC is one of the leading causes of sudden cardiac death in young people and in athletes. Although early detection and treatment is important, the diagnosi...

Background: Sudden death during sport is a rare but devastating event. Previous research has mostly focused on sudden deaths in young competitive athletes. Objective: To characterise the demographics and aetiology of sudden cardiac death (SCD) during sport in Australia. Methods: All autopsies conducted at our forensic medicine facility between...

Background Quantification of right ventricular (RV) volumes is challenging owing to variable reproducibility and is especially so in congenital heart disease. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has the ability to more comprehensively survey the entire right ventricle and is currently considered the gold standard. Aims We aimed to determine the inter...

Background: Chronic descending thoracic aortic dissection (CDTAD) following surgical repair of ascending aortic dissection requires long-term imaging surveillance. We investigated four-dimensional (4D)-flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a novel multi-velocity encoding (multi-VENC) technique as an emerging clinical method enabling the dynam...

Background: Yield of causative variants in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is increased in some probands, suggesting different clinical subgroups of disease occur. We hypothesized that a negative family history and no sarcomere mutations represent a nonfamilial subgroup of HCM. We sought to determine the prevalence, natural history, and potentia...

The increasing prevalence of congenital heart disease (CHD) can be attributed to major improvements in diagnosis and treatment. Although echocardiography is the most commonly used imaging modality for diagnosis and follow up of subjects with CHD, the evolution of both cardiovascular magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and computed tomography (CT) does...

Background: Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is an inherited disorder of cardiac desmosomes associated with ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. The clinical diagnosis is problematic and relies on a complex criteria composed of clinical and non-clinical parameters. In 2010, the original 1994 Task Force Criteria (...

The relationship between increased hemodialysis hours and patient outcomes remains unclear. We randomized (1:1) 200 adult recipients of standard maintenance hemodialysis from in-center and home-based hemodialysis programs to extended weekly (≥24 hours) or standard (target 12-15 hours, maximum 18 hours) hemodialysis hours for 12 months. The primary...

Supplementary data

Background: The ability of Zn(II) and Cu(II) metal complexes of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to inhibit acute arterial inflammation in vivo has been studied. Results: When acute vascular inflammation was induced in normocholesterolemic New Zealand White rabbits by inserting a non-occlusive silastic collar around the common caro...