Do Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Have an (In)Adequate Level of Physical Activity? A Latent Class Analysis Approach.

Introduction: Regular physical activity (PA) has a beneficial effect on joint pain, stiffness, strength, flexibility, and aerobic capacity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the level of PA in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and to identify potential barriers to this activity.

Material And Methods: The study involved 132 patients with RA.

The ratio of brain natriuretic peptide level and computed tomography pulmonary angiography parameters in pulmonary embolism in relation to sex.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate whether there are differences between brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels and computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) parameters, in patients with acute PE, with respect of sex.

Background: Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) may provoke sudden right ventricle overload and stretching of their thin walls, causing significant raise of BNP blood levels, which correlates to acute PE severity. The properties of RV are different between sexes.

How Right is the Right Ventricle in Predicting Cardiac Mortality in Cardiac Failure: A 6-year Prospective Cohort Study.

Aim: Two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) and three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) may overcome many limitations of the conventional 2D echocardiography (2DE) in assessing right ventricular (RV) function. We sought to determine whether characteristics of the right atrium and right ventricle as measured by 2D-STE and 3DE are associated with cardiac mortality in patients with ischemic heart failure, over a 6-year follow-up.

Materials And Methods: The inclusion criteria were ischemic cardiomyopathy with left ventricular ejection fraction of <40% diagnosed using standard 2DE, 2D-STE, and 3DE examination.

Validation of the European Society of Cardiology pretest probability models for obstructive coronary artery disease in high-risk population.

Objective: The pre-test probability (PTP) model for obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) was updated in 2019 by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). To our knowledge, this model was never externally validated in a population with a high incidence of CAD. The aim of this study is to validate the new PTP ESC model in our population, which has a high CAD incidence, and to compare it with the previous PTP ESC model from 2013.

Correlations and discrepancies between cardiac ultrasound, clinical diagnosis and the autopsy findings in early deceased patients with suspected cardiovascular emergencies.

Cardiac ultrasound (CUS), either focused cardiac ultrasound (FoCUS) or emergency echocardiography, is frequently used in cardiovascular (CV) emergencies. We assessed correlations and discrepancies between CUS, clinical diagnosis and the autopsy findings in early deceased patients with suspected CV emergencies. We retrospectively analysed clinical and autopsy data of 131 consecutive patients who died within 24 h of hospital admission.