Trend of the main clinical characteristics and pacing modality in patients treated by pacemaker: data from the Italian Pacemaker Registry for the quinquennium 2003-07.

Aims: To assess the impact on clinical practice of the major published studies, we report the information collected by the Italian Pacemaker Registry (IPR) in the quinquennium 2003-07.

Methods And Results: The IPR collected prospectively main epidemiological, clinical, and electrocardiographic data of patients treated by pacemaker (PM) in Italy on the basis of European PM Card. The number of reported PMs in Italy was 30,820 in 2003, 32,047 in 2004, 31,870 in 2005, 31,813 in 2006, and 31,146 in 2007, respectively.

Prognostic implications of creatine kinase elevation after primary percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction.

Objectives: We examined the prognostic implications of the absolute level and rate of increase of creatine kinase (CK) elevation after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Background: Peak creatine kinase (CK(peak)) and the rate of CK increase are related to reperfusion success and clinical outcomes after thrombolytic therapy for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The utility of routine serial CK monitoring after primary PCI, in which normal antegrade blood flow is restored in most patients, is unknown.

Effect of continuous quality improvement analysis on the delivery of primary percutaneous revascularization for acute myocardial infarction: a community hospital experience.

As time to reperfusion correlates with outcomes, a door-to-balloon time of 90 +/- 30 min for primary percutaneous coronary revascularization (PCI) for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction has been recently established as a guideline by the ACC/AHA. The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of a continuous quality assurance program designed to expedite primary angioplasty at a community hospital. A database of all primary PCI procedures was created in 1998.

Overcoming vascular anatomic challenges to cardiac catheterization by the radial artery approach: specific techniques to improve success.

Anatomical variations in the peripheral vasculature can result in decreased procedural success rates for cardiac catheterization performed through the radial artery approach. We describe four categories of vascular challenges encountered in our catheterization laboratory: severe spasm, severe tortuosity, vascular stenosis, and congenital anatomical variations (e.g.