Background Resistance training (RT) for improving muscular strength is a fundamental part of the exercise component in Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) protocols for post-open-heart surgeries. Although ...

Objective D-dimer might serve as a marker of thrombogenesis and a hypercoagulable state following plaque rupture. Few studies explore the association between baseline D-dimer levels and the incidence ...

The significance of napping for cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been a matter of controversy, with studies showing discordant results depending on the methods of evaluation, nap duration, age range ...

Introduction The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for the management of patients with ventricular arrhythmias and the prevention of sudden cardiac death recommend that subcutaneous ...

Objective: To evaluate contractile reserve (CR) determined by exercise echocardiography in predicting clinical outcome and left ventricular (LV) function in asymptomatic severe mitral regurgitation ...

Aims: To compare the efficacy and safety of an escalating energy protocol with a non-escalating energy protocol using an impedance compensated biphasic defibrillator for direct current cardioversion ...

Results A total of 92 HCM patients were identified, with median follow up period 52 months, median age 56 years (range 15–86), and male sex in 64%. Twelve patients had an implantable cardioverter ...

Synthesis and release of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) are increased in heart failure, and plasma concentrations provide important therapeutic and prognostic information. Recent studies have shown ...

Smoking is a complex behaviour involving physiological dependence on regular administration of nicotine, psychological dependence to cope with stress, and reinforcement in social contexts. Smoking ...

Introduction Valve disease is a major concern in patients having non-cardiac surgery. First, it is common (table 1) 1–4 particularly in the elderly who may also have other comorbidities. The adult ...

Knowledge of the anatomy of the ‘conduction tissues’ of the heart is a 20th century phenomenon. Although controversies still continue on the topic, most could have been avoided had greater attention ...

Objective To examine whether chocolate consumption is associated with a reduced risk of ischaemic heart disease, we used data from a prospective study of Swedish adults and we performed a ...