Cardiology Letters, 2024 (vol. 33), issue 2

The first heart suture in the world, and the first in Slovakia

Štefan Lukačín, Miloš Kňazovický, Barbora Romžová, Miroslav Kitka

Cardiology Letters 2024, 33(2):77-82  

Cardiac dysfunction in septic conditions: Insights from echocardiographic evaluation and mortality associations

Frantisek Golas, Rastislav Cikrai, Jurina Sadlonova, Milan Dragula, Monika Kulinova, Andrea Cikraiova

Cardiology Letters 2024, 33(2):83-90  

Introduction: In septic cardiomyopathy, changes manifest as systolic and diastolic dysfunction of both the left and right ventricles and dilation of cardiac chambers. The aim of this study was to determine whether left ventricular dysfunction as well as the right ventricular dysfunction were associated with 30-day mortality. Patients and methods: Using established criteria for sepsis and septic shock (SEPSIS.3, The third international consensus definitions for sepsis and septic shock, SOFA score), a total of 65 patients (41 males, 24 females) were enrolled for observation from January 1, 2020, to January 1, 2023. The overall mean age of the patients...

Pulmonary embolism with high risk of early mortality and endovascular treatment

Peter Petruš, Matúš Hoferica, Ján Haršány, Andrej Klepanec, Miroslav Bajer, Daniel Čambál

Cardiology Letters 2024, 33(2):91-101  

Introduction: Pulmonary embolism is the third most common cardiovascular cause of death. Patients with the highest risk of death are hemodynamically unstable patients who require aggressive reperfusion therapy. Systemic thrombolysis is the most common method of reperfusion therapy used in clinical practice, however, it is associated with high risk of bleeding complications. Surgical embolectomy is another modality of reperfusion therapy, which is associated with significant invasiveness into body. Endovascular treatment options are a relatively new alternative of reperfusion therapy. Endovascular treatment of pulmonary embolism has shown to be safe...

Dobutamine stress echocardiography for assessment of myocardial viability: impact of beta-blockade on exam accuracy

Diana Carvalho, Pedro Carvalho, Adriana Pacheco, Raquel Ferreira, José Luís Martins, Jesus Viana, Ana Faustino, Manuela Vieira, Ana Briosa Neves

Cardiology Letters 2024, 33(2):102-106  

Background and Objectives: The impact of β-blockers on the assessment of viability with stress echocardiography has not been defined. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of β-blocker intake status on the accuracy of dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) to detect myocardial viability in patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction. Methods: A retrospective study including 25 patients who underwent myocardial revascularization after a DSE showing regional wall motion abnormalities at rest. The performance of DSE was determined by analyzing each dysfunctional segment (total of 206 segments) at rest to assess viability...

Genetic predisposition to atrial fibrillation in patients with cardiomyopathy

Martin Kmec, Michaela Zigová, Eva Petrejčíková

Cardiology Letters 2024, 33(2):107-115  

Background: Worldwide, atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhytmia in all subtypes of cardiomyopathies (CMP). Genetic testing of CMP genes is a standard aspect of clinical management in affected families. Aim: To determine the association of selected genetic markers of patients with cardiomyopathies and atrial fibrillation in the region of eastern Slovakia. Patients and methods: After signing informed consent, clinical data and a venous blood sample were obtained from all study participants for genetic analysis. After analyzing the genetic results, allele and genotype frequencies were calculated in the patient group and in the control group....

Acute EBV myocarditis. Multidimensional imaging

Veronika Šimovičová, Lukáš Kučera, Anton Dlesk, Jana Poláková Mištinová, Peter Švajdler, Andrea Kalavská, Eva Gonçalvesová

Cardiology Letters 2024, 33(2):116-119  

A case of isolated EBV myocarditis in young nonimmunocompromited male is presented. Precise diagnosis was made promtly using cardiomarkers, advanced echocardiography, MRI and endomyocardial biopsy with virus genome detection.

A biological role and potential clinical value of receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 in diagnosis of heart failure

Izabela Jarabicová, Csaba Horváth, Andrea Marciníková, Eva Gonçalvesová, Adriana Duriš Adameová

Cardiology Letters 2024, 33(2):120-121