Journal of cardiovascular medicine
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J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown) · Oct 2010
ReviewMedical therapy of pericardial diseases: part I: idiopathic and infectious pericarditis.
The treatment of pericardial diseases is largely empirical because of the relative lack of randomized trials compared with other cardiovascular diseases. The main forms of pericardial diseases that can be encountered in the clinical setting include acute and recurrent pericarditis, pericardial effusion with or without cardiac tamponade, and constrictive pericarditis. Medical treatment should be targeted at the cause of the disease as much as possible. ⋯ The aim of the present article is to review current medical therapy for pericardial diseases, highlighting recent significant advances in clinical research, ongoing challenges and unmet needs. Following a probabilistic approach, the most common causes are considered (idiopathic, viral, tuberculous, purulent, connective tissue diseases and neoplastic pericardial disease). In this article, the therapy of idiopathic and more common forms of infectious pericarditis (viral and bacterial) is reviewed.
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J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown) · Oct 2010
How many patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis excluded for cardiac surgery are eligible for transcatheter heart valve implantation?
We sought to assess what proportion of patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis who are excluded from cardiac surgery are eligible for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). ⋯ TAVI represents a viable therapeutic option for elderly patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis who are not candidates for surgical aortic valve replacement. However, presently less than half of them actually fulfil the criteria for these procedures.