Cardiac MRI in midterm follow-up of MISC: a multicenter study.

Unlabelled: In this multicenter retrospective study we aimed to evaluate the outcome of cardiac involvement in children affected by multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), assessed through cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). Children referring to three Italian tertiary pediatric centers between February 2020 and November 2021 with a diagnosis of MIS-C, who underwent CMR during a follow-up visit, were enrolled. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, treatment, and outcome data were collected.

Risk of Cardiovascular Hospitalizations from Exposure to Coarse Particulate Matter (PM10) Below the European Union Safety Threshold.

The association between exposure to air pollution and acute cardiovascular (CV) events is well documented; however, limited data are available evaluating the public health safety of various "doses" of particular matter (PM) below currently accepted safety thresholds. We explored the cross-sectional association between PM with aerodynamic diameter <10 μm (PM10) and daily CV hospitalizations in Brescia, Italy, using Poisson regression models adjusted for age, gender, and meteorologic indices. Average daily exposure to PM10 obtained from arithmetic means of air pollution data were captured by 4 selected monitoring stations.

Prognostic value of serial measurements of blood urea nitrogen in ambulatory patients with chronic heart failure.

Background: Elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients may represent increased neurohormonal activation. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the prognostic value of BUN and its variation in ambulatory patients with stable CHF.

Methods: In a retrospective analysis we included 241 outpatients with stable CHF (NYHA class I-III).

[Chronic heart failure therapy: where we are and where we are going to].

Despite significant advances in pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapy, epidemiological data from European and US hospitals show that the prevalence of heart failure (HF) hospitalization, especially for patients >65 years, continues to rise. Hospitalization for worsening HF is one of the most important predictors of short- and long-term outcomes in patients with chronic HF. There is therefore a clear need for new therapies that can work synergistically with standard medications to reverse the progression of the disease and improve myocardial efficiency.

Effects of supplementation with polyunsaturated fatty acids in patients with heart failure.

Despite the clinical and prognostic improvement obtained with the current medical treatment, heart failure (HF) continues to have high morbidity and mortality and its prevalence is increasing in most regions of the world. Thus, there is a need for novel adjunctive therapies that act independently of current neurohormonally and haemodynamically oriented drugs. Nutritional approaches are particularly attractive because they could work additively with established therapies without negative hemodynamic effects.

Six-year prognosis of diabetic patients with coronary artery disease.

Background: Diabetes is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. The aim of our study was to determine the prognostic factors for mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention.

Materials And Methods: Four hundred and forty-five consecutive T2DM patients with significant CAD (≥ 75% stenosis) were included in our analysis.

n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the prevention of atrial fibrillation recurrences after electrical cardioversion: a prospective, randomized study.

Background: n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) exert antiarrhythmic effects and reduce sudden cardiac death. However, their role in the prevention of atrial fibrillation remains controversial. We aimed to determine the effect of n-3 PUFAs in addition to amiodarone and a renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor on the maintenance of sinus rhythm after direct current cardioversion in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation.

Effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on left ventricular function and functional capacity in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Objectives: This study was designed to test the effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on left ventricular (LV) systolic function in chronic heart failure (HF) due to nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NICM).

Background: One hundred thirty-three patients with NICM and minimal symptoms on standard therapy were randomized to 2 g of n-3 PUFAs or placebo. LV function and functional capacity were assessed prospectively by echocardiography and cardiopulmonary exercise testing at baseline and at 12 months after randomization.

n-3 PUFAs and cardiovascular disease prevention.

Today, there are several observational and experimental studies, especially clinical randomized trials, that have proven the beneficial effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The most compelling evidence for the cardiovascular benefits of n-3 PUFAs comes from studies of primary prevention in patients following myocardial infarction, and most recently, in patients with heart failure. In this review, we analyze the evidence from epidemiologic studies and from large randomized controlled trials showing the benefits of n-3 PUFAs, specifically eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention.

High sensitivity C-reactive protein: a predictor for recurrence of atrial fibrillation after successful cardioversion.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is often associated, more or less indirectly, with an inflammatory acute or chronic process. So it is probable that the inflammation could contribute to the genesis and the perpetuation of this dysrhythmia. Phlogistic test indexes in patients (pts) with AF will be positive and have prognostic significance in patients treated with electrical cardioversion with restoration of a sinus rhythm.

The role of n-3 PUFAs in preventing the arrhythmic risk in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background: N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) intake is associated with a reduction in sudden cardiac death in patients with ischemic heart disease. Their effects in patients with heart failure caused by idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC) are unknown.

Methods: We compared with placebo the effects of n-3 PUFAs administration in 44 patients with IDC and with frequent or repetitive ventricular arrhythmias at Holter monitoring using a randomized, double-blind design.

Endocannabinoids and cardiovascular prevention: real progress?

The prevalence of obesity continues to increase and represents one of the principal causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. After the discovery of a specific receptor of the psychoactive principle of marijuana, the cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous ligands, several studies have demonstrated the role of this system in the control of food intake and energy balance and its overactivity in obesity. Recent studies with the CB1 receptor antagonist rimonabant have demonstrated favorable effects such as a reduction in body weight and waist circumference and an improvement in metabolic factors (cholesterol, triglycerides, glycemia etc).