Risk scores for predicting incident heart failure admission in patients with chronic coronary syndromes: Validation in a prospective, monocentric, long-term, cohort study.

Background: Heart failure (HF) admission in chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) patients has a prognostic impact. Stratification schemes have been described for predicting this endpoint, but none of them has been externally validated.

Objectives: Our aim was to develop point scores for predicting incident HF admission with data from previous studies, to perform an external validation in an independent prospective cohort and to compare their discriminative ability for this event.

Long-Term Prognostic Impact of Sex in Patients with Chronic Coronary Syndrome: A 17-Year Prospective Cohort Study.

Women and men with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) have different clinical features and management, and studies on mid-term prognosis have reported conflicting results. Our objective was to investigate the impact of the female sex in the prognosis of the disease in the very long term. We investigated differential features and very long-term prognosis in 1268 consecutive outpatients with CCS (337 [27%] women and 931 [73%] men).

The Role of Left Atrial Longitudinal Strain in the Diagnosis of Acute Cellular Rejection in Heart Transplant Recipients.

Our aim was to investigate the role of left atrial longitudinal strain (LALS) in the non-invasive diagnosis of acute cellular rejection (ACR) episodes in heart transplant (HTx) recipients. Methods: We performed successive echocardiographic exams in 18 consecutive adult HTx recipients in their first year after HTx within 3 h of the routine surveillance endomyocardial biopsies (EMB) in a single center. LALS parameters were analyzed with two different software.

CHADS-VASc score as predictor of stroke and all-cause death in stable ischaemic heart disease patients without atrial fibrillation.

Background: Cerebrovascular and coronary artery disease share risk factors. The aim was to study CHADS-VASc score as predictor of stroke incidence and death in a sample of patients with sinus rhythm and stable ischemic heart disease (sIHD) during long-term follow-up.

Methods: 1184 patients with sIHD and without atrial fibrillation were included in this single-centre prospective cohort study between February 2000 and January 2004.

Tissue Doppler velocities for ruling out rejection in heart transplant recipients in the context of myocardial strain imaging: a multivariate, prospective, single-center study.

To investigate the value of tissue Doppler velocities for ruling out treatment-requiring acute cellular rejection (TR-ACR), in the context of myocardial deformation analysis performed by means of speckle tracking echocardiography. We performed serial echocardiograms in 37 heart transplant recipients in their first year post-transplantation within 3 h of the routine surveillance endomyocardial biopsies (EMB). The association of the sum of lateral mitral annulus systolic (s') and early diastolic (e') velocities, in absolute values, measured by tissue Doppler echocardiography (s'+ e'), with TR-ACR (ACR grade ≥ 2R) was investigated by multivariate analysis, including classic echocardiographic parameters and myocardial deformation variables.

Long-term Survival in a Spanish Population With Stable Ischemic Heart Disease. The CICCOR Registry.

Introduction And Objectives: Data are lacking on the long-term prognosis of stable ischemic heart disease (SIHD). Our aim was to analyze long-term survival in patients with SIHD and to identify predictors of mortality.

Methods: A total of 1268 outpatients with SIHD were recruited in this single-center prospective cohort study from January 2000 to February 2004.

[Left-sided native valve infective endocarditis: Influence of age and the presence of underlying heart disease].

Introduction And Objectives: Left-sided native valve infective endocarditis (LNVIE) epidemiology has been modified as a result of the increase in average age. The aim of our study is to analyze the influence of age and the presence of predisposing heart disease in the prognosis of these patients.

Methods: We analyzed a series of 257 cases of LNVIE depending on their age (greater than or equal to 70 years old), both in the overall series and in the subgroup of patients without predisposing heart disease.

Feasibility of bidimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography for strain analysis in consecutive patients in daily clinical practice.

Purpose: We aimed to analyze the feasibility of two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2DSTE) in evaluating myocardial strain in consecutive, nonselected patients in daily clinical practice.

Methods: Strain analysis using 2DSTE was attempted in 59 consecutive patients: 24 patients with severe aortic stenosis, 28 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, and 7 healthy controls. The analysis was done by four expert echocardiographers and one cardiology resident.

[Oral anticoagulation for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation: are scientific recommendations effective and safe in daily clinical practice?].

Introduction And Objectives: To study the efficacy and safety of an oral anticoagulation protocol for the treatment of nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, based on scientific associations' recommendations, in unselected patients seen in daily clinical practice.

Methods: The study included all consecutive patients with permanent nonvalvular atrial fibrillation who attended two outpatient cardiology clinics between February 1, 2000 and February 1, 2002. They were treated according to an anticoagulation protocol based on Spanish Society of Cardiology and American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/European Society of Cardiology guidelines.

[A prospective protocol increases oral anticoagulant prescription in patients with chronic, nonvalvular atrial fibrillation].

Introduction And Objectives: Observational studies have shown that oral anticoagulants (OAC) prescription is suboptimal in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Our objective was to evaluate the usefulness of a prospective protocol for increasing OAC usage in these patients.

Patients And Method: From 1 February 2000 until 31 October 2002 we enrolled all patients with chronic NVAF seen in two outpatient cardiology clinics, excluding candidates for cardioversion.