Designing and psychometric assessment of the moral intelligence scale for healthcare professionals.

The moral intelligence of healthcare professionals in the cardiac operating room is one of the most important aspects of professional competence. However, moral intelligence is an abstract and multidimensional concept that needs to be clarified and described based on organizational culture and environment. Therefore, there is a need to design a specific scale for measuring the moral intelligence of healthcare professionals in the cardiac operating room. This study aims to design and assess the psychometric properties of a moral intelligence scale for healthcare professionals in the cardiac operating room. The present study was a mixed method study with a sequential exploratory approach. The research was conducted in 2023-2024 in Iran. The first phase data were collected from 20 healthcare professionals and were analyzed by conventional content analysis method. In the second phase, the validity and reliability of the instrument were evaluated by involving 300 healthcare professionals in the cardiac operating room. The moral intelligence of health care professionals in the cardiac operating room was defined as moral sensitivity combined with moral commitment and moral courage for the provision of quality care that respects the principles of medical ethics. After deducing the conceptual framework, the moral intelligence scale for healthcare professionals in the cardiac operating room was developed with three dimensions: "moral sensitivity," "moral commitment," and "moral courage." 11 items were removed during testing to ensure content validity. Face validity was confirmed with impact scores > 1.5 for all items. A scale was developed through factor analysis with three factors that accounted for 73.04% of the observed variance. The instrument's reliability using Cronbach's alpha coefficient calculation was reported as 0.94 for the entire instrument. The testretest showed no statistically significant difference between the pre and post-test scores of moral intelligence (p = 0.51). The moral intelligence scale demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties. The moral intelligence scale for health care professionals in the cardiac operating room demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties. This instrument may serve to assess the moral intelligence of healthcare professionals and determine the need for educational interventions to reduce the ethical challenges and improve the moral intelligence of this healthcare.

The Comparison of the Initial TIMI Flow Grade in Acute ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Patients Receiving Ticagrelor vs. Clopidogrel before Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective: Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the best treatment for acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Evidence is in favor of ticagrelor over clopidegrel in STEMI patients regarding the reduction of stent thrombosis risk during and after PCI. We compared initial thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow in STEMI patients on ticagrelor vs. clopidogrel. Methods: This prospective cohort recruited 160 patients with acute STEMI, referred to the emergency department of Farshchian Heart Center, during March 2018-2019. Before angiography, the patients received clopidogrel (600 mg) or ticagrelor (180 mg) on top of aspirin. Initial TIMI flow was compared between the two groups as the primary outcome. A logistic regression was performed to calculate the predictors of initial TIMI flow. Analyses were performed using R, version 4.2.1. Results: In ticagrelor and clopidogrel groups, the mean ± standard deviation age of the patients was 59.46 ± 13.11 and 61.34 ± 11.08 years (p value = 0.33), respectively. In the ticagrelor and clopidogrel groups, initial TIMI flow grades were as follows: 0 : 50% and 71.2%, I: 26.2% and 16.2%, II: 12.5% and 10%, and III: 12.9% and 2.5%, respectively (p value = 0.005). Final TIMI flow grades were as follows: I: 26.2% and 16.2%, II: 7.5% and 13.8%, and III: 66.3% and 70%, respectively (p value = 0.41). Ticagrelor was associated with significantly higher initial TIMI flow grade compared to the clopidogrel group (adjusted odds ratio: 2.90 (95% CI: 1.51-5.72)). Conclusion: In STEMI patients who were candidates for primary PCI, ticagrelor administration led to a better initial TIMI flow grade compared to clopidogrel.

Multimodality imaging in diagnosis and management of patent ductus arteriosus in an adult: a case report.

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a congenital heart disorder in which a vascular structure between the pulmonary artery and the aorta remains open. PDA normally closes shortly after birth. The treatment in adults is surgical or transcatheter closure. A 47-year-old woman presented to our hospital with a diagnosis of PDA and was treated with transcatheter closure. Although the recovery period of adult patients is long, this patient recovered completely after one day.

Longitudinal machine learning model for predicting systolic blood pressure in patients with heart failure.

