Extended length of stay after elective ascending aortic surgery and associated risk factors.

Objective: Surgery on the ascending aorta incurs greater risk than other cardiac procedures. The primary aim of this study is to identify pre-operative and operative risk factors that play a role in extended length of stay (LOS) after elective surgery for ascending aortic aneurysms. The secondary aim is to determine post-operative outcomes associated with extended LOS.

Hepatic venous Doppler assessment can anticipate simplified pulmonary embolism severity index and right ventricle dysfunction in patients with acute pulmonary embolism.

Purpose: Acute pulmonary embolism (APE) is a life-threating cardiothoracic thromboembolic emergency in which right ventricle dysfunction (RVD) is a major concern. In the present study, we examined the hepatic veins (HVs) blood flow with pulsed-wave spectral Doppler ultrasonography to determine its relationship with the simplified pulmonary embolism severity index (sPESI) and the patient's RVD status.

Methods: We divided the 243 patients who met the inclusion criteria into two groups based on both their sPESI scores and their RVD status.

Right Ventricular Early Inflow-Outflow Index-A new method for echocardiographic evaluation of right ventricle dysfunction in acute pulmonary embolism.

Introduction: Acute pulmonary embolism (APE) is a cardiothoracic thromboembolic emergency at risk of life-threatening. Several risk graduation algorithms may be applied to delineate short-term mortality in patients with APE. In this study, we aim to depict the relationship between the right ventricular early inflow-outflow (RVEIO) index, which is a Doppler-based parameter, and the pulmonary embolism severity index(PESI) in acute pulmonary embolism.

Coronary flow reserve is reduced in sarcoidosis.

Background And Aims: Sarcoidosis is a multisystem disease with frequent cardiac involvement, albeit manifest cardiac disease is rare. Though epicardial coronary arteries are not frequently involved, microvascular disease is rather common in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. The mechanism of microvascular involvement has not been elaborated yet.

Evaluation of cardiovascular risk in patients with Parkinson disease under levodopa treatment.

Background: Levodopa is the indispensable choice of medial therapy in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). Since L-dopa treatment was shown to increase serum homocysteine levels, a well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disorders, the patients with PD under L-dopa treatment will be at increased risk for future cardiovascular events. The objective of this study is to evaluate cardiovascular risk in patients with PD under levodopa treatment.