Lipid-lowering therapy in patients with coronary heart disease: an Italian real-life survey. Results from the Survey on Risk FactOrs and CardiovascuLar secondary prEvention and drug strategieS (SOFOCLES) in Italy.

In patients at high cardiovascular risk, a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction of ≥50% from baseline and an LDL-C goal of <70 mg/dL (or <55 mg/dL in very high-risk patients) are recommended. Multiple registry and retrospective studies have shown that patients with high atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk often do not reach the targets defined by the European Society of Cardiology guidelines as a result of suboptimal management of LDL-C. Here, we report the data on lipid-lowering therapy and lipid targets from the Survey on Risk FactOrs and CardiovascuLar secondary prEvention and drug strategieS (SOFOCLES), an observational, prospective study designed to collect data on patients with ischemic heart disease treated at cardiac outpatient clinics across the Italian national territory.

Cardiac rehabilitation in women: state of the art and strategies to overcome the current barriers.

: Cardiac rehabilitation is able to reduce cardiovascular mortality, and improves functional capacity and quality of life. However, cardiac rehabilitation participation rates are low and the current evidence has demonstrated sex differences for the access to cardiac rehabilitation programs. In this review, we discuss the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation in women with a specific focus on ischemic heart disease, heart failure, cardiac rehabilitation after cardiac surgery and after transcatheter aortic valve implantation, and peripheral artery disease.

Sacubitril/Valsartan: Effect on Walking Test and Physical Capability.

The 6-min walk test (6MWT) is a simple and inexpensive exercise test to evaluate physical functional capacity that is widely used in heart failure (HF) patients. With the 6MWT, a distance <350 m is associated with increased mortality in patients with HF, and change in walking distance >50 m is considered clinically relevant. To our knowledge, information on improvement in physical functional capacity with sacubitril/valsartan, as assessed by the 6MWT, is still scant.

[Secondary cardiovascular prevention after acute coronary syndrome in clinical practice].

Secondary prevention after acute coronary syndromes should be aimed at reducing the risk of further adverse cardiovascular events, thereby improving quality of life, and lengthening survival. Despite compelling evidence from large randomized controlled trials, secondary prevention is not fully implemented in most cases after hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome. The Lazio Region (Italy) has about 5.

[Stress echocardiography in valvular heart disease].

The assessment of the severity of a valvular lesion traditionally relies on the evaluation of valvular anatomy and on the demonstration of resting hemodynamic disturbances. In patients with stenotic lesions, this is usually achieved by measuring the trans-stenotic pressure difference and by calculating the surface of the stenotic orifice. In patients with regurgitant lesions, assessment of lesion severity involves the demonstration of a significant volume or pressure overload of the various chambers participating in the process.

Functional mitral regurgitation in heart failure.

Mitral regurgitation commonly occurs in patients with heart failure. Systolic dysfunction is the hallmark of dilated cardiomyopathy. Mitral functional regurgitation is mitral incompetence in the absence of intrinsic lesions of the mitral valve apparatus.