Uric acid in chronic coronary syndromes: Relationship with coronary artery disease severity and left ventricular diastolic parameter.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Uric Acid (UA) has been related to the development of Cardio-Vascular (CV) events in patients affected by Chronic Coronary Syndromes (CCS). Among various hypothesis, two arise: UA may negatively act on coronary artery determining a higher degree of atherosclerotic disease, and/or on heart determining a higher prevalence of diastolic dysfunction. Both the above hypothesized effects are object of our investigation. METHODS AND RESULTS: 231 patients who were admitted to the cardiological department of the Niguarda Hospital (Milan, Italy) for CCS from January 2017 to June 2018 were enrolled. Coronary atherosclerotic burden was evaluated from coronary angiography as the number and type of involved vessels, as well as with both Gensini and Syntax scores. All subjects underwent a complete echocardiogram. At unadjusted and adjusted/multivariable analysis, UA levels were not significantly associated with variables analysed from the coronary angiography (number and type of vessels involved, neither the Gensini and Syntax scores) as well as with echocardiographic parameters regarding systolic and diastolic function. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the main finding of our work is the absence of a role for UA in determining coronary arteries disease as well as LV diastolic dysfunction in CCS subjects. Taking together the results of previous studies with ours, we hypothesize that UA could act on heart (both on coronary arteries and on LV function) in an early phase of the disease, whereas while in the advanced stages other factors (previous myocardial infarction, previous myocardial revascularization and so on) may overshadow its effects.

[The early management of ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction in the Lombardy Region (GestIMA)]. / La gestione della fase iperacuta dell'infarto miocardico con sopraslivellamento del tratto ST nella Regione Lombardia (GestIMA).

BACKGROUND: Recent international and national surveys on the management of ST-elevation myocardial infarction have described a number of crucial issues regarding the prehospital phase, the criteria to address patients to primary angioplasty, the organization of interhospital transfers. GestIMA is a perspective survey organized by the Lombardy Sections of the Italian Cardiology Societies (ANMCO and SIC) aimed to investigate the management of the acute phase of myocardial infarction in the Lombardy Region. METHODS: Between October 15 and November 14, 2003, consecutive patients hospitalized for ST-elevation myocardial infarction in the coronary care units of 60 hospitals in Lombardy were enrolled into the study. RESULTS: Among 612 patients (median age 67 years, interquartile range 56-76 years, 68% males, 43% with acute anterior myocardial infarction), 43% reached the hospital using the 118 emergency medical service, in 20% an ECG was recorded before arrival (reported in 47%), 1.5% were treated with thrombolysis and 1.0% with glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors before hospital admission. Sixty-eight percent of patients underwent a reperfusion treatment: 43% with primary angioplasty (6% facilitated), 25% with thrombolysis (18% of them had rescue angioplasty). Primary angioplasty was mainly performed in younger patients and in those directly admitted to centers equipped with interventional facilities. During the acute phase of myocardial infarction, 10% of patients arrived to the coronary care units from 39 peripheral hospitals without coronary care unit; 21% of patients had a secondary transport between hospitals with coronary care unit (47% for primary angioplasty). CONCLUSIONS: In the Lombardy Region, where a high rate of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction was treated with primary angioplasty in 2003, the 118 emergency medical service and the transmission of ECG by telephone are still underutilized. Moreover, the prehospital pharmacological treatment, the prehospital triage of patients to address to primary angioplasty and the organization of secondary transfer need to be improved.

Acute coronary syndrome: a rare case of multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes with pheochromocytoma and medullary thyroid carcinoma.

Pheochromocytoma is a tumor arising from neuroectodermal chromaffin tissues in the adrenal gland or extra-adrenal paraganglia (paragangliomas). The prevalence of the tumor is 0.1%-0.6% in the hypertensive population, of which 10%-20% are malignant. Pheochromocytoma produces, stores, and secretes catecholamines, as well as leads to hypertensive crisis, arrhythmia, angina, and acute myocardial infarction without coronary artery diseases. We report a case of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with a final diagnosis of multiple endocrine neoplasia with pheochromocytoma and medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC).

Cardiac metastatic melanoma: Imaging diagnostic clues.

A 47-year-old male was admitted to hospital for severe pericardial effusion; he had undergone surgical removal of cutaneous melanoma 10 years before. Echocardiography-guided pericardiocentesis revealed the presence of intramyocardial masses, which were better defined and characterized, together with pericardial involvement, by cardiac magnetic resonance. Pericardial fluid drained was negative for malignant cells, so video-assisted thoracoscopy was performed and pathologic tissue was biopsied, leading to the diagnosis of metastatic melanoma. Multidisciplinary approach and multimodality imaging played a key role in allowing the diagnostic workup in this complex case. .

