Cardiovascular disease in women: Executive summary of the expert panel statement of women in cardiology of the hellenic cardiological society.

The perception that women represent a low-risk population for cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD) needs to be reconsidered. Starting from risk factors, women are more likely to be susceptible to unhealthy behaviors and risk factors that have different impact on CV morbidity and mortality as compared to men. Despite the large body of evidence as regards the effect of lifestyle factors on the CVD onset, the gender-specific effect of traditional and non-traditional risk factors on the prognosis of patients with already established CVD has not been well investigated and understood.

Could sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia in the early phase of a prime acute myocardial infarction affect patient outcome?

Objectives: Sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (SMVT) in the course of a prime acute myocardial infarction is not a common arrhythmia and its prognostic significance has not been specifically elucidated. The aim of the study was to estimate the prognostic implications of the occurrence of sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia in the early phase (<72 h) of a prime acute myocardial infarction.

Methods: We studied 690 consecutive patients admitted to the coronary care unit with a diagnosis of a prime myocardial infarction.

Relation of C-reactive protein to the first onset and the recurrence rate in lone atrial fibrillation.

The presence of systemic inflammation determined by elevations in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) has been associated with persistence of atrial fibrillation (AF). The influence of inflammation markers, such as hs-CRP, on the recurrences of lone AF, however, has not been clarified. We tested the hypothesis of whether, in patients with a first paroxysmal episode of lone AF, the hs-CRP levels were elevated, and whether elevated hs-CRP could predict the recurrence rate of lone AF in patients without antiarrhythmic drugs.

The potential of D-dimer levels as a useful clinical marker of clotting state after the return of sinus rhythm.

Fibrin D-dimers levels have been advocated as a useful clinical marker of thrombogenesis. It is accepted that patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are characterized by increased levels of plasmatic d-dimers. AF is a high risk factor for hypercoagulability, with a substantial risk of thromboembolism.

Clotting state after cardioversion of atrial fibrillation: a haemostasis index could detect the relationship with the arrhythmia duration.

BACKGROUND: Fibrin D-dimer levels have been advocated as an useful clinical marker of thrombogenesis. HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that i) there is a hyperclotting state after the return of atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm, ii) the measurement of plasma D-Dimer levels might be a good screening tool of this clotting status, and iii) the duration of arrhythmia influences the haemostasis measured by plasma D-Dimer levels. METHODS: Forty-two patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing cardioversion were divided into two groups: in Group A (n = 24,14 male, 56 +/- 11 years) the duration of atrial fibrillation was 72 hours or more (142.