Objective: Systolic blood pressure (SBP) strongly indicates the prognosis of heart failure (HF) patients, as it is closely linked to the risk of death and readmission. Hence, maintaining control over blood pressure is a vital factor in the management of these patients. In order to determine significant variables associated with changes in SBP over time and assess the effectiveness of classical and machine learning models in predicting SBP, this study aimed to conduct a comparative analysis between the two. Methods: This retrospective cohort study involved the analysis of data from 483 patients with HF who were admitted to Farshchian Heart Center located in Hamadan in the west of Iran, and hospitalized at least two times between October 2015 and July 2019. To predict SBP, we utilized a linear mixed-effects model (LMM) and mixed-effects least-square support vector regression (MLS-SVR). The effectiveness of both models was evaluated based on the mean absolute error and root mean squared error. Results: The LMM analysis revealed that changes in SBP over time were significantly associated with sex, body mass index (BMI), sodium, time, and history of hypertension (P-value < 0.05). Furthermore, according to the MLS-SVR analysis, the four most important variables in predicting SBP were identified as history of hypertension, sodium, BMI, and triglyceride. In both the training and testing datasets, MLS-SVR outperformed LMM in terms of performance. Conclusions: Based on our results, it appears that MLS-SVR has the potential to serve as a viable alternative to classical longitudinal models for predicting SBP in patients with HF.

Effects of coenzyme Q10 supplementation on oxidative stress biomarkers following reperfusion in STEMI patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Introduction: It is well-established that oxidative stress is deeply involved in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. Considering the potent antioxidant properties of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), we aimed to assess whether CoQ10 supplementation could exert beneficial effects on plasma levels of oxidative stress biomarkers in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPIC). Methods: Seventy patients with the first attack of STEMI, eligible for PPCI were randomly assigned to receive either standard treatments plus CoQ10 (400 mg before PPCI and 200 mg twice daily for three days after PPCI) or standard treatments plus placebo. Plasma levels of oxidative stress biomarkers, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured at 6, 24, and 72 hours after completion of PPCI. Results: The changes in plasma levels of the studied biomarkers at 6 and 24 hours after PPCI were similar in the both groups (P values>0.05). This is while at 72 hours, the CoQ10- treated group exhibited significantly higher plasma levels of SOD (P value<0.001), CAT (P value=0.001), and TAC (P value<0.001), along with a lower plasma level of MDA (P value=0.002) compared to the placebo-treated group. The plasma activity of GPX showed no significant difference between the groups at all the study time points (P values>0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that CoQ10 has the potential to modulate the balance between antioxidant and oxidant biomarkers after reperfusion therapy. Our results suggest that CoQ10, through its antioxidant capacity, may help reduce the reperfusion injury in ischemic myocardium.

Predicting Hospital Readmission in Heart Failure Patients in Iran: A Comparison of Various Machine Learning Methods.

OBJECTIVES: Heart failure (HF) is a common disease with a high hospital readmission rate. This study considered class imbalance and missing data, which are two common issues in medical data. The current study's main goal was to compare the performance of six machine learning (ML) methods for predicting hospital readmission in HF patients. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, information of 1,856 HF patients was analyzed. These patients were hospitalized in Farshchian Heart Center in Hamadan Province in Western Iran, from October 2015 to July 2019. The support vector machine (SVM), least-square SVM (LS-SVM), bagging, random forest (RF), AdaBoost, and naïve Bayes (NB) methods were used to predict hospital readmission. These methods' performance was evaluated using sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy. Two imputation methods were also used to deal with missing data. RESULTS: Of the 1,856 HF patients, 29.9% had at least one hospital readmission. Among the ML methods, LS-SVM performed the worst, with accuracy in the range of 0.57-0.60, while RF performed the best, with the highest accuracy (range, 0.90-0.91). Other ML methods showed relatively good performance, with accuracy exceeding 0.84 in the test datasets. Furthermore, the performance of the SVM and LS-SVM methods in terms of accuracy was higher with the multiple imputation method than with the median imputation method. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that RF performed better, in terms of accuracy, than other methods for predicting hospital readmission in HF patients.

