Analysis of Demographic and Socioeconomic Factors Influencing Adherence to a Web-Based Intervention Among Patients After Acute Coronary Syndrome: Prospective Observational Cohort Study.

Background: Although telemedicine has been proven to have significant potential for improving care for patients with cardiac problems, there remains a substantial risk of introducing disparities linked to the use of digital technology, especially for older or socially vulnerable subgroups.

Objective: We investigated factors influencing adherence to a telemedicine-delivered health education intervention in patients with ischemia, emphasizing demographic and socioeconomic considerations.

Methods: We conducted a descriptive, observational, prospective cohort study in consecutive patients referred to our cardiology center for acute coronary syndrome, from February 2022 to January 2023.

Multi-domain lifestyle intervention in older adults after myocardial infarction: rationale and design of the PIpELINe randomized clinical trial.

Background: Traditional cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is effective in improving physical performance and prognosis after myocardial infarction (MI). Anyway, it is not consistently recommended to older adults, and its attendance rate is low. Previous studies suggested that alternative, early and tailored exercise interventions are feasible and effective in improving physical performance in older MI patients.

Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the arrhythmic burden of patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators.

Background: In Italy, a nationwide full lockdown was declared between March and May 2020 to hinder the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The potential individual health effects of long-term isolation are largely unknown. The current study investigated the arrhythmic consequences of the COVID-19 lockdown in patients with defibrillators (ICDs) living in the province of Ferrara, Italy.

Prognostic comparison of the FRIEND and Wasserman/Hansen peak VO2 equations applied to a submaximal walking test in outpatients with cardiovascular disease.

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the ability to predict all-cause mortality using established per cent-predicted (%PRED) equations for peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) estimated by a submaximal walk test in outpatients with cardiovascular disease.

Methods: Male patients (N = 1491) aged 62 ± 10 years at baseline underwent a moderate and perceptually regulated (11-13 on the 6-20 Borg scale) 1-km treadmill-walking test to estimate VO2peak. %PRED was derived from the Fitness Registry and the Importance of Exercise: A National Data Base (FRIEND) and the Wasserman/Hansen equations.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical Activity in Patients With Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators.

Purpose: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been spreading rapidly worldwide since late January 2020. The strict lockdown strategy prompted by the Italian government, to hamper severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) spreading, has reduced the possibility of performing either outdoor or gym physical activity (PA). This study investigated and quantified the reduction of PA in patients with automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) for primary prevention of sudden death.

Impact of Improvement in Walking Speed on Hospitalization and Mortality in Females with Cardiovascular Disease.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the principal cause of death in women. Walking speed (WS) is strongly related with mortality and CVD. The rate of all-cause hospitalization or death was assessed in 290 female outpatients with CVD after participation in a cardiac rehabilitation/secondary prevention program (CR/SP) and associated with the WS maintained during a moderate 1 km treadmill-walk.

A moderate 200-m walk test estimates peak oxygen uptake in elderly outpatients with cardiovascular disease.

Background: A moderate 1-km treadmill walk test (1k-TWT) has been demonstrated to be a valid tool for estimating peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) in outpatients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). The results obtained by the 1k-TWT predict survival and hospitalization in men and women with CVD. We aimed to examine whether shorter versions of the full 1k-TWT equally assess VO2peak in outpatients with CVD.

[Inverse association between mortality and estimated functional capacity in hypertensive male outpatients with established coronary artery disease].

Background: Exercise capacity has been inversely associated with the incidence and severity of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is the gold standard for the determination of exercise capacity (i.e.

A quadricuspid aortic valve in an asymptomatic 40-year-old man: a case report.

Background: Integrated transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography enables identification and characterization of a quadricuspid aortic valve anomaly.

Case Presentation: A totally asymptomatic 40-year-old white man was referred to our Division of Cardiology after accidental finding of a heart murmur. Transesophageal echocardiography detected a quadricuspid aortic valve characterized by four cusps of equal size and severe aortic valvular regurgitation, without any further anomalies.

Physical activity intervention for elderly patients with reduced physical performance after acute coronary syndrome (HULK study): rationale and design of a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Reduced physical performance and impaired mobility are common in elderly patients after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and they represent independent risk factors for disability, morbidity, hospital readmission and mortality. Regular physical exercise represents a means for improving functional capacity. Nevertheless, its clinical benefit has been less investigated in elderly patients in the early phase after ACS.

A moderate 500-m treadmill walk for estimating peak oxygen uptake in men with NYHA class I-II heart failure and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction.

Background: Maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) is the gold-standard for cardiorespiratory fitness assessment in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients. However, high costs, required medical supervision, and safety concerns make maximal exercise testing impractical for evaluating mobility-impaired adults. Thus, several submaximal walking protocols have been developed and currently used to estimate peak oxygen consumption (VOpeak) in CHF patients.

500-meter and 1000-meter moderate walks equally assess cardiorespiratory fitness in male outpatients with cardiovascular diseases.

Background: The walking speed maintained during a moderate 1-km treadmill walk (1k-TWT) has been demonstrated to be a valid tool for estimating peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), and to be inversely related to long-term survival and hospitalization in outpatients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed to examine whether 500-meters and 1-k moderate treadmill-walking tests equally estimate VO2peak in male outpatients with CVD.

