Troponin I/ejection fraction ratio: A new index to differentiate Takotsubo cardiomyopathy from myocardial infarction

– Transient hypokinesis, akinesis, or dyskinesis of the left ventricular mid-segments with or without apical involvement; the regional wall motion abnormalities extend beyond a single epicardial vascular distribution; a stressful trigger is often, but not always, present; – Absence of obstructive coronary disease or angiographic evidence of acute plaque rupture; – New ECG abnormalities (either ST-segment elevation and/or T wave inversion) or modest elevation in cardiac troponin; and – Absence of pheochromocytoma or myocarditis.

A rare case of Prinzmetal angina 3 days after coronary artery stenting with a second-generation drug-eluting stent

Non previsto.

LiDAR-derived DTM for historical landscape evaluation: the case study of the “Harvesting Memories” project (Castro Valley and Mt. Barraù, Corleone – Palermo)

The project “Harvesting Memories” is focused on the analysis of the long-term transformation of the cultural landscape in a rural area of Central-Western Sicily (Castro Valley and Mt. Barraù, Corleone – Palermo). In order to quickly outline the history of the territory with an acceptable precision, our survey aimed at covering and sampling as much surface as possible, according to time and human resources available. To reach this goal, in the research design we opted for qualitative surveys. The choice of the fields to be surveyed was based on GIS analysis — our predictive model took in consideration slope, water sources and presence of points with high visibility in the landscape —, that h…

Harvesting memories project: ricognizioni archeologiche nelle contrade Castro e Giardinello e nell’area di Monte Barraù (Corleone, Palermo)

The “Harvesting Memories” project (funded by Bona Furtuna LLC) is focused on the long-term Transformation of the cultural landscape in the central part of the Alto Belice Corleonese (Central-Western Sicily). In particular, we surveyed the area of Contrada Giardinello, Castro Valley and the western slopes of Monte Barraù (Corleone, Palermo). The fieldwork led to the identification of 12 sites featuring pottery concentrations spanning from Protohistory (Middle Copper Age/Aeneolithic and Bronze Age), Classic period, Middle Ages/Arab-Norman period to the Late Modern period and 4 areas with dry-stone structures related to the Late Modern Age pastoral activities. This report represents the first …

MULTIFOCAL ATHEROSCLEROSIS INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF PATIENTS UNDERWENT TO PRIMARY PTCA

The Harvesting Memories Project: Landscape Archaeology in the Castro/Giardinello Valley and Mt. Barraù (Corleone, Palermo)

Il progetto Harvesting Memories è finalizzato allo studio delle interazioni tra dinamiche umane e fattori ecologici che nella lunga durata hanno contribuito alla formazione dei paesaggi rurali. L’area di studio è localizzata tra Corleone e Campofiorito (Palermo) nei pressi delle contrade Castro e Giardinello e lungo le pendici occidentali di Monte Barrù. Questo distretto dell’Alto Belice Corleonese ha rappresentato un asse di collegamento tra la costa meridionale della Sicilia e quella settentrionale fin all’epoca repubblicana con continuità anche nel Medioevo in cui è citato per la prima volta il toponimo Barraù/Barracù, dal nome arabo ra’s e ǧabal bū ‘r-raḫū, nella Jarida di Monreale del …

MULTIFOCAL ATHEROSCLEROSIS INFLUENCE THE UTCOME OF PATIENTS UNDERWENT TO PRIMARY PTCA

A strange pneumonia

We report the case of a 62-year-old man with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction complicated by partial rupture of the antero-lateral papillary muscle in which severe mitral regurgitation with lateralized direction towards the right pulmonary veins gave unilateral pulmonary oedema, resembling an acute pneumonia.Unilateral pulmonary oedema is a rare entity, more frequently appearing as opacity of the right lung and always associated with severe mitral regurgitation. It is very important to suspect and promptly recognize unilateral pulmonary oedema because initial misdiagnosis leads to a delay in the initiation of appropriate treatment and to an increased risk of mortality.

