Cardiovascular diagnosis and therapy
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Sodium intake reduction efforts in Lebanon are quite recent and have just started to take effect on the national level. Starting out from an academic institution, the Lebanese Action on Sodium and Health (LASH) campaign was established to counter the increasing prevalence of hypertension and associated adverse health effects. The campaign's strategy was based on four pillars: research, health communication, advocacy, and monitoring. ⋯ Currently, Lebanon is at a stage of technically working to reduce the sodium content in the major sources of sodium, namely local bread and bread-like products. The next steps will include implementation of a plan for monitoring industry compliance, while studying other food targets, including dairy products and processed meat. Meanwhile, the health communication plan is ongoing and the Salt Awareness Week is celebrated every year with media appearances of LASH researchers to raise the issue to the public eye.
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As part of its endorsement of the World Health Organization's Global Action Plan to prevent non-communicable diseases, the Federal Government of Australia has committed to a 30% reduction in average population salt intake by 2025. Currently, mean daily salt intake levels are 8-9 g, varying by sex, region and population group. A number of salt reduction initiatives have been established over the last decade, but key elements for a co-ordinated population-level strategy are still missing. The objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of existing population-level salt reduction activities in Australia and identify opportunities for further action. ⋯ In conclusion, salt reduction activities are currently being implemented through a variety of different programs but additional efforts and more robust national monitoring mechanisms are required to ensure that Australia is on track to achieve the proposed 30% reduction in salt intake within the next decade.
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Cardiovasc Diagn Ther · Jun 2014
Electrocardiograhic findings resulting in inappropriate cardiac catheterization laboratory activation for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.
Prompt reperfusion has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with a goal of culprit vessel patency in <90 minutes. This requires a coordinated approach between the emergency medical services (EMS), emergency department (ED) and interventional cardiology. The urgency of this process can contribute to inappropriate cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL) activations. ⋯ In this single-center, prospective observational study, nearly half of the inappropriate STEMI activations were due to the misinterpretation of anterior ST-segment elevation and this finding was commonly seen in African-Americans with left ventricular hypertrophy.
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Cardiovasc Diagn Ther · Feb 2014
Case Reports4D-flow MRI of double aortic arch in a 14-year-old patient.
Double aortic arch is a rare congenital anomaly. It is usually diagnosed and surgically corrected at an early age due to symptoms as dyspnea and dysphagia caused by an obstruction of trachea and/or esophagus in the vascular ring. We present the case of an asymptomatic 14-year-old patient with complete double aortic arch as demonstrated by CMR. Blood flow in the right and left aortic arch was visualized and quantified by 4D-flow MRI.
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Cardiovasc Diagn Ther · Dec 2013
Prevalence and factors associated with false positive suspicion of acute aortic syndrome: experience in a patient population transferred to a specialized aortic treatment center.
Acute aortic syndrome (AAS) is a medical emergency that requires prompt diagnosis and treatment at specialized centers. We sought to determine the frequency and etiology of false positive activation of a regional AAS network in a patient population emergently transferred for suspected AAS. ⋯ The diagnosis of AAS is confirmed in most patients emergently transferred for suspected AAS. False positive activation in this setting is driven primarily by uncertainty secondary to motion-artifact of the ascending aorta and the presence of complex anatomy following prior aortic intervention. Network-wide standardization of imaging strategies, and improved sharing of imaging may further improve triage of this complex patient population.