International journal of cardiology
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Previous studies have shown substantially increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients. However it remains difficult to identify the patients who are at highest risk of arrhythmias in the post-MI setting. The purpose of this study was to investigate if CHADS₂ score (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75 years, diabetes and previous stroke/TCI [doubled]) can be used as a risk tool for predicting cardiac arrhythmias after MI. ⋯ In the post-MI setting, CHADS₂ score efficiently identifies populations at high risk for cardiac arrhythmias.
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Exercise-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension (EIPH) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) has already been observed but its determinants remain unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and the determinants of EIPH in SSc. ⋯ EIPH is frequent in SSc patients and is mainly related to both increased exercise LV filling pressure and exercise PVR.
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Letter Randomized Controlled Trial
Pilot prospective study of therapeutic hypothermia for treatment of post-cardiac arrest patients.
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Combination therapy in pulmonary arterial hypertension is widely used in daily clinical practice. There is a wide variation among reference centers, with respect to not only when and how combination therapy should be initiated, but also what constitutes the most effective multidrug regimen. Presently, no combination therapy has proven to be more effective than the other. ⋯ In the study of Bergot et al. the current use of epoprostenol in newly diagnosed patients with severe idiopathic, heritable or anorexigen-use associated pulmonary arterial hypertension enrolled in the French pulmonary hypertension registry was investigated. Up-front combination of epoprostenol and oral pulmonary arterial hypertension tended to be more beneficial compared with epoprostenol alone. New drug trials with well-defined morbidity and mortality end-points are likely to help not only identify novel agents that may help in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension but also determine the most useful combination strategies to maximize efficacy of existing drugs.