Current Cardiology Reviews - Volume 14, Issue 3, 2018

Background: Levosimendan is a calcium sensitizer drug causing increased contractility in the myocardium and vasodilation in the vascular system. It is mainly used for the therapy of acute decompensated heart failure. Several studies on animals and humans provided evidence of the cardioprotective properties of levosimendan including preconditioning and anti-apoptotic. In view of these favorable effects, levosimend Read More

Aim: To summarize the main findings on variable cardiovascular risk factors and their management in everyday practice. Methods: A narrative review of the relevant literature known to the authors and incorporation of healthy changes tips in defined variable cardiovascular risk factors. Results: There are known variable cardiovascular risk factors to be claimed as those that should be changed in order to achieve a better Read More

The burden of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases is increasing with every year. Although the management of these conditions has improved greatly over the years, it is still far from perfect. With all of this in mind, there is a need for new methods of prophylaxis and treatment. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is an essential compound of the human body. There is growing evidence that CoQ10 is tightly linked to cardiometabolic dis Read More

Importance: Systemic diseases that affect the cardiovascular system constitute a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for all specialists involved; imaging tools along with clinical suspicion play an essential role in their evaluation. These entities share neurological, immunological, renal, hematologic, oncologic, infectious and endocrine processes, all of which may have associated cardiac involvement. Observations: Recen Read More

Background: Arrhythmia management is a complex process involving both pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches. Radiofrequency ablation is the pillar of nonpharmacological arrhythmia treatment. Unipolar ablation is considered to be the gold standard in the treatment of the majority of arrhythmias; however, its efficacy is limited to specific cases. In particular, the creation of deep or transmural lesions to elimi Read More

Background: Vascular calcification is known to be a strong risk factor for cardiovascular adverse events and mortality. Atherosclerosis, diabetes, aging, abnormal bone mineral homeostasis and high uremic milieu such as chronic kidney disease are major factors that contribute to the progression of vascular calcification. Several mechanisms such as the osteoblastic transition of vascular smooth muscle cells in respons Read More

Background: Pericardial diseases are relatively common in clinical practice and encountered in various clinical settings with consequent significant morbidity and mortality. However, the diagnosis as well as management can be complex and challenging, as the clinical presentation is usually non-specific. Therefore, there is an increasing role for Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CMR) as an imaging tool to facilitate the diagno Read More

Background: Calcified coronary lesions represent technical challenges during percutaneous coronary intervention and are associated with a high frequency of restenosis and target lesion revascularization. Rotational atherectomy has been shown to increase procedural success in severely calcified lesions, facilitate stent delivery in undilatable lesions and ensure complete stent expansion. However, rotational atherectomy in Read More

Background: