Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Success Rate - A Retrospective Multicenter Study.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) has become a major health and economic burden. Pulmonary veins isolation (PVI) based ablation for rhythm control of AF is well established. Furthermore, recent studies show its superiority over anti-arrhythmic therapy.

The effect of hyperbaric oxygenation therapy on myocardial function.

Hyperbaric oxygenation therapy is successfully implemented for the treatment of several disorders. Data on the effect of hyperbaric oxygenation on echocardiographic parameters in asymptomatic patients is limited. The current study sought to evaluate the effect of hyperbaric oxygenation therapy on echocardiographic parameters in asymptomatic patients.

Prevalence and Significance of Restrictive Filling Pattern in an Echocardiography Laboratory.

Background: A cardiac restrictive filling patterns are associated with unfavorable prognoses. Cardiac interventions may change the natural history of patients.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of restrictive filling pattern in routine echocardiographic examinations and their association with morbidity and mortality.

Usefulness of Serum Procalcitonin as a Markerfor Coexisting Infection in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction.

A significant proportion of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) also present with clinical manifestations of inflammatory response, which may be confused with a concomitant infection. This leads to a dilemma regarding the empiric use of antibiotics. We explored if serum procalcitonin (PCT), which is known to be elevated in bacterial infections, may be utilized to rule-out bacterial infection in AMI patients.

Adjunctive laser-stimulated stem-cells therapy to primary reperfusion in acute myocardial infarction in humans: Safety and feasibility study.

Background: Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has photobiostimulatory effects on stem cells and may offer cardioprotection. This cell-based therapy may compliment primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Objective: In this randomized control trial, our primary objective was to determine the safety and feasibility of LLLT application to the bone marrow in patients with STEMI undergoing PPCI.

Characteristics and outcomes associated with 30-day readmissions following acute coronary syndrome 2000-2013: the Acute Coronary Syndrome Israeli Survey.

Background: Readmissions following acute myocardial infarction are associated with poor outcomes and a heavy economic burden. There are few evidence-based data on the characteristics and outcomes of patients readmitted following acute coronary syndrome. We explored the incidence and outcomes of patients readmitted after an acute coronary syndrome in the past decade.

Intramyocardial dissecting hematoma: Two case reports and a meta-analysis of the literature.

Until recently, diagnosis of intramyocardial dissecting hematoma (IDH) was performed during necropsy or at surgery. During the recent years, echocardiography has permitted clinical suspicion, which usually needed confirmation with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In this study, we tried to define clinical and imaging features of IDH and predictors of mortality.

Speckle tracking imaging in inflammatory heart diseases.

Accurate diagnosis of acute myocarditis is important for the prognosis and risk stratification of these patients. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has become a major modality for diagnosis of myocarditis, but not widely available. In this study, we tried to evaluate regional and global longitudinal strain by speckle tracking echocardiography in patients with acute inflammatory myocardial diseases in correlation with CMR.

Assessment and Management of Acute Severe Mitral Regurgitation in the Intensive Care Unit.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Acute severe mitral regurgitation (MR) is a serious medical condition. Whilst clear guidelines exist regarding the management of chronic MR, acute severe MR is usually treated on an individual basis. Currently, few data exist regarding acute MR in the era of primary coronary interventions (PCI).

Routine Laboratory Indices as Predictor of Neurological Recovery in Post-Resuscitation Syndrome Patients Treated with Therapeutic Hypothermia.

Background: Hypothermia is associated with improved outcome in selected survivors of cardiac arrest but no single metric enables proper prediction of neurological outcome.

Objectives: To explored the association between routine laboratory indices of patients treated by hypothermia for cardiac arrest and their neurological outcome.

Methods: We retrospectively collected data from survivors of cardiac arrest treated with hypothermia for 24 hours and grouped them according to their neurological outcome to either "poor" or "favorable".

When Cardioversion May Be Complicated.

Background: In recent years cardioversion of atrial fibrillation has become a routine procedure, enabling symptomatic functional improvement in most cases. However, some patients develop complications after cardioversion. Identifying these individuals is an important step toward improving patient outcome.

Trends in the management and outcomes of patients admitted with acute coronary syndrome complicated by cardiogenic shock over the past decade: Real world data from the acute coronary syndrome Israeli survey (ACSIS).

