Risk Factors for Coronary Artery Calcifications in Overweight or Obese Persons with Prediabetes: Can They Predict T2 Diabetes and Coronary Vascular Events?

Background: It is difficult to predict the risk of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in subjects with prediabetes and obesity. The aim of this study was to assess risk factors for coronary artery calcifications (CACs) and the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and coronary vascular events (CVEs) after 7 years in 100 overweight or obese persons with prediabetes, according to the baseline coronary artery calcium score (CACS).

Methods: Lipids, HbA1c, uric acid, and creatinine were assessed.

Same-Day Carotid Artery Stenting and Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery.

Background: The optimal treatment strategy for patients with severe carotid artery disease undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting is still problematic. The important question is whether it is necessary to treat significant carotid disease in patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass grafting. This study analyzed short- and midterm results after same-day carotid artery stenting and coronary artery bypass grafting.

Direct Ischemic Postconditioning After Carotid Endarterectomy in the Prevention of Postoperative Cerebral Ischemic Complications-Observational Case-Control Study.

Introduction: Ischemic postconditioning (IPCT) represents one of the several therapeutic strategies to attenuate ischemic reperfusion injury (IR) after carotid endarterectomy (CEA). We here present the first in-human study of IPCT in carotid surgery.

Methods: The study represents an observational case-control study, with the data collected in our Institution carotid database.

Long-term results after simultaneous carotid and coronary revascularisation.

Background: The revascularisation strategy for concomitant carotid and coronary disease is unknown. Simultaneous or stage coronary artery stenting and carotid endarterectomy are the most common revascularisation approach in the CABG population. This study aimed to evaluate long-term results after simultaneous carotid artery stenting or carotid endarterectomy in patients who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery.

Risk Factors for Carotid Restenosis in Patients After Eversion Endarterectomy vs Stenting: A Single-Center Experience.

The primary aim of the presented study is to analyze and compare the rate of carotid restenosis in patients after eversion carotid endarterectomy (eCEA), primary carotid angioplasty and stenting (CASp), and stenting for carotid artery restenosis after previous eCEA (CASr). The secondary aim is to compare clinical outcomes in patients with carotid restenosis. The total number of patients with evident carotid restenosis was 223 (24.

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation: A Report on Serbia's First Systematic Program.

Introduction: Severe aortic stenosis, a highly-common valve disease in the elderly, has a poor prognosis if left untreated. To address the concern of effective procedures for severe aortic stenosis, a systematic TAVI program was established at the Dedinje Cardiovascular Institute (Belgrade, Serbia).

Methods: Our cohort was composed of 56 patients (74±15 years old).

Carotid Restenosis Rate After Stenting for Primary Lesions Versus Restenosis After Endarterectomy With Creation of Risk Index.

Purpose: Carotid artery stenting (CAS) is an option for carotid restenosis (CR) treatment with favorable outcomes. However, CAS has also emerged as an alternative to carotid endarterectomy (CEA) for the management of patients with primary carotid stenosis. This study aimed to report CR rates after CAS was performed in patients with primary lesions versus restenosis after CEA, to identify predictors of CR, and to report both neurological and overall outcomes.

Time Course of Redox Biomarkers in COVID-19 Pneumonia: Relation with Inflammatory, Multiorgan Impairment Biomarkers and CT Findings.

Although the original data on systemic oxidative stress in COVID-19 patients have recently started to emerge, we are still far from a complete profile of changes in patients' redox homeostasis. We aimed to assess the extent of oxidative damage of proteins, lipids and DNA during the course of acute disease, as well as their association with CT pulmonary patterns. In order to obtain more insight into the origin of the systemic oxidative stress, the observed parameters were correlated with inflammatory biomarkers and biomarkers of multiorgan impairment.

Midterm Results After Simultaneous Carotid Artery Stenting and Cardiac Surgery.

Background: The presence of carotid artery disease is known risk factor for perioperative stroke in cardiac surgery. The optimal management of patients with concomitant heart and carotid artery disease is not known. Simultaneous or staged carotid endarterectomy has been proposed to prevent stroke.

