Journal of cardiovascular medicine
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J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown) · Jul 2008
Case ReportsCannabis: a trigger for acute myocardial infarction? A case report.
Cannabis smoking is consistently increasing in Europe and after alcohol it is the most common recreational drug in the western world. Users and lay people believe that marijuana or hashish is safe. ⋯ Information concerning the link between cannabis consumption and myocardial infarction is limited and existing data are controversial on this topic. In our case report, we describe a case of a young man who after smoking marijuana experienced ST elevation myocardial infarction caused by acute thrombosis of the descending artery, submitted to efficacious primary coronary angioplasty.
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J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown) · Jun 2008
Analysis of inflammatory response and utility of N-terminal pro brain-type natriuretic peptide in cardiac surgery with extracorporeal circulation.
Cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) elicits an inflammatory response. During and after cardiac surgery, we examined the pattern of cytokine release of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, to investigate inflammatory response. We analyzed N-terminal pro brain-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) as a marker of ventricular function. ⋯ Our data indicate a relationship between cytokine levels and sex, time of CPB and aortic clamping, The increase of cytokines correlates with a need for inotropic support, mechanical ventilation and length of stay in ICU. We confirmed the predictive role, and its utility in the risk stratification of the NT-proBNP, and its importance in early diagnosis of postoperative ventricular dysfunction.
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J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown) · Jun 2008
Comparative StudyImpact of prehospital diagnosis in the management of ST elevation myocardial infarction in the era of primary percutaneous coronary intervention: reduction of treatment delay and mortality.
The aim of the study is to assess, as primary endpoints, in-hospital mortality and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) mortality and to compare the outcome in ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients with different pathways to a catheterization laboratory in the context of an area with 24 h availability of catheter facilities. ⋯ The present study shows a reduction in treatment delay and in-hospital mortality by prehospital ECG and direct referral to catheterization laboratory.
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J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown) · May 2008
ReviewThe role of adiposity as a determinant of an inflammatory milieu.
With the growing prevalence of obesity, scientific interest in the biology of adipose tissue has been extended to the secretory products of adipocytes, since they have been shown increasingly to affect several aspects of the pathogenesis of obesity-related diseases. Until relatively recently, the role of adipose tissue itself in the development of obesity and its consequences was considered to be a passive one. It is now clear that, in addition to storing energy in the form of triglycerides, adipocytes also secrete a large variety of proteins, including cytokines, chemokines and hormone-like factors. This production of proatherogenic chemokines by adipose tissue is of particular interest, since their local secretion, for example by perivascular adipose depots, may provide a novel mechanistic link between obesity and associated vascular complications.
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J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown) · May 2008
Case ReportsNear-drowning syndrome: a possible trigger of tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy.
We report a case of transient tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy characterized by an unusual trigger in a woman victim of near-drowning syndrome. After 24 h, electrocardiogram changes and a typical echocardiographic pattern of apical ballooning with a mild increase of serum troponin level induced the suspicion of tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy despite the absence of chest pain. ⋯ Electrocardiogram changes and apical contraction abnormalities were reversed within 1 month. In conclusion, we hypothesize that hypoxemia related to near-drowning syndrome could have induced transient myocardial dysfunction mediated by a sympathetic nerve activation.