NHS England-funded CT fractional flow reserve in the era of the ISCHEMIA trial.

Background: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) 2016 guidelines (CG95) recommend patients with new stable chest pain be investigated with computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA). An updated guideline (MTG32) recommended using CT fractional flow reserve (CTFFR) as a gatekeeper to invasive coronary angiography (ICA) for patients with coronary stenosis on CTCA. Subsequently, NHS England negotiated a UK-wide contract with HeartFlow, the provider of CTFFR.

Impaired coronary microcirculation is associated with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in end-stage chronic kidney disease patients.

Introduction: Coronary vascular dysfunction, as assessed by coronary flow reserve (CFR) in the left anterior descending coronary artery, is found in various conditions including end-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD). Currently, we investigated the associations of CFR with echocardiographic indices of systolic and diastolic cardiac function and identified independent predictors of CFR in hemodialysis patients.

Methods: End-stage CKD patients treated with hemodialysis (n = 29) without known cardiovascular disease were recruited from a Hemodialysis Unit in Northwestern Greece.

Childhood and parental obesity in the poorest district of Greece.

Background And Aim: Childhood obesity represents a rising threat in southern Europe. It is widely accepted that childhood obesity is an important risk factor for the appearance of obesity in adulthood. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence of obesity in school aged children living in one of the poorest districts of Europe, as well as to estimate the association between the frequency of obesity observed in these children and their parents.