Prevention of sudden death in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: do we still need an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator for primary prevention?

Sudden death is a devastating complication of heart failure (HF). Current guidelines recommend an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) for prevention of sudden death in patients with HF and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) specifically those with a left ventricular ejection fraction ≤35% after at least 3 months of optimized HF treatment. The benefit of ICD in patients with symptomatic HFrEF caused by coronary artery disease has been well documented; however, the evidence for a benefit of prophylactic ICD implantation in patients with HFrEF of non-ischaemic aetiology is less strong.

Europeanization of health policy in post-communist European societies: Comparison of six Western Balkan countries.

Europeanization is assumed to influence health policy in the Western Balkans, but little is known about the actual impact of this process in these countries which constitute a complex geopolitical region of Europe. In this context, we used time trends to explore the Western Balkans health policies during the Europeanization through a cross-country comparative analysis of six countries. We conducted a health policy analysis by adapting the framework for globalization and population health coined by Huynen et al.

Comparing atrial fibrillation guidelines: Focus on stroke prevention, bleeding risk assessment and oral anticoagulant recommendations.

Clinical practice in atrial fibrillation (AF) patient management is constantly evolving. In the past 3 years, various new AF guidelines or focused updates have been published, given this rapidly evolving field. In 2019, the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association published a focused update of the 2014 guidelines.

Phytolith-occluded carbon in residues and economic benefits under rice/single-season Zizania latifolia rotation.

Zizania latifolia is a wild rice that contains phytoliths (Phyt) that have considerable potential for carbon sequestration. We hypothesized that the capacity of phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) sequestration in residues might increase by 20%, and economic profit would be twice as high under a rice/single-season Z. latifolia rotation as under rice monoculture.

Predictors of Early Deterioration of Renal Function in Patients Older Than 70 Years Undergoing Valvular Surgery.

Background: Cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI) is the most common clinically important complication in adult patients undergoing open-heart surgery, with an incidence between 8.9% and 39%. Studies have shown that even a slight increase in serum creatinine levels after cardiac surgery significantly affects the mortality and morbidity of these patients.

Data standards for heart failure: the European Unified Registries for Heart Care Evaluation and Randomized Trials (EuroHeart).

Standardized data definitions are essential for assessing the quality of care and patient outcomes in observational studies and randomized controlled trials. The European Unified Registries for Heart Care Evaluation and Randomized Trials (EuroHeart) project of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) aims to create contemporary pan-European data standards for cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure (HF). We followed the EuroHeart methodology for cardiovascular data standard development.

Tamjanika, a Balkan native variety of L.: Chemical characterization, antibacterial, and anti-dermatomycosis potential of seed oil.

This study was designed to explore functional food properties of edible seed oil obtained from Tamjanika seeds-autochthonous grape variety of Balkan Peninsula. In order to accomplish our goals, seed oil was isolated by Soxhlet apparatus and chemically characterized regarding fatty acids, carotenoids, tocopherols, and tocotrienols. Antimicrobial activity of the isolated oil was tested by microdilution method.

Assessment and mitigation of bleeding risk in atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism: A Position Paper from the ESC Working Group on Thrombosis, in collaboration with the European Heart Rhythm Association, the Association for Acute CardioVascular Care and the Asia-Pacific Heart Rhythm Society.

Whilst there is a clear clinical benefit of oral anticoagulation (OAC) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) in reducing the risks of thromboembolism, major bleeding events (especially intracranial bleeds) may still occur and be devastating. The decision to initiate and continue anticoagulation is often based on a careful assessment of both the thromboembolism and bleeding risk. The more common and validated bleeding risk factors have been used to formulate bleeding risk stratification scores, but thromboembolism and bleeding risk factors often overlap.

Adherence to the 4S-AF Scheme in the Balkan region: Insights from the BALKAN-AF survey.

Background: The 4S-AF scheme includes stroke risk, symptoms, severity of burden, and substrate severity domain.

Aim: We aimed to assess the adherence to the 4S-AF scheme in patients classified according to stroke risk in post hoc analysis of the BALKAN-AF dataset.

Methods: A 14-week prospective enrolment of consecutive patients with electrocardiographically documented atrial fibrillation (AF) was performed in seven Balkan countries from 2014 to 2015.

Non-coding RNA and cholesteatoma.

