Clinical cardiology
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Clinical cardiology · Jun 2010
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyComparison of traditional risk factors, angiographic findings, and in-hospital mortality between smoking and nonsmoking Turkish men and women with acute myocardial infarction.
The prevalence of smoking is high in Turkey. However, there are no data available evaluating the differences between smokers and nonsmokers according to their sex in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Turkey. ⋯ Smoking, by decreasing the age of first AMI in women, offsets the age difference in first AMI between men and women. The mean age of first AMI is lower in Turkey than most European countries due to a high percentage of smoking.
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Clinical cardiology · Jun 2010
ReviewLoop diuretic therapy in heart failure: the need for solid evidence on a fluid issue.
Heart failure (HF) is a common condition associated with substantial cost, morbidity, and mortality. Because results of clinical trials in the acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) setting have been mostly neutral, loop diuretics remain the mainstay of treatment. ⋯ Loop diuretics still prove useful in HF treatment, but risk-benefit analysis of these agents in the treatment of ADHF requires a well-designed prospective study.
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Clinical cardiology · Jun 2010
The effect of sleep apnea on QT interval, QT dispersion, and arrhythmias.
QT interval (QT) and QT dispersion (QTd) are electrocardiograph (ECG) parameters for the evaluation of myocardial repolarization. The inhomogeneity of ventricular repolarization is associated with ventricular arrhythmias. An increased QT, QTd, and increased incidence of nocturnal cardiac rhythm disturbances have been described in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), while other investigators did not find a relationship between ventricular arrhythmias and OSA. ⋯ QTd and QTcd did not increase during the nighttime period. Our study did not show an increased risk of ventricular arrhythmias in this population during the monitoring period.
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Clinical cardiology · May 2010
Cost burden of cardiovascular hospitalization and mortality in ATHENA-like patients with atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter in the United States.
The ATHENA trial (A placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel arm Trial to assess the efficacy of dronedarone 400 mg bid for the prevention of cardiovascular Hospitalization or death from any cause in patiENts with Atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter) demonstrated that dronedarone reduced the risk of cardiovascular (CV) hospitalization/death by 24% (P < 0.001) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL). ⋯ Health care costs associated with CV hospitalizations and inpatient deaths among ATHENA-like patients in the US are high. Novel antiarrhythmic therapies such as dronedarone, with the potential to reduce CV hospitalizations/mortality in similar patients, could decrease health care costs if adopted in clinical practice.
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Clinical cardiology · Apr 2010
Review Case ReportsInverted-Takotsubo pattern cardiomyopathy secondary to pheochromocytoma: a clinical case and literature review.
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is an increasingly recognized clinical syndrome of transient left ventricular dysfunction, commonly with apical ballooning, in the context of physical or emotional stress. Recently, an inverted-Takotsubo contractile pattern has been described with hypokinesis of the basal and mid-ventricular segments and sparing of the apex. We report a case of a 30-year-old man presenting with transient left ventricular dysfunction in an inverted-Takotsubo contractile pattern, associated with a newly discovered pheochromocytoma, and present a literature review of the inverted-Takotsubo contractile pattern cardiomyopathy.