Interventional cardiologists are significantly exposed to X-rays and no dose of radiation may be considered well tolerated or harmless. Leaded aprons protect the trunk and the thyroid gland, leaded glasses protect the eyes. The operator's legs, arms, neck and head are, instead, not fully protected. In fact, the operator's brain remains the closest part to the primary X-ray beam and scatter in most interventional procedures and specifically the physician's front head is the most exposed region du...
Aims null Iron deficiency (ID) is present in half of patients with heart failure. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is a valuable tool for evaluating patients with heart failure. The T2 Star (T2*) sequence technique was developed within CMR to evaluate iron overload, but its role for assessing myocardial iron content remains poorly understood. The present study aimed to assess correlations between T2* and blood tests for iron metabolism in patients with heart failure and left ventricular ejection...
Aims null Percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) is an alternative nonpharmacological therapeutic option for stroke prevention in patients with NVAF. However, no data exist on potential LAAO candidates' prevalence among 'real-world' NVAF patients. This study aimed to investigate the indications for LAAO in hospitalized patients with comorbid nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). null Methods null This is a post-hoc analysis of the MISOAC-AF (Motivational Interviewing to Support OA...
A young male with β-thalassemia major was implanted with a single-chamber Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) for a cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation. He received multiple inappropriate shocks due to atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia (AVNRT) treated with radiofrequency catheter ablation and then to high-rate atrial tachycardia refractory to amiodarone and not inducible during electrophysiological study. He refused empirical pulmonary vein isolation. Upgrading to...
AIMS Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an emerging cause of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in young women without a typical cardiovascular risk profile. Knowledge on SCAD is based on observational studies and is still scarce. The aim of this monocentric observational study was to evaluate the predisposing factors, clinical features and prognosis of SCAD patients. METHODS Between 2013 and 2020, 58 patients with angiographic diagnosis of SCAD were identified in our centre with an...
BACKGROUND There is lack of evidence regarding the screening role of ECG for sudden cardiac death (SCD) prevention. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence of ECG abnormalities among teenagers according to sport participation and competitive status. METHODS Eleven thousand nine hundred and forty-nine Italian pupils from 179 secondary schools (13-19 years) were consecutively enrolled. ECG abnormalities were divided into minor and major. Medical history, clinical examination and sport activity inform...
BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) outbreak has been recently associated with lower hospitalization rates for acute coronary syndromes. Aim of the study was to investigate whether a similar behaviour is observed in admissions for urgent pacemaker implant. METHODS: This retrospective study included 1315 patients from 18 hospitals in Northern Italy with a high number of COVID-19 cases. Hospitalization rates for urgent pacemaker implant were compared between the following periods: 20...