Acta cardiologica
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly impacted the availability of cardiology services and management of cardiac conditions. Elective surgeries, outpatient appointments and cardiac imaging have been largely cancelled across the world due to the risk of infection transmission and the need for reallocation of resources to deal with the increasing number of COVID-19 patients. ⋯ In this review, we discuss the impact of COVID-19 on cardiac services including interventional cardiology services, cardiac imaging and outpatient appointments. In addition, implications for future research and clinical practice are also discussed.
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Left ventricular thrombus (LVT) is a well-recognised complication of ischaemic and non-ischaemic heart disease. The incidence of this complication has drastically reduced due to reperfusion therapies. Current guidelines recommend using warfarin for at least three months. But, direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are increasingly used as an off-label alternative to vitamin K antagonists (VKA) to treat LVT. In this article, we will review the use of DOACs for the treatment of LVT. ⋯ Based on our review, DOACs are likely to be at least as effective and safer as VKA for stroke prevention and thrombus resolution in patients with LVT.
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The Synergy between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (SYNTAX) score, has been used to estimate the extent and complexity of coronary artery disease (CAD). The H2FPEF score enables robust discrimination of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) from non-cardiac aetiologies of dyspnea. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between H2FPEF and SYNTAX scores in patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). ⋯ High H2FPEF score may be associated with high SYNTAX score and may be used to estimate the extent and complexity of CAD in NSTEMI patients.