The Cross-Talk Between the Heart and the Liver: The Involvement of the Mitral Valve as a Novel Actor upon the Ancient Scene of Liver Cirrhosis.

Background: To date, little is known about correlations between liver dysfunction and circulatory and cardiac abnormalities (e.g.,: mitral valve, MV) in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD).

Discrepancies Between Physician-Perceived and Calculated Cardiovascular Risk in Primary Prevention: Implications for LDL-C Target Achievement and Appropriate Lipid-Lowering Therapy.

Introduction: Accurate risk assessment is critical in cardiovascular (CV) prevention, yet physicians often underestimate CV risk, leading to inadequate preventive measures.

Aim: This study evaluates the concordance between physician-perceived CV risk and calculated CV risk in a primary prevention setting.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included primary prevention patients from the Cardiology Outpatient Clinic of Caserta Hospital, Italy.

Role of LipoprotEin(a) in CardiovascuLar diseases and premature acute coronary syndromes (RELACS study): Impact of Lipoprotein(a) levels on the premature coronary event and the severity of coronary artery disease.

Background And Aims: Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] emerging as a significant risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the role and the impact of Lp(a) in the early formation and progression of complex CAD remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the impact of Lp(a) levels on the age of first acute coronary events and CAD severity in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients.

[Echocardiography and pulmonary arterial hypertension].

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) is an heterogeneous condition brought on by a wide range of causes. It is characterized by structural changes in small pulmonary arteries, that produce a progressive increase in pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance, ultimately leading to right ventricle failure and death. Given the non-specific nature of its early symptoms and signs, PAH is often diagnosed in its advanced stages.

Aortic intramural haematoma and chronic anticoagulation: role of transoesophageal echocardiography.

The case of a 66-year-old patient with acute intramural haematoma in descending aorta, receiving anticoagulant treatment with warfarin for chronic atrial fibrillation, is presented. Transoesophageal echocardiography was fundamental in the diagnosis of the intramural haematoma, assessment of the cardioembolic risk of atrial fibrillation and in follow-up the evolution of the intramural haematoma, which facilitated therapeutic management. Although no established recommendation exists on anticoagulation in aortic intramural haematoma, individual risk-benefit assessment of anticoagulation and follow-up with imaging techniques are essential to elect the most appropriate therapeutic management.

Progression of aortic valve sclerosis and aortic valve stenosis: what is the role of statin treatment?

Background: It has recently been suggested that statins could slow the progression of aortic stenosis, but this hypothesis has not been validated in large series. Moreover, there is little information about the role of statin treatment in patients with aortic valve sclerosis.

Methods: From our database 1988--2002, we retrospectively identified 1136 consecutive patients with aortic valve sclerosis (peak aortic velocity [Vmax] > 1.