Impact of SGLT2-inhibitors on contrast-induced acute kidney injury in diabetic patients with acute myocardial infarction with and without chronic kidney disease: Insight from SGLT2-I AMI PROTECT registry.

Aims: To analyze the association between chronic SGLT2-I treatment and development of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) in diabetic patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) undergoing PCI.

Methods: Multicenter international registry of consecutive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and AMI undergoing PCI between 2018 and 2021. The study population was stratified by the presence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and anti-diabetic therapy at admission (SGLT2-I versus non-SGLT2-I users).

Sex- and age-related differences in outcomes of patients with acute myocardial infarction: MINOCA vs. MIOCA.

Aims: The aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of sex on acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients' clinical presentation and outcomes, comparing those with non-obstructive and obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA vs. MIOCA).

Methods And Results: We enrolled 2455 patients with AMI undergoing coronary angiography from January 2017 to September 2021.

Management strategies for heavily calcified coronary stenoses: an EAPCI clinical consensus statement in collaboration with the EURO4C-PCR group.

Since the publication of the 2015 EAPCI consensus on rotational atherectomy, the number of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) performed in patients with severely calcified coronary artery disease has grown substantially. This has been prompted on one side by the clinical demand for the continuous increase in life expectancy, the sustained expansion of the primary PCI networks worldwide, and the routine performance of revascularization procedures in elderly patients; on the other side, the availability of new and dedicated technologies such as orbital atherectomy and intravascular lithotripsy, as well as the optimization of the rotational atherectomy system, has increased operators' confidence in attempting more challenging PCI. This current EAPCI clinical consensus statement prepared in collaboration with the EURO4C-PCR group describes the comprehensive management of patients with heavily calcified coronary stenoses, starting with how to use non-invasive and invasive imaging to assess calcium burden and inform procedural planning.

Determining the PASS cut-off points for the FIQR, FASmod and PSD in patients with fibromyalgia: a registry-based study.

Objectives: To determine the cut-off values of Patient Acceptable Symptom State (PASS) for the revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR), the modified Fibromyalgia Assessment Scale (FASmod), and the Polysymptomatic Distress scale (PSD) and to determine the predictors of PASS in patients with fibromyalgia (FM).

Methods: FM patients belonging to the Italian Fibromyalgia Registry (IFR) completed the FIQR, the FASmod and the PSD. The PASS was assessed using a dichotomous answer.

In search of new gatekeepers: coronary CT (Computed Tomography) in acute coronary syndrome.

Coronary computed tomography (CCT) is a non-invasive imaging method that allows visualization of the epicardial coronary arteries. The diagnostic and prognostic role of CCT has been demonstrated by various randomized trials to such an extent that it has been included as a Class I, level of evidence B recommendation in the latest European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for the diagnosis of chronic coronary syndrome in patients at intermediate-low cardiovascular risk. In addition to the anatomical evaluation, the CCT allows to evaluate the presence of high-risk characteristics of the atherosclerotic plaque (napkin-ring sign, positive remodelling, spotty calcification, and low-attenuation plaque), thus discriminating the stability of the atheromatous pathology.

Lipoprotein associated- phospholipase A2 in STEMI vs. NSTE-ACS patients: a marker of cardiovascular atherosclerotic risk rather than thrombosis.

Unlabelled: The precise role of Lipoprotein associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PlA2) in the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and in the prediction of future cardiovascular events is still debated. So far, few data exist on the variations of Lp-PlA2 activity in ACS and especially in NSTE-ACS vs. STEMI patients, where thrombotic and atherosclerotic mechanisms could play a differential role.

Obesity and Cardiovascular Risk: Systematic Intervention Is the Key for Prevention.

Obesity is a serious public health issue and associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease events and mortality. The risk of cardiovascular complications is directly related to excess body fat mass and ectopic fat deposition, but also other obesity-related complications such as pre-type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea, and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases. Body mass index and waist circumference are used to classify a patient as overweight or obese and to stratify cardiovascular risk.

Antiplatelet Strategies for Older Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes: Finding Directions in a Low-Evidence Field.

Patients ≥ 75 years of age account for about one third of hospitalizations for acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Since the latest European Society of Cardiology guidelines recommend that older ACS patients use the same diagnostic and interventional strategies used by the younger ones, most elderly patients are currently treated invasively. Therefore, an appropriate dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is indicated as part of the secondary prevention strategy to be implemented in such patients.

The Contemporary Role of Cardiac Computed Tomography and Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Diagnosis and Management of Pericardial Diseases.

Pericardial syndromes encompass different clinical conditions from acute pericarditis to idiopathic chronic pericardial effusion. Transthoracic echocardiography is the first and most important initial diagnostic imaging modality in most patients affected by pericardial disease. However, cardiac computed tomography (CCT) and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) have recently gained a pivotal role in cardiology, and recent reports have supported the role of both of these advanced techniques in the evaluation and guiding therapy of pericardial disease.

Mitral Valve Re-Repair Due to Chordal Pseudo-Elongation Through Repeated Right Anterior Minithoracotomy.

Objective: We aim to show the step-by-step surgical technique of mitral valve re-repair by means of a repeated right anterior minithoracotomy in a case of a procedure-related early mitral valve repair failure due to left ventricular positive remodeling and chordal pseudo-elongation.

Methods: The patient was readdressed to our institution for an early severe mitral valve regurgitation, less than a year after performing a right minithoracotomy mitral valve repair (42-mm annular ring implantation, P2 triangular resection, and P2 neochord positioning). The mechanism was attributed to a positive left ventricle remodeling and neochordal pseudo-elongation.

The measurement of fibromyalgia severity: converting scores between the FIQR, the PSD and the FASmod.

Objectives: The revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) is a widely used fibromyalgia severity assessment tool that was introduced in 2009 prior to the publication of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) preliminary fibromyalgia criteria in 2010 and its revision in 2016. In 2020, the modified Fibromyalgia Assessment Scale (FASmod) was published. The Polysymptomatic Distress scale (PSD) of the fibromyalgia criteria and FASmod include assessments of pain location severity and can be used for diagnosis as well as in non-fibromyalgia patients.