Long-Term Quality of Prescription for ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) Patients: A Real World 1-Year Follow-Up Study.

Aim: American and European associations of cardiology published specific guidelines about recommended drugs for secondary prevention in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. Our aim was to assess whether drug prescription for STEMI patients was in accordance with the guidelines at discharge and after 1 year.

Method: We used data of 361 patients admitted for STEMI in a tertiary hospital in Switzerland from 2014 to 2016.

[Cardiology update 2017].

As usual, numerous papers published in 2017 contributed to optimize the management of patients in all clinical cardiologic fields. It is of course impossible to summarize them all in such an article. Subjects and papers were thus selected if they were thought to be particularly important for non-cardiologist physicians, especially general practitioners.

Long-Term Incremental Prognostic Value of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance After ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction: A Study of the Collaborative Registry on CMR in STEMI.

Objectives: This study sought to investigate whether early post-infarction cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) parameters provide additional long-term prognostic value beyond traditional outcome predictors in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients.

Background: Long-term prognostic significance of CMR in STEMI patients has not been assessed yet.

Methods: This was a longitudinal study from a multicenter registry that prospectively included STEMI patients undergoing CMR after infarction.

[Cardiology update in 2016].

In 2016 the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) published new guidelines. These documents update the knowledge in various fields such as atrial fibrillation, heart failure, cardiovascular prevention and dyslipidemia. Of course it is impossible to summarize these guidelines in detail.

Profiling and validation of circulating microRNAs for cardiovascular events in patients presenting with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

Aims: MicroRNAs (miRNA) are important non-coding modulators controlling patterns of gene expression. However, profiling and validation of circulating miRNA levels related to adverse cardiovascular outcome has not been performed in patients with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods And Results: In a multicentre, prospective ACS cohort, 1002 out of 2168 patients presented with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

[Approach to chronic mitral regurgitation in 2016].

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most frequent valvular disease in industrialised countries. MR is classified as primary (mostly degenerative with valve prolapse) or secondary (mainly due to underlying ischemic heart disease resulting in deformation of the valve structure). Surgical repair represents the optimal treatment for severe primary MR, whereas the benefits of surgical correction of secondary MR are controversial.

[Cardiology update in 2015].

The present review provides a selected choice of clinical trials and therapeutic advances in the field of cardiology in 2015. A new treatment option in heart failure will become available this year in Switzerland. In interventional cardiology, new trials have been published on the duration of dual antiplatelet therapy, the new stents with bioresorbable scaffold and the long-term results of TAVR in patients who are not surgical candidates or at high surgical risk.

Prevalence and management of familial hypercholesterolaemia in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

Aims: We aimed to assess the prevalence and management of clinical familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) among patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods And Results: We studied 4778 patients with ACS from a multi-centre cohort study in Switzerland. Based on personal and familial history of premature cardiovascular disease and LDL-cholesterol levels, two validated algorithms for diagnosis of clinical FH were used: the Dutch Lipid Clinic Network algorithm to assess possible (score 3-5 points) or probable/definite FH (>5 points), and the Simon Broome Register algorithm to assess possible FH.

Low statin use in adults hospitalized with acute coronary syndrome.

Objective: To assess recommended and actual use of statins in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) based on clinical prediction scores in adults who develop their first acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Method: Cross-sectional study of 3172 adults without previous CVD hospitalized with ACS at 4 university centers in Switzerland. The number of participants eligible for statins before hospitalization was estimated based on the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines and compared to the observed number of participants on statins at hospital entry.

[Cardiology update in 2014].

Important clinical trials and therapeutic advances in the field of cardiology have been presented in 2014. New evidences on the management of acute myocardial infarction and the duration of dual antiplatelet therapy after coronary stent implantation have been published. A new class of therapeutic agents seems to offer promising perspectives for patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction.

Safety profile of prasugrel and clopidogrel in patients with acute coronary syndromes in Switzerland.

Objective: To assess safety up to 1 year of follow-up associated with prasugrel and clopidogrel use in a prospective cohort of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS).

Methods: Between 2009 and 2012, 2286 patients invasively managed for ACS were enrolled in the multicentre Swiss ACS Bleeding Cohort, among whom 2148 patients received either prasugrel or clopidogrel according to current guidelines. Patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) preferentially received prasugrel, while those with non-STEMI, a history of stroke or transient ischaemic attack, age ≥75 years, or weight <60 kg received clopidogrel or reduced dose of prasugrel to comply with the prasugrel label.

Expected impact of applying new 2013 AHA/ACC cholesterol guidelines criteria on the recommended lipid target achievement after acute coronary syndromes.

Background: 2013 AHA/ACC guidelines on the treatment of cholesterol advised to tailor high-intensity statin after ACS, while previous ATP-III recommended titration of statin to reach low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) targets. We simulated the impact of this change of paradigm on the achievement of recommended targets.

Methods: Among a prospective cohort study of consecutive patients hospitalized for ACS from 2009 to 2012 at four Swiss university hospitals, we analyzed 1602 patients who survived one year after recruitment.

