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This review provides a summary of data on the health status of adults with cardiovascular disease during air travel. We describe mental and physical stressors affecting the cardiovascular system and hypobaric hypoxia in the commercial aircraft cabin. Valid algorithms for preliminary assessment of the condition of patients with recent acute and chronic coronary syndromes are proposed.

The review is devoted to the analysis of the significance of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) in the primary and secondary prevention of various manifestations of atherothrombosis. The results of the ARRIVE, ASPREE and ASCEND studies are considered, based on which the evidence base for the use of reduced low-dose ASA (75-100 mg) for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including patients with diabetes mellitus is formed. Nevertheless, the question of the significance of ASA in primary prevention of CVDs has not been finally resolved, because the results of the latest TIPS-3 study, published in 2020, showed that the combination of enteric-coated ASA with a polypill consisting of a statin and three hypotensive drugs, compared with placebo, reduces the frequency of cardiovascular episodes (CVEs) in individuals without CVDs but with average cardiovascular risk. ASA is an immutable component of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), in patients with coronary heart disease, subjected to planned stenting. Recently, evidence has been obtained about the impact of bleeding on prognostic outcomes, so there is a clear trend to reduce the duration of aspirin therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation and ACS or undergoing planned stenting. A new trend is enhancement of ASA therapy with a second antithrombotic drug in patients with stable manifestations of atherothrombosis with high risk of thrombotic complications. Thus, modern recommendations suggest to enhance ASA therapy with a vascular dose of rivaroxaban (2.5 mg 2 p/day) or a P2Y12-receptor platelet inhibitor. ASA appears to be a classic antiaggregant and an essential partner for new antithrombotic drugs.

Background. The pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome COVID-19 drew the attention of researchers and practitioners worldwide to severe cardiovascular injury incurred by the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.Objectives. A review and structuring of recent evidence on the pathophysiological mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 impact on cardiovascular system and its major acute complications, assessment of indirect pandemic effects on treatment and diagnosis in practical cardiology.Methods. Literature sources were mined in the PubMed database with keywords “COVID-19” and “SARS-CoV-2” and the source type “Clinical Trial”, “Meta-Analysis”, “Review”, “Systematic Review”. The search depth was unrestricted, as the vast majority of publications appeared during the past year.Results. A screening of over 12,000 sources produced 329 most relevant articles available full-text, with 65 included in the review. A key factor of the SARS-CoV-2 penetration into human cell is protein S facilitating the virus—angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 binding and final fusion. Myocardial damage in COVID-19 can occur due to excessive inflammatory response, the disbalance of myocardial oxygen demand and supply, vasculitis, atherosclerotic plaque rupture, coronary spasm, hypoxic vascular damage and endothelial dysfunction, microthrombi formation. The most critical acute cardiovascular complications of COVID-19, apart from myocarditis, are cardiac arrhythmias, acute coronary syndromes, acute heart failure, thrombosis and embolism. The COVID-19 pandemic exerts an indirect negative influence on medical aid in patients with cardiovascular diseases and complications.Conclusion. Knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 impact on cardiovascular system and major types of its acute complications allows targeted research into the scenarios of their prevention and treatment. A rational balance is expected between the infection control and treatment for critical noncommunicable, particularly, cardiovascular diseases.

Arterial thrombosis is a result of complex interaction between blood cells, soluble coagulation factors in plasma and vessel wall. Antiplatelet drugs do not always provide the necessary antithrombotic effect of sufficient strength, because their influence does not extend to all three factors involved in this process. Low doses of direct oral inhibitors of thrombin are able to potentiate antithrombotic effect of antiplatelet therapy. The combination of rivaroxaban in a dose of 2.5 mg and standard double antiplatelet therapy turned out to be the most promising for clinical use, since studies with dabigatran and apixaban at the II and III stages of the trials were found to be unsuccessful due to the unacceptably high frequency of bleeding. Studies of the combination of rivaroxaban at a dose of 2.5 mg and standard antiplatelet therapy conducted in previous years among patients with acute myocardial infarction showed a decrease in the frequency of complications of atherothrombosis associated with their ischemic nature, while at the same time there was a slight increase in hemorrhagic complications. In the COMPASS study the combination of rivaroxaban (2.5 mg) plus aspirin reduced the risk of the primary endpoint (myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, cardiovascular death) more significantly than aspirin alone in patients with stable ischemic heart disease and ischemic brain disease. The pathophysiological rationales for the use of low doses of rivaroxaban when added to dual antiplatelet therapy are considered, and the significance of recent studies in patients with acute coronary syndrome, stable ischemic heart disease and in the prevention of ischemic stroke is discussed.