Registries and other cohorts have demonstrated that early revascularization improve the survival of patients presenting with Cardiogenic Shock (CS) completing Aute coronary syndrome (ACS). Our aim was to describe the change in the clinical characteristics of these patients and their management and their outcome. The study population comprised 224 patients who were admitted with ACS complicated by cardiogenic shock who were enrolled in the prospective biannual Acute Coronary Syndrome Israeli Surveys (ACSIS) between 2000 and 2013 (1.

Role of Negative Trans-Thoracic Echocardiography in the Diagnosis of Infective Endocarditis.

Background: The search for the presence of vegetations in patients with suspected infective endocarditis is a major indication for trans-esophageal echocardiographic (TEE) examinations. Advances in harmonic imaging and ongoing improvement in modern echocardiographic systems allow adequate quality of diagnostic images in most patients.

Objectives: To investigate whether TEE examinations are always necessary for the assessment of patients with suspected infective endocarditis.

Speckle Tracking Imaging in Normal Stress Echocardiography.

Objectives: Exercise stress echocardiography is a widely used modality for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with coronary artery disease. During the last decade, speckle tracking imaging has been used increasingly for accurate evaluation of cardiac function. This work aimed to assess speckle-tracking imaging parameters during nonischemic exercise stress echocardiography.

Low-Level Laser Therapy to the Bone Marrow Reduces Scarring and Improves Heart Function Post-Acute Myocardial Infarction in the Pig.

Objective: Cell therapy for myocardial repair is one of the most intensely investigated strategies for treating acute myocardial infarction (MI). The aim of the present study was to determine whether low-level laser therapy (LLLT) application to stem cells in the bone marrow (BM) could affect the infarcted porcine heart and reduce scarring following MI.

Methods: MI was induced in farm pigs by percutaneous balloon inflation in the left coronary artery for 90 min.

Detection of small subendocardial infarction using speckle tracking echocardiography in a rat model.

Background: It is challenging to detect small nontransmural infarcts visually or automatically. As it is important to detect myocardial infarction (MI) at early stages, we tested the hypothesis that small nontransmural MI can be detected using speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) at the acute stage.

Methods: Minimal nontransmural infarcts were induced in 18 rats by causing recurrent ischemia-reperfusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery, followed by a 30-min ligation and by reperfusion.

Comparison of Noninvasively and Invasively Managed Patients, With or Without Revascularization in Non-ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (from the Acute Coronary Syndrome Israeli Survey).

Patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction who are managed noninvasively at presentation or are catheterized but without revascularization represent a heterogeneous and understudied population. We evaluated the clinical characteristics, management strategies, and outcomes of patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) who were enrolled in the prospective biannual Acute Coronary Syndrome Israeli Surveys from 2004 to 2013. Patients were divided into 3 groups: no catheterization (no angio), catheterization with revascularization (angio-revascularized), and catheterization without revascularization (angio-nonrevascularized) groups.

Cardiac Rupture: New Features of the Old Disease.

Objectives: Myocardial rupture is a rare but a fatal complication of acute myocardial infarction. During recent years, treatment strategies of acute myocardial infarction have changed. Primary percutaneous coronary interventions have replaced fibrinolytic therapy, thus reducing one of the major risk factors for myocardial rupture.

[ONE YEAR FOLLOW-UP OF PATIENTS AFTER CARDIAC ARREST TREATED WITH THERAPEUTIC HYPOTHERMIA: PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY COMPARED WITH HISTORICAL CONTROL].

Background: Mild therapeutic hypothermia has been shown to reduce mortality and neurological morbidity in post cardiac arrest survivors. These beneficial effects had initially been reported in retrospective studies and subsequently more evidence has been gathered by two cornerstone randomized control trials. All these studies focused on the acute outcome and the clinical status at the time of hospital discharge.

Strain Analysis in the Detection of Myocardial Infarction at the Acute and Chronic Stages.

Background: Myocardial ischemia causes contractile dysfunction in ischemic, stunned, and tethered regions with larger infarcted zones having a negative prognostic impact on patients' outcomes. To distinguish the infarcted myocardium from the other regions, we investigated the diagnostic potential of circumferential strain (CS) and radial strain (RS) during the acute and chronic stages of myocardial infarction.

Methods: Ten pigs underwent 90-minute occlusion of the left anterior descending artery, followed by reperfusion.