Objective: Cholesteatoma is a challenging chronic pathology of the middle ear for which pharmacologic therapies have not been developed yet. Cholesteatoma occurrence depends on the interplay between genetic and environmental factors while master regulators orchestrating disease progression are still unknown. Therefore, in this review, we will discuss the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of non-coding RNAs (ncRNA) as a new class of regulatory molecules.

The Proposition for Bipolar Depression Forecasting Based on Wearable Data Collection.

Bipolar depression is treated wrongly as unipolar depression, on average, for 8 years. It is shown that this mismedication affects the occurrence of a manic episode and aggravates the overall condition of patients with bipolar depression. Significant effort was invested in early detection of depression and forecasting of responses to certain therapeutic approaches using a combination of features extracted from standard and online testing, wearables monitoring, and machine learning.

Preventing heart failure: a position paper of the Heart Failure Association in collaboration with the European Association of Preventive Cardiology.

The heart failure epidemic is growing and its prevention, in order to reduce associated hospital readmission rates and its clinical and economic burden, is a key issue in modern cardiovascular medicine. The present position paper aims to provide practical evidence-based information to support the implementation of effective preventive measures. After reviewing the most common risk factors, an overview of the population attributable risks in different continents is presented, to identify potentially effective opportunities for prevention and to inform preventive strategies.

Preventing heart failure: a position paper of the Heart Failure Association in collaboration with the European Association of Preventive Cardiology.

The heart failure epidemic is growing and its prevention, in order to reduce associated hospital readmission rates and its clinical and economic burden, is a key issue in modern cardiovascular medicine. The present consensus document aims to provide practical evidence-based information to support the implementation of effective preventive measures. After reviewing the most common risk factors, an overview of the population attributable risks in different continents is presented, to identify potentially effective opportunities for prevention and to inform preventive strategies.

Mechanical waves caused by collective cell migration: generation.

Long-timescale viscoelasticity caused by collective cell migration (CCM) significantly influences cell rearrangement and induces generation of mechanical waves. The phenomenon represents a product of the active turbulence occurring at low Reynolds number. The generation of mechanical waves has been a subject of intensive research primarily in 2D multicellular systems, while 3D systems have not been considered in this context.

Specific Physical Ability Prediction in Youth Basketball Players According to Playing Position.

This study investigated the hierarchical structure of physical characteristics in elite young (i.e., U17-U19) basketball players according to playing positions.

Alirocumab after acute coronary syndrome in patients with a history of heart failure.

Aims: Patients with heart failure (HF) have not been shown to benefit from statins. In a post hoc analysis, we evaluated outcomes in ODYSSEY OUTCOMES in patients with vs. without a history of HF randomized to the proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor alirocumab or placebo.

Navigating between Scylla and Charybdis: challenges and strategies for implementing guideline-directed medical therapy in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.

Guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) has the potential to reduce the risks of mortality and hospitalisation in patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, real-world data indicate that many patients with HFrEF do not receive optimised GDMT, which involves several different medications, many of which require up-titration to target doses. There are many challenges to implementing GDMT, the most important being patient-related factors (comorbidities, advanced age, frailty, cognitive impairment, poor adherence, low socioeconomic status), treatment-related factors (intolerance, side-effects) and healthcare-related factors that influence availability and accessibility of HF care.

Heart failure in type 2 diabetes: current perspectives on screening, diagnosis and management.

Type 2 diabetes is one of the most relevant risk factors for heart failure, the prevalence of which is increasing worldwide. The aim of the review is to highlight the current perspectives of the pathophysiology of heart failure as it pertains to type 2 diabetes. This review summarizes the proposed mechanistic bases, explaining the myocardial damage induced by diabetes-related stressors and other risk factors, i.

Spatiotemporal Analysis of West Nile Virus Epidemic in South Banat District, Serbia, 2017-2019.

West Nile virus (WNV) is an arthropod-born pathogen, which is transmitted from wild birds through mosquitoes to humans and animals. At the end of the 20th century, the first West Nile fever (WNF) outbreaks among humans in urban environments in Eastern Europe and the United States were reported. The disease continued to spread to other parts of the continents.

Stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the commonest sustained cardiac rhythm disorder associated with an increased risk of stroke and systemic embolic events. The prevention of stroke using oral anticoagulants has been a pivotal component of AF management. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent advances in the treatment and prevention of stroke in AF over the last 5 years.