Editor’s Page

Taking over the reins of editorship of a national cardiac journal is no easy task. First of all, let me take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the former editors for their commendable efforts in bringing the journal to its present level. The journal, established 24 years ago, is now DOAJ-accredited. With the increasing number of high-quality articles being submitted for publication, visibility and readership are growing steadily. Review articles on contemporary themes are being published. I am sure the case reports provided are unique and interesting. We plan to have a dedicated corner for budding cardiologists, where an exceptional case will be presented, accompanied by a commentary from an authority in the field. A new distinguished group of eminent academicians and teachers are part of the editorial board. With their insight and collective wisdom, the journal will strive to reach greater heights. A timely review of the original work is crucial, and I hope that with the support of top-class reviewers, it will be a fruitful journey ahead. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is not an infrequent clinical issue worldwide. This issue provides a national-level understanding of the disease process, although recent updates on the pathophysiology have significantly enhanced the management of the disease.[1,2] The authors, Amit Mandal are to be congratulated for providing the first-ever large dataset and an extended follow-up on a disease that is not so benign. An understanding of presentation as heart failure and right ventricular dysfunction as poor prognostic factors is an eye-opener. In a resource-challenged country like India, follow-up studies like this are pretty meaningful.[3] Prosthetic valve thrombosis is a life-threatening clinical scenario, where surgery carries high mortality. What started as anecdotal therapy has become an accepted modality. Here, Tammiraju Iragavarapu highlighted the use of cost-effective treatment, but at the expense of increased stroke and bleeding risk. This aligns with the current understanding from a large meta-analysis.[4,5] Diabetes is not only a significant contributor to coronary heart disease and heart failure but also carries a high mortality. Early diagnosis of cardiac involvement is now possible with the use of cardiac biomarkers, such as NT-pro brain natriuretic peptide. Echocardiography continues to be an invaluable tool in the early diagnosis of heart failure in diabetes patients.[6] In this issue of the journal, Sureshkumar describe the use of left ventricular mass-adjusted ejection fraction assessment as a novel tool.[7] However, the increasing burden of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction requires complementary tools, such as biomarkers. Radiation hazards are a significant issue confronting interventional cardiologists. While newer protection devices and safety shields in the catheterization laboratory are the norm, a knowledge gap in radiation safety exists among healthcare professionals. A recent survey showed a high incidence of oncology and orthopedic problems.[8] In this context, it is heartening to appreciate the work by Narendran in documenting the knowledge gaps. This would pave the way for future preventive strategies.[9] In the era of artificial intelligence application tools, we can expect to see an exponential increase in research in this area of cardiology. It is an exciting time ahead, and we look forward to publishing original articles featuring novel concepts shortly.