Methods: One hundred forty-two clinically stable male outpatients with CVD, aged 34-92 years, referred to an exercise-based secondary prevention program, performed a moderate and perceptually-regulated (11-13/20 on the Borg Scale) 1k-TWT.

Outdoor Reproducibility of a 1-km Treadmill Walking Test to Predict Peak Oxygen Uptake in Cardiac Patients.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine whether the 1-km treadmill walking test, previously developed to predict peak oxygen uptake ((Equation is included in full-text article.)O2peak) in stable cardiac outpatients, could be reproduced outdoors.

Methods: Fifty male cardiac outpatients performed the 1-km walking test on a treadmill and on a flat track within 1 week.

Determining the best percent-predicted equation for estimated VO peak by a 1-km moderate perceptually-regulated treadmill walk to predict mortality in outpatients with cardiovascular disease.

Objectives: To determine the prognostic ability of established percent-predicted equations of peak oxygen consumption (%PRED) estimated by a moderate submaximal walking test in a large cohort of outpatients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Design: Population-based prospective study.

Methods: A total of 1442 male patients aged 25-85 years at baseline, underwent a moderate perceptually-regulated (11-13 on the 6-20 Borg scale) treadmill walk (1k-TWT) for peak oxygen consumption estimation (VO peak).

Relation of QRS Duration to Response to Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy in Patients With Left Bundle Branch Block.

Left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony (LVdys) is a necessary condition for successful cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Despite left bundle branch block (LBBB) representing a reliable surrogate of LVdys, not all LBBB patients will respond to CRT. Our aim was to investigate the relation between QRS duration and LVdys in patients with LBBB who underwent CRT.

Improved walking speed is associated with lower hospitalisation rates in patients in an exercise-based secondary prevention programme.

Objective: To determine the relationship between walking speed (WS) maintained during a 1 km test and its improvement on hospitalisation in cardiac outpatients who were referred to an exercise-based secondary prevention programme.

Methods: Hospitalisation was assessed in 1791 patients 3 years after enrolment and related to the WS achieved during a 1 km walk at moderate intensity on a treadmill. Hospitalisation was also assessed during the fourth-to-sixth years as function of improvement in WS in 1111 participants who were re-evaluated 3 years after baseline.

Intravenous administration of flecainide or propafenone in patients with recent-onset atrial fibrillation does not predict adverse effects during 'pill-in-the-pocket' treatment.

Background: Pill-in-the-pocket treatment should be prescribed only if the administration of a loading oral dose of flecainide or propafenone has been proved safe in hospital, since major adverse effects have been reported in 5% of patients during in-hospital treatment. However, in emergency rooms, the oral administration of these drugs for the conversion of atrial fibrillation (AF) is very rarely used because it is time consuming. Objective To investigate whether tolerance to intravenous administration of flecainide or propafenone might predict the safety of pill-in-the-pocket treatment-the out-of-hospital self-administration of these drugs after the onset of palpitations-in patients with AF of recent onset.

Left intraventricular myocardial deformation dyssynchrony identifies responders to cardiac resynchronization therapy in patients with heart failure.

Aims: We tested the hypothesis that dyssynchrony of left ventricular (LV) myocardial deformation evaluated by ultrasound can predict success of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with heart failure (HF).

Methods And Results: Thirty-seven patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, New York Heart Association class III-IV, LV ejection fraction (EF) < or =35%, QRS > 120 ms were studied before, at pre-discharge, and after 3 and 6 months of CRT. The M-mode peak septal-to-posterior wall motion and thickening delay (SPWMD and SPWTD, ms) and the standard deviation of the averaged time-to-peak strain (TPS-SD, ms) of 12 middle and basal LV segments obtained from the three standard apical views were calculated.

Assessment of left ventricular volume and function by integration of simplified 3D echocardiography, tissue harmonic imaging and automated extraction of endocardial borders.

Background: Quantitative three-dimensional echocardiography (3DEcho) of left ventricle (LV) is still limited because of the need for manually tracing endocardial borders: this can increase observer variability depending on the quality of fundamental (FUND) 2D images. We tested the combination of a simplified 3DEcho technique for LV reconstruction with automated endocardial border detection (Digital Echo Quantification, DEQ) and tissue harmonic imaging (THI) for enhancement of endocardium-cavity interface.

Methods: Twenty-five consecutive patients with ischaemic heart disease and dilated or distorted LV underwent 3DEcho and gated-SPECT nuclear examinations evaluating: (a) end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes (EDV, ESV); (b) ejection fraction (EF); (c) volume/time curve (VTC).

Improved recognition of dysfunctioning myocardial segments by longitudinal strain rate versus velocity in patients with myocardial infarction.

Doppler tissue imaging (DTI) can measure myocardial velocities but velocities alone cannot distinguish active from passive wall motion, whereas this is possible by strain rate (SR) imaging (SRI). We evaluated the accuracy of SRI for recognition of abnormal regional systolic function compared with DTI, B-mode echocardiography, and anatomic M-mode in 24 patients with myocardial infarction who underwent gated stress Tc 99m sestamibi scan. Sensitivity and specificity for recognition of infarct segments were 91% and 84% for visual SRI, 63% and 73% for visual DTI, 78% and 71% for B-mode echocardiography, and 87% and 77% for anatomic M-mode, respectively.