[Clinical implications of rheology in cardiovascular diseases].

Although a close relationship between haemorrheological disorders and thrombogenesis has been known for a long time, only the recent introduction of newly developed analytical techniques has allowed a precise assessment of the main haemorrheological parameters. The employment of these techniques in routine clinical practice has enabled, for instance, a more accurate investigation of the pathogenetic triggers underlying numerous thrombotic disorders affecting the cardiovascular system. A survey of the most exhaustive prospective studies shows that some haemorrheological parameters (e.

[Right ventricular heart failure in hyperthyroidism].

Cardiovascular disorders in patients affected with hyperthyroidism are very common; the increase in the heart rate and in inotropism combines with a rise in the cardiac index towards which the reduction in peripheral resistances and an increase in the venous return to the heart contribute. The increase in myocardial excitabi1ity, caused above all by triiodothyronine, may be attended with atrial extrasystoles or even with atrial fibrillation. Congestive heart failure during hyperthyroidism, even if rare, may either reveal itself in association with pre-existent cardiopathy or to be precipitated by tachyar-rhythrmia, particu1arly, by paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.