The 'peptide for life' initiative in the emergency department study.

Aims: Natriuretic peptide (NP) uptake varies in Emergency Departments (EDs) across Europe. The 'Peptide for Life' (P4L) initiative, led by Heart Failure Association, aims to enhance NP utilization for early diagnosis of heart failure (HF). We tested the hypothesis that implementing an educational campaign in Western Balkan countries would significantly increase NP adoption rates in the ED.

The impact of earthquakes on the frequency and prognosis of the most common emergency cardiac conditions.

Aim: To assess whether the number of patients with a cardiac chief complaint and their characteristics differed between before and after two major earthquakes that struck Croatia in 2020.

Methods: We collected data on all visits of patients with a cardiac chief complaint examined in the emergency departments of six hospitals nearest to the epicenters. Patients seen during the 7 days before the earthquake were compared with those seen on the day and during the 6 days after the earthquake.

Multiple Coronary Fistulas as a Rare Cause of Stable Angina Pectoris.

Congenital coronary artery-left ventricular multiple microfistulas (CA-LVMMFs) are rare anomalies in adults. They are more often found in female patients, and they usually originate from the distal segments of the coronary arteries, but they can originate from a proximal segments of a coronary arteries, and these patients are likely to be identified and treated in the pediatric age group. They are mostly asymptomatic.

COVID-19: The Impact on Cardiovascular System.

SARS-CoV-2 has been circulating in population worldwide for the past year and a half, and thus a vast amount of scientific literature has been produced in order to study the biology of the virus and the pathophysiology of COVID-19, as well as to determine the best way to prevent infection, treat the patients and eliminate the virus. SARS-CoV-2 binding to the ACE2 receptor is the key initiator of COVID-19. The ability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect various types of cells requires special attention to be given to the cardiovascular system, as it is commonly affected.

The Mystery of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy: From Early Concepts and Underlying Mechanisms to Novel Therapeutic Possibilities.

Diabetic patients are predisposed to diabetic cardiomyopathy, a specific form of cardiomyopathy which is characterized by the development of myocardial fibrosis, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, and apoptosis that develops independently of concomitant macrovascular and microvascular diabetic complications. Its pathophysiology is multifactorial and poorly understood and no specific therapeutic guideline has yet been established. Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a challenging diagnosis, made after excluding other potential entities, treated with different pharmacotherapeutic agents targeting various pathophysiological pathways that need yet to be unraveled.