Experience from a regional percutaneous coronary intervention center: Aiming to assess and improve quality of care.

Introduction And Objectives: Ischemic heart disease is the single most common cause of death in Europe. Mortality in patients presenting with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is associated with many factors, one of which is the time delay to treatment. The purpose of this work is to analyze the coronary pathway in our region in terms of timing, taking into consideration the place of first medical contact (FMC).

Medication adherence to direct anticoagulants in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation - A real world analysis.

Introduction: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) changed the landscape of atrial fibrillation (AF) treatment, but also brought with them new challenges in terms of accessibility and compliance. The purpose of this study was to assess adherence to DOACs, and its determinants in a population of AF patients.

Methods: Single-center retrospective study including all patients with non-valvular AF treated with a DOAC from the outpatient general cardiology list at a tertiary center, whose first DOAC prescription was between 1 April 2016 and August 2018.

Percutaneous closure of accidental left atrium puncture: a case report.

Background: Minimally invasive alternatives to surgical closure of cardiac perforations are a recognized need, especially in critically ill patients in whom predicted surgical mortality is prohibitive. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of an iatrogenic left atrium (LA) puncture closed with a plug-based vascular closure device (VCD).

Case Summary: During a palliative right-sided thoracentesis on a 73-year-old woman, with end-stage heart failure due to rheumatic valvular heart disease, an accidental puncture and insertion of a central venous catheter into an aneurysmatic LA occurred.

Cardiac tumors: three decades of experience from a tertiary center: are we changing diagnostic work-up with new imaging tools?

Background: Primary cardiac tumours are relatively rare. Cardiac myxomas are the most prevalent and in a significant proportion of cases they are accidentally discovered in asymptomatic patients. Noninvasive definitive diagnosis remains challenging despite improvements provided by newer imaging tools.