Speckle Tracking Imaging in Normal Stress Echocardiography.

Objectives: Exercise stress echocardiography is a widely used modality for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with coronary artery disease. During the last decade, speckle tracking imaging has been used increasingly for accurate evaluation of cardiac function. This work aimed to assess speckle-tracking imaging parameters during nonischemic exercise stress echocardiography.

30-day outcome after percutaneous coronary angioplasty in nonagenarians: feasibility and specific considerations in different clinical settings.

Background: Nonagenarians have been systematically excluded from randomized trials dealing with invasive coronary strategies, resulting in a lack of evidence-based guidelines regarding the optimal approach in this population.

Aim: To describe the clinical and procedural characteristics and outcomes of patients 90 years of age or older who were treated with percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI).

Methods: We evaluated the 30-day outcomes of patients 90 years or older who underwent PCI at our institution, comparing the ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) subgroup with the non-STEMI/unstable angina (UA) and stable angina (SA) subgroups, who had been referred for coronary angiography.

A 37-year-old man with recurrent fainting: a short communication.

The possible influence of the oesophageal diseases on the heart is well known. Deglutition syncope and pre-syncope have been described in relation to arrhythmias or mechanical problems. We report here a case of recurrent pre-syncope in a patient after gastric banding.

Application of HRV-CD for estimation of life expectancy in various clinical disorders.

Background: Low heart rate variability (HRV) was found in various medical conditions including heart failure and acute myocardial infarction. Decreased HRV in these conditions predicted poor prognosis.

Methods: HRV was estimated in 133 unselected inpatients with relevant clinical bedside conditions by non-linear analysis derived from chaos theory, which calculates the correlation dimension (CD) of the cardiac electrophysiologic system (HRV-CD).

Percutaneous coronary intervention of unprotected left main coronary artery in the emergent/urgent setting.

Background: Treatment of unprotected left main coronary disease by percutaneous interventions, even in the urgent setting, is still not an approved indication. However, the evolution of transcatheter technology and supporting devices, along with greater skill in high-volume centers, led the interventional community to deal with these cases. This study aimed to investigate whether the percutaneous approach in this cohort could be a viable alternative to coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in the urgent setting.