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Objective: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the leading causes of death; however, updated data regarding clinical presentation and current management are missing in Greece. This study aimed to prospectively record the demographic and clinical characteristics of a representative sample of patients suffering from AMI, their management, and short-term outcomes. Methods: ILIAKTIS is a national, prospective, multicenter, noninterventional study conducted under the auspices of Hellenic Society of Cardiology (HCS) and the European Initiative Stent - Save a Life. From 1st April 2020 to 30th June 2020, consecutive adult patients with STEMI or NSTEMI were enrolled in the 50 participating hospitals, appropriately selected to match the geographical and population distribution in the Greek territory. Results: In total, 1862 patients (mean age: 64.2 ± 13.2 yrs.; 77.2% males) with AMI were enrolled. More patients presented with NSTEMI (56.8%) than with STEMI (43.2%). Primary PCI (pPCI) was the preferable treatment option for STEMI patients in PCI-hospitals (76.9% vs. 39.9% for non-PCI, p

Background  Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disease of cardiopulmonary circulation characterized by elevated pressure in the pulmonary artery. The right-heart catheter is the gold standard for diagnosis, but there is interest in identifying additional prognostic indicators. The aim of this study was to examine the importance of the rate of pressure change of the pulmonary artery (dP/dt mean PA) in patients with PAH. Methods  We retrospectively analyzed data from 142 patients with PAH (exclusively clinical group 1) and examined the statistical correlation of dP/dt mean PA with vascular, right ventricular, and clinical parameters. Data was collected mostly from the right heart catheterization and the transthoracal echocardiography at presentation. Results  dP/dt mean PA showed a significant correlation with systolic pressure of the pulmonary artery ( n = 142, R 2  = 56%, p  < 0.001), pulmonary vascular resistance ( n  = 142, R 2  = 51%, p  < 0.001), the rate of pressure change in the right ventricle ( n  = 142, R 2  = 53%, p  < 0.001), and the right ventricular fractional area change ( n  = 110, R 2  = 51%, p  < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that dP/dt mean PA had the highest prognostic value in predicting increase in the 6-minute walk test and decrease in the N-terminal-probrain natriuretic peptide after the initiation of PAH therapy, with an area under the curve of 0.73. Conclusion  Our findings suggest that dP/dt mean PA may be a useful prognostic indicator in the treatment of patients with PAH, and further research is warranted to validate this parameter., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None declared., (The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ).)

Introduction: The evaluation of myocardial contractility is essential in cardiology practice. The gold standard for this evaluation is the end-systolic elastance, but it the method involved is complex. Echocardiographic measurement of the ejection fraction (EF) is the most commonly used parameter in clinical practice, but it has significant limitations, especially in patients with afterload mismatch. In this study, the area under the curve (AUC) of the isovolumetric contraction was measured to evaluate the myocardial contractility in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension and severe aortic stenosis., Methods: 110 patients with severe aortic stenosis and pulmonary arterial hypertension were included in this study. The AUC of the isovolumetric contraction was measured using pressure curves of the right ventricle-pulmonary artery and left ventricle-aorta ascendens. This AUC was then correlated with the echocardiographically measured EF, stroke volume (SV), and total ventricular work., Results: The AUC of the isovolumetric contraction showed a statistically significant correlation with the EF of the corresponding ventricle ( p < 0.0001). Both the AUC of the isovolumetric contraction and the EF showed a statistically significant correlation with the total work of the ventricle (AUC: R2 0.49, p < 0.001; EF: R2 0.51, p < 0.001). However, the SV only showed a statistically significant correlation with the EF. A statistically significant one-sample t-test could be found for the EF (decreased, p < 0.001) and for the AUC of the isovolumetric contraction (increased, p < 0.001), but not for the total work of the ventricle., Conclusion: The AUC space of the isovolumetric contraction is a useful marker of ventricular performance in patients with afterload mismatch, showing a statistically significant correlation with the EF and the total ventricular work. This method may have potential for use in clinical practice, especially in challenging cardiological cases. However, further studies are needed to evaluate its usefulness in healthy individuals and in other clinical scenarios.

S. aureus is a pathogenic bacterium that causesinfections. Its virulence is due to surface components, proteins, virulence genes, SCCmec , pvl , agr , and SEs , which are low molecular weight superantigens. SEs are usually encoded by mobile genetic elements, and horizontal gene transfer accounts for their widespread presence in S. aureus . This study analyzed the prevalence of MRSA and MSSA strains of S. aureus in two hospitals in Greece between 2020-2022 and their susceptibility to antibiotics. Specimens collected were tested using the VITEK 2 system and the PCR technique to detect SCCmec types, agr types, pvl genes, and sem and seg genes. Antibiotics from various classes were also tested. This study examined the prevalence and resistance of S. aureus strains in hospitals. It found a high prevalence of MRSA and that the MRSA strains were more resistant to antibiotics. The study also identified the genotypes of the S. aureus isolates and the associated antibiotic resistances. This highlights the need for continued surveillance and effective strategies to combat the spread of MRSA in hospitals. This study examined the prevalence of the pvl gene and its co-occurrence with other genes in S. aureus strains, as well as their antibiotic susceptibility. The results showed that 19.15% of the isolates were pvl -positive and 80.85% were pvl -negative. The pvl gene co-existed with other genes, such as the agr and enterotoxin genes. The results could inform treatment strategies for S. aureus infections.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and ischemic stroke represents the most important complication. When the oral anticoagulation cannot be taken due to bleeding problems and considerations, the percutaneous occlusion of the left atrial appendage (LAA) is a possible solution. We present a case of a very late thrombosis of the LAA-Occluder device. The thrombus was diagnosed only after the patient suffered a stroke and a regression could not be achieved, neither with apixaban nor with warfarin alone. A successful result could be observed with the combination of high dose warfarin with aspirin 100mg/day. The possible etiology of this rare complication is an incomplete endothelialization of the device., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2019 Heart Views.)