Right coronary artery diastolic perfusion pressure on outcome of patients with left heart failure and pulmonary hypertension.

Aims: Right ventricle adaptation to prolonged exposure against pulmonary hypertension (PH) includes structural and functional abnormalities, translated into modifications of blood flow pattern through the right coronary artery. Given these changes, we investigate the relationship between right coronary artery diastolic perfusion pressure (RCDPP) and clinical outcome, in patients with PH secondary to left-sided heart failure (HF).

Methods And Results: We studied 108 HF patients who underwent right heart catheterization.

Fatal association of mechanical valve thrombosis with dabigatran: a report of two cases.

Several new oral anticoagulants have been approved for thromboembolism prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. However, they are not yet approved for anticoagulation use in patients with prosthetic mechanical valves, and no randomized data have been published so far on their safety of use in these patients. We present two cases of patients with prosthetic mechanical mitral valves who were switched from warfarin and acenocoumarol to dabigatran and within 1 month experienced severe valve complications resulting in death.

Oxidative stress and inflammation due to peripheral polymorphonuclear leukocytes after coronary angiography vs percutaneous coronary intervention.

Aim: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) as an invasive procedure includes inflation of a balloon and/or implantation of an endovascular prosthesis (stent) in an atherosclerotic coronary vessel at a level where the plaque narrows its cross-sectional area by more than 75%. Various reports have demonstrated that balloon inflation or stent implantation trigger inflammation and subsequent growth of smooth muscle cells. Both oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation parameters worsen, increasing the risk of complications.

"Burning tongue" sensation during routine coronary angiography--a phenomenon related to a rare coronary anomaly.

We present the case of rare coronary circulation anomaly discovered during the routine coronary angiography that was associated with unusual "burning" sensation reported by the patient.