The impact of COVID-19 on myocardial infarctions, strokes and out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrests: an observational retrospective study on time-sensitive disorders in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region (Italy).

The COVID-19 global pandemic has changed considerably the way time-sensitive disorders are treated. Home isolation, people's fear of contracting the virus and hospital reorganisation have led to a significant decrease in contacts between citizens and the healthcare system, with an expected decrease in calls to the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia (FVG) region. However, mortality in clinical emergencies like acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), stroke and out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest (OHCA) remained high.

Bicuspid aortic valve disease and ascending aortic aneurysm: should an aortic root replacement be mandatory?†.

Objectives: The higher risk of adverse aortic events in patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) disease and ascending aorta aneurysm is known, but the management of moderate aortic root dilatation in younger patients is a controversial issue. The aim of the study was to compare survival in patients with or without root replacement.

Methods: We reviewed 166 consecutive patients with BAV disease and concomitant ascending aorta aneurysm (mean ascending aorta diameter: 51.

[Sudden cardiac death in patients with left ventricular dysfunction from ischemic heart disease: role of the implantable defibrillator. Evidence, guidelines and good clinical judgment].

A number of studies have shown that the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is the most effective therapy for the prevention of sudden cardiac death from ventricular arrhythmias in patients with ischemic heart disease and severe left ventricular dysfunction. However, ejection fraction should not be considered the only parameter for the identification of candidates to ICD; this may lead to a "hyper-simplification" of the choices and to often unnecessary or inappropriate implantations. The purpose of this paper was to review the literature data regarding indications for ICD implantation in primary prevention in patients with severe ischemic left ventricular dysfunction by taking into account different clinical settings, in particular the biological age, the comorbidity profile, the temporal length between the ischemic event and ICD implantation, the possible impact of revascularization in reducing the arrhythmic risk.

How can optimization of medical treatment avoid unnecessary implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantations in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy presenting with "SCD-HeFT criteria?".

To assess the proportion and long-term outcomes of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and potential indications for implantable cardioverter-defibrillator before and after optimization of medical treatment, 503 consecutive patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy were evaluated from 1988 to 2006. A total of 245 patients (49%) satisfied the "Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT) criteria," defined as a left ventricular ejection fraction of ≤0.35 and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II-III on registration.