Cardiology Letters, 2024 (vol. 33), issue 5

Comment on 2023 ESC Guidelines for the management of acute coronary syndromes

Martin Studenčan, Roman Margóczy, Jozef Pacák

Cardiology Letters 2024, 33(5):289-294  

Management of patients with heart failure. Experience from a single centre

Peter Snopek, Jozef Hasilla, Dušan Oravec, Milan Klačanský, Rastislav Gnyp, Jakub Benko

Cardiology Letters 2024, 33(5):295-304  

The work aimed to evaluate the clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic characteristics, and the treatment of patients hospitalized for heart failure (HF) at the Cardiology Clinic of University Hospital Nitra in the period from 1.7. until 30.9.2023. Method: A retrospective analysis of patients hospitalized due to HF at the Cardiology Clinic of University Hospital Nitra from July 1, 2023, to September 30, 2023. Results: The most frequent cause of hospitalization was a decompensation event of chronic HF (78%). The most common cause of HF was ischemic etiology (less than 40% of patients). In terms of comorbidities, the most common was arterial hypertension...

Unveiling the hidden threat: How to diagnose pulmonary arterial hypertension in time

Milan Luknár, Peter Lesný, Bibiana Kafková, Pavel Kmeč, Eva Gonçalvesová

Cardiology Letters 2024, 33(5):305-315  

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare, debilitating, and often lethal condition primarily affecting the pulmonary arterioles. Vasoconstriction, remodeling, and local thrombosis lead to a reduction in the total cross-sectional area of the pre-capillary pulmonary vascular bed, resulting in increased pulmonary vascular resistance and afterload on the right ventricle (RV). This pressure overload ultimately results in RV failure. Owing to the non-specific nature of its symptoms, the diagnosis of PAH is often delayed. Early diagnosis and intervention may improve the prognosis for patients. This paper presents a practical approach to the early diagnosis...

Cardiotoxic treatment in oncohaematology

Juraj Sokol, František Nehaj, Juraj Chudej, Lenka Lisá, Ľudmila Lineková, Richard Jusko, Ivan Kecskés, Ivana Plameňová

Cardiology Letters 2024, 33(5):316-326  

Chemotherapy and targeted therapy have significantly improved the prognosis of oncohaematological patients. Antineoplastic treatment can cause adverse cardiovascular effects known as cardiotoxicity, which requires modification, interruption or withdrawal of life-saving drugs. The onset of cardiotoxicity may depend on the class, dose, route, and duration of anticancer drug administration and individual risk factors. Standard chemotherapy exerts its toxic effect mainly by inducing oxidative stress and genomic instability. At the same time, new targeted molecules work by interfering with signalling pathways that are important for tumour cells and cardiomyocytes....

Invasive hemodynamic monitoring

Mikuláš Huňavý

Cardiology Letters 2024, 33(5):327-337  

Invasive hemodynamic monitoring is crucial in critically ill patients and its goal is to identify the cause of the present condition, clarification of its etiology and, based on the results obtained, tailoring an optimal therapy. The number of patients with cardiogenic shock has doubled in the last decade with heart failure etiology dominant, surpassing acute coronary syndromes. This review article focuses on two methods - right heart catheterization and transpulmonary thermodilution - and their utilization mainly in patients with acute heart failure. Right heart catheterization is being performed in the whole spectrum of heart failure patients, from...

Zilebesiran - a new principle and new hope in the treatment of hypertension

Juraj Dúbrava

Cardiology Letters 2024, 33(5):338-343  

Blood pressure control in arterial hypertension is unsatisfactory and up to half of patients do not achieve the targets. A natural consequence is research for new classes of antihypertensive drugs. Zilebesiran is an experimental small-interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutic. It is designed to intervene selectively in the liver, where it causes post-transcriptional silencing of the gene responsible for the synthesis of angiotensinogen. Zilebesiran thus inhibits the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system at its very beginning. The extrahepatic expression of angiotensinogen is preserved, limiting off-target effects on the kidneys and other tissues. Zilebesiran...