atherosclerosis is the most common cause of myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. various risk factors have been identified for atherosclerosis. recently, bacterial and viral organisms, which are involved in chronic inflammatory processes, have been also implicated in atherosclerosis development. individuals with a prior history of periodontal diseases and/or tooth loss are considered to be...

Coronary insufficiency (CI) is the state in which an imbalance occurs between the supply and demand of oxygen, which prevents adequate maintenance of the metabolic needs of the myocardium, resulting in ischemia of several degrees of intensity. CI has numerous causes among which are cardiac valvular diseases (aortic stenosis), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, microvasculature diseases (diabetes mell...

OBJECTIVE To assess mortality and the psychological repercussions of the prolonged waiting time for candidates for heart surgery. METHODS From July 1999 to May 2000, using a standardized questionnaire, we carried out standardized interviews and semi-structured psychological interviews with 484 patients with coronary heart disease, 121 patients with valvular heart diseases, and 100 patients wi...

There is growing evidence of the presence and relevance of coronary microvascular abnormalities in many cardiac diseases. In particular, it has been recently shown that dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is characterized by dysfunction of the coronary microvessels since its very early onset. Coronary microcirculatory dysfunction is not an effect of myocardial damage but seems in turn to cause progres...

Lipid lowering treatment is of benefit in the prevention of coronary heart diseases (CHD) and other vascular events. So far many studies have been carried out to prove the safety, efficacy and beneficial effects of lipid-lowering treatment in various countries. These studies can be categorized into two groups: (1) studies done to prove the effectiveness of lipid lowering treatment in the primar...

Coronary anomalies are less frequent than acquired coronary diseases, such as atherosclerosis, and have been implicated a cause of cardiovascular events. This case report describes an incidental finding on angiography anomalous right artery with origin in the left sinus intra-arterial course, after episode aborted sudden death. The Heart Team analysis indicated percutaneous approach drug-elutin...

Recent progress suggests that integrative cardiac reserve is important in coronary artery disease, chronic heart failure, cardiomyopathy, and other cardiovascular diseases. Integrative cardiac reserve includes coronary flow reserve, myocardial reserve, energy reserve, and heart rate reserve. In the case of stress reaction, coronary flow reserve can provide excessive blood and energy supply and ...

OBJECTIVE To examine the relation between trends over time in mortality and hospital morbidity caused by various cardiovascular diseases in the Netherlands. DESIGN Trend analysis by Poisson regression of national data on mortality and hospital admissions from 1975 to 1995. SUBJECTS The Dutch population. RESULTS All cardiovascular diseases combined were responsible for 39% of all deaths an...