Cardiology Letters, 2025 (vol. 34), issue 1

Príhovor prezidenta Slovenskej kardiologickej spoločnosti

Dukát A, Kriška M, Šimko F, Rajec J

Cardiology Letters 2025, 34(1):5-8  

Navigating risks and rewards in percutaneous transcatheter mitral commissurotomy: A multicenter hemodynamic analysis of safety and efficacy in symptomatic mitral stenosis

Soumik Ghosh, Tusharkanti Patra, Arjun Tandon, Vikas Agrawal

Cardiology Letters 2025, 34(1):11-17  

Aims: This study evaluates the safety and efficacy of Percutaneous Transcatheter Mitral Commissurotomy (PTMC) in treating symptomatic rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS), using invasive hemodynamic parameters. PTMC, a less invasive alternative to surgical mitral valvotomy, is widely used for severe MS but involves risks like mitral regurgitation (MR) and procedural complications. We aimed to assess PTMC's safety through changes in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and efficacy via reductions in left atrial pressure (LAP) in a multicenter cohort. Methods: This prospective, two-year study included 328 patients undergoing PTMC at IPGIMERSSKM,...

Current role of drug-coated balloons in interventional cardiology

Tibor Porubän

Cardiology Letters 2025, 34(1):18-28  

The number of coronary artery disease cases has been steadily increasing in recent years, thereby raising the importance of percutaneous coronary intervention as a key therapeutic procedure. Continuous advancements in medical technology are also impacting interventional cardiology. Although drug-coated balloons (DCB) are becoming increasingly popular and are used in a variety of situations, with a growing body of data supporting their efficacy and safety, guidelines have largely overlooked them, with few exceptions. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the latest knowledge in this field, focusing on the application of DCB in revascularization...

Caval filter - indications, extractions and complications

Marek Hudák, Martin Koščo, Lucia Dekanová, Veronika Pavlíková, Mária Rašiová

Cardiology Letters 2025, 34(1):29-40  

The inferior vena cava filter can prevent pulmonary embolism by mechanically capturing an embolus in the inferior vena cava. Despite its indisputable effectiveness in the prevention of pulmonary embolism in a selected group of patients, its use is associated with considerable controversy, especially in the last two decades. The introduction of extractable filters into clinical practice resulted in the emergence of a constellation of relative indications, and significantly increased the rate of filter implantation. This also led to a disproportionate increase in complications. The purpose of this article is to summarize the most current indications...

Restrictive cardiomyopathy - an overview according to the latest guidelines

Zuzana Bujdošová

Cardiology Letters 2025, 34(1):41-49  

Restrictive cardiomyopathy is still considered to be the least common form of cardiomyopathy in daily clinical practice. Various myocardial diseases are included, characterized by noncompliant, stiffened ventricular walls that resist diastolic filling, and leading to heart failure. In developed countries the most common etiology of restrictive cardiomyopathy is cardiac amyloidosis, cardiac sarcoidosis, cardiomyopathy developed in hemochromatosis, hypereosinophilia and radiation induced heart disease. Diagnosis of restrictive cardiomyopathy should include the patient´s anamnesis, ecg and echocardiography, laboratory tests, and cardiac magnetic resonance...

Rare cause of severe mitral regurgitation or lead?

Anton Dlesk, Ján Postulka, Jana Poláková Mištinová, Eva Gonçalvesová

Cardiology Letters 2025, 34(1):50-53  

We present the case of a patient who was hospitalized due to heart failure and severe mitral regurgitation. Examination revealed the presence of an accessory filamentous tissue adhering to the anterior leaflet of the mitral valve and the interatrial septum. These accessory tissue structures are rare and often incidental findings and in most cases are not the cause of severe mitral regurgitation. Based on multimodal imaging, we conclude that the cause of mitral regurgitation is ischemic.