Velocity-Time Integral of Aortic Regurgitation: A Novel Echocardiographic Marker in the Evaluation of Aortic Regurgitation Severity.

Background: Echocardiography is essential for the diagnosis and quantification of aortic regurgitation (AR). Velocity-time integral (VTI) of AR flow could be related to AR severity.

Objective: This study aims to assess whether VTI is an echocardiographic marker of AR severity.

Non fluoroscopic ablation of different arrhythmic structures in an electrophysiology unit. Assessment of efficiency and security.

Background: Electroanatomical mapping systems (EMS) reduce fluoroscopy dose for the ablation. Higher costs and longer procedure times are the drawbacks associated with EMS. Our objective was to validate the efficiency of the EMS.

Low Performance of a Clinical-Genetic Model in the Estimation of Time in Therapeutic Range in Acenocoumarol-Adherent Patients with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation: The Quality of Anticoagulation Challenge.

Background: Anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists continues to be a challenging task given the difficulty of achieving a correct time in therapeutic range (TTR). The SAMeTTR score has been proposed to identify patients that will be good responders. In this study we aimed to analyse clinical and genetic factors involved in a correct level of anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation and thereby potentially improve the diagnostic performance of SAMeTTR score.

No additional value of conventional and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin over clinical scoring systems in the differential diagnosis of type 1 vs. type 2 myocardial infarction.

Background: The distinction of type 1 and type 2 myocardial infarction (MI) is of major clinical importance. Our aim was to evaluate the diagnostic ability of absolute and relative conventional cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) in the distinction between type 1 and type 2 MI in patients presenting at the emergency department with non-ST-segment elevation acute chest pain within the first 12 h.

Methods: We measured cTnI (Dimension Vista) and hs-cTnT (Cobas e601) concentrations at presentation and after 4 h in 200 patients presenting with suspected acute MI.

Genotyping of six clopidogrel-metabolizing enzyme polymorphisms has a minor role in the assessment of platelet reactivity in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Objective: To evaluate the contribution of six polymorphisms to the platelet reactivity in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) treated with clopidogrel.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of 278 consecutive patients with ACS. Detailed clinical information for each patient was collected and genotypes (CYP2C9*2, CYP2C9*3, CYP2C19*2, CYP2C19*17, CYP3A4*1B, and PON1-Q192R) were evaluated with TaqMan® and KASPar® assays.

Prognostic Usefulness of the 6-Minute Walk Test in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis.

The 6-minute walk test distance (6MWD) has been shown to predict prognosis in selected cohorts of patients with heart failure and outcomes after surgical or transcatheter aortic valve implantation (AVI) in patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis (AS). Our objective was to evaluate the association between the 6MWD and outcome in patients with severe AS while remaining under medical treatment. In a prospective observational cohort study, a total of 149 patients diagnosed with severe AS by Doppler echocardiography underwent a 6-minute walk test.

Effectiveness and Safety of Bivalirudin During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Acute Coronary Syndrome in the Real World: CARTAGOMAX Study.

The CARTAGOMAX study assessed the safety and efficacy of bivalirudin during real-world cardiac intervention. This was a single-center prospective study. Patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention were anticoagulated with bivalirudin alone or unfractionated heparin plus a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor.

[Usefulness of clinical profiling and exercise testing in the prognostic assessment of patients admitted with chest pain but without high-risk criteria].

Introduction And Objectives: Few data are available on the outcome of patients admitted to hospital with suspected acute coronary syndrome who have no high-risk factors and who undergo exercise testing before discharge. Our objectives were to investigate outcomes in this group of patients and to determine whether clinical history-taking or exercise testing can help to predict outcome.

Patients And Method: The study population comprised 449 patients admitted to hospital with chest pain suggestive of acute coronary syndrome.

[Dobutamine stress echocardiography in patients with stable chronic angina and a low- or medium-risk on exercise testing: usefulness for assessing long-term prognosis].

Introduction And Objectives: The ability of stress echocardiography to provide prognostic information that supplements that obtainable from clinical data and exercise electrocardiography is still controversial. Our aim was to determine whether dobutamine stress echocardiography provides additional information on long-term prognosis after conventional exercise testing has indicated that a patient with chronic stable angina has a low or intermediate risk of a cardiac event.

Patients And Method: The study included consecutive patients with stable angina who were not found to be at high risk on a previous exercise test.

Prognosis of patients with unstable angina and low-risk exercise test: significance of ST-segment depression on the admission ECG.

The presence of ST-segment depression on the admission electrocardiogram (ECG) is an important predictor of poor outcome in patients with unstable angina. On the other hand, patients with unstable angina who undergo a low-risk exercise test are supposed to have a favorable prognosis. The objective of the study was to determine the prognostic significance of ST-segment depression on the admission ECG in patients with unstable angina who undergo an exercise test that indicates a low risk of events.