Publications by authors named "Francesca Lacalaprice"
Background: Cardiopulmonary exercise stress testing (CPET) is used to grade the severity of heart failure and to assess its prognosis. However it is unknown whether CPET may improve diagnostic accuracy of standard ECG stress testing to identify or exclude obstructive coronary artery disease (O-CAD) in patients with chest pain.
Methods: We prospectively studied 1265 consecutive subjects (55 ± 8 years, 156 women) who were evaluated with ECG stress testing (ET) for chest pain.
Background: Patients referred for cardiac rehabilitation may take advantage from combining trimetazidine (TMZ) with exercise training (ET), as both treatments produce similar effects in the cardiovascular system. It is, however, unknown whether the combination of TMZ with ET may determine greater improvements in functional capacity and endothelial function than ET alone.
Design: A randomized longitudinal controlled study.
Background: There is evidence that aerobic exercise improves functional capacity in patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II and III chronic heart failure. However, it is unknown whether dancing is safe and able to improve functional capacity in patients with chronic heart failure.
Methods And Results: We prospectively studied 130 patients with stable chronic heart failure (107 men; mean age, 59+/-11 years) in New York Heart Association class II and III and left ventricle ejection fraction <40%.
Aims: To determine whether short-term treatment with trimetazidine (TMZ), an antiischemic agent that directly inhibits fatty acid oxidation and results in stimulation of glucose oxidation, may improve myocardial perfusion and left ventricular systolic function in diabetic patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy.
Methods And Results: We studied 34 clinically stable patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and documented multivessel coronary artery disease (29 men and 5 women, mean age 54 +/- 9 years) with depressed systolic function (left ventricular ejection fraction 38 +/- 6%). Patients were randomized into two groups.
Patients referred for cardiac rehabilitation may benefit from combining trimetazidine with exercise training because both treatments produce synergic benefits on the cardiovascular system. There is evidence that trimetazidine improves left ventricular (LV) function in patients with ischemic and diabetic cardiomyopathy by shifting the cellular energy substrate reference from fatty acids to glucose oxidation, and that this effect is associated with a better outcome. Recently, results have demonstrated that trimetazidine improves radial artery endothelium-dependent relaxation related to its antioxidant properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: There is evidence that plasma coenzyme Q(10) (CoQ(10)) levels decrease in patients with advanced chronic heart failure (CHF). However, it is not known whether oral CoQ(10) supplementation may improve cardiocirculatory efficiency and endothelial function in patients with CHF.
Methods And Results: We studied 23 patients in NYHA class II and III (20 men, three women, mean age 59+/-9 years) with stable CHF secondary to ischaemic heart disease [ejection fraction 37+/-7%], using a double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over design.
Background: There is evidence that plasma CoQ(10) levels decrease in patients with advanced chronic heart failure (CHF).
Objective: To investigate whether oral CoQ(10) supplementation could improve cardiocirculatory efficiency in patients with CHF.
Methods: We studied 21 patients in NYHA class II and III (18M, 3W, mean age 59 +/- 9 years) with stable CHF secondary to ischemic heart disease (ejection fraction 37 +/- 7%), using a double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over design.
Background: Patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) have sexual dysfunction that impairs quality of life. Recent trials have demonstrated that exercise training (ET) improves quality of life (QOL) of CHF patients, but it is not established whether this benefit may be associated with an improvement in sexual dysfunction.
Objective: To determine whether ET can improve sexual dysfunction in patients with CHF.
Background: The objective of the study was to identify the parameter(s) of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) that can detect exercise-induced myocardial ischaemia (EIMI), and to determine its diagnostic accuracy for identifying patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).
Methods And Results: We prospectively studied 202 consecutive patients (173 men, 29 women, mean age 55.7+/-10.