DIAGNOSTIC VALUE OF GLOBAL LONGITUDINAL STRAIN IN PATIENTS WITH CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE.

OBJECTIVE: The aim: To investigate the global longitudinal strain (GLS) in patients with preserved left ventricle systolic function and the presence of varying degrees of coronary artery disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: The study is based on data obtained during a prospective analysis of 131 patients aged 51 to 82 years in the period from January to December 2019,whose complaints indicate coronary heart disease. The main instrumental method of examination was coronary angiography, patients were divided into 3 groups according to the results. The control group (group I) consisted of 30 patients in whom no coronary artery disease was detected; patients with single vessel lesions or non-stenotic coronary atherosclerosis were included into group II (n = 35) and patients with multivessels lesions (n = 66) were included in group III. For each patient, the extent of the lesion was assessed using the SYNTAX Score. The groups were comparable in age, sex and comorbidities. RESULTS: Results : GLS was -19.71 ± 2.22 (SI -18.88 to -20.54%) in the group without coronary lesions, the group with multivessel lesions was the lowest -14.34 ± 3.47 (SI -13.49 to -15.2%). There was a significant correlation between GLS average and LV EF (r = 0.681; p <0.0001), LV ESV (r = -0.576; p <0.0001), EPSS (r = -0.528; p <0.0001). A moderate correlation was observed GLS, linear and volumetric parameters. CONCLUSION: Conclusions: Global longitudinal strain is recommended for echocardiographic assessment of patients with coronary artery disease, as one of the main areas of application of this technique because its use provides additional information and maybe used in the same patient to assess the treatment.

Women's perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic: Walking into a post-peak phase.

The pandemic of Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has provoked hundreds of thousands of deaths, resulting in catastrophe for humans. Although some insights have been garnered in studies on women, children and young adults infected with COVID-19, these often remain fragmented in literature. Therefore, we discussed the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on women, children and young patients, particularly those with underlying cardiovascular comorbidities or congenital heart disease. Furthermore, we gathered and distilled the existing body of literature that describes their cardiovascular complications and the recommended actions in favour of those patients toward the post-peak pandemic period. Although many questions still require answers, this article is sought to help the practicing clinician in the understanding and management of the threatening disease in special populations.

Women leaders in Cardiology. Contemporary profile of the WHO European region.

Aims: Women's participation is steadily growing in medical schools, but they are still not sufficiently represented in cardiology, particularly in cardiology leadership positions. We present the contemporary distribution of women leaders in cardiology departments in the World Health Organization European region. Methods and results: Between August and December 2020, we applied purposive sampling to collect data and analyse gender distribution of heads of cardiology department in university/third level hospitals in 23 countries: Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the UK. Age, cardiology subspecialty, and number of scientific publications were recorded for a subgroup of cardiology leaders for whom data were available. A total of 849 cardiology departments were analysed. Women leaders were only 30% (254/849) and were younger than their men counterpart (♀ 52.2 ± 7.7 years old vs. ♂ 58.1 ± 7.6 years old, P = 0.00001). Most women leaders were non-interventional experts (♀ 82% vs. ♂ 46%, P < 0.00001) and had significantly fewer scientific publications than men {♀ 16 [interquartile range (IQR) 2-41] publications vs. ♂ 44 (IQR 9-175) publications, P < 0.00001}. Conclusion: Across the World Health Organization European region, there is a significant gender disparity in cardiology leadership positions. Fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace is a priority to achieve the full potential and leverage the full talents of both women and men.