Endothelial dysfunction, measured by reactive hyperaemia using strain-gauge plethysmography, is an independent predictor of adverse outcome in heart failure.

Aims: In congestive heart failure (CHF), arterial response is regulated by endothelial molecules. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether endothelial dysfunction (ED) was a predictor of outcome in a cohort of patients with heart failure.

Methods And Results: Endothelial function was assessed in 242 patients with CHF by forearm reactive hyperaemia measured with intermittent venous occlusion plethysmography using a mercury strain gauge.

[Management of syncope in the emergency department without hospital admission: usefulness of an arrhythmia unit coordinated protocol].

Introduction And Objectives: The main aim of this study was to demonstrate that a protocol for managing syncope in the emergency department that is based on the early detection of heart disease enables patients to be diagnosed quickly and with few admissions, without there being a negative impact on prognosis.

Methods: The study was performed prospectively in 199 consecutive patients (54% male; mean age, 67 [17] years) who presented with syncope at the emergency department of our hospital during a 17-month period. A two-step diagnostic algorithm was developed in which patients initially underwent clinical and electro-cardiographic assessment, and thereafter were submitted to a diagnostic protocol that involved carrying out a sequence of diagnostic tests in the emergency room to avoid hospital admission.