Curcumin Nanomicelle Improves Lipid Profile, Stress Oxidative Factors and Inflammatory Markers in Patients Undergoing Coronary Elective Angioplasty; A Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Curcumin has demonstrated many pharmacological effects including antioxidants, anti-inflammation, eliminating free radicals, anti-tumor, lipid regulation, and anti-coagulation. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess and compare the effects of curcumin and nano-curcumin on lipid profile, oxidative stress, and inflammatory factors related to patient's heart. METHODS: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on 90 patients undergoing coronary elective angioplasty who were randomly divided into 3 groups. The doses administered for 8 weeks were a 500 mg capsule of curcumin daily for the first group and an 80 mg capsule of nano-curcumin for the second group. However, the placebo group received capsules like curcumin. Lipid profile, oxidative stress factors, and inflammatory markers were measured at the baseline and end of the experiment. RESULTS: Statistically significant changes were observed in the total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerol (TG) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the intervention groups to the control group (p<0.05). Curcumin and nano-curcumin supplementation also exhibited significant changes in plasma levels of total antioxidant capacity (TAC), malondialdehyde (MDA), Superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs- CRP), Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1ß) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in comparison to the placebo (p<0.05). Furthermore, the nano-curcumin group compared to the curcumin group demonstrated significant changes (p<0.05) in TC, TG, SOD, MDA and TNF-α levels. CONCLUSION: The effects of curcumin on nano formula may be better for cardiac patients due to its high bioavailability.

Very Early Discharge of Patients with ST-Segment-Elevation Myocardial Infarction after Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: The discharge of uncomplicated patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) within 48 to 72 hours has been proven safe and feasible. The safety and feasibility of the very early discharge (≤48 h) of such patients, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic with limited bed availability and infection risk, have yet to be evaluated. Methods: In this cohort study on 108 patients with STEMI who presented to Farshchian Heart Center between February and May 2020, 30 patients received fibrinolysis and 78 were scheduled for emergent coronary angiography. One patient had no coronary obstruction, 3 underwent emergent surgery, and 3 had high-risk features mandating a prolonged stay. The remaining patients were assigned to either Group A (≤48 h) or Group B (>48 h) regarding hospital discharge. Demographic, angiographic, procedural, and outcome data were compared between the 2 groups. Results: Group A consisted of 51 patients, including 7 women (13.7%), at a mean age of 62.74±12.35 years, and Group B comprised 20 patients, including 4 women (20.0%), at a mean age of 65.20±12.82 years. The mean hospital length of stay was 38.02±9.15 hours in Group A and 88.20±23.31 hours in Group B (P<0.001). The mean stent diameter was smaller in Group B (3.19±0.34 mm vs 2.96±0.29 mm; P=0.008). Demographic, angiographic, procedural, and outcome data, including the rates of in-hospital, 1-week, and 1-month mortality, were similar between the 2 groups. Conclusion: This study shows that a hospital discharge in less than 48 hours in low-risk patients with STEMI is safe and feasible. The potential advantages of this approach in the COVID-19 pandemic should be balanced against its risks.

Effect of Age on Procedural Success, Complications, and Clinical Outcome From a Large Angioplasty Registry.

BACKGROUND: Increasing age appears to be a risk factor for adverse outcome in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The goal of this study was to compare procedural success, complications, and 12 months major adverse cardiac events (MACE) based on age using a large angioplasty registry. METHODS: This registry included 10,412 patients with at least 12-month follow-up from April 1993 to April 2011. Patients were divided into 3 age groups: group 1 age < 60 (n = 6195), group 2 age 60-75 (n = 3724) and group 3 elderly age ≥ 75 (n = 493). RESULTS: Procedural success rate was not significantly different across the 3 age groups. (96.9% in group 1, 97.1% in group 2, and 96.1% in elderly group, P = 0.759). Procedural complications occurred in 179 (2.9%) of group 1, 98 (2.6%) of group 2 and 15 (3.0%) of elderly group (P = 0.678). In-hospital complications increased with increasing age (311 [5.0%] in group 1, 235 [6.3%] in group 2, and 46 [9.3%] in elderly group; P < 0.001). Twelve-month MACE also increased with increasing age (235 [4.1%] in group 1, 169 [4.9%] in group 2 and 26 [5.7%] in elderly group; P = 0.021). Multivariate analysis showed that age was not a predictor for unsuccessful PCI, procedural complications, or 12-month MACE. However, increasing age was independent predictors of in-hospital complications and death. CONCLUSION: Despite increased in-hospital complications with increasing age, procedural success, and complications were not higher in elderly. Our data suggest that PCI should not be denied in elderly if indicated with procedural safety similar to other age groups.

