Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cardiovascular Healthcare in Croatia: A Comprehensive Nationwide Survey.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiovascular healthcare in Croatia remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to compare the utilization and provision of cardiovascular services during the pre-pandemic (2017-2019) and pandemic (2020-2021) periods, leveraging nationwide data from the Croatian Health Insurance Fund, which covers 95% of all insurance claims in the country. Our findings reveal that while the use of coronary angiographies decreased during the pandemic, there was a notable increase in the utilization of advanced heart failure treatment modalities and percutaneous coronary interventions, particularly in the context of acute myocardial infarction.

[Transradial approach in interventional cardiology: "quod licet femoralisti, non licet radialisti"].

Transradial approach has been used in invasive cardiology since 1989 and since 1995 for PCI. Croatia is late in using this technique for about one whole decade. The advantage of transradial approach over femoral approach are serious local complications of (2.

The analysis of tobacco consumption in Croatia--are we successfully facing the epidemic?

Tobacco is the largest cause of morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to analyse several health and economically related indicators of tobacco consumption: smoking prevalence, standardized death rates (SDRs) from lung cancer and the proportion of GDP spent on tobacco in Croatia and other transitional countries--the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, and Bulgaria. The overall smoking prevalence in Croatia decreased by 5.

Radial artery spasm during transradial coronary procedures.

Although transradial access (TRA) for coronary procedures has many advantages over the transfemoral approach, it's still not the dominant route used in coronary interventions. Radial artery spasm (RAS) is an important limitation of TRA. We performed a search of published literature to estimate the prevalence and possible risk factors of RAS in patients undergoing transradial coronary procedure.

HIV infection, as opposed to antiretroviral therapy, does not cause changes in the concentration levels of specific salivary electrolytes.

The concentration levels of salivary calcium, magnesium and zinc can vary in different localized oral, as well as systemic diseases and conditions. So far changes in the concentration levels of specific electrolytes in stimulated parotid saliva in HIV-positive/AIDS patients have been proven. The objective of this research was not only to study the concentration levels of calcium in non-stimulated total saliva, but also the concentration levels of magnesium and zinc, which have not been studied so far, and the influence of antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

[Stent, endovascular prosthesis, net or strut? What would British dentist Charles Stent (1807-1885) have to say on all this?].

The word stent appears in the Index Medicus as of 1952, while in Croatian articles as of 1993. The origin of the word has been attributed to British dentist Charles. T.