Target temperature management of 33 degrees C exerts beneficial haemodynamic effects after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Background: Accumulating evidence indicates that target temperature management (TTM) is beneficial in patients resuscitated after cardiac arrest since it appears to improve neurological outcome. However, the optimal cooling method (surface vs. intravascular) has not yet been specified.

Incidence of adverse cardiac events 5 years after polymer-free sirolimus eluting stent implantation: Results from the prospective Bad Berka Yukon Choice™ registry.

Objectives: Drug-eluting stents (DES) constitute a major achievement in preventing re-stenosis, concerns remain regarding the increased inflammatory responses associated with the polymers used. This analysis focuses on outcomes in patients receiving the polymer-free sirolimus-eluting stent system YUKON-Choice (Yukon-DES, Translumina, Germany).

Methods: From 01/2006-09/2008 all patients receiving Yukon-DES (≥2.

Levosimendan is superior to enoximone in refractory cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction.

Objective: Cardiogenic shock is the leading cause of death in patients hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction. The objectives were to investigate the effects of levosimendan, a novel inodilator, compared with the phosphodiesterase-III inhibitor enoximone in refractory cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction, on top of current therapy.

Design: Prospective, randomized, controlled single-center clinical trial.

Meta-analysis of heart valve abnormalities in Parkinson's disease patients treated with dopamine agonists.

Valvular heart disease in patients being treated with ergot-derivative dopamine agonists (Ergot-DA) for Parkinson's disease has been reported to occur as a consequence of serotonine receptor stimulation. Goal of this analysis was to estimate the incidence of those changes from recently published studies and to determine its clinical relevance. Medline searches were performed to identify cross-sectional, echocardiographic studies comparing patients treated with dopamine agonists or controls, in terms of valvular changes.

Valvular heart disease in Parkinson's disease patients treated with dopamine agonists: a reader-blinded monocenter echocardiography study.

Fibrotic valvular heart disease (VHD) has been reported in association with ergot dopamine agonists (DAs), but the current database is insufficient regarding clinical relevance and comparison to data on non-ergot DAs. We evaluated the effects of four DAs (pergolide, cabergoline, ropinirole, pramipexole) on morphology and function of heart valves in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) to determine the frequency and clinical relevance of DA-induced VHD. A total of 85 patients treated with ergot or non-ergot DAs and 38 age-matched controls were evaluated by transthoracic echocardiography.