Association between Dietary Intakes of Tea, Coffee, and Soft Drinks in Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography with Coronary Artery Stenosis.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the major causes of mortality that is related to the nutritional habits and lifestyle. The aim of this study was to examine the association between tea, coffee, and soft drink consumption and coronary artery stenosis in patients undergoing coronary angiography. METHODS: Out of all the patients, 208 cases (101 Female) with 57.81 ± 12.18 (mean ± SD) were assigned to participate in this cross-sectional study. In total, 168-items, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire collected for assessments of dietary intakes of black tea, coffee, caffeine, and soft drinks and record demographic and clinical questionnaire. RESULTS: There were negative association between arteries with stenosis of more than 50% number with dietary intakes of tea (P = 0.011, r = - 0.187), coffee (P = 0.069, r = - 0.098) intakes, and dietary caffeine intake (P = 0.043, r = -0.118). The high consumptions of soft drinks (P = 0.005, r = 0.387) were associated with an enhancement in arteries with stenosis of more than 50% number. In addition, dietary consumption of black tea have a negatively significant association with the history of previous angiography (P = 0.044, r = -0.121), the history of previous Stanton (P = 0.035, r = -0.132), and coronary artery bypass graft surgery nomination (P = 0.008, r = -0.216). Coffee consumption showed a significant negative relationship with engagement for coronary artery bypass graft surgery (P = 0.004, r = -0.598). CONCLUSIONS: Dietary intakes of tea, coffee, and caffeine may have a negative relationship with CAD and cardio vascular diseases. Healthy dietary lifestyle is an important issue for the prevention of chronic diseases.

Effects of Enhanced External Counterpulsation on Heart Rate Recovery in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) reduces angina pectoris, extends time to exercise-induced ischemia, and improves quality of life in patients with symptomatic stable angina. We aimed to evaluate the effects of EECP on heart rate recovery in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: Between January 2011 and March 2013, a total of 34 consecutive patients (24 male, 70.6%) with symptomatic CAD, who were candidated for EECP, prospectively received 35 sessions of 1-hour EECP therapy per day, 6 days per week. The patients underwent echocardiography and a symptom-limited modified Bruce exercise test before and after EECP. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), resting and peak exercise heart rates, systolic blood pressure, heart rate at 1 and 2 minutes of recovery, exercise duration, workload, and first- and second-minute heart rate recovery were measured before EECP and compared with those after EECP. Results: The mean age of the patients (70.6% men) was 64.82 ± 8.28 years. After EECP, exercise duration increased significantly from 6.48 ± 2.76 minutes to 9.20 ± 2.71 minutes (p value < 0.001). Maximum workload increased significantly (4.44 ± 1.28 vs. 5.65 ± 1.77 METS; p value < 0.001). The LVEF increased from 42.65 ± 11.82% to 44.26 ± 11.86% (p value < 0.001). The resting systolic blood pressure decreased significantly from 125.59 ± 22.35 mmHg to 116.26 ± 14.93 mmHg (p value = 0.013). The increase in the first- and second-minute heart rate recovery after EECP was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that exercise duration, maximum workload, and the LVEF might increase significantly after EECP. The increase in the first- and second-minute heart rate recovery after EECP was not statistically significant.

Coronary artery stenosis and associations with indicators of anthropometric and diet in patients undergoing coronary angiography.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery diseases (CAD) are one of the major causes of mortality, which is related to the nutritional status and anthropometric indices of individuals. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between anthropometric indices, the type of protein consumption in meat group and vegetable consumption with coronary artery stenosis. METHODS: This descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in Shariati Hospital in Tehran in 2016. Out of the patients undergoing coronary angiography, 208 cases were assigned to participate in the study of simple random sampling. The required data were collected by Food Frequency questionnaire (FFQ), anthropometric indices and physical activity questionnaire. SPSS software (version #21) was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The number of coronary arteries with more than 50% stenosis was increased by high consumption of red meat (P = 0.014), egg (P = 0.006) and chicken (P = 0.030) and low consumption of legume (P = 0.000), soybean (P = 0.002) and vegetables (P = 0.003). Also, the consumption of garlic and onion was associated with a decrease in the severity of stenosis in left anterior descending (LAD) (P = 0.036), and right coronary artery (RCA) (P = 0.033). There was a significant and positive correlation among waist circumference, wrist circumference and body mass index in patients with coronary artery stenosis and a negative correlation between the height of the patient and the history of previous angiography. CONCLUSION: High consumption of vegetable proteins, vegetables, maintaining BMI and waist circumference in the normal range, were associated with reduced severity of coronary artery stenosis. In addition high consumption of red meat, chicken and egg is associated with higher severity and number of coronary stenosis.

