Between 1 January, 1989, and 28 April, 1990, a total of 888 selective coronary arteriographies were performed at the Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Prague. Of that number, 58 findings were assessed as at least 50% stenosis of the left main coronary artery (LCA). Having applied exclusion criteria, 50 patients (i.e., 5.63% of all those examined) were entered into a retrospect...

INTRODUCTION Abnormal serum calcium levels are associated with adverse cardiovascular effects. Therapy of heart failure (HF) may result in urinary calcium excretion and calcium apposition to bones, and consequently, in calcemia. OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of abnormal calcium levels in the blood of patients receiving maximized HF therapy, to explore clinical a...

OBJECTIVES To study the role of metabolic modulator (trimetazidine: TMZ) in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Optimizing altered substrate metabolism in heart failure (HF) with metabolic modulators allows more efficacious energy production from glucose than from free fatty acids. METHODS 100 patients of DCM (47.7 years, NYHA class 2.17, LVEF 27.3%) were randomized to TMZ (20mg tid, n=50) vs conve...

BACKGROUND Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) reduces morbidity and mortality in patients with advanced symptoms of heart failure. PURPOSE To assess the benefits and harms of CRT in patients with advanced heart failure and those with less symptomatic disease. DATA SOURCES A search of electronic databases (1950 to December 2010), hand-searching of reference lists, and unpublished data f...

BACKGROUND Coenzyme Q₁₀ (CoQ₁₀; also called ubiquinone) is an antioxidant that has been postulated to improve functional status in congestive heart failure (CHF). Several randomized controlled trials have examined the effects of CoQ₁₀ on CHF with inconclusive results. OBJECTIVE The objective of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the impact of CoQ₁₀ supplementation on the ejection fraction (EF...

BACKGROUND Levosimendan has been extensively used to treat heart failure (HF) for nearly 10 years, but data on levosimendan used in elderly patients with refractory HF remains limited. This study aimed to investigate the effects of levosimendan on elderly patients with intractable HF. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 268 patients with HF (over 70 years, New York Heart Association [NYHA] classi...

OBJECTIVE Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and maximal functional capacity (VO2max) have both been shown to be related to a poor long-term survival in Chagas' disease patients. The aim of this study was to estimate the potential association of VO2max, LVEF, and NYHA functional class in patients with Chagas' disease cardiomyopathy. METHODS One hundred four male patients, aged 40.3+/-9...

AIMS The aim of the present study was to investigate whether agents which enhance force of contraction via increasing intracellular Na+, i.e. cAMP-independently, remain effective in failing human myocardium. METHODS Cumulative concentration-response curves with (+/-)BDF 9148 (0.01-10 mumol l-1), a Na(+)-channel activator, and ouabain (0.01-0.1 mumol l-1), a Na+/K(+)-ATPase inhibitor, were per...

Study objectives: This study was conducted to assess cost savings and clinical outcomes associated with the use of home IV inotropic therapy in patients with advanced (New York Heart Association [NYHA] class IV) heart failure. Design: Retrospective analysis. Setting: Tertiary care referral center. Patients and interventions: Twenty-four patients (13 men, 11 women; age, 61 ±12 years) with left v...

STUDY OBJECTIVES This retrospective study was performed to examine the outcome of mitral valve repair (ie, mitral valvuloplasty [MVP]) in relation to preoperative low left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). DESIGN AND SETTINGS From our series of 338 consecutive patients who underwent MVP between 1983 and 2001, we compared the course of 302 patients with preoperative LVEF of > 35% (group I)...