Reasons for discontinuation of recommended therapies according to the patients after acute coronary syndromes.

Background: The prescription of recommended medical therapies is a key factor to improve prognosis after acute coronary syndromes (ACS). However, reasons for cardiovascular therapies discontinuation after hospital discharge are poorly reported in previous studies.

Methods: We enrolled 3055 consecutive patients hospitalized with a main diagnosis of ACS in four Swiss university hospitals with a prospective one-year follow-up.

Time-dependent specificity of immunopathologic (C4d-CD68) and histologic criteria of antibody-mediated rejection for donor-specific antibodies and allograft dysfunction in heart transplantation.

Background: In heart transplantation, antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is diagnosed and graded on the basis of immunopathologic (C4d-CD68) and histopathologic criteria found on endomyocardial biopsies (EMB). Because some pathologic AMR (pAMR) grades may be associated with clinical AMR, and because humoral responses may be affected by the intensity of immunosuppression during the first posttransplantation year, we investigated the incidence and positive predictive values (PPV) of C4d-CD68 and pAMR grades for clinical AMR as a function of time.

Methods: All 564 EMB from 40 adult heart recipients were graded for pAMR during the first posttransplantation year.

Quality of care after acute coronary syndromes in a prospective cohort with reasons for non-prescription of recommended medications.

Background: Adherence to guidelines is associated with improved outcomes of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Clinical registries developed to assess quality of care at discharge often do not collect the reasons for non-prescription for proven efficacious preventive medication in Continental Europe. In a prospective cohort of patients hospitalized for an ACS, we aimed at measuring the rate of recommended treatment at discharge, using pre-specified quality indicators recommended in cardiologic guidelines and including systematic collection of reasons for non-prescription for preventive medications.

Early repolarization, acute emotional stress and sudden death.

We herein report the case of a 36-year-old man who died suddenly after a fight with another man. Forensic investigations included unenhanced computed tomography, postmortem angiography, autopsy, histology, neuropathology, toxicology, and biochemistry and allowed a traumatic cause of death to be excluded. An electrocardiogram recorded some years prior to death revealed the presence of an early repolarization pattern.

[Geriatric assessment in old patients candidate to transcatheter aortic implantation].

Aortic stenosis mostly occurs among old-old patients. Once symptoms appear, prognosis is guarded, with 2-year mortality as high as 50%. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) is a new therapeutic option in patients at very high surgical risk, who are mostly older persons.

Relationship between time of day and periprocedural myocardial infarction after elective angioplasty.

Objectives: To test if the time of day significantly influences the occurrence of type 4A myocardial infarction in elective patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Background: Recent studies have suggested an influence of circadian rhythms on myocardial infarction size and mortality among patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction. The aim of the study is to investigate whether periprocedural myocardial infarction (PMI) is influenced by the time of day in elective patients undergoing PCI.

[Cell-based regenerative therapy in cardiology: the future at present].

Cell-based regenerative therapy treatment of cardiovascular diseases considered as irreversible, as acute myocardial infarction, chronic ischemic heart failure, non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy and refractory angina pectoris. Large randomized clinical trials with hard clinical endpoints are still necessary before considering cell-based regenerative therapy as a valuable alternative therapeutic option in cardiology.

Association between conventional risk factors and different ultrasound-based markers of atherosclerosis at carotid and femoral levels in a middle-aged population.

Ultrasound detection of sub-clinical atherosclerosis (ATS) may help identify individuals at high cardiovascular risk. Most studies evaluated intima-media thickness (IMT) at carotid level. We compared the relationships between main cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) and five indicators of ATS (IMT, mean and maximal plaque thickness, mean and maximal plaque area) at both carotid and femoral levels.

Circadian variations of ischemic burden among patients with myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: Several parameters of cardiovascular physiology and pathophysiology exhibit circadian rhythms. Recently, a relation between infarct size and the time of day at which it occurs has been suggested in experimental models of myocardial infarction. The aim of this study is to investigate whether circadian rhythms could cause differences in ischemic burden in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI).

WITHDRAWN: Transfemoral aortic valve-in-valve procedure with the new Edwards SAPIEN XT valve.

This article has been withdrawn at the request of the authors and Editor. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at http://www.

Reduced atrial emptying after orthotopic heart transplantation masquerading as restrictive transmitral Doppler flow pattern?*.

Background: An elevated early (E) to late (A) diastolic filling velocities ratio, typically seen in advanced diastolic dysfunction, has also been observed after cardioversion of atrial fibrillation as a consequence of the depressed left atrial (LA) contractility. We hypothesized that the impaired LA contractile function demonstrated after orthotopic cardiac transplantation (OCT) could also lead to this "pseudorestrictive" pattern.

Method: E/A ratio related to the tissue Doppler early mitral annular velocity (Ea) as preload-independent index of LV relaxation was evaluated in all consecutive OCT patients between 2005 and 2007.