Effect of High-Dose Allopurinol Pretreatment on Cardiac Biomarkers of Patients Undergoing Elective Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Increased accumulation of reactive oxygen species contributes to pathophysiologic states such as endothelial dysfunction, metabolic and functional impairment, inflammatory activation, and other features of cardiovascular pathophysiology. Allopurinol acts as a xanthine oxidase inhibitor that reduces the amount of free radicals after reactive oxygen species generation. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial, all patients admitted with coronary artery disease who are candidates for elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were included. The 254 patients were randomly divided into 2 groups. Blood samples for cardiac biomarkers (creatine kinase [CK]-MB and troponin T [cTnT]) were collected from all patients after admission (the day before PCI), and also 8 and 16 hours after intervention. In group 1 (133 patients), 600 mg allopurinol was orally administered on the day before PCI, and another same dose on the day of PCI, and the elective PCI was performed. In group 2 (121 patients), elective PCI was performed without pretreatment with allopurinol. In an unadjusted model, the serum levels of both CK-MB and cTnT, 16 hours after PCI were higher in the placebo group as compared with the allopurinol group, although it was statistically insignificant. We compared the maximum levels of CK-MB and cTnT (8 or 16 hours after PCI) and their maximum changes in both groups. After adjustment for confounders, use of allopurinol did not have any statistically significant association with the rise of cardiac-spec-fic enzymes. CONCLUSIONS: Allopurinol could not be effective significantly, in patients undergoing elective PCI, to decrease cardiac-specific enzymes, and seems not to be of use before PCI.

Obesity, Heart Failure, and Obesity Paradox.

The incidence and prevalence of obesity are fast increasing worldwide. Various indices have been used to measure and assess obesity. The body mass index (BMI) is the most common and practical of these indices. Overweight and obesity exert considerable adverse effects on the cardiovascular system. These effects are mediated through various neurohormonal and cytokine pathways, most of which are inflammatory mediators. Systolic and / or diastolic heart failure is more prevalent among obese and overweight individuals than among normal weight people. The concept of the "obesity paradox" has been proposed by some previously published studies, in which the prognosis of obese patients with established cardiovascular diseases, especially heart failure, is better than that of their leaner counterparts. In this review, we discuss the obesity paradox and its possible pathophysiologic mechanisms.

Mean Platelet Volume as a Predictor of One-Year Major Adverse Cardiac Events following Elective Percutaneous Coronary Interventions.

BACKGROUND: Mean platelet volume (MPV) correlates with platelet activity. The relation between MPV and long-term outcome in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been investigated in several studies. The aim of the present study was to investigate the utility of MPV in prognosticating the long-term outcome after elective PCI. METHODS: The study cohort included 2627 patients undergoing elective PCI between September 2008 and June 2010, whose baseline MPV measurements before PCI were available. The patients were divided into three groups of MPV < 9.1 fL, MPV = 9.1 to 10 fL, and MPV > 10 fL, and they were assessed for developing major adverse cardiac events (MACE), comprising death, myocardial infarction (MI), target vessel revascularization (TVR), and target lesion revascularization (TLR) over a one-year follow-up. RESULTS: Of 2539 patients, major adverse cardiac events (MACE) at one year occurred in 77 (3.0%) patients, including mortality in 26 (1.0%). The patients in the highest tertile (MPV > 10 fL) had no increased frequency of MACE compared to those in the mid (9.1 to 10 fL) and lowest (< 9.1 fL) tertiles (3.3%, 2.2%, and 3.8%, respectively; p value = 0.14). No significant differences were found for each of the primary endpoints among the MPV tertiles. In multivariate logistic regression, we investigated the association between high MPV and total MACE (OR = 1.10, 95%CI: 0.69-1.77; p value = 0.68), death (OR = 1.14, 95%CI: 0.51-2.54; p value = 0.74), and non-fatal MI (OR = 1.85, 95%CI: 0.73-4.67; p value = 0.19) at one year's follow-up but MPV did not remain in the model in any of the cases. In the diabetic patients, the one-way analysis of variance demonstrated that mortality was 1.6% (4 patients) in the highest tertile, 0.8% (2 patients) in the mid tertile, and 0.5% (one patient) in the lowest tertile. CONCLUSION: There was no direct correlation between pre-procedural MPV and MACE in elective PCI. MPV can only be considered as an appropriate factor for predicting mortality in diabetic patients undergoing elective PCI.