Treatment decision making in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy: State of the art

No abstract available

Diagnosis and treatment of asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction after myocardial infarction.

The increased survival after acute myocardial infarction induced an increase in heart failure with left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Early detection and treatment of asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction give the chance to improve outcomes and to reduce costs due to the management of patients with overt heart failure.

Midventricular dyskinesia during clozapine treatment?

This is the case of a young man suffering from schizophrenia and treated with clozapine. He developed acute heart failure associated with pericardial effusion and midventricular dyskinesia with severe systolic dysfunction and left ventricular dilatation at echocardiogram, readily resolved after the suspension of clozapine therapy. The segmental wall motion abnormalities observed at echocardiogram in this case are peculiar and have never been described before. The possible cardiotoxic effects of clozapine have been reported previously in the literature. Because of its serious potential side effects this drug is not considered the first choice for treatment of schizophrenia. Before beginning …

Large Mediastinal mass in pregnancy: utility of echocardiography and cardiac MRI. A case report

Unusual case of left ventricular pseudoaneurysm.

A 71 year-old man with a history of previous anterior myocardial infarction, triple coronary artery bypass graft and left ventricular (LV) aneurysmectomy was admitted to the cardiology unit for chest pain. Physical examination showed a pulsing mass in the left chest wall. Cardiac multislice computed tomography showed a rare case of LV pseudoaneurysm (6.3 x 6 x 10 cm) communicating by a fistulous trait (1 cm) with the left anterior chest wall (C7-C8), creating a subfascial mass (7.1 x 3.6 cm).

A case of Takotsubo syndrome

Decision making and devices approach in a case of left main coronary artery thrombus.

☆ This statement is to certify that all authors have seen being submitted, have contributed significantly to the w legitimacy of the data and its interpretation, and ag International Journal of Cardiology. We attest that the artic has not received prior publication and is not under elsewhere. We adhere to the statement of ethical pub (Shewan LG et al 2013 in press). ☆☆ On behalf of all co-authors, the corresponding author the submission. ⁎ Corresponding author at: Division of Cardiology II, D and Cardiovascular Diseases, University Hospital Paolo Gi 90127 Palermo, Italy. Tel.: +39 1 6554303; fax: +39 1 65 E-mail address: odisseos86@alice.it (V. Sucato).

ST segment elevations: Always a marker of acute myocardial infarction?

AbstractChest pain is one of the chief presenting complaints among patients attending Emergency department. The diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction may be a challenge. Various tools such as anamnesis, blood sample (with evaluation of markers of myocardial necrosis), ultrasound techniques and coronary computed tomography could be useful. However, the interpretation of electrocardiograms of these patients may be a real concern. The earliest manifestations of myocardial ischemia typically interest T waves and ST segment. Despite the high sensitivity, ST segment deviation has however poor specificity since it may be observed in many other cardiac and non-cardiac conditions. Therefore, when…

takotsubo cardiomiopathy after acute diarrhea

Takotsubo cardiomyopaty is a recently described syndrome characterized by transient left ventricular dysfunction, mimicking an acute coronary syndrome and usually precipitated by a physical or emotional stress. We report the first case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy after acute diarrhea in a man. It may be argued that severe diarrhea in predisposed individuals may cause an acute stress resulting in increased sympathetic activity leading to this syndrome. Probably the relationship between the adrenergic system and the heart is more complex than general thought and the stimuli which favor an autonomic imbalance and precipitate the syndrome are very disparate in clinical practice.

