Insights into ascending aortic aneurysm: Interactions between biomechanical properties of the aortic wall and tissue biomarkers.

Background: It remains difficult to understand the association between the local mechanical properties of ascending thoracic aorta aneurysm (asTAA), its tissue, and its cellular and molecular changes. The purpose of our study was to investigate the relationship between biomechanical properties, histopathological findings, and tissue biomarkers of asTAA.

Methods: Intraoperative asTAA samples from 30 patients were studied.

Existing and Emerging Approaches to Risk Assessment in Patients with Ascending Thoracic Aortic Dilatation.

Ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm is a life-threatening disease, which is difficult to detect prior to the occurrence of a catastrophe. Epidemiology patterns of ascending thoracic aortic dilations/aneurysms remain understudied, whereas the risk assessment of it may be improved. The electronic databases PubMed/Medline 1966-2022, Web of Science 1975-2022, Scopus 1975-2022, and RSCI 1994-2022 were searched.

Right Atrial Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism: A Narrative Review.

Prompt diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) remains challenging, which often results in a delayed or inappropriate treatment of this life-threatening condition. Mobile thrombus in the right cardiac chambers is a neglected cause of PE. It poses an immediate risk to life and is associated with an unfavorable outcome and high mortality.

Takotsubo Syndrome: Clinical Manifestations, Etiology and Pathogenesis.

The purpose of the review is the analysis of clinical and experimental data on the etiology and pathogenesis of takotsubo syndrome (TS). TS is characterized by contractile dysfunction, which usually affects the apical region of the heart without obstruction of coronary artery, moderate increase in myocardial necrosis markers, prolonged QTc interval (in 50% of patients), sometimes elevation of ST segment (in 19% of patients), increase N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide level, microvascular dysfunction, sometimes spasm of the epicardial coronary arteries (in 10% of patients), myocardial edema, and life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias (in 11% of patients). Stress cardiomyopathy is a rare disease, it is observed in 0.

Absolute myocardial blood flows derived by dynamic CZT scan vs invasive fractional flow reserve: Correlation and accuracy.

Purpose: To define the diagnostic power of absolute myocardial blood flow (MBF) evaluation on dynamic CZT imaging in intermediate risk patients in comparison with invasive coronary angiography (ICA) and fractional flow reserve (FFR).

Methods: Twenty-three stable CAD patients underwent one-day dynamic rest-stress 99mTc-Sestamibi myocardial perfusion imaging by CZT camera. Stress and rest MBF values were calculated semi-automatically using a net retention model by Leppo.

Transthoracic echocardiography in the detection of chronic total coronary artery occlusion.

Aims: The aim of our study was to detect chronic total occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD), circumflex coronary artery (Cx), and right coronary artery (RCA) using transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in 110 consecutive patients who underwent coronary angiography for investigation of angina.

Methods And Results: Coronary blood flow direction was assessed in the epicardial collaterals [distal LAD (dLAD), obtuse marginal branches and right posterior descending artery (PDA)] and intramyocardial collaterals [LAD septal branch (SB LAD) and RCA septal branch (SB RCA)]. The sensitivity and specificity of retrograde flow for identification of the occluded LAD by TTE in the dLAD only were 78 and 96%, respectively, and those in both dLAD and SB LAD were 89 and 96%, respectively.

Reduced coronary flow reserve in the coronary sinus is a predictor of hemodynamically significant stenoses of the left coronary artery territory.

Aim And Methods: The role of transesophageal Doppler assessment of coronary flow reserve (CFR) in the coronary sinus (CS) in the diagnostics of significant left coronary artery (LCA) stenoses was studied in 65 CAD patients with angiographically proven >50% stenotic atherosclerosis of the LCA territory (38--with isolated left anterior descending artery (LAD) or left circumflex artery (Cx) stenosis; 27--with both LAD and Cx stenoses) and 31 healthy volunteers (all men). Dipyridamole was used as a stress agent. The antegrade phase of coronary flow in the CS moving into the right atrium was analysed.