Giornale italiano di cardiologia : organo ufficiale della Federazione italiana di cardiologia : organo ufficiale della Società italiana di chirurgia cardiaca
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The older age of the population, together with some bad habits, first of all the lack of regular physical activity, is giving rise to a huge increase in the epidemiologic burden of cardiovascular diseases in our country. Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory studies have provided definitive evidence that physical activity is able to improve fitness and to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. ⋯ However, despite the fact that the benefits of an active lifestyle have been demonstrated by numerous scientific data, only a minority of Italians engage in regular physical exercise. Promoting physical activity in the general population and in patients affected by cardiovascular disease is therefore one of the primary objectives of our healthcare institutions in the next decades.
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G Ital Cardiol (Rome) · Oct 2008
[Thromboembolic risk in atrial fibrillation: new clinical perspectives].
Prevention of embolic complications is one of the major goals of therapeutic strategy for atrial fibrillation. The embolic risk is related to the presence and nature of underlying heart disease; furthermore cerebrovascular accidents associated with atrial fibrillation occur in a higher percentage in the elderly, representing 6.7% of the total number of cerebrovascular accidents in the 50-to-59-year-old population and 36% in the 80-to-89-year-old population. ⋯ Several risk stratification schemes have been developed to evaluate the thromboembolic/hemorrhagic risk profile in the individual patient, but they have shown intrinsic limitations. In this short report we compare different risk stratification schemes to predict thromboembolic risk in atrial fibrillation patients, and we discuss the application of these schemes into clinical practice and the effects on clinical events.
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G Ital Cardiol (Rome) · Oct 2008
[Sudden cardiac death in athletes with an apparently normal heart: the channelopathies].
Ion channelopathies are inherited arrhythmia syndromes, without apparent structural heart disease, which predispose to syncope and sudden death, often in association with exercise. They are referred to as "primary cardiomyopathies", where the arrhythmogenic substrate is found in the electrical properties of the heart. The diagnosis is based on the 12-lead ECG and a careful family history, hence the usefulness of a preparticipation cardiovascular screening including 12-lead ECG in order to identify the subjects at risk.