The effect of lead free cap on the doses of ionizing radiation to the head of interventional cardiologists working in haemodynamic room.

Objectives: The study aim was to analyse the influence of the lead free cap on doses received by interventional cardiologists. The impact of lead free cap on doses to the head were evaluated in number of studies. As different methods used to assess the attenuation properties of protective cap can lead to ambiguous results, a detailed study was performed.

Occupational exposure to physicians working with a Zero-Gravity™ protection system in haemodynamic and electrophysiology labs and the assessment of its performance against a standard ceiling suspended shield.

A two centre clinical study was performed to analyse exposure levels of cardiac physicians performing electrophysiology and haemodynamic procedures with the use of state of the art Zero-Gravity™ radiation protective system (ZG). The effectiveness of ZG was compared against the commonly used ceiling suspended lead shield (CSS) in a haemodynamic lab. The operator's exposure was assessed using thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) during both ablation (radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and cryoablation (CRYA)) and angiography and angioplasty procedures (CA/PCI).

Clinical usefulness of baroreflex sensitivity test in the detection of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Unlabelled: Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) is one of the most common chronic complications of diabetes. It is defined as an impaired control of the cardiovascular system by the autonomic nervous system. The gold standard in detecting it is the Ewing test suite.

The effect of diabetic autonomic neuropathy on P-wave duration, dispersion and atrial fibrillation.

Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia. Diabetic autonomic neuropathy (DAN) is a frequent complication of diabetes mellitus and has a negative impact on the cardiovascular system. There are no data about the occurrence of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) in the population with DAN.

Endothelial function and left ventricular remodeling in diabetic and non-diabetic patients after acute coronary syndrome.

Background: Endothelial dysfunction is an independent predictor of future cardiac events.

Material/methods: We evaluated the relationship between flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in brachial artery and coronary risk factors in 93 patients (70 males, mean age: 62 ± 8 years) with ACS treated with primary angioplasty (PCI). The patients were divided into 2 subgroups: 43 patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM) and 50 non-diabetics (non-DM).

[Tako-tsubo syndrome - a form of acute coronary syndrome or completely different clinical entity - a case report].

Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy, is a temporary left ventricular dysfunction characterised by acute retrosternal rest pain, ST - segment elevation, slight elevation of cardiac necrosis markers, preferential apical akinesia or hypokinesia with basal hypercontractility in echocardiography. Its clinical picture mimics an acute coronary syndrome. Coronary angiography reveals normal coronary arteries.

[Acute myocardial infarction in a young patient with a primary antiphospholipid syndrome -- a case report].

A case of a 34 year old woman with antiphospholipid syndrome, admitted to our hospital due to acute myocardial infarction, is presented. She had a history of deep vein thrombosis, two miscarriages and ischaemic stroke. The patient underwent successful primary coronary angioplasty and was discharged home.

Adenosine-activated myocardial ischemia does not induce delayed preconditioning.

Background: Our objective was to determine whether adenosine-induced ischemia exerts a delayed cardiac protective effect in patients with stable effort angina ischemic heart disease.

Material/methods: The study group was comprised of 32 patients (men) with symptoms of stable effort angina, aged 38-65 years (Group 1), and 18 clinically healthy subjects (3 women, 15 men), aged 35-55 years (Control group). The study protocol included baseline ECG and treadmill echocardiogram (ET1); ECG and adenosine echocardiogram performed 7 days after ET1; repeated exercise test exactly 24 h after adenosine infusion (ET2).