Procalcitonin: a marker of heart failure.

Objective: Serum procalcitonin levels are associated with congestive heart failure, but are not established biomarkers of the disease. We evaluated the predictive value of serum procalcitonin levels for diagnosing heart failure and assessing its severity.

Methods And Results: This retrospective, case-control study involved 59 subjects (mean age 59.

[A rare complication of cardiac radiofrequency catheter ablation: Esophageal irritation].

The complication rate of radiofrequency catheter ablation varies depending on patient characteristics and treatment, and has been reported to be approximately 3%. Esophageal irritation is one significant complication of catheter ablation, and its most common result is atrio-esophageal fistulae. However, rarely, unexpected complications and clinical variants occur due to irritation of the vagal nerve or peri-esophageal tissue without fistula formation.

Transcatheter coil embolization of a coronary artery-left ventricular fistula associated with single coronary artery anomaly.

Single coronary artery anomaly associated with coronary fistula is a rare entity. Transcatheter coil embolization is the treatment of choice for coronary artery fistulas. In this case report, we describe a patient with both single coronary artery anomaly and coronary fistula who was successfully treated with coil embolization.

Soluble endothelial protein C receptor levels and protein C activity in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

Objectives: In contrast to its membrane-bound form, soluble endothelial protein C receptor (sEPCR) expresses procoagulant activity through binding to protein C. We aimed to investigate the relationship between sEPCR levels and protein C activity in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Methods: The study population included 60 STEMI patients who had undergone a primary percutaneous coronary intervention and 29 patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP) with significant coronary stenosis on angiography.

The effect of sinus rhythm restoration on high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels and their association with long-term atrial fibrillation recurrence after electrical cardioversion.

Objective: Recent studies have shown that high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) measured before cardioversion (CV) plays a significant role in predicting atrial fibrillation (AF) relapse. The time course of changes in hs-CRP after successful electrical CV remains controversial. The aim of the present study was to assess the prognostic value of pre- and post-CV hs-CRP levels in predicting the long-term risk of AF.

Long-Term Survival Following Cardiac Arrest Without Implantable Defibrillator Protection in a Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Patient.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in young people. Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is the optimal therapy in patients with HCM, both for primary or secondary prevention of sudden death. Left ventricular systolic function in HCM is usually normal.

Migration of the breakthrough: the advantage of noncontact mapping in targeting inappropriate sinus tachycardia.

We report on a 42-year-old female patient with inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST), in whom an effective sinus node modification was made by using the noncontact mapping system. The patient was admitted with palpitations and a heart rate between 90-110 beats per minute (bpm). Her heart rate increased to 150 bpm during minimal exercise.

Inappropriate sinus tachycardia - successful treatment with ivabradine.

Inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST) is characterised by an exaggerated increase of heart rate in response to normal physiologic demands. Therapeutic options including medical and radiofrequency ablation interventions are still under debate. Ivabradine inhibits spontaneous pacemaker activity of the sinus node by selectively blocking If channels of pacemaker cells.

[A case of asymptomatic Brugada syndrome with type 1 ECG pattern and cardiac arrest: an evaluation of the prognostic value of electrophysiologic study].

Brugada syndrome is characterized by ST-segment elevation in the leads V1-3 of electrocardiography (ECG) in the absence of a structural heart disease. A 26-year old male patient was admitted with sudden cardiac arrest. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was successful and he was referred to the reanimation unit due to unconsciousness.

Acute type A aortic dissection with diastolic prolapse of intimal flap into the left ventricle.

A 45-year-old man presented to the emergency department with acute oppressive chest pain. On physical examination, a loud decrescendo diastolic murmur of grade 2-3/6 was audible on the left sternal edge. The electrocardiogram was within normal limits and there were no signs of myocardial ischemia.

[Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy mimicking right ventricular outflow tract tachycardia].

Ventricular tachycardia may be mistaken for right ventricular outflow tract tachycardia in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. A 27-year-old man had complaints of palpitation and syncope. The admission electrocardiogram (ECG) showed sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia with left bundle branch block and inferior axis morphology.

[The effect of admission mean platelet volume on TIMI frame count measured after fibrinolytic therapy in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction].

Objectives: Mean platelet volume has been reported as a predictor of unfavorable prognosis in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (MI). We evaluated the relationship between admission mean platelet volume and the response to fibrinolytic therapy using the TIMI frame count in patients with acute ST-segment elevation MI.

Study Design: The study included 87 patients (58 males, 29 females; mean age 55+/-11 years) who received fibrinolytic therapy within the first 12 hours of symptom onset for acute ST-segment elevation MI.

Comparison of antithyroid drugs efficacy on P wave changes in patients with Graves' disease.

Objective: Some precursor P wave changes on electrocardiogram (ECG) before the atrial fibrillation (AF) episodes occur in the hyperthyroidism. Our aim was to compare the effect of two antithyroid drugs (ATD) on P wave duration and dispersion (PWD) in patients with hyperthyroidism.

Methods: Fifty patients (13 men, 37 women; mean age 39.

Percutaneous extraction of a short, 0.038-inch guide wire retained in the right common iliac artery.

Percutaneous extraction of intravascular foreign bodies with the help of specifically designed devices is the standard method of treatment and should be attempted in appropriate cases before any surgical approach. The majority of retrieved materials are catheter fragments localized in the superior vena cava, right side of the heart, or pulmonary artery. During diagnostic coronary angiography of a 65-year-old man, a short, 0.

Single coronary artery anomaly: a report of three cases.

We presented three cases of anomalous single coronary artery detected incidentally during routine coronary angiography. The presenting symptoms were chest pain, angina pectoris, and exertional chest pain, respectively. In one case (male, 69 years), the single coronary artery gave off branches to the left anterior descending artery, left circumflex (LCx) artery, and right coronary artery (RCA) (type L-I).

The comparison of the effects of standard 20 mg atorvastatin daily and 20 mg atorvastatin every other day on serum LDL-cholesterol and high sensitive C-reactive protein levels.

Objective: In this study, we aimed at comparing the effects of standard once daily 20 mg atorvastatin treatment with that of atorvastatin 20 mg administered every other day on serum lipids and high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels.

Methods: Sixty-one patients with serum total cholesterol levels of above 200 mg/dl and low density lipoprotein (LDL)--cholesterol levels of above 130 mg/dl were included in this prospective, randomized study. The patients were randomized into daily treatment of 20 mg atorvastatin (standard treatment) and 20 mg atorvastatin every other day (every other day treatment) groups.

[Ablation of right ventricular outflow tract tachycardias under guidance of noncontact mapping system].

Objectives: We evaluated the efficiency of noncontact mapping, a new mapping technique, for the catheter ablation of right ventricular outflow tract tachycardias.

Study Design: The study included 13 symptomatic patients (4 males, 9 females; mean age 39+/-15 years) with a structurally normal heart, who had sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) or nonsustained VT with ventricular premature beats (VPB), all arising from the right ventricular outflow tract. For noncontact mapping-guided (EnSite) ablation, first right ventricular geometry was reconstructed.

[Ablation of right ventricular outflow tract tachycardia using a new, simplified technique for three-dimensional mapping: a case report].

Right ventricular outflow tract tachycardias comprise a subgroup of idiopathic ventricular tachycardias that occur in the absence of structural heart disease. Twelve-lead surface electrocardiography shows a left bundle branch block morphology and an inferiorly-oriented frontal axis during tachycardia. Non-sustained nature of arrhythmia and structure of the outflow tract makes catheter ablation of focal arrhythmia origin difficult.