Heart : official journal of the British Cardiac Society
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To report on the effectiveness of an initiative to reduce deaths from sudden cardiac arrest occurring in busy public places. ⋯ The use of AEDs by lay people at sites where cardiac arrest commonly occurs is an effective strategy to reduce deaths at these sites.
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To identify predictors of operative and postoperative mortality and of functional reversibility after aortic valve replacement (AVR) in patients with aortic stenosis (AS) and severe left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction. ⋯ Despite a relatively high operative mortality, AVR for AS and severely depressed LVEF was beneficial in the majority of patients. Early postoperative recovery of LV function was associated with significantly greater relief of symptoms and longer survival.
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To report the clinical events leading to alteration of an anticoagulation regimen for patients undergoing transcatheter closure of an atrial shunt and how this affected migraine symptoms after the closure procedure. ⋯ The combination of clopidogrel for four weeks and aspirin for six months is superior to aspirin alone for six months for preventing migraine with aura after transcatheter closure of an atrial shunt. This beneficial effect of a powerful inhibitor of platelet aggregation suggests that platelets may have a role in pathogenesis of migraine. This may be because of an effect on serotonin stores. Whether clopidogrel has a role in treatment of migraine in other clinical situations requires investigation.