Therapeutic management in Sicilian patients with definite arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy and focus on the role of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy

Arrhythmogenic Right Ventrticular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy(ARVD/C) is an inherited cardiomyopathy characterized by right ven-tricularmyocytelosswithfibrofattyreplacement,ahighriskofventric-ular arrhythmias (VA) and sudden cardiac death (SCD) [1]. Preventionof SCD represents the most important management strategy and theachievement of this target can be reached by different therapeuticstrategies including implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD)implantation, pharmacologic therapy, catheter ablation of ventriculartachycardia (VT) and cardiac transplantation [2,3]. The aim of thisstudy is to examine the outcome of the different therapies adopted ina group of affected patients, focusing on th…

Making a rural landscape: ecological and human dynamics in the holm oak forest of Mt. Barraù (Corleone, Palermo, C-W Sicily)

The Harvesting Memories Project (funded by Bona Furtuna LLC) aims to investigate the long-term landscape transformations in the central part of the Alto Belice Corleonese (Central-Western Sicily). The case study area is formed by a sequence of gentle hills (Contrade Castro and Giardinello), rich in water springs that offer an optimal condition for agricultural exploitation, irregularly interrupted by the Mt. Barraù (1420 m a.s.l.) with steep and abrupt slopes in the south-west side. The study of this territory is approached by an holistic perspective to detect and evaluate the relationships and the interactions among human activities and the environment. The holm oak forest that covers part…

Long-term human occupation of a rural landscape in central-western Sicily (Castro/Giardinello valley and mt Barraù): Harvesting memoires project case study

The “Harvesting Memories” project focuses on the study of long-term landscape transformations as a diachronic result of the interaction between socio-economic human patterns and environmental and ecological trends in a rural area of Central-Western Sicily. The aim of this paper is to present the results of the archaeological survey carried out in Castro/Giardinello Valley and the Mt. Barraù area (Corleone, Palermo). The fieldwork confirmed the long occupation of this area characterized by archaeological evidences dating to the Middle Copper Age/Eneolithic, Bronze Age, Classical period, Middle Ages and Late Modern age. The detection of the high intensity of human presence in this area across…

A case of neurogenic heart disease: is there a elationship between heart and brain?

Cardiovascular events and intensity of treatment in polycythemia vera.

A b s t r ac t Background Current treatment recommendations for patients with polycythemia vera call for maintaining a hematocrit of less than 45%, but this therapeutic strategy has not been tested in a randomized clinical trial. Methods We randomly assigned 365 adults with JAK2-positive polycythemia vera who were being treated with phlebotomy, hydroxyurea, or both to receive either more intensive treatment (target hematocrit, <45%) (low-hematocrit group) or less intensive treatment (target hematocrit, 45 to 50%) (high-hematocrit group). The primary composite end point was the time until death from cardiovascular causes or major thrombotic events. The secondary end points were cardiovascula…

Prognostic role of aldosterone in patients with acute coronary syndrome: short and medium term follow-up.

AIMS: Different studies have shown a correlation between aldosterone, atherosclerosis and ischemia in the past decade. Evidence exists for the relationship between high levels of aldosterone and augmented risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension, cardiac failure, coronary artery disease and stroke. The objective of this study was to determine the prognostic role of aldosterone in patients with myocardial infarction. METHODS: The study population included 96 consecutive patients admitted to our department for ST-elevated and non-ST-elevated myocardial infarction from June 2009 to March 2012. Plasma aldosterone levels were measured at admission to hospital in all patients. A 2-ye…

Relation between late potentials and echocardiographically determined left ventricular mass in healthy subjects.

“Harvesting memories”: Integrated approaches of human ecology and landscape archaeology in rural Sicily, the case of Castro Valley and Mt. Barraù (Corleone, PA)

The “Harvesting Memories” project focuses on the study of the long-term transformation of the historical landscape in a rural area of Central-Western Sicily (Castro Valley and Mt. Barraù, Corleone – Palermo). In order to achieve a global comprehension of the landscape, which we consider to be a diachronic result of the interaction between humans and their surrounding environment, our main research threads focus on socio-historical and environmental transformation. To this end we are applying an holistic approach, resulting from the cross-pollination of different methodologies: 1) Archaeological research: field survey and pottery studies allow the reconstruction of the historical settlement …