International journal of cardiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Aerobic training in adults after atrial switch procedure for transposition of the great arteries improves exercise capacity without impairing systemic right ventricular function.
Exercise training safely and efficiently improves symptoms in patients with heart failure due to left ventricular dysfunction. However, studies in congenital heart disease with systemic right ventricle are scarce and results are controversial. In a randomised controlled study we investigated the effect of aerobic exercise training on exercise capacity and systemic right ventricular function in adults with d-transposition of the great arteries after atrial redirection surgery (28.2 ± 3.0 years after Mustard procedure). ⋯ ClinicalTrials.gov #NCT00837603).
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Long-term outcome of the unrestricted use of everolimus-eluting stents compared to sirolimus-eluting stents and paclitaxel-eluting stents in diabetic patients: the Bern-Rotterdam diabetes cohort study.
Newer generation everolimus-eluting stents (EES) improve clinical outcome compared to early generation sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) and paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES). We investigated whether the advantage in safety and efficacy also holds among the high-risk population of diabetic patients during long-term follow-up. ⋯ In diabetic patients, the unrestricted use of EES appears to be associated with improved outcomes, specifically a significant decrease in the need for TLR and ST compared to early generation SES and PES throughout 3-year follow-up.
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The ECG studies of the international HERO-2 trial in ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients evaluated the prognostic value of ECGs systematically recorded at baseline and at 60-min post-administration of fibrinolytic therapy. Patients were overall managed conservatively with a low percentage undergoing angiography. Many of the analyses were pre-specified. ⋯ The strength of having serial ECG recordings is discussed as is the weakness of lacking angiographic correlation. The paper discusses with take-home points (Table 1) the prognostic implications of bundle branch blocks, QRS duration, Q waves in infarct leads, V1 ST elevation during inferior STEMI, lead aVR ST changes and new ST depression in the infarct leads after fibrinolysis. With the ever increasing emphasis on early (including pre-hospital) therapies for STEMI, a diagnosis based on the 12-lead ECG, the current summary article provides helpful hints to fully extract ECG information, and a vision for future STEMI diagnosis and management.