Cardiology Letters, 2020 (vol. 29), issue 3

Comment on 2019 ESC/EAS Guidelines for the Management of Dyslipidaemias

Pella D

Cardiology Letters 2020, 29(3):131-134  

Príspevok k aktuálnej diskusii o organizácii predoperačných vyšetrení pred elektívnou nekardiálnou chirurgiou v SR - pohľad kardiológa a internistu

Hatala R, Lazúrová I

Cardiology Letters 2020, 29(3):135-137  

An evening dose of antihypertensive drugs reduces cardiovascular risk - message of the Hygia Chronotherapy Trial

Gašpar Ľ, Murín J

Cardiology Letters 2020, 29(3):148-153  

Arterial hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, coronary heart disease, heart failure, as well as dementia, vision loss and kidney failure. The risk of cardiovascular complications increases continuously with blood pressure. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) allows monitoring of circadian blood pressure variability with diurnal index determination. It also provides essential information on the efficacy of pharmacotherapy in relation to the reduction of blood pressure, the duration of efficacy of drugs over time (chronopharmacological aspects) and the effect...

Dental procedures in oral anticoagulation therapy

Remková A, Deglovič J, Šupler M

Cardiology Letters 2020, 29(3):154-159  

Temporary interruption of chronic oral anticoagulation by warfarin or non-vitamin K antagonists (NOAC) due to the bleeding risk associated with minor dental surgery may lead to an elevated risk of thromboembolism. It is not necessary to interrupt oral anticoagulation for most minor surgical procedures and those procedures where bleeding is easily controllable. The risk of clinically significant bleeding in patients on anticoagulant treatment by warfarin and with a stable anticoagulation in the therapeutic range (INR 2-3) is very small. Warfarin should not be discontinued in the majority of patients requiring outpatient dental surgery including dental...

The effect of antidepressants on the cardiovascular system and the safety of cardiovascular drugs in depressive disorders

Beňová K, Horvátová Z

Cardiology Letters 2020, 29(3):160-165  

Standard risk factors (RFs) for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are well known, and other RFs include depression. Patients with depressive disorders have an increased risk of developing CVD; on the other hand, the presence of CVD in patients may represent an increased incidence of depressive disorders. The pathophysiological mechanisms of this relationship are complex. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome is higher in patients with depressive disorders than in the general population. Some biological markers are common in patients with MS and depression. These include dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal cortex axis, which leads to chronic...

Left Ventricular MultiPoint Pacing

Kaliská G, Ďurčíková P

Cardiology Letters 2020, 29(3):166-172  

Cardiac resynchronization therapy is a standard method of non-pharmacological treatment of heart failure associated with severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction. It is indicated in the presence of persistent symptoms of heart failure on optimal pharmacotherapy and ECG-supported symptoms of left ventricular dyssynchrony. Left ventricular multipoint pacing in the context of resynchronizations (BiV MPP) allows for pacing of a larger area, bridging local conductivity blocks and avoiding pacing in proximity to scar. Clinical studies have shown significant favourable effects of BiV MPP on the clinical situation of heart failure patients. A Slovak study,...

Cytokines in relation to heart failure

Steinkamp R, Radosinska J

Cardiology Letters 2020, 29(3):173-192  

It is accepted that heart failure (HF) is largely influenced by inflammation. Since cytokines are the main "hormones" of the immune system, they have increasingly received attention in this context, especially due to the observation that blood levels of various cytokines correspond to the clinical outcomes of HF. The purpose of this review is to provide information about the cytokines involved in the HF syndrome, their connection to this disease and implementation in new treatment choices. Another aim is to elaborate on the complex relationship between the cytokines and the neurohumoral axis and involvement of inflammatory escalation in chronic HF....

Animal models of pulmonary hypertension

Trubačová S, Kováčová D, Klimas J, Paulis Ľ

Cardiology Letters 2020, 29(3):183-194  

Pulmonary hypertension is a disease characterized by an increase in mean arterial pressure in the pulmonary artery and a primary or secondary pulmonary arterial remodeling, particularly narrowing and obstruction of small pulmonary arteries. With the progressive increase in afterload, right ventricular hypertrophy, subsequent dilatation and right heart failure develop. The etiological and pathophysiological heterogeneity of this disease, as well as unsatisfactory treatment options, call for adequate animal models of each type of pulmonary hypertension. A relatively wide range of animal models is available, but they do not always completely simulate...

The role of somatic characteristics in the assessment of cardiometabolic risk in adolescents

Regecová V, Bališ P, Gerová Z

Cardiology Letters 2020, 29(3):138-147  

Aim: In this study, we investigated which somatic characteristics are most associated with certain components of metabolic syndrome (MS), and compared their efficacy in identifying individuals at risk. Subjects and methods: We analyzed records of 1222 adolescents aged 14-18 years (median = 17 years) obtained within the project "Respect for Health", which included data on serum lipids - total (TC) and HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TAG) and blood pressure (BP). The body composition was characterized by indices derived from measured anthropometric parameters (AP): body mass index (BMI), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), fat mass index (FMI), relative...