General public awareness of heart failure: results of questionnaire survey during Heart Failure Awareness Day 2011.

Introduction: General public views about heart failure (HF) alone and in comparison with other chronic conditions are largely unknown; thus we conducted this survey to evaluate general public awareness about HF and HF disease burden relative to common chronic disease.

Material And Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey during European Heart Failure Awareness Day 2011. People visiting the stands and other activities in 12 Slovenian cities were invited to complete a 14-item questionnaire.

Is diabetic cardiomyopathy a specific entity?

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is characterised by hyperglycemia, insulin resistance and metabolic dysregulation leading to diastolic and systolic dysfunction in diabetes. In this review, the pathogenetic and pathomorphological changes leading to diastolic and systolic dysfunction in diabetes are discussed. Changes in metabolic signalling pathways, mediators and effectors contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiac dysfunction in DM called diabetic cardiomyopathy (DC).

With computed tomography confirmed anterolateral left ventricular pseudoaneurysm in patient with dilatative alcoholic cardiomyopathy.

Background: Pseudoaneurysms are rare complications of myocardial infarction with propensity for rupture. There is still a challenge with which diagnostic imaging we performed a final diagnosis of pseudoaneurysm and differentiate it from true aneurysm what is clinically important due to the different treatment.

Case Report: We presented the unusual case of a 56-year-old man with signs of decompensated heart failure which had worsened a few months before hospitalization.

Oestrogen receptor dinucleotide (TA) polymorphism affects total and LDL cholesterol but does not predict premature myocardial infarction in Caucasian men.

Objective: The aim of this association study was to test the hypothesis whether the oestrogen receptor gene dinucleotide (TA) polymorphism is a risk factor for premature myocardial infarction in Caucasian men. Moreover, we investigated an association between oestrogen receptor gene dinucleotide (TA) polymorphism and serum lipid levels.

Methods And Results: One hundred and thirty men with premature myocardial infarction were compared with healthy men.

The eNOS gene polymorphism does not have a major impact on lipid parameters and premature coronary artery disease in Caucasian women.

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) catalyzes the formation of nitric oxide (NO) which has vasodilatory, antithrombotic, antiinflammatory and antiproliferative actions through which NO regulates blood pressure and modulates the process of atherosclerosis. Genetic polymorphism of the eNOS gene has been identified in several studies as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. In this case-control study we examined a possible association of the polymorphism in intron 4 (4a/b) of the eNOS gene (eNOS 4a/b) on coronary artery disease (CAD) risk in 151 Slovenian women with premature CAD (younger than 65 years) and in 109 women without CAD.

Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism effects triglycerides but not CAD risk in Caucasian women younger than 65 years.

The pathogenesis of CAD is similar in man and woman, yet some risk factors have a greater impact on the CAD risk in woman than in man. In this study we assessed the effect of the apoE gene polymorphism on lipid metabolism and risk for CAD in women younger than 65 years (premature CAD). In a cross-sectional case-control study, 147 female Caucasian patients with premature CAD (confirmed by coronarography) were compared with a control group of 114 healthy Caucasian women.

Sex difference in the effect of ACE-DD genotype on the risk of premature myocardial infarction.

In this association study the authors compared the insertion/deletion (I/D) angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism in females and males with premature myocardial infarction (MI). I/D ACE gene polymorphism was tested in 738 subjects: 302 patients with MI (151 men and 151 women) and 436 healthy subjects (207 men and 229 women). In women the ACE-DD genotype was not associated with MI (OR 1.

Insertion/deletion polymorphism of angiotensin-converting enzyme gene--risk factor for coronary artery disease in the Tuzla region population (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

Angiotensin II is the major effector molecule of renin-angiotensin system; its production can be conveniently interrupted by angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). Typical plasma levels of ACE accompany the I/D polymorphism; however, a controversy exists as to whether the DD genotype of the ACE polymorphism affects the risk for the development of coronary artery disease (CAD) and to what extent the ACE polymorphism is associated with CAD in different populations. We compared the I/D polymorphism in 212 CAD patients younger than 50 years with 165 healthy control individuals.

Complete atrioventricular block induced by alcohol abuse.

A patient with a history of chronic alcoholism and a reversible complete AV block due to excessive alcohol abuse is reported. The conduction disorder gradually improved after the complete cessation of alcohol consumption as the only means of therapy. During 6 month follow-up he continued to abstain from alcohol and had intact AV conduction.