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The issue of suboptimal drug regimen adherence in secondary cardiovascular prevention presents a significant barrier to improving patient outcomes. To address this, the utilization of drug combinations, specifically single pill combinations (SPCs) and polypills, was proposed as a strategy to simplify treatment regimens. This approach aims to enhance treatment accessibility, affordability, and adherence, thereby reducing healthcare costs and improving patient health. The document is an ANMCO scientific statement on simplifying drug regimens for secondary cardiovascular prevention. It discusses the underuse of treatments despite available, effective, and accessible options, highlighting a significant gap in secondary prevention across different socioeconomic statuses and countries. The statement explores barriers to implementing evidence-based treatments, including patient, healthcare provider, and system-related challenges. The paper also reviews international guidelines, the role of SPCs and polypills in clinical practice, and their economic impact, advocating for their use in secondary prevention to improve patient outcomes and adherence.

Obesity is a chronic and relapsing disease due to the coexistence of a patient with predisposing individual characteristics and an obesogenic environment. The recent acquisition of detailed knowledge on the mechanisms underlying the energetic homeostasis paved the way to more effective therapeutic hypotheses as compared to traditional treatments. Since obesity is a complex issue, it requires a multidisciplinary approach which is difficult to implement. However, new drugs appear promising. Currently, therapeutic success is discrete in the short term, but unsatisfying in the long term due to the high probability of body weight gain. Cardiologists play a key role in managing patients with obesity, but they are not used to manage them. The aim of this document is to summarize knowledge that clinicians need to have to appropriately manage these patients. The paper emphasizes the pivotal role of an appropriate relationship with the patient to embark on a successful treatment journey. We analyze the criteria commonly used to diagnose obesity and point out strengths and limitations of different criteria. Furthermore, we discuss the figure of the obesitologist and the role of the cardiologist. In addition, we report the main components of an effective therapeutic strategy, from educational questions to pharmacological options.

Scientific societies promote numerous activities, including the training of professionals. With the continuous growing of knowledge and the availability of new evidence in the cardiological field, the achievement and maintenance of knowledge and know-how is difficult. The evolving educational needs of professionals in cardiology have been analyzed during the 2023 ANMCO General States. Furthermore, the initiatives implemented to meet professionals' needs after the university medical training have been discussed. In this document, we report the main and most innovative training activities promoted by ANMCO, from distance training to simulation training, including courses for master's degree, training to and through clinical research and the potential role of teaching hospitals.

Technological innovation provides easily accessible tools capable of simplifying healthcare processes. Notably, digital technology application in the cardiology field can improve prognosis, reduce costs, and lead to an overall improvement in healthcare. The digitization of health data, with the use of electronic health records and of electronic health files in Italy, represents one of the fields of application of digital technologies in medicine. The 2023 States General of the Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists (ANMCO) provided an opportunity to focus attention on the potential benefits and critical issues associated with the implementation of the aforementioned digital tools, artificial intelligence, and telecardiology. This document summarizes key aspects that emerged during the event.

For over 40 years, clinical research has been one of the most important aims of the Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists (ANMCO), being an essential tool in pursuing promotion and fulfillment of good clinical practices in prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of cardiovascular diseases. Since 1992, with the creation of the Research Center (now part of the Heart Care Foundation), ANMCO is capable of independently and professionally managing all the aspects related to planning, management, and publication of the results of clinical studies. The other strength of ANMCO is the network built in Cardiology Departments on the whole territory of Italy, a human capital that allows ANMCO to deal with the new scientific challenges, in a context of profound changes in the social, economic, technological, and methodological setting. This document is based on the debate about the state of clinical research in Italy and the role of ANMCO in this setting that took place during the 2023 ANMCO States General.

Over the latest years, a worrying progressive reduction of medical specialists has been observed in Italy and in other European and non-European countries. This trend is assuming alarming proportions, especially considering the continuous population aging and the concomitant increase in the prevalence of chronic cardiovascular disease. The underlying reasons are complex and multifactorial. The purpose of this document, derived from the collegial discussion held during the 2023 ANMCO States General is to highlight the current critical issues regarding the lack of healthcare personnel in the cardiology field, examining the current and future Italian situation and proposing some potential strategies to counteract this alarming phenomenon.