Developed with the special contribution of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI)

Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.

The aim of the review is presenting the possibilities and perspectives of the third generation of thienopyridine P2Y12 receptor inhibitor prasugrel in the treatment of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The main pathogenetic stage of ACS is intracoronary thrombosis, which develops on the surface of a damaged atherosclerotic plaque. The use of acetylsalicylic acid with addition of the second antiplatelet agent, so-called dual antiplatelet therapy, is a standard component in the treatment of any type of ACS, regardless of reperfusion and the selected treatment strategy. Due to some limitations in the use of clopidogrel as the second component of dual antiplatelet therapy, the possibility of prasugrel or ticagrelor usage should be considered in patients with ACS with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Prasugrel therapy is associated with better clinical outcomes as compared with clopidogrel therapy in moderate or high-risk patients who undergo PCI. Because of higher bleeding risk and the lack of clinical benefits in special subgroups of patients, prasugrel must not be used in patients with a stroke or transient ischemic attack in the past. If, after a thorough individual benefit-risk assessment a decision is in favor of prescribing prasugrel to the patient older than 75 years or with a small body weight the maintenance dose of prasugrel is to be reduced by half. Real clinical practice data has shown that with following these recommendations prasugrel demonstrates optimal efficacy, safety, and even more significant impact on the prognosis than this in clinical trials. Prasugrel is able to reduce significantly the incidence of cardiovascular events such as cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction and stroke in patients with ACS who undergo PCI.

Acetylsalicylic acid remains the basis of anti-platelet therapy for stable ischemic heart disease (IHD), including conditino after coronary artery bypass grafting. Double anti-platelet therapy (APT) consisting of acetylsalicylic acid and a P2Y12 receptor inhibitor (clopidogrel, prasugrel, ticagrelor) reduces the risk of recurrence of major ischemic complications in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and/or those who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), but inevitably increases the risk of major bleeding compared with anti-platelet monotherapy. The principle of personified treatment is implemented on the basis of an assessment of the patient’s clinical status (stable ischemic heart disease or ACS), the ratio of the ischemic and bleeding risks, strategies of management. The review presents the evidence-base to support anti-platelet therapy of stable IHD and ACS in conservative treatment and myocardial revascularization, which forms the basis of the current clinical guidelines. According to the current views the optimal duration of APT after ACS and PCI can vary from 1 to 48 months and continues to be studied in randomized trials. Most recently, the principle of de-escalation of anti-platelet therapy after ACS and PCI has been developed, taking into account the actively discussed findings of clinical projects published in the second half of 2017.

Review is devoted to the value of the use of highly sensitive troponin (hs-cTn) tests in the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome. The classification of the Tn-tests depending on their sensitivity is presented. The possible reasons of troponins appearance in blood of healthy people are shown. Authors consider a 3-hour algorithm for myocardial infarction (MI) diagnostic, recommended by the expert group in 2012. Study results of 2011-2015 years are presented as the basis for the development of a one-hour MI diagnostic algorithm, recommended by the European Society of Cardiology in 2015. Authors discuss the results of studies showing that modern HS-cTnt tests (together with ECG assessment) are capable to diagnose MI in the early stages. They significantly increase the number of identified MI, especially MI without ST segment elevation, as well as identify the group of patients with subsequent favorable prognosis.

2015 ESC Guidelines for the management of acute coronary syndromes in patients presenting without persistent ST-segment elevation.

Alternative approaches to the use of two component antiplatelet therapy in patients with acute coronary syndrome are discussed. Reasons to the development and implementation of new, more powerful antiplatelet agents are considered. Besides the evidence base for the practical application of new antiplatelet agents is discussed, especially this for ticagrelor which is the first-line drug in acute coronary syndrome according to European clinical guidelines. Subjective limitations of ticagrelor use in clinical practice are discussed, as well as a basis for overcoming these limitations.

Nitrates are widely used in cardiology since XIX century. In modern urgent cardiology, intravenous nitrates are administered most often. Numerous studies confirm high clinical efficacy and safety of intravenous nitrates in acute coronary syndromes, acute heart failure, or acute decompensation of chronic heart failure.