Giornale italiano di cardiologia
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The spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an antalgic technique which has been used since 1967 for the treatment of several painful syndromes. More recently it was employed in cardiology to treat refractory angina, not suitable for revascularization. ⋯ There is also evidence that electrical stimulation has a definite anti-ischemic effect, as revealed by increased work capacity, improved lactate metabolism and reduced downward slope of ST segment at comparable maximum work load. In expert hands SCS implantation is associated with relatively low frequency of complications, whose incidence is greatly reduced if the main contraindications are respected, particularly in patients receiving anticoagulants or with an infection.
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Comparative Study
Ambulatory 24-hour blood pressure monitoring: correlation between blood pressure variability and left ventricular hypertrophy in untreated hypertensive patients.
Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) appears to be poorly correlated with clinical measurements of blood pressure: a better correlation may be observed with data from 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). The aim of this study was to compare the results of non-invasive ABPM in a population of patients with essential hypertension who had never been treated, subdividing them based on the presence or absence of LVH in the transthoracic echocardiogram (LVMI, left ventricular mass index > 135 g/m2 in males and > 110 g/m2 in females). ⋯ The prevalence of LVH in our population was high (43.7%) and some parameters related to diastolic left ventricular function (IVRT, A-wave) were correlated with LVMI. Systolic ambulatory BP was significantly correlated with LVMI, while diastolic BP was not.