Characteristics of coronary microcirculatory function in patients with Takotsubo syndrome.

Background: Takotsubo syndrome (TS) is a recently described cardiac syndrome whose pathogenesis is still unclear. We investigated the characteristics of coronary microcirculatory function in patients with TS through the analysis of the TIMI frame count (TFC) compared to normal subjects and with to subjects with microvascular angina (MA).

Methods: We enrolled 71 TS patients (F:M =69:2, mean age of 65.

Climatic variables in Takotsubo cardiomyopathy: role of temperature.

Background: Recent studies documented a seasonal (summer) and circadian (morning) temporal distribution of takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC).

Aim: The aim of our study was to investigate whether there is a relationship among season, temperature and the occurrence of TTC. A second aim of our study was the comparison of climatic variables in Takotsubo cardiomyopathy versus acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Validity of the modified Charlson Comorbidity Index as predictor of short-term outcome in older stroke patients.

The modified Charlson Comorbidity Index (MCCI) has been proposed as a tool for adjusting the outcomes of stroke for comorbidity, but its validity in such a context has been evaluated in only a few studies and needs to be further explored, especially in elderly patients. We aimed to retrospectively assess the validity of the MCCI as a predictor of the short-term outcomes in a cohort of 297 patients with first-ever ischemic stroke, older than 60 years, and managed according to a clinical pathway. The poor outcome (PO) at 1 month, defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 3-6, was the primary end point.