Beta blockers for congestive heart failure.

The prognosis remains poor for many patients with congestive heart failure, despite maximal medical treatment with ACE inhibitor, diuretics and digitalis. In heart failure, activation of sympathetic nervous system has been described as one of the most important pathophysiologic abnormalities in patients with congestive heart failure and as one of the most important mechanisms that may be responsible for progression of heart failure. The use of beta blockers which may inhibit sympathetic activity, might reduce the risk of disease progression in heart failure, improve symptoms and increase survival.

Insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome in elderly women living in nursing homes.

Aim: To obtain a depiction of insulin resistance and to determine the correlation between age, body mass index, and insulin resistance, and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in elderly women living in nursing homes.

Methods: Ninety two elderly females with an average age of 71.4 (SD 7.

Rapid hemostasis of arterial puncture sites with Angio-Seal in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Angio-Seal device in achieving rapid hemostasis of the access site after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with manual compression.

Methods: From December 2002 to November 2003, the device was used in 88 nonconsecutive patients underwent PCI, their age was 58 +/- 9 years and 78% were male, and time to hemostasis, time to ambulation and in hospital groin complications were compared to 88 nonconsecutive patients (age 58 +/- 11 years and 77% were male), who had manual compression.

Results: Time to hemostasis is significantly shorter in Angio-Seal group compared with manual compression (1.