Association between preprocedural hemoglobin level and 1-year outcome of elective percutaneous coronary intervention.

AIM: To evaluate the association between the preprocedural hemoglobin (Hb) level and 1 year major adverse cardiac event (MACE) in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: A total of 2819 patients (mean age 56.61 ±â€Š10.37 years, 69% male) with available preprocedural Hb levels were included. Patients were followed up for 12 months. MACE included cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), target vessel revascularization and target lesion revascularization. MACE was compared across the different levels of Hb in nonanemic, mild, moderate, and severe anemia subgroups. RESULTS: The preprocedural mean Hb level was 13.56 ±â€Š1.67 g/dl. Anemic patients were older, more frequently women, and less likely to be cigarette smokers compared to the nonanemic group. Patients with Hb less than 10  mg/dl had the highest proportion of renal failure (56.7%) compared to 40.1% in moderate, 34.6% in mild, and 22.7% in nonanemic groups. In-hospital MI and death occurred in 8 (0.3%) and 2 (0.1%) of the nonanemic group, respectively, and 1 (0.3%) patient with mild anemia experienced MI. After 12 months the rate of total MACE was 3.4% in all the patients. After adjustment for age, sex, interaction between sex, and Hb level, smoking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and creatinine clearance, only severe anemia with Hb below 10  g/dl was associated with an increased risk of MACE (hazard ratio 4.623; 95% confidence interval 1.642-13.021; P = 0.004). CONCLUSION: The impact of anemia on the 12-month MACE was more prominent in patients with Hb below 10  mg/dl. Therefore, in patients with severe anemia listed for PCI, this level of Hb should be considered as a precaution.

Clinical lipid control success rate before and after percutaneous coronary intervention in iran; a single center study.

BACKGROUND: High cholesterol levels have long been considered an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). OBJECTIVE: Controlling risk factors such as dyslipidemia in patients with coronary artery disease is necessary. We aimed to evaluate the success rate of lipid control, during 9 months follow-up after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 195 patients (67.7% men, mean age = 57.8 ± 9.4 years) who underwent PCI in Tehran Heart Center were included. Serum lipid profiles were measured in all the patients before PCI and at 9-month follow-up. Dyslipidemia was defined as serum levels of LDL-C ≥ 100 or TG ≥ 150 or TC ≥ 200 or HDL-C ≤ 40 mg/dl in the men and ≤ 50 mg/dl or less in the women, or non-HDL-C ≥ 130 mg/dl with or without the consumption of lipid-lowering agents. During follow up, all patients were given atorvastatin 20-40 mg/day. RESULTS: Overall, 26.2% had diabetes mellitus, 42.6% had hypertension, and 34.9% were smokers. Dyslipidemia was more common in the women. At 9-month follow-up, there was no significant changes in terms of the prevalence of high HDL-C or low TG in patients; however, a significant increase was seen in the prevalence low TC in patients (63.6% vs. 80.5%; p value < 0.001), LDL-C (47.2% vs. 65.6%; p value < 0.001), and non-HDL-C (40.0% vs. 63.1%; p value < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although by current treatments, the prevalence of patients with low TC, LDL-C and non-HDL-C has significantly increased; dyslipidemia persisted in a considerable proportion of patients. These results necessitate further investigations into the relationship between high serum lipids and long-term outcome of patients after PCI as well as further evaluations of the dyslipidemia treatment strategies.

Advanced Cardiac Life Support Training by Problem-Based Method: Effect on the Trainee's Skills, Knowledge and Evaluation of Trainers.

