Cor et Vasa, 2003 (vol. 44), issue 3
Original research articles
Late atrial potentials in patients after cardioversion of atrial fibrillation of different duration
Marie Skalská, Jan Bytešník, Josef Kautzner
Cor Vasa 2003, 44(3):135-139
Aim:A prolonged P wave duration when using signal-averaged high-resolution ECG (P-SAECG) may indicate the presence of impaired intra- and interatrial conduction, which could be a factor predisposing to atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of the study was to evaluate changes in P-SAECG in patients undergoing cardioversion of AF different duration. Methods:We evaluated 26 patients (20 males, age 62 ± 14y) after successful cardioversion (CV) of symptomatic acute AF persistent less than 48 hours (group A) and 42 patients (33 males, age 61 ± 13y) after CV of persistent symptomatic AF of duration of more than 1 month...
Meta-analysis of the PRAGUE 1 + 2 studies
Petr Widimský, Ladislav Groch, František Bednář, David Voráč, Michael Želízko, Michael Aschermann, Marian Branny, Josef Šťásek, Pavel Formánek, Tomáš Buděšínský
Cor Vasa 2003, 44(3):150-155
Background:Primary coronary intervention (PCI) has been shown to be the most effective reperfusion strategy in acute myocardial infarction. This meta-analysis summarizes main data from two national multicenter randomized studies. Methods:The "PRAGUE-1" and "PRAGUE-2" studies randomized 1,150 patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction presenting within < 12 hours to the nearest community hospital without a cath lab to either thrombolysis in the hospital (TL group, n = 520), or immediate transport for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI group, n = 530), or a combined strategy-thrombolysis during transport...
Review articles
HDL-cholesterol as the therapeutic goal
Štefan Farský
Cor Vasa 2003, 44(3):141-144
The aim of the review is to highlight the high efficacy of therapeutic modulation of low HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels in patients at risk for developing clinical complications of atherosclerosis, and to present new concepts in this field. By definition, therapy includes both drug therapy and lifestyle intervention.Low HDL-C levels are currently the main risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). They have an adverse effect both on the prevalence and prognosis of CHD, independently of and across all LDL-levels. The beneficial effects of therapy in patients with low HDL-C levels have been shown mainly in what is referred to as fibrate trials....
Arrhythmias in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Dan Marek
Cor Vasa 2003, 44(3):145-151
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCMP) is a genetic disease manifesting itself in a variety of forms. Arrhythmias or sudden death may be a serious associated complication. While several arrhythmogenic mechanisms have been identified, a uniform concept of arrhythmogenesis has not yet been developed. The author provides a review of theoretical concepts regarding arrhythmias of this particular nosological entity and, also, a survey of data obtained from the latest registers of cardiomyopathy and from the electronic memories of implantable defibrillators. A comment provides a review of risk stratification and the options available for managing arrhythmias.
Short communication
Endovascular therapy of aortic dissection
Miroslav Bulvas, Zuzana Sommerová, Jan Votava
Cor Vasa 2003, 44(3):152-155
Ten patients with a primary intimal tear in the descending aorta were treated using 12 stent-grafts (Talent, Medtronic AVE, USA). Dissection types included Stanford type A (n = 2) and type B (n = 8), five dissections were acute with aortic perforation in three cases. All procedures but one were performed under epidural anesthesia and three self-expandable nitinol stents were used for iliac artery recanalization or exclusion of a peripheral re-entry. The entry tear was excluded completely in 80% of patients (8 of 10) without periprocedural complications. There was no death during hospitalization or follow-up (mean follow-up period was 13 months). One...
Use of aortic connectors in off-pump surgery
Jaroslav Benedík, Jiří Široký, Petr Loskot, Tomáš Hájek, Jiří Mokrejš, Josef Frdlík, Jiří Havelka, Pavel Boček
Cor Vasa 2003, 44(3):157-158
We report on a group of 70 patients undergoing, from March through October 2002, off-pump surgery in whom venous graft proximal anastomosis was constructed using an aortic connector. There were no complications related to anastomosis construction in the group; 21% of the procedures were acute, and mean hospitalization time was 7 days. All patients are free of problems (with follow-up of 2-9 months). Use of the aortic connector in off-pump surgery enhances the safety of these procedures and further reduces total operating time.