Sex and gender specific pitfalls and challenges in cardiac rehabilitation: a working hypothesis towards better inclusivity in cardiac rehabilitation programmes.

Notwithstanding its acknowledged pivotal role for cardiovascular prevention, cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is still largely under prescribed, in almost 25% of patients owing an indication for. In addition, when considering differences concerning the two sexes, female individuals are underrepresented in CR programmes with lower referral rates, participation, and completion as compared to male counterpart. This picture becomes even more tangled with reference to gender, a complex socio-cultural construct characterized by four domains (gender identity, relation, role, and institutionalized gender).

Lipid-lowering therapy in patients with coronary heart disease: an Italian real-life survey. Results from the Survey on Risk FactOrs and CardiovascuLar secondary prEvention and drug strategieS (SOFOCLES) in Italy.

In patients at high cardiovascular risk, a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction of ≥50% from baseline and an LDL-C goal of <70 mg/dL (or <55 mg/dL in very high-risk patients) are recommended. Multiple registry and retrospective studies have shown that patients with high atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk often do not reach the targets defined by the European Society of Cardiology guidelines as a result of suboptimal management of LDL-C. Here, we report the data on lipid-lowering therapy and lipid targets from the Survey on Risk FactOrs and CardiovascuLar secondary prEvention and drug strategieS (SOFOCLES), an observational, prospective study designed to collect data on patients with ischemic heart disease treated at cardiac outpatient clinics across the Italian national territory.

Towards an integrated model of nursing competence: an overview of the literature reviews and concept analysis.

Introduction: Competence is considered a fundamental element when measuring a nurse's or student's ability to provide nursing care, but there is no consensus on what competence really is. This paper aims to review the existing meanings and models of nursing competence.

Method: The overview of literature reviews and concept analysis was performed through a search on Pubmed, Cinahl and PsychINFO from January 2005 to September 2014.

Application of multivariate statistics to the Steroidal Module of the Athlete Biological Passport: A proof of concept study.

The Technical Document TD2014EAAS was drafted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in order to fight the spread of endogenous anabolic androgenic steroids (EAAS) misuse in several sport disciplines. In particular, adoption of the so-called Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) - Steroidal Module allowed control laboratories to identify anomalous EAAS concentrations within the athletes' physiological urinary steroidal profile. Gas chromatography (GC) combined with mass spectrometry (MS), indicated by WADA as an appropriate technique to detect urinary EAAS, was utilized in the present study to develop and fully-validate an analytical method for the determination of all EAAS markers specified in TD2014EAAS, plus two further markers hypothetically useful to reveal microbial degradation of the sample.

Peak oxygen consumption and prognosis in heart failure: 14 mL/kg/min is not a "gender-neutral" reference.

Background: Peak oxygen consumption (VO2) predictive authority in heart failure (HF) has been established from male cohorts. We evaluated the gender impact on the prognostic meaning of low peak VO2.

Methods: We followed 529 HF patients (116 female), with peak VO2 ≤ 14 mL/kg/min, until cardiovascular death (CVD) and urgent heart transplantation.

A new cardiopulmonary exercise testing prognosticating algorithm for heart failure patients treated with beta-blockers.

In 2004, a cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) prognosticating algorithm for heart failure (HF) patients was proposed. The algorithm employed a stepwise assessment of peak oxygen consumption (VO2), slope of regression relating minute ventilation to carbon dioxide output (VE/VCO2) and peak respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and was proposed as an alternative to the traditional strategy of using a single CPET parameter to describe prognosis. Since its initial proposal, the prognosticating algorithm has not been reassessed, although a re-evaluation is in order given the fact that new HF therapies, such as beta-blocker therapy, have significantly improved survival in HF.