BACKGROUND: Cardiopulmonary-cerebral resuscitation (CPCR) training is essential for all hospital workers, especially junior residents who might become the manager of the resuscitation team. In our center, the traditional CPCR knowledge training curriculum for junior residents up to 5 years ago was lecture-based and had some faults. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a problem-based method on residents' CPCR knowledge and skills as well as their evaluation of their CPCR trainers. METHODS: This study, conducted at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, included 290 first-year residents in 2009-2010 - who were trained via a problem-based method (the problem-based group) - and 160 first-year residents in 2003-2004 - who were trained via a lecture-based method (the lecture-based group). Other educational techniques and facilities were similar. The participants self-evaluated their own CPCR knowledge and skills pre and post workshop and also assessed their trainers' efficacy post workshop by completing special questionnaires. RESULTS: The problem-based group, trained via the problem-based method, had higher self-assessment scores of CPCR knowledge and skills post workshop: the difference as regards the mean scores between the problem-based and lecture-based groups was 32.36 ± 19.23 vs. 22.33 ± 20.35 for knowledge (p value = 0.003) and 10.13 ± 7.17 vs. 8.19 ± 8.45 for skills (p value = 0.043). The residents' evaluation of their trainers was similar between the two study groups (p value = 0.193), with the mean scores being 15.90 ± 2.59 and 15.46 ± 2.90 in the problem-based and lecture-based groups - respectively. CONCLUSION: The problem-based method increased our residents' self-evaluation score of their own CPCR knowledge and skills.

Effects of cardiac rehabilitation program on right ventricular function after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac rehabilitation has been recognized as one of the most effective strategies for managing cardiovascular indices as well as controlling the cardiovascular risk profile, in particular after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). However, the effect of this program on right ventricular function following CABG is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of cardiac rehabilitation on the right ventricular (RV) function in a cohort of patients who underwent CABG. METHODS: A total of 28 patients who underwent CABG and participated consecutively in an 8-week cardiac rehabilitation program at Tehran Heart Center were studied. The control group consisted of 39 patients who refused to attend cardiac rehabilitation and only received postoperative medical treatment after registration in the Cardiac Rehabilitation Clinic. Two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography was performed to assess the RV function in both groups at the three time points of before surgery, at the end of surgery, and at the end of the rehabilitation program. RESULTS: Significant increase of RV function parameters were observed in both rehabilitation group (RG) and control group (CG) at the end of the rehabilitation program compared with post-CABG evaluation in terms of tricuspid annular plane systolic execution (RG: 12.50 mm to 14.18 mm; CG: 13.41 mm to 14.56 mm), tricuspid annular peak systolic velocity (RG: 8.55 cm/s to 9.14 cm/s; CG: 9.03 cm/s to 9.26 cm/s), and tricuspid annular late diastolic velocity (RG: 8.93 cm/s to 9.39 cm/s; CG: 9.26 cm/s to 9.60 cm/s).The parameters of the RV function did improve in both groups, but this improvement was not associated with participation in the complete cardiac rehabilitation program. CONCLUSION: The RV function parameters gradually improved after CABG; this progress, however, was independent of the exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program.

Effectiveness of Two-Year versus One-Year Use of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in Reducing the Risk of Very Late Stent Thrombosis after Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation.

BACKGROUND: Impact of 12 months' versus 24 months' use of dual antiplatelet therapy on the prevalence of stent thrombosis in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with the drug-eluting stent (DES) is not clear. As a result, duration of dual antiplatelet therapy is still under debate among interventionists. METHODS: From March 2007 until August 2008, all consecutive patients with successful PCI who received at least one DES and were treated with dual antiplatelet therapy (Clopidogrel + Aspirin) were included. All the patients were followed up for more than 24 months (mean = 35.27 ± 6.91 months) and surveyed for very late stent thrombosis and major cardiovascular events. RESULTS: From 961 patients eligible for the study, 399 (42%) discontinued Clopidogrel after 12 months and 562 (58%) continued Clopidogrel for 24 months. The clinical and procedural variables were compared between the two groups. In the 12 months' use group, two cases of definite thrombosis occurred at 18 and 13 months post PCI. In the 24 months' use group, 2 cases of definite thrombosis occurred at 14 and 28 months post PCI, one of them with stenting in a bifurcation lesion. Five cases of probable stent thrombosis were detected at 21, 28, 32, 33, and 34 months after the procedure. It is of note that amongst the 10 cases of stent thrombosis, only 1(10%) thrombosis occurred when the patient was on Clopidogrel and Aspirin and all the other 9 (90%) cases of thrombosis appeared after the discontinuation of the dual antiplatelet therapy. CONCLUSION: Extended use of dual antiplatelet therapy (for more than 12 months) was not significantly more effective than Aspirin monotherapy in reducing the risk of myocardial infarction or stent thrombosis, death from cardiac cause, and stroke.