Smoking and Hypertriglyceridemia Predict ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Kosovo Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial infarction (MI), presented as ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI) and non-ST-segment elevation MI (NSTEMI), is influenced by atherosclerosis risk factors. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the patterns of presentation of patients with acute MI in Kosovo. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo, which included all patients hospitalized with acute MI over a period of 7 years. RESULTS: Among the 7353 patients admitted with acute MI (age 63 ± 12 years, 29% female), 59.4% had STEMI and 40.6% had NSTEMI. The patients with NSTEMI patients less (48.3% vs. 54%, p < 0.001), but more of them had diabetes (37.8% vs. 33.6%, p < 0.001), hypertension (69.6% vs. 63%, p < 0.001), frequently had a family history of coronary artery disease (CAD) (40% vs. 38%, p = 0.009), and had more females compared to the patients with STEMI (32% vs. 27%, p < 0.001). The patients with NSTEMI underwent less primary percutaneous interventions compared with the patients with STEMI (43.6% vs. 55.2%, p < 0.001). Smoking [1.277 (1.117-1.459), p ˂ 0.001] and high triglycerides [0.791 (0.714-0.878), p = 0.02] were independent predictors of STEMI. CONCLUSIONS: In Kosovo, patients with STEMI are more common than those with NSTEMI, and they were mostly males and more likely to have diabetes, hypertension, and a family history of CAD compared to those with NSTEMI. Smoking and high triglycerides proved to be the strongest predictors of acute STEMI in Kosovo, thus highlighting the urgent need for optimum atherosclerosis risk control and education strategies.

The Rationale and Design of the KOSovan Acute Coronary Syndrome (KOS-ACS) Registry.

The KOSovan Acute Coronary Syndrome (KOS-ACS) Registry is established as a prospective, continuous, nationwide, web-based registry that is operated online. The KOS-ACS registry is designed with the following objectives: (1) to obtain data on the demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of ACS patients treated in Kosovo; (2) to create a national database with information on health care in ACS patients treated in Kosovo; (3) to identify the national features of associations between ACS characteristics and clinical outcomes, including mortality, complications, the length of hospital stay, and the quality of clinical care; and (4) to propose a practical guide for improving the quality and efficiency of ACS treatment in Kosovo. The Kosovo Society of Cardiology and University of Prishtina will be responsible for the development of the KOS-ACS registry and centralized data analysis at the national level. The KOS-ACS Registry will enroll all patients admitted, at any of the registered clinical centers, with the diagnosis of ACS and who will be clinically managed at any of the Kosovo hospitals. Data on patient demographics, clinical characteristics, previous and hospital drug treatment, and reperfusion therapy will be collected. The type of ACS (unstable angina, NSTEMI, or STEMI) will also be clearly defined. The time from first medical contact to balloon inflation (FMC-to-balloon) and door-to-ballon time will be registered. In-hospital death and complications will be registered. Data on the post-hospital primary outcome (MACE: cardiac death, all-cause mortality, hospitalization, stroke, need for coronary revascularization) of patients, at 30 days and 1 year, will be included in the registry.

Left ventricular longitudinal systolic dysfunction is associated with right atrial dyssynchrony in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed in this study to assess the role of longitudinal left ventricular (LV) systolic function in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) in delayed intra- and interatrial conduction time. METHODS: In 85 consecutive patients with HFpEF (age 60±11 years, ejection fraction [EF] ≥45%), a complete M-mode echocardiographic and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) study was performed. The times from the onset of the P wave on the ECG to the beginning of the A' wave (PA) from the lateral and septal mitral and tricuspid annuli on TDI were recorded. The difference between these intervals gave the intra- and interatrial dyssynchrony. Based on mitral annular plane systolic excursion (MAPSE), patients were classified as having HFpEF with impaired (MAPSE ≤1.2 cm) or normal (MAPSE >1.2 cm) longitudinal systolic function. RESULTS: Patients with impaired MAPSE were older (p<0.001), had higher LV mass index (p<0.001), greater left atrial (LA) minimum volume (p=0.007), reduced left atrial EF (p<0.001), higher E/e' ratio (p=0.002), reduced lateral and septal e' wave (p=0.005 and p=0.006, respectively), prolonged tricuspid PA' (p=0.03) and significantly increased right atrial (RA) dyssynchrony (p=0.001) compared with normal MAPSE. MAPSE correlated with RA dyssynchrony (r=-0.40, p<0.001) but not with interatrial and LA dyssynchrony. CONCLUSION: In patients with HFpEF and impaired MAPSE, RA dyssynchrony is increased, compared to those with normal MAPSE. As patients with RA dyssynchrony are at higher risk for arrhythmia, assessment of this dyssynchrony may help to improve treatment, as well as to predict outcome in these patients.

Giant left atrial myxoma in an elderly patient: natural history over a 7-year period.

We present the case of a 71-year-old woman with a 7-year history of a giant left atrial myxoma. The myxoma was attached to the atrial septum and occupied almost the entire left atrial cavity. The patient was hospitalized 4 times because of dyspnea on exertion, palpitations, fatigue, general asthenia, and weight loss. During prior hospitalizations, the patient had refused cardiac surgery. She developed several complications, including atrial fibrillation, mitral and tricuspid regurgitation, mesenteric embolism, pulmonary edema, and thrombotic stroke. We herein describe the natural history of left atrial myxoma in an elderly patient over a 7-year period.