Predictors of subclinical atherosclerosis in asymptomatic healthy non-diabetic postmenopausal women.

Background And Aim: Cardiovascular disease progresses after menopause. Conventional risk factors, particularly diabetes, for atherosclerosis are well-established predictors of phenotypic arterial disease. The aim of this study is to assess the predictors of subclinical atherosclerosis in asymptomatic non-diabetic postmenopausal women.

Management and clinical outcome of myocardial infarction in Kosovo: A cross-sectional study.

Background And Aims: Myocardial infarction (MI) is cause of mortality worldwide, irrespective of its presentation as non-ST-segment elevation MI (NSTEMI) or ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI). The objective of this study was to assess national results of management and clinical outcome of acute MI patients in Kosovo.

Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study, conducted at the Clinic of Cardiology of the University Clinical Center of Kosovo, in Prishtina, included all patients hospitalized with acute MI over a period of 7 years (2014-2020).

The Rationale and Design of the KOSovan Acute Coronary Syndrome (KOS-ACS) Registry.

The KOSovan Acute Coronary Syndrome (KOS-ACS) Registry is established as a prospective, continuous, nationwide, web-based registry that is operated online. The KOS-ACS registry is designed with the following objectives: (1) to obtain data on the demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of ACS patients treated in Kosovo; (2) to create a national database with information on health care in ACS patients treated in Kosovo; (3) to identify the national features of associations between ACS characteristics and clinical outcomes, including mortality, complications, the length of hospital stay, and the quality of clinical care; and (4) to propose a practical guide for improving the quality and efficiency of ACS treatment in Kosovo. The Kosovo Society of Cardiology and University of Prishtina will be responsible for the development of the KOS-ACS registry and centralized data analysis at the national level.

Smoking and Hypertriglyceridemia Predict ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Kosovo Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Background: Myocardial infarction (MI), presented as ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI) and non-ST-segment elevation MI (NSTEMI), is influenced by atherosclerosis risk factors.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the patterns of presentation of patients with acute MI in Kosovo.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo, which included all patients hospitalized with acute MI over a period of 7 years.

Diabetes Is the Strongest Predictor of Limited Exercise Capacity in Chronic Heart Failure and Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF).

Background And Aim: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a known risk factor in patients with heart failure (HF), but its impact on phenotypic presentations remains unclear. This study aimed to prospectively examine the relationship between T2DM and functional exercise capacity, assessed by the 6-min walk test (6-MWT) in chronic HF.

Methods: We studied 344 chronic patients with HF (mean age 61 ± 10 years, 54% female) in whom clinical, biochemical, and anthropometric data were available and all patients underwent an echo-Doppler study and a 6-MWT on the same day.

Left Ventricular Diastolic and Systolic Functions in Patients with Hypothyroidism.

: Long standing hypothyroidism may impair myocardial relaxation, but its effect on systolic myocardial function is still controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function in patients with hypothyroidism. : This study included 81 (age 42 ± 13 years, 92% female) patients with hypothyroidism, and 22 age and gender matched controls.

Long-Term Outcomes of Patients with Unprotected Left Main Coronary Artery Disease Treated with Percutaneous Angioplasty versus Bypass Grafting: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background And Aim: Treatment of patients with left main coronary artery disease (LMCA) with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remains controversial. The aim of this meta-analysis was to compare the long-term clinical outcomes of patients with unprotected LMCA treated randomly by PCI or CABG.

Methods: PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Google Scholar, CENTRAL and ClinicalTrials.

Left atrial compliance index predicts exercise capacity in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction irrespective of right ventricular dysfunction.

Background And Aim: Predictors of exercise capacity in heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) remain of difficult determination. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of exercise capacity in a group of patients with HFpEF and right ventricle (RV) dysfunction METHODS: In 143 consecutive patients with HFpEF (age 62 ± 9 years, LV EF ≥45) and 41 controls, a complete echocardiographic study was performed. In addition to conventional measurements, LA compliance was calculated using the formula: [LAV max - LAV min/LAV min × 100].

Quality of life questionnaire predicts poor exercise capacity only in HFpEF and not in HFrEF.

Background: The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) is the most widely used measure of quality of life (QoL) in HF patients. This prospective study aimed to assess the relationship between QoL and exercise capacity in HF patients.

Methods: The study subjects were 118 consecutive patients with chronic HF (62 ± 10 years, 57 females, in NYHA I-III).

Adiponectin correlates with body mass index and to a lesser extent with left ventricular mass in dialysis patients.

Background: Adiponectin is a serum protein produced by adipose tissue which exerts anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and anti-atherosclerotic properties, hence is considered a cardio-protective marker. With the current uncertain role of adiponectin in dialysis patients to the aim of this study was to investigate its relationship with left ventricular (LV) structure and function in these patients.

Methods: This study included 89 (age 56 ± 13 years, 43% male) patients treated with regular dialysis for > 6 months, and 55 control subjects with normal renal function.

Left ventricular markers of global dyssynchrony predict limited exercise capacity in heart failure, but not in patients with preserved ejection fraction.

Background: The aim of this study was to prospectively examine echocardiographic parameters that correlate and predict functional capacity assessed by 6 min walk test (6-MWT) in patients with heart failure (HF), irrespective of ejection fraction (EF).

Methods: In 147 HF patients (mean age 61 ± 11 years, 50.3% male), a 6-MWT and an echo-Doppler study were performed in the same day.

Predictors of exercise capacity in patients with chronic heart failure.

Background: Heart failure is a major and growing societal problem characterized by high mortality, frequent hospitalization, reduced quality of life and a complex therapeutic regimen. The six-minute walking test (6-MWT) may serve as a useful and reproducible test for assessing exercise capacity in heart failure patients and has been suggested as a simple, well-tolerated and inexpensive alternative to cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). The CPET and 6-MWT are the most broadly used for assessing functional limitation in patients with heart failure.