Over the last two decades, cardiovascular diseases have become the leading cause of chronic disease morbidity and mortality in Italy. Therefore, the chronic cardiovascular care landscape has evolved rapidly in an era of unprecedented demand. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted significant deficiencies in existing health and social care systems, especially in the management of chronic cardiovascular disease. In this scenario, the National Reform for Recovery and Resilience (PNRR) may represent a unique opportunity for the development of a new integrated care system between hospital and community. The Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists (ANMCO) recognizes the need for a statement on the integrated cardiological community care to guide health professionals caring for people with chronic cardiovascular conditions. The aim of the present statement is to outline the evidence for a modern integrated cardiological community care identifying challenges and offering advice for a future transdisciplinary and multi-organizational approach to ensure best practice in the management of chronic cardiovascular disease.

Advanced heart failure (HF) is a deadly condition. Fortunately, an increasing array of effective (but often expensive) therapies has become available. The management of patients with advanced HF is complex and requires a high level of expertise. The American Board of Internal Medicine was the first regulatory board to recognize the need for a subspecialty in Advanced HF and Transplant Cardiology. More recently, the HF Association of the European Society of Cardiology has proposed a curriculum for HF specialists that includes the optional module of advanced HF therapy. However, the successful completion of such a curriculum does not result in a European Certification in Heart Failure, because no European Board of Medicine does exist. While in some European countries the secondary specialty of HF has been implemented, no country has a subspecialty in advanced HF. The ANMCO HF Area has proposed a survey to 25 Italian centers with accredited programs for heart transplant or ventricular assist device implant as destination therapy with the aim to assess the actual need of a certification of clinical competence in advanced HF and a certification of institutional competence for the centers with the highest expertise in advanced HF management. The survey indicated that there is a perceived need. A first step towards education of advanced HF specialists could be the implementation of CME courses by Scientific Societies. As regards certification of institutional competence for the centers with the highest expertise in advanced HF management, the government appears to be the only entity that can grant it.

Continuity of care is pivotal to appropriately manage patients affected by heart failure (HF). HF is a chronic disease with frequent exacerbations that requires long-term care at different complexity levels. The lack of adequate communication between hospital cardiologists and primary care physicians (PCPs) is the main pitfall in continuity of care for HF patients. To overcome this problem, all dedicated outpatient HF clinics should organize together with PCPs in the community educational and auditing initiatives, based on locally derived performance measures to assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of integrated care pathways. The primary task of PCPs is to follow up stable HF patients and focus assessment on patient empowerment, adjustment of drug therapy, assessment of clinical stability and the early identification of worsening signs and symptoms. The progress of information technology should help in achieving adequate communication between hospital professionals and PCPs; outpatient clinical records should in any case comply with qualitative standards of discharge summaries for all patients taken in charge by PCPs. Systematic assessment of shared care between hospital cardiologists and PCPs will be a main objective of the outpatient HF clinic network in the near future.

This case report describes a 40-years-old man affected by fracture of leg and pulmonary embolism. Two-dimensional echocardiography showed a large right atrial migrant thromboembolus prolapsing into tricuspid valve during diastole. The patient was treated with rt-PA through right atrial venous catheter and underwent to serial echocardiographic examinations. The rt-PA determined the dissolution of the thrombo-embolus at the 2nd hour of infusion. It is concluded that early two-dimensional echocardiography might be a very helpful technique to diagnose and follow-up therapy of pulmonary embolism.

Traditionally, in patients with exercise-induced myocardial ischemia we analyze the stress-test by studying the behaviour of double product at ischemia. We recognize the presence of a functional component in the reduction of coronary-flow reserve if the double product at ischemia (DPI) varies in 3 stress-tests i.e. more than 20% or more than 3200 mmHg b m'-1. Any analysis that relies exclusively on double product at ischemia is, of necessity, limited to the beginning of the ischemic phenomenon. To better understand the development of the whole event, we also considered the double product calculated when the ischemic electrocardiographic signal regressed (double product of normalization: DPN). More specifically, we set out to determine whether or not double product at ischemia behaviour in patients with variable ischemic threshold (i.e. double product at ischemia variation greater than 3200 mmHg b m'-1) differs from that of patients with fixed ischemic threshold (i.e. double product at ischemia variation less than b m'-1). We performed four multistage bicycle ergometer tests, without drugs, on 19 patients with chronic exertional anginal and exercise-induced ST depression. Patients were tested at the same time of day, within a 10 day period. In the second, third and fourth stress test double product at ischemia was calculated. On the basis of double product at ischemia values in three stress-tests, we distinguished two groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)