Endovascular treatment of different types of iliac occlusions-Results from an observational study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of endovascular therapy on the treatment of different types of iliac occlusions.

Materials And Methods: A bi-center prospective, non-randomized study was conducted on 100 patients (mean age 59.14 ± 8.

A Novel Antegrade Approach for Simultaneous Carotid Endarterectomy and Angioplasty of Proximal Lesions in Patients with Tandem Stenosis of Supraaortic Arch Vessels.

Background: To date, all published studies analyzing simultaneous treatment of carotid and proximal atherosclerotic lesions are describing retrograde approach and several technical variations. In the presented study, for the first time, antegrade approach is described for simultaneous carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and associated brachiocephalic trunk (BCT) or common carotid artery (CCA) angioplasty in the hybrid operating room.

Methods: From January 2012 till January 2016, antegrade hybrid procedures were performed in 18 patients.

Serbia: coronary and structural heart interventions from 2010 to 2015.

Serbia's interventional community has been facing the multifaceted challenge of an ageing population with cardiovascular diseases as the primary cause of death nationwide, coronary artery disease (CAD) being the most prevalent subset. The following two fields of activity have marked the trajectory of progress in the field of interventional cardiology in Serbia: first, the expansion of the infrastructure, mainly through the opening of new catheterisation laboratories across all of the country's administrative regions, which has resulted in better accessibility to coronary interventions for the general population; second, the creation of national platforms for continuous education, training and the promotion of clinical research in interventional cardiology, with close programmatic links to European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI)-based educational initiatives, including the curriculum for interventional cardiology. As growth seems to be inherent to the concept of progress, we report here on the expanding numbers of coronary interventions in the period between January 2010 and December 2015, and the early experiences with structural heart interventions in Serbia.

Five-year clinical performance of a biodegradable polymer-coated biolimus-eluting stent in unselected patients.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term follow-up of the unrestricted use of a biodegradable polymer-coated drug-eluting stent in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: The Nobori 2 study was a prospective, multicentre, observational registry evaluating the safety and the efficacy of the biodegradable polymer biolimus-eluting stent (BP-BES) among 3067 patients recruited at 125 international sites. The primary combined endpoint was a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction and target-lesion revascularisation (TLR).

Low On-Treatment Platelet Reactivity Predicts Long-Term Risk of Bleeding After Elective PCI.

Background: Bleeding after percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) is an important complication with impact on prognosis.

Aim: To evaluate the predictive value of enhanced platelet responsiveness to dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel, for bleeding, after elective PCI.

Methods And Results: We performed multiple electrode aggregometry (MAE) platelet functional tests induced by arachidonic acid (ASPI) and adenosine-diphosphate (ADP) before PCI, and 24 hours after PCI, in 481 elective PCI patients who were followed-up for an average of 15.

Hybrid Procedure for a Descending Thoracic and Subclavian Artery Aneurysm in a Patient with Previous Abdominal Aortic Surgery: Case Report.

Introduction: Hybrid procedures represent staged or simultaneous endovascular and open surgical techniques in the treatment of complex pathologies of the thoracic and abdominal aorta. We are presenting a patient with previous abdominal aortic surgery in whom hybrid vascular procedure for descending aorta and left subclavian artery aneurysm was performed.

Case Outline: A 63-year-old female patient was admitted for computed tomography angiography.

Surgical treatment of median arcuate ligament syndrome: case report and review of literature.

Introduction: Median arcuate ligament (MAL) syndrome, also called celiac trunk compression syndrome (CACS) or Dunbar syndrome is a rare disorder caused by compression of the celiac artery by median arcuate ligament of the diaphragm, which leads to mesenteric ischemia and chronic abdominal angina. The typical clinical triad of symptoms includes postprandial epigastric pain, weight loss and vomiting. The gold standard for MAL syndrome diagnosis is selective angiography, while in symptomatic patients with angiographically verified stenosis the optimal therapy is surgical treatment.

Intracardiac extension of the inferior vena cava leiomyosarcoma with Budd-Chiari syndrome presentation: a case report.

