Journal of cardiovascular medicine
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J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown) · Jul 2014
Historical ArticleAn early literary description of emotional syncope in the Fifth Canto of Dante Alighieri's Commedia: 'E caddi come corpo morto cade'.
Dante's Divine Comedy is universally acclaimed as one of the great masterpieces in world literature. It is written in first person singular and this gives an intimate acquaintance with the vision of the poet. In the Fifth Canto, he exquisitely describes the story of Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini, illicit lovers killed by Francesca's husband, Gianciotto Malatesta. ⋯ In the words of Dante himself: 'E caddi come corpo morto cade' (And fell, even as a dead body falls). This probably is the first literary description of an emotional syncope in world literature. We found that three great plastic artists (John Flaxman, William Blake and Gustave Doré) captured the crucial moment of the syncope in three extraordinary images left for posterity.
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J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown) · Apr 2014
Metabolomic does not predict response to cardiac resynchronization therapy in patients with heart failure.
Metabolomic, a systematic study of metabolites, may be a useful tool in understanding the pathological processes that underlie the occurrence and progression of a disease. We hypothesized that metabolomic would be helpful in assessing a specific pattern in heart failure patients, also according to the underlining causes and in defining, prior to device implantation, the responder and nonresponder patient to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). ⋯ It is possible to identify a metabolomic fingerprint characterizing heart failure patients candidate to CRT, it is independent of the different causes of the disease and it is not predictive of the response to CRT.
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J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown) · Apr 2014
Percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale with Atriasept II device in nickel allergic patients.
There are concerns about percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) using nitinol-alloys devices in patients with nickel hypersensitivity. We describe our experience with Atriasept II (Cardia Eagan, Minnesota, USA) used in four patients with known nickel allergy. ⋯ Because of the risk of adverse outcomes in nickel-allergic patients, devices with higher biocompatibility, low-profile, and low nickel content should be preferred in cases of known hypersensitivity. Atriasept II, containing less metallic material, appears to be a safe option in allergic patients undergoing PFO closure.
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J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown) · Mar 2014
Multicenter StudyA propensity-score matched analysis on the impact of postoperative atrial fibrillation on the early and late outcomes after concomitant aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is a known complication of cardiac surgery. There is a paucity of data on the effects of POAF on short-term and long-term outcomes after concomitant aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting (AVR-CABG ). ⋯ POAF was not associated with an increased risk of early or late mortality. It is, however, associated with poorer perioperative outcomes. It is important to evaluate potential treatment strategies for POAF.