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Objective: Accurate and easy to use methods for dietary Na intake estimation in population level are lacking. We aimed at (i) estimating the mean Na intake in the group level using a variety of dietary methods (DM) and urinary methods (UM) and correlating them with 24-h urine collection (24UCol) and (ii) improving the accuracy of the existing DM.Design: The most common DM (three 24-h dietary recalls (24DR) and FFQ) and UM (24UCol and spot urine collection using common equations) were applied. To improve the existing: (i) 24DR, discretionary Na was quantified using salt-related questions or adding extra 15 % in total Na intake and (ii) FFQ, food items rich in Na and salt-related questions were added in the standard questionnaire (NaFFQ).Setting: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.Participants: Totally, 122 high cardiovascular risk subjects (56·0 ± 12·6 years; 55·7 % males).Results: Mean 24 h Na excretion (24UNa) was 2810 ± 1304 mg/d. Spot urine methods overestimated the 24UNa (bias range: -1781 to -492 mg) and were moderately correlated to 24UCol (r = 0·469-0·596, P ≤ 0·01). DM underestimated the 24UNa (bias range: 877 to 1212 mg) and were weakly correlated with 24UCol. The improved DM underestimated the 24UNa (bias range: 877 to 923 mg). The NaFFQ presented the smallest bias (-290 ± 1336 mg) and the strongest correlation with 24UCol (r = 0·497, P ≤ 0·01), but wide limits of agreement in Bland-Altman plots (-2909 mg; 2329 mg), like all the other methods did.Conclusions: The existing methods exhibit poor accuracy. Further improvement of the newly developed NaFFQ could be promising for more accurate estimation of mean dietary Na intake in epidemiological studies. Additional validation studies are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used a questionnaire to examine how academic staff members in Greece and Cyprus feel about the changes in undergraduate medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic. In general, e-learning was not considered an adequate way of teaching and was less enjoyable. Participants aged 31-40 years experienced more ( P  = .001), while staff in higher academic ranks less difficulty ( P  < .001) in adjustment. There was a small increase in workload, which was higher among respondents researching into COVID-19 ( P  = .001). During the pandemic, daily screen use >6 h was increased from 28.8% to 57.5%. The majority (74.2%) stated that scientific and educational training opportunities were not affected by the pandemic. In conclusion, the pandemic has induced important changes in undergraduate medical education. This new condition was considered adequate but not pleasant, with younger faculty members being more burdened., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Aims: Progressive arterial stiffening, as a marker of arterial aging, may reach a plateau in elderly patients and may thus lose its clinical utility. This phenomenon may be more prominent in high-risk patients. We aimed to investigate if carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) is related to coronary artery disease (CAD) and diastolic dysfunction in elderly high-risk patients as compared to a control group of younger individuals., Methods: One-hundred and ninety-two high-risk stable patients who underwent coronary artery angiography and assessment of cf-PWV were consecutively recruited. Indices of diastolic dysfunction were also measured by echocardiography, including the volume of the left atrium and the ratio of early transmitral peak velocity (E) to the mitral annular early diastolic velocity (E')., Results: Increased cf-PWV was associated with the presence of CAD [odds ratio (OR) 1.34, P = 0.02], number of diseased coronary vessels (OR 1.17, P = 0.029) and CAD severity (P = 0.023) as assessed by Gensini score, in patients less than 65 years old after adjustment for traditional risk factors. Moreover, cf-PWV correlated with E/E' (P = 0.019) and increased the odds by 16% (OR 1.16, P = 0.048) for more severe diastolic dysfunction in patients aged below 65 years old. None of these outcomes correlated with cf-PWV in the elderly., Conclusion: In high cardiovascular risk patients, an age-dependent association of cf-PWV with CAD and diastolic dysfunction was evinced. In contrast to younger patients, these results suggest that measuring arterial stiffness in elderly high-risk patients may lack clinical value.

We report the first TAVI procedure in Greece to use the CoreValve Evolut-R (23 mm profile) bioprosthesis with the InLine sheath and the EnVeo loading guiding catheter in a patient with small anatomical characteristics (aortic annulus, access vessel) and severe comorbidities. The procedure was successfully conducted under general anesthesia through a surgically prepared, extensively calcified, left femoral artery.

Interatrial block (IAB; P-wave duration>or=110 ms) is highly prevalent and is strongly associated with atrial tachyarrhythmias and left atrial dysfunction. Very few studies have examined IAB in young healthy subjects. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the prevalence of IAB and its possible relation with clinical variables in 1,353 young healthy men. It was found that 9.1% of healthy men aged<35 years and 5.4% of those aged<20 years had P-wave durations>or=110 ms. The frequent presence of IAB in leads II, V3, and V5 was also observed. Age and heart rate were independent significant determinants of IAB. In conclusion, IAB is a frequent phenomenon, even at young ages. Thus, the early recognition of IAB might be important, possibly contributing to the prevention of future cardiovascular complications.