Introduction: Leiomyosarcomas of the inferior vena cava are rare malignant tumors. A limited number of these cases have been described so far. Only few of them have intracardiac propagation and surgery is rarely undertaken for their treatment.

A first-in-man clinical evaluation of Ultimaster, a new drug-eluting coronary stent system: CENTURY study.

Aims: To report the six-month angiographic and two-year clinical outcome data from the first-in-man study with the Ultimaster DES, a thin-strut cobalt-chromium sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) with an innovative abluminal-gradient-coated bioresorbable polymer.

Methods And Results: CENTURY is a multicentre, single-arm, prospective study that enrolled 105 patients (113 lesions) with coronary artery disease. All patients were scheduled to have an angiographic follow-up at six months, while 45 and 20 patients respectively had IVUS and OCT assessments.

Carotid angioplasty and stenting is safe and effective for treatment of recurrent stenosis after eversion endarterectomy.

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the efficiency and long-term durability of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and carotid artery stenting in carotid restenosis (CR) treatment after eversion endarterectomy, with emphasis on variables that could influence the outcome.

Methods: We analyzed 319 patients (220 asymptomatic and 99 symptomatic) who underwent carotid angioplasty from 2002 until 2012 for CR that occurred after eversion endarterectomy. During this period, 7993 eversion endarterectomies were done for significant carotid artery stenosis.

Endovascular treatment of symptomatic high-grade vertebral artery stenosis.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the initial and long-term results of endovascular treatment (EVT) in patients with symptomatic high-grade extracranial vertebral artery (VA) origin stenosis.

Methods: From February 2001 to March 2013, 73 consecutive patients (33 men with a mean age of 61.7 ± 8.

Simultaneous hybrid carotid stenting and coronary bypass surgery versus concomitant open carotid and coronary bypass surgery: a pilot, feasibility study.

Objectives: Concomitant carotid and cardiac surgery carries an increased perioperative morbidity and mortality risk. Whether the hybrid procedure of carotid artery stenting (CAS) and coronary bypass surgery decreases the risk of stroke and other complications is still unknown. The aim of this study was to assess early outcomes after simultaneous hybrid CAS and coronary bypass grafting versus open concomitant carotid and coronary bypass surgery.

Incidence and distribution of extravascular compression of extracranial venous pathway in patients with chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency and multiple sclerosis.

Objective: To examine the incidence and distribution of extravascular compression of the extracranial venous pathway (the jugular and/or azygous veins) in multiple sclerosis patients with chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency evaluated by mulitislice computer tomographic angiography.

Methods And Results: Study group consisted of 51 consecutive patients with multiple sclerosis in whom chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency was diagnosed by color Doppler sonography (CDS). Mulitislice computer tomographic angiography was performed in all patients, and it revealed significant extravascular compression (>70%) of extracranial venous pathway in 26 patients (51%), while in 25 patients (49%) no significant extravascular compression was seen.

Percutaneous angioplasty of internal jugular and azygous veins in patients with chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency and multiple sclerosis: early and mid-term results.

Purpose: To assess the safety of endovascular treatment of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Materials And Methods: A total of 72 patients with CCSVI and MS (44 with relapsing remitting--RR, 4 with primary progressive, 20 with secondary progressive and 4 with benign MS) underwent percutaneous angioplasty. Outcome measures were colour Doppler ultrasonography parameters, gradient pressure at the vein abnormality level, postoperative complications, re-stenosis, disease severity scored by means of Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and patients' assumption of disease status.

Endovascular treatment of thoracic aortic diseases.

Background/aim: Endovascular treatment of thoracic aortic diseases is an adequate alternative to open surgery. This method was firstly performed in Serbia in 2004, while routine usage started in 2007. Aim of this study was to analyse initial experience in endovacular treatment of thoracic aortic diseses of three main vascular hospitals in Belgrade - Clinic for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery of the Clinical Center of Serbia, Clinic for Vascular Surgery of the Military Medical Academy, and Clinic for Vascular Surgery of the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases "Dedinje".