Cardiology Letters, 2023 (vol. 32), issue 1
Original article
Patientsʼ characteristics in acute aortic dissection DeBakey type I; single center study
Zacharovský R, Svitek V, Jankovičová V, Alberty R
Cardiology Letters 2023, 32(1):5-13 
Purpose: To examine the demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms, investigation modalities, travel time, type of surgical procedures and survival time of patients with acute aortic dissection of DeBakey I type. Methods: Retrospective analysis of patients with acute aortic dissection operated on at the Department of Cardiac Surgery SÚSCCH, a. s. in Banská Bystrica in the period 2004 - 2020. Results: In total, 280 patients were operated on for acute aortic syndrome, 260 of them (age 61.4 ± 5.6 years, male 69%) were operated on for dissection of DeBakey type I. Arterial hypertension, smoking and atherosclerosis were the most common risk factors,...
The use of fixed dose combinations of antihypertensive drugs in Slovakia in 2019 - 2021
Selvek M, Mužik R, Saal B, Tkáč I
Cardiology Letters 2023, 32(1):14-21
Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of fixed dose combinations (FDC) in the outpatient clinics of Slovak general practitioners (GPs), cardiologists and internists and to explore the determinants of FDC prescriptions. Methods: At the level of contact (prescription by one doctor to one patient on one day), we evaluated whether therapeutic groups could be, and were, prescribed in the form of FDC. The total number of evaluated contacts was 5,463,492. Results: In 2021, 66.6% of contacts, in which FDC could have been prescribed, ended with its prescription. This is an increase of 2.7% compared to 2019 (p<0.001). FDC are most often used...
Review
Drug therapy in chronic heart failure
Lesný P, Luknár M, Gonçalvesová E
Cardiology Letters 2023, 32(1):22-31
Pharmacological therapy for heart failure (HF) shows the strongest evidence in patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The four drug pillars with proven mortality benefit in patients with HFrEF are as follows: a renin-angiotensin-aldosterone blocker (angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor should be preferred), a beta-blocker, a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, and a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i). Furthermore, their early prescription reduces mortality more markedly. Optimally, they should be prescribed during hospitalization, after hemodynamic stabilization. The goal is to initialize all four drugs but strategy...
Dilated cardiomyopathy - current opinions on classification, diagnosis and treatment
Kučera L, Chudý M, Vojvodová M, Gonçalvesová E
Cardiology Letters 2023, 32(1):32-42
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the second most common cause of heart failure after coronary heart disease. In approximately 35% of patients, it is possible to identify the gene causing or related to the development of DCM. In the remaining patients, myocarditis, toxins or a combination of various insults are the cause. In most patients, the cause of DCM remains unclear. In recent years, we have witnessed the growth of knowledge about the genetics of DCM, which brings new possibilities for the management of patients and their relatives. Systematic screening of first-degree relatives with idiopathic and familial DCM is part of standard specialized care...
European ESC/ESH versus American ACC/AHA Guidelines on the management of arterial hypertension: parallels and differences
Gašpar Ľ, Bulas J, Wawruch M, Murín J
Cardiology Letters 2023, 32(1):43-48
Both the European ESC/ESH and the American ACC/AHA Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension are based on evidence-based medicine, the application of which is the first and basic prerequisite for the successful treatment of hypertension and the prevention of cardiovascular consequences. Although both Guidelines coincide in many thematic outputs (prevention, diagnostics), there are a fundamental differences between them. There is primarily a difference in the classification of blood pressure and the degree of hypertension: there are different opinions on the initiation of medical treatment, and in addition, each professional society proposes...
Masked hypertension - diagnosis, treatment and prognosis
Gašpar Ľ, Filipová S
Cardiology Letters 2023, 32(1):49-53
The diagnosis of masked hypertension has been made easier with the widespread availability of home blood pressure monitoring devices, as well as the routine use of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. The negative impact of masked hypertension on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is evidenced by numerous well-designed clinic-based and population-based studies. The relationship of masked hypertension and target organ damage is also well documented. These two factors, combined with the robust evidence of reduced cardiovascular morbidity and mortality achieved with blood pressure treatment, makes the argument for actively identifying patients with...
Case report
Traumatic coronary artery dissection in sports: Use of FFRCT and literature review
Nehaj F, Connolly DL
Cardiology Letters 2023, 32(1):54-61
Traumatic coronary artery dissection (TCAD) is a rare form of cardiac injury. Nonpenetrating chest trauma causing dissection may however be unrecognized and under-reported. The role of cardiac computed tomography (CCT) has become increasingly important not only in the diagnosis of spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), but also in the diagnosis of TCAD. However, the role of non-invasive CT fractional flow reserve (FFRCT) in this field is less clear. FFRCT was performed as a novel means of evaluating if dissection was flow limiting. In addition, this work provides a literature review dealing with coronary artery dissections in the context of sports.
Ultrasound-guided thrombolysis of a pulmonary embolism
Krajčík M
Cardiology Letters 2023, 32(1):62-67
Acute pulmonary embolism is one of the most common cardiovascular events and the third leading cause of cardiovascular death after acute myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular accident, with an estimated annual incidence of 39 to 115 per 100,000 population. The work presents a patient with severe PE (class IV, PESI 110 points), in whom there was an endovascular ultrasound-guided thrombolysis of a pulmonary embolism, using the EKOS® system therapeutically.