[Predictive elements and prevention of myocardial damage during angioplasty/stenting]. / Elementi predittivi e prevenzione del danno miocardico durante angioplastica/stenting.

Cardiac enzyme elevation is observed in 5-30% of patients after percutaneous intervention and appears associated with higher subsequent cardiac events and mortality. The cause of myocardial enzyme release could be an obvious angiographic complication of the procedure but, most frequently, is neither clinically nor angiographically clear. Different clinical series have identified clinical, angiographic and procedural risk factors for CK-MB elevation after otherwise successful coronary intervention, including unstable angina, diffuse atherosclerosis and aggressive procedures such as atheroablation. Microembolization of atherothrombotic plaque material appears to be the pathogenetic mechanism. Periprocedural administration of platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors has been shown to reduce subsequent myocardial infarction and long-term mortality. Beta-blockers may also have a protective effect against post-procedural CK-MB elevations and follow-up cardiac events. New distal protection devices are under investigation and appear promising. The risk of inducing myocardial damage during percutaneous intervention should be considered before attempting the procedure. The use of platelet IIb/IIIa inhibitors and protection devices should be considered in high-risk patients.

[Percutaneous heart valves: clinical role]. / Trattamento percutaneo delle valvulopatie: ruolo nella realtà clinica.

Percutaneous valve therapy is said to be the last frontier in interventional cardiology. Over the past few years the work of decades has come to fruition. The first percutaneous implantation of a cardiac stent-valve in a human was reported by Bonhoeffer and colleagues in 2000. The first percutaneous aortic valve placement was performed by Cribier in 2002 using an antegrade approach in a patient with critical aortic stenosis. Attempts at percutaneous mitral valve repair are as varied as the pathophysiological mechanisms of mitral regurgitation. We are now embarking on a new era in the treatment of valvular heart disease with the introduction of percutaneous and minimally invasive devices and techniques to address valve dysfunction without conventional surgical repair/replacement. Pathology of all four cardiac valves has now been treated in early stage clinical feasibility (pilot) trials. There are at least 30 percutaneous valve programs currently being developed by 24 different companies. Two of the percutaneous aortic valve devices and five of the mitral valve devices are in various stages of clinical trials, ranging from feasibility to pivotal at the present time. Large-scale trials comparing percutaneous valve replacement and repair with surgery are just beginning. In this article we will look at the various technologies and advances in percutaneous valve replacement and repair, with an emphasis on those devices that are currently being utilized in the clinical realm.

[How to match resources with appropriateness: lessons from the registries of the Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists]. / Come coniugare le risorse con l'appropriatezza: gli insegnamenti dei registri dell'Associazione Nazionale Medici Cardiologi Ospedalieri.

International guidelines issued in recent years by the European Society of Cardiology and the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association were aimed at presenting all the relevant evidence in the management of acute coronary syndromes and at helping physicians in routine clinical decision-making in order to weigh the benefits and risks of diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. A recent debate has been held in the scientific community about the correct interpretation of guidelines and the methods concerning the process of their implementation. Some of their limitations have been discussed as well. Many evidences collected in the guidelines are drawn by randomized clinical trials, some others by national and international surveys. The number of the surveys has rapidly increased in recent years, in both the international (ENACT, GRACE, Euro Heart Survey ACS, NRMI) and the Italian setting; some of these have been organized by the Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists (ANMCO), either as national surveys (BLITZ-1 and BLITZ-2) or as regional or local registries (AI-CARE2, VENERE, GestIMA). In these reports a gap between the evidence-based recommendations of guidelines for acute coronary syndromes and actual clinical practice was documented. The lack of compliance with guidelines appears to be prevalent across a variety of medical conditions. The reluctance of physicians to apply the guidelines regarding the performance of an early invasive strategy, or the administration of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors or thienopyridines is sometimes due to concerns that guidelines may not be valid in certain subsets of high-risk patients encountered in daily clinical practice or to inadequacy in the way care for acute coronary syndromes is delivered. Observational studies attempt to understand how clinical practice may be modified through continuous feedback. ANMCO, like other associations of cardiologists, is focusing its efforts on the improvement of the quality of care for acute coronary syndromes through educational interventions that target cardiologists involved in the care of patients, and on the improvement of the appropriate use of invasive cardiac procedures and other guideline recommendations mainly in high-risk patients.