Clinical efficacy, safety, tolerability, and survival outcome of long-term inhaled iloprost treatment in the management of pulmonary arterial hypertension: Data from prospective multicenter observational OPTION study.

Objective: To evaluate clinical efficacy, safety and tolerability of long-term inhaled iloprost treatment in the daily practice for the management of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

Methods: A total of 115 patients with PAH on inhaled iloprost treatment were included. New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels, and 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) were recorded at baseline and at 3rd to 24th month visits.

Heart transplant recipient survivor from COVID-19: The first case of Turkey.

Any highly infectious and rapidly spreading disease is a primary concern for immunocompromised solid organ transplant recipients. The number of data about the spectrum of clinical illness, the treatment modalities, and the outcomes of COVID-19 in this vulnerable population is scant and still remains empirical. Herein, we report the first COVID-19 case of a heart transplant recipient in Turkey who presented with fever, postnasal discharge, and myalgias for two days.

Natriuretic Peptides in Clinical Practice.

Natriuretic peptides have long been introduced into clinical practice. These biomarkers have certainly been shown to provide useful information in the diagnosis, prognosis and risk stratification in heart failure and also may have a role in the guidance of heart failure therapy. Although, there are some limitations in using of these markers such as lack of specificity, aging, renal dysfunction or obesity, among the huge number of candidates for heart failure biomarkers, only natriuretic peptides are currently widely used in daily clinical practice in heart failure.

Heart failure due to aorto-right atrial fistula and successful treatment with percutaneous closure.

Aorto-atrial fistula is a rare anomaly of the heart that may be the result of congenital or acquired conditions, such as bacterial endocarditis, paravalvular abscess, aortic dissection, or a complication of cardiac surgery. A 50-year-old female patient presented at the clinic with the complaint of dyspnea and abdominal distention due to ascites. On admission, her functional capacity was New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension and systemic sclerosis relation: a single centre experience.

Aim: In systemic sclerosis (SSc), this single-centre study aimed to define the frequency and association of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), occurring either alone in SSc-PAH or together with interstitial lung disease (ILD-PH).

Material-methods: SSc cases between the years 1990-2011 were reviewed, retrospectively. Patients' clinical, laboratory findings, Modified Rodnan Skin Score and Medsger score, 6-minute walk distance (6MWD), carbon monoxide diffusion test (DLCO), echocardiography, thorax HRCT, and right heart catheterisation findings were recorded.

Changing patterns of patient characteristics in the cath lab from 1998 to 2006: a single-centre retrospective analysis.

Background: There are few data on the change in the profile of cath lab patients over long time intervals.

Methods: We retrospectively analysed our cath lab records, patient charts, in terms of demographic variables, clinical and laboratory characteristics in a thousand patients (499 patients in 1998 January-March, 501 patients in 2006 January-March).

Results: Mean age was significantly higher in the 2006 cohort (57.

Angiographic restenosis in ephesos coronary stents: experience from a large medical center in Ankara, Turkey.

Coronary stent restenosis, which emerges in late periods after implantation, has not been completely abolished. Our aim was to investigate the restenosis rates of Ephesos coronary stents. In all, 96 patients (66 men) with 135 Ephesos coronary stents were included.

Effect of transvenous cardiac resynchronization therapy device implantation on cardiac troponin I release.

Background: Pacemaker and implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation increases cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels which indicates myocardial injury. During implantation of a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device, balloon inflation for coronary sinus (CS) venogram, cannulation of CS side branch, and electrode advancement may interfere with CS drainage and, hence, may decrease the washout of toxic metabolites from the heart. Thus, CRT implantation may further increase cTnI levels.

Gadolinium:nonionic contrast media (1:1) coronary angiography in patients with impaired renal function.

This study was to test safety and efficacy of 1:1 mixture of gadolinium:nonionic contrast media in avoiding contrast nephropathy during coronary angiography in patients with renal dysfunction. Although "off label" for x-ray angiography, gadolinium has drawn attention for its potential to avoid contrast nephropathy during coronary angiography. Initial data seem promising.

Sustained long-term benefit of sildenafil in primary pulmonary hypertension.

Primary pulmonary hypertension is a rare disease with an ominous prognosis for which new therapeutic options are being developed. Recently, there have been case reports indicating that sildenafil may be of benefit in short- to midterm follow-up. However, long-term clinical data of sildenafil in primary pulmonary hypertensive patients is lacking.

Intravascular volume dependency of left ventricular mass calculation by two-dimensional guided M-mode echocardiography.

Background: Increased left ventricular mass (LVM) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and may be used for risk stratification. Two-dimensional echocardiography, the most commonly used technique for estimation of LVM, uses the third power of the left ventricular internal diameter (LVID) for the calculation.

Objectives: To determine whether a decrease in intravascular volume after dialysis may cause inaccurate estimation of LVM by echocardiography.

Two cases of quadricuspid aortic valve.

Quadricuspid aortic valve is a rare congenital malformation of the aortic valve. Most cases are discovered incidentally at autopsy or at aortic valve replacement. Recent advances in echocardiography epecially transesophageal echocardiography led to diagnosis of more cases before surgery.

Altered coronary flow properties in diffuse coronary artery ectasia.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate coronary blood flow properties in patients with diffuse coronary artery ectasia (CAE) associated with exercise-induced myocardial ischemia.

Methods: Seventeen patients with diffuse CAE and without coexisting coronary artery stenosis were enrolled in the study (CAE group). CAE was defined as luminal dilatation 1.

Assessment of left ventricular diastolic function with Doppler tissue imaging: effects of preload and place of measurements.

Mitral inflow velocities are widely used for the evaluation of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function. However, they are closely affected by other factors such as preload. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of tissue Doppler velocities obtained from the mitral annulus for the evaluation of ventricular relaxation in patients under different loading conditions.

Sildenafil in primary pulmonary hypertension--is there a subset of patients who respond favourably?

Recently, case reports of patients with primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) treated with sildenafil demonstrated encouraging results. The mechanism proposed is a relatively selective pulmonary vasodilation via increased levels of cGMP because of the inhibition of phosphodiesterase type 5. Two siblings with a similar medical history, severe symptoms and elevated levels of pulmonary artery pressures were diagnosed with PPH after a thorough diagnostic work-up.