Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in the Therapy of Cardiogenic Shock: Results of the ECMO-CS Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is increasingly being used for circulatory support in patients with cardiogenic shock, although the evidence supporting its use in this context remains insufficient. The ECMO-CS trial (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in the Therapy of Cardiogenic Shock) aimed to compare immediate implementation of VA-ECMO versus an initially conservative therapy (allowing downstream use of VA-ECMO) in patients with rapidly deteriorating or severe cardiogenic shock. METHODS: This multicenter, randomized, investigator-initiated, academic clinical trial included patients with either rapidly deteriorating or severe cardiogenic shock. Patients were randomly assigned to immediate VA-ECMO or no immediate VA-ECMO. Other diagnostic and therapeutic procedures were performed as per current standards of care. In the early conservative group, VA-ECMO could be used downstream in case of worsening hemodynamic status. The primary end point was the composite of death from any cause, resuscitated circulatory arrest, and implementation of another mechanical circulatory support device at 30 days. RESULTS: A total of 122 patients were randomized; after excluding 5 patients because of the absence of informed consent, 117 subjects were included in the analysis, of whom 58 were randomized to immediate VA-ECMO and 59 to no immediate VA-ECMO. The composite primary end point occurred in 37 (63.8%) and 42 (71.2%) patients in the immediate VA-ECMO and the no early VA-ECMO groups, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.72 [95% CI, 0.46-1.12]; P=0.21). VA-ECMO was used in 23 (39%) of no early VA-ECMO patients. The 30-day incidence of resuscitated cardiac arrest (10.3.% versus 13.6%; risk difference, -3.2 [95% CI, -15.0 to 8.5]), all-cause mortality (50.0% versus 47.5%; risk difference, 2.5 [95% CI, -15.6 to 20.7]), serious adverse events (60.3% versus 61.0%; risk difference, -0.7 [95% CI, -18.4 to 17.0]), sepsis, pneumonia, stroke, leg ischemia, and bleeding was not statistically different between the immediate VA-ECMO and the no immediate VA-ECMO groups. CONCLUSIONS: Immediate implementation of VA-ECMO in patients with rapidly deteriorating or severe cardiogenic shock did not improve clinical outcomes compared with an early conservative strategy that permitted downstream use of VA-ECMO in case of worsening hemodynamic status. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov; Unique identifier: NCT02301819.

Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in patients with infarct-related cardiogenic shock: an individual patient data meta-analysis of randomised trials.

BACKGROUND: Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is increasingly used in patients with cardiogenic shock despite the lack of evidence from adequately powered randomised clinical trials. Three trials reported so far were underpowered to detect a survival benefit; we therefore conducted an individual patient-based meta-analysis to assess the effect of VA-ECMO on 30-day death rate. METHODS: Randomised clinical trials comparing early routine use of VA-ECMO versus optimal medical therapy alone in patients presenting with infarct-related cardiogenic shock were identified by searching MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, and trial registries until June 12, 2023. Trials were included if at least all-cause death rate 30 days after in-hospital randomisation was reported and trial investigators agreed to collaborate (ie, providing individual patient data). Odds ratios (ORs) as primary outcome measure were pooled using logistic regression models. This study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023431258). FINDINGS: Four trials (n=567 patients; 284 VA-ECMO, 283 control) were identified and included. Overall, there was no significant reduction of 30-day death rate with the early use of VA-ECMO (OR 0·93; 95% CI 0·66-1·29). Complication rates were higher with VA-ECMO for major bleeding (OR 2·44; 95% CI 1·55-3·84) and peripheral ischaemic vascular complications (OR 3·53; 95% CI 1·70-7·34). Prespecified subgroup analyses were consistent and did not show any benefit for VA-ECMO (pinteraction ≥0·079). INTERPRETATION: VA-ECMO did not reduce 30-day death rate compared with medical therapy alone in patients with infarct-related cardiogenic shock, and an increase in major bleeding and vascular complications was observed. A careful review of the indication for VA-ECMO in this setting is warranted. FUNDING: Foundation Institut für Herzinfarktforschung.

A Prospective Single-Center Study of the Effects of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation at 2-Week Follow-Up in 17 Patients with Chronic Orofacial Pain Diagnosed by Infrared Thermography.

BACKGROUND Infrared thermography is a diagnostic method used to monitor acute and chronic orofacial pain syndrome. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a form of non-invasive brain stimulation. This prospective study from a single center aimed to investigate the effects of rTMS and used infrared thermography as a confirmatory test of orofacial pain. MATERIAL AND METHODS We used infrared thermography to examine the incidence of inflammatory changes as orofacial pain triggers. During the analysis of rTMS effects on patients with orofacial pain, we compared the decrease in pain and the thermal difference in the study group (n=17) and in the research group (n=13). RESULTS In the control group (n=13), there were no statistically significant changes. Both groups showed a significant decrease in self-reported pain. Numerical pain rating scores were significantly lower after S2 stimulation than after S1/M1 (P=0.0071) or sham (P=0.0187) stimulation. The Brief Pain Inventory scores were also lower 3 to 5 days after S2 stimulation than at the pretreatment baseline (P=0.0127 for the intensity of pain and p=0.0074 for the interference of pain), and after S1/M1 (P=0.001 and P=0.0001) and sham (P=0.0491 and P=0.0359) stimulations. CONCLUSIONS The findings from this study support the role of infrared thermography for the diagnosis of chronic orofacial pain, and showed that on the first and fifth days of rTMS therapy in the study group there was a significant reduction of the thermography findings when compared with the control group without rTMS therapy.

Post-procedural radial artery occlusion and patency detection using duplex ultrasound vs. the reverse Barbeau test.

The transradial approach is recommended as a first choice in coronary catheterizations and interventions, for among other reasons, the reduction in the number of local complications. A head-to-head comparison of the reverse Barbeau test (RBT) and duplex ultrasonography (DUSG) for the detection of post-procedural radial artery patency and occlusion has not yet been evaluated. In 500 patients from our same-day discharge program (age 65 ± 9.4 years, 148 women), radial artery patency and occlusion, compression time, haematomas, and other local complications were evaluated. Radial artery patency was confirmed in 495 patients (99.0%), and complete radial artery occlusion (RAO) was detected in 2 (0.4%) patients using both methods. In 3 patients (0.6%), the RBT was negative, while incomplete RAO was detected by DUSG. Superficial haematomas (˃ 5 but ≤10 cm) were found in 27 (5.4%) patients. There were no other local complications. Detection of radial artery patency and occlusion using the RBT and DUSG was comparable. The incidence of RAO in our study was extremely low. Thanks to its simplicity, the RBT has the potential to be used as the first method of detection of radial occlusion after coronary catheterizations.

Factors influencing the accuracy of non-invasive blood pressure measurements in patients admitted for cardiogenic shock.

BACKGROUND: Although invasively measured blood pressure (invBP) is regarded as a "gold standard" in critically ill cardiac patients, the non-invasive BP is still widely used, at least at the initiation of medical care. The erroneous interpretation of BP can lead to clinical errors. We therefore investigated the agreement of both methods with respect to some common clinical situation. METHODS: We included 85 patients hospitalized for cardiogenic shock. We measured BP every 6 h for the first 72 h of hospitalization, in all patients. Each set of BP measurements included two invasive (invBP), two auscultatory (auscBP), and two oscillometric (oscBP) BP measurements. InvBP was considered as a gold standard. Mean non-invasive arterial pressure (MAP) was calculated as (diastolic pressure + (pulse pressure ÷ 3)). We used Bland-Altman analysis and we calculated concordance correlation coefficients to assess agreement between different BP methods. RESULTS: We obtained 967 sets of BP measurements. AuscMAP and oscMAP were on average only 0.4 ± 8.2 and 1.8 ± 8.5 mmHg higher than invMAP, respectively. On the other hand, auscSBP and oscSBP were on average - 6.1 ± 11.4 and - 4.1 ± 9.8 mmHg lower than invSBP, respectively. However, the mean differences and variability for systolic and diastolic BP variability were large; the 2 standard deviation differences were ± 24 and 18 mmHg. In hypotension, non-invasive BP tended to be higher than invBP while the opposite was true for high BP values. Clinical conditions associated with hypotension generally worsened the accuracy of non-invasive MAP. CONCLUSIONS: Mean arterial pressure measured non-invasively appears to be in good agreement with invasive MAP in patients admitted for cardiogenic shock. Several clinical associated with hypotension can affect accuracy of non-invasive measurement. Auscultatory and oscillometric measurements had similar accuracy even in patients with arrhythmia.

Possible etiology and treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is one of the most dangerous and least understood diseases with a pathophysiology that is still largely unknown. In this article we try to provide a pathophysiological explanation of the etiological, pathogenetic, and clinical aspects of ALS. After a description of the rather complicated classification of the disease, we continue with an evaluation of its clinical presentation. The bibliography reveals several suspect etiological factors including atherosclerosis, inflammation, tumors, cataracts, diabetes mellitus type 2, aging, and degeneration of the nervous system. One of the more intriguing factors involves changes associated with oxidative damage to both neurons and glial cells. It is known that astrocytes support the development of motor neurons. Oxidative damage is known to lead to the expression of stress sensitive genes, proteins, as well as inflammation of glial cells. Chronic inflammation could be a key factor in ALS since it has been linked to the death of motor neurons. Pathophysiological research has confirmed the influence of certains proteins on the prognosis of ALS. ALS is typically a proteinopathy in which proteins aggregate in motoneurons. Additionally, glutamate excitotoxicity has also been linked to ALS, with mutated superoxide dismutase (SOD1) having been shown to be responsible for familial ALS. As concerns the pathogenesis of ALS, we discussed several phenomenon such as increased levels of specific serum compounds, reduced concentrations of myelin, and changes in 5-hydroxytryptamine that could represent key indicators of the pathogenesis, prognosis, and therapy of ALS. Concerning ALS therapy; treatment with antioxidatives is potentially very important. Exposure to heavy metals is also thought to negatively influence ALS. Evidence also suggests that good nutrition is a very important factor in the treatment of ALS. From a pharmacological perspective, serotonin treatment appears to be a useful therapeutic agent.

Effect of the DASH-diet and salt Kardisal® on blood pressure in adolescents with prehypertension (Cooperative multicentre interventional study).

BACKGROUND: In a cooperative multi-center interventional study of 60 probands with prehypertension and normal BMIs were followed for 3 months. DESIGN: The intervention included the DASH diet for 3 months in 30 probands plus sodium limited intake using the low sodium salt Kardisal® (60% NaCl, 40% KCl) (group A) and the DASH diet for 3 months in 30 probands without Kardisal® (group B). RESULTS: In group A (n=26 probands evaluated) the systolic blood pressure (median) decreased significantly from 138 to 129 mmHg (p<0.001), while the diastolic blood pressure had a statistically non-significant decrease. In group B (n=25 probands evaluated) the SBP decreased significantly from 135 to 132 mmHg (p<0.001), and the DBP decreased significantly from 85 to 69 mmHg (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Despite a relatively short period on the DASH diet, the intervention produced a significant decrease in the blood pressure of prehypertensive adolescents. The additional use of a low sodium salt for home cooking was not found to have any advantages over the DASH diet alone.

Brain stimulation methods for pain treatment.

Treatment of pain is one of the most important aims of medicine. Over the past several decades, invasive, semi-invasive and non-invasive brain stimulation methods have been tested and implemented for modulation of the pain. In this review, we bring an overview of those methods including stimulation of both deep brain structures utilizing invasive and semi-invasive techniques and the brain cortex stimulated by non-invasive transcranial magnetic and electrical techniques. Another potentially beneficial method that could modulate pain by stimulating the deep brain with interferential transcranial alternating current is discussed as well.

[Pathophysiology of pain and its clinical application]. / Patofyziologie bolesti a její klinické aplikace.

The article describes the pathophysiology of both acute and chronic pain. Some common mechanisms of chronic pain, including somatic and visceral pains, are highlighted. There are also some painful syndromes and their pathophysiological mechanisms with a direct relationship to their treatment. In addition to the basic pharmacotherapeutic options resulting from the pathophysiology of pain, new possibilities of pain therapy are also mentioned, especially the neuromodulatory and neurostimulatory methods again from the point of view of pathophysiological principles. Therapies also include psychotherapy and placebo effect with the point of evidence-based medicine.

Myocardial injury after carbon monoxide intoxication in suicide attempt, with features of both toxic and tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy: case report.

Severe carbon monoxide intoxication may cause tissue injury by hypoxemia and histotoxicity. The affection of the heart muscle often leads to transient global or regional systolic dysfunction of left ventricle or both ventricles and increased occurences of malignant arrhytmias. On the contrary, stress-induced cardiomyopathy is described as temporary segmental loss of contractility, mostly in apical segments of the left ventricle with mid- and basal sparing and less common hypokinesias in mid- or basal parts, or affection of both ventricles. This case report is dedicated to a 34-years old male, who was admitted to the department of emergency medicine after suicide attempt by carbon monoxide poisoning. Echocardiography at admission showed akinesias of midsegments of left ventricle and severe hypokinesias of apical and basal segments. Despite severe cardiogenic shock, adequate therapeutic management including mechanical ventilation, normobaric oxygenotherapy and catecholamine treatment led to a complete somatic recovery after 2 weeks, and without any permanent hypoxemic brain injury. Our case might be a coincidence of toxic cardiomyopathy, caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, and takotsubo cardiomyopathy as a result of long term exposition to combined stress factors that may lead even to a suicide attempt. Both types of cardiomyopathies often occure simultaneously due to similar pathophysiologic mechanisms. Both tako-tsubo and toxic cardiomypathy have good prognosis after overcoming the acute phase. Key words: carbon monoxide - cardiogennic shock - cardiomyopathy - suicide - tako-tsubo cardiomypathy.

Prasugrel Versus Ticagrelor in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction Treated With Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Multicenter Randomized PRAGUE-18 Study.

BACKGROUND: No randomized head-to-head comparison of the efficacy and safety of ticagrelor and prasugrel has been published in the 7 years since the higher efficacy of these newer P2Y12 inhibitors were first demonstrated relative to clopidogrel. METHODS: This academic study was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of prasugrel and ticagrelor in acute myocardial infarction treated with primary or immediate percutaneous coronary intervention. A total of 1230 patients were randomly assigned across 14 sites to either prasugrel or ticagrelor, which was initiated before percutaneous coronary intervention. Nearly 4% were in cardiogenic shock, and 5.2% were on mechanical ventilation. The primary end point was defined as death, reinfarction, urgent target vessel revascularization, stroke, or serious bleeding requiring transfusion or prolonging hospitalization at 7 days (to reflect primarily the in-hospital phase). This analysis presents data from the first 30 days (key secondary end point). The total follow-up will be 1 year for all patients and will be completed in 2017. RESULTS: The study was prematurely terminated for futility. The occurrence of the primary end point did not differ between groups receiving prasugrel and ticagrelor (4.0% and 4.1%, respectively; odds ratio, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.55-1.73; P=0.939). No significant difference was found in any of the components of the primary end point. The occurrence of key secondary end point within 30 days, composed of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or stroke, did not show any significant difference between prasugrel and ticagrelor (2.7% and 2.5%, respectively; odds ratio, 1.06; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-2.15; P=0.864). CONCLUSIONS: This head-to-head comparison of prasugrel and ticagrelor does not support the hypothesis that one is more effective or safer than the other in preventing ischemic and bleeding events in the acute phase of myocardial infarction treated with a primary percutaneous coronary intervention strategy. The observed rates of major outcomes were similar but with broad confidence intervals around the estimates. These interesting observations need to be confirmed in a larger trial. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02808767.

Interventional left atrial appendage closure vs novel anticoagulation agents in patients with atrial fibrillation indicated for long-term anticoagulation (PRAGUE-17 study).

Atrial fibrillation (AF), with a prevalence of 1% to 2%, is the most common cardiac arrhythmia. Without antithrombotic treatment, the annual risk of a cardioembolic event is 5% to 6%. The source of a cardioembolic event is a thrombus, which is usually formed in the left atrial appendage (LAA). Prevention of cardioembolic events involves treatment with anticoagulant drugs: either vitamin K antagonists or, recently, novel oral anticoagulants (NOAC). The other (nonpharmacologic) option for the prevention of a cardioembolic event involves interventional occlusion of the LAA. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether percutaneous LAA occlusion is noninferior to treatment with NOAC in AF patients indicated for long-term systemic anticoagulation. STUDY DESIGN: The trial will be a prospective, multicenter, randomized noninferiority trial comparing 2 treatment strategies in moderate to high-risk AF patients (ie, patients with history of significant bleeding, or history of cardiovascular event(s), or a with CHA2DS2VASc ≥3 and HAS-BLED score ≥2). Patients will be randomized into a percutaneous LAA occlusion (group A) or a NOAC treatment (group B) in a 1:1 ratio; the randomization was done using Web-based randomization software. A total of 396 study participants (198 patients in each group) will be enrolled in the study. The primary end point will be the occurrence of any of the following events within 24months after randomization: stroke or transient ischemic attack (any type), systemic cardioembolic event, clinically significant bleeding, cardiovascular death, or a significant periprocedural or device-related complications. CONCLUSION: The PRAGUE-17 trial will determine if LAA occlusion is noninferior to treatment with NOAC in moderate- to high-risk AF patients.

The variability of automated QRS duration measurement.

AIMS: Previous studies have demonstrated substantial variability in manual assessment of QRS complex duration (QRSd). Disagreements in QRSd measurements were also found in several automated algorithms tested on digitized electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings. The aim of our study was to investigate the variability of automated QRSd measurements performed by two commercially available electrocardiographs. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two GE MAC 5000 (GE-1 and GE-2) electrocardiographs and two Mortara ELI 350 (Mortara-1 and Mortara-2) electrocardiographs were used in the study. Participants for the study were recruited from patients hospitalized in the department of cardiology of a university hospital. Participants underwent up to four recording sessions within a single day with a different electrocardiograph at each session when two to four immediately successive ECG recordings were undertaken. In 76 patients, 683 ECGs were recorded; the mean QRSd was 109.0 ± 26.1 ms. The QRSd difference ≥10 ms between the first and second intra-session ECG was found in 7, 3, 20, and 14% of ECG pairs for GE-1, GE-2, Mortara-1, and Mortara-2, respectively. No inter-session difference in QRSd was found within both manufacturers. In individual patients, Mortara calculated the mean QRSd to be longer by 7.3 ms (95% CI: 6.2-8.5 ms, P < 0.0001) with a 2.1-times (95% CI: 1.9-2.4) greater standard deviation of the mean QRSd (7.1 vs. 3.3 ms, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Electrocardiographs from two manufacturers measured QRSd values with a systematic difference and a significantly different level of precision. This may have important clinical implications in selection of suitable candidates for cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Relationship between hsTnI and coronary stenosis in asymptomatic women with rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a condition associated with accelerated progression of atherosclerosis in affected individuals. Myocardial assessment using exercise testing in such patients, however, is often difficult to perform. Our objective was to determine the factors associated with severe coronary stenosis using computed tomography (CT) angiography of the coronary arteries in asymptomatic patients with RA. METHODS: Forty-four women with RA were examined using CT angiography to detect atherosclerotic involvement and significant coronary stenosis (>50 %). CT findings were correlated with the cardiovascular risk score, and with classical and most recent parameters of atherosclerosis. RESULTS: CT angiography of the coronary arteries revealed severe stenosis (>70 %) in 9 % of patients. High-sensitivity troponin I level was associated with severe coronary stenosis (odds ratio 6.37; 95 % confidence interval 1.53 - 26.48; P = 0.011). Adjustment for confounders did not alter this result (P = 0.039). In contrast, classical and modified Systemic Coronary Risk Evaluation scores had no value in predicting severe stenosis (P ≥ 0.49). CONCLUSION: The present study showed the possible benefits of a coronary CT angiography in women with RA and asymptomatic ischemic coronary heart disease. Increased levels of high-sensitivity troponin I may be a potential indication for this type of examination. However, further studies are needed to confirm these results.

Noninvasive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for the treatment of orofacial pain.

OBJECTIVE: tDCS is a promising method for the treatment of chronic pain. Electrode placement locations must be chosen in accordance with the density and the time course of the current in order to prevent pathological changes in the underlying tissue. In order to reduce current spatial variability, more electrodes of the same polarity are placed in a circle around the second electrode of the opposite polarity. The applied current produced the greatest changes directly beneath the electrodes: the cathode reduces the excitability of cortical neurons, while the anode has the opposite effect. METHODS: Based on inclusion criteria, 10 patients with chronic orofacial pain, secondary trigeminal neuralgia after oral surgery, were enrolled and underwent both anode and cathode stimulation. Before the first session we measured pain intensity on a numeric pain rating scale and tactile and thermal stimulation were used to assess somatosensory status. tDCS was applied for five consecutive days. At the end of tDCS application, somatosensory status was assessed again. RESULTS: From our results we can conclude that the application of tDCS improves the perception of some types of pain. When we increase our sample size, we would expect confirmation not only on our positive results, but also some additional findings for explaining the pathophysiology of orofacial pain. These pathophysiological findings and explanations are very important for the application of tDCS in the treatment of orofacial pain and also for other types of neuropathic pain.

Prolonged Corrected QT Interval as a Predictor of Clinical Outcome in Acute Ischemic Stroke.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate changes of corrected QT (QTc) interval during acute ischemic stroke and its correlation with high-sensitivity troponin I (hsTnI), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), neurological outcome, and 1-year mortality. METHODS: We registered electrocardiogram in 69 patients immediately after admission to the intensive care unit and then after 24 and 48 hours. Computed tomography was performed on admission to determine brain infarct size and localization. Neurological outcome was assessed by modified Rankin scale (mRS) at discharge. RESULTS: Forty-five (65.2%) patients had prolonged QTc at baseline; only 18 (26.1%) patients had prolonged QTc after 48 hours. Baseline QTc was not associated with neurological outcome (P = .27). However, prolonged QTc after 48 hours was associated with worse mRS at discharge (4.5 [4.0-6.0] versus 2.0 [1.0-3.0]; P < .0001). Patients who deceased during hospitalization (n = 7 [10.1%]) as compared with survivors had more frequently prolonged QTc after 48 hours (38.9 versus 0%; P < .0001), higher level of hsTnI (48.4 [36.1-75.0] versus 8.6 [3.4-26.5]; P = .003), and BNP (334 [224-866] versus 109 [30-190]; P = .014). In univariate analysis, 1-year mortality was associated with prolonged QTc after 48 hours, hsTnI, and BNP. In multivariate analysis, only BNP remained to be associated with 1-year mortality (odds ratio 3.41, 95% confidence interval 1.06-11.03). CONCLUSIONS: QTc interval in patients with acute ischemic stroke is a dynamic parameter. Prolonged QTc after 48 hours, but not baseline QTc, correlated with neurological outcome and 1-year mortality. Patients with prolonged QTc had higher level of hsTnI.

The effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy on pain patients.

The method of shock wave therapy (ESWT) was used for the treatment of several symptoms of chronic pain. There were especially: cervical syndromes, lumbago, plantar fasciitis, achillodynia, metatarsalgia and humeral epicondylitis. We confirmed the positive effect of shock wave therapy for pain relief on these syndromes. This method is also effective in other pain syndromes. The effect of this application is very individual and therefore it is necessary to indicate differing numbers of therapeutic applications. We recommend this method as a very useful tool for completion possibilities in the treatment of chronic pain.

Acute myocardial infarction complicated by shock: outcome analysis based on initial electrocardiogram.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the relation between initial ECG findings, presence of risk factors, coronary angiography findings, and clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock (CS). DESIGN: Data from a total of 5572 acute myocardial infarction patients admitted to the four tertiary hospitals during a period of 3 years were analyzed. CS on admission was present in 358 patients (6.4%). They were divided into four groups based on the admission ECG: ST-segment elevation (STEMI), ST-segment depression (STDMI), bundle branch block (BBBMI), and other ECG acute myocardial infarction. RESULTS: CS developed most frequently among BBBMI patients (in 12.1% of all BBBMIs, p < 0.001 vs. STEMI), followed by STEMI (6.7%), STDMI (4.4%), and other ECG acute myocardial infarction (2.3%). The risk of CS development was similar in patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB) (13.3%) and right bundle branch block (RBBB) (11.2%). The one-year mortality was highest among RBBBMI patients (66.7%, p < 0.001), followed by LBBBMI (48.6%), other ECG (47.1%), STEMI (41.7%), and STDMI patients (38.1%). CONCLUSIONS: RBBB on admission ECG is associated with the highest risk of CS development, frequent left main coronary artery affection, and unsuccessful revascularization. It is also an independent predictor of one-year mortality.

[Acute heart failure and cardiogenic shock - trends at the beginning of 21st century]. / Akutní srdecní selhání a kardiogenní sok - trendy na pocátku 21. století

Acute heart failure (AHF) is a clinical syndrome of different etiology and several clinical presentations. Cardiogenic shock patients have highest long-term mortality. In contrast to chronic heart failure, we have no evidence of therapeutic benefit for any treatment strategy from randomized clinical trials. Search for new pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapies is ongoing. Both causal and symptomatic treatment of AHF episode should be initiated as soon as possible. This review is focused on trends in acute heart failure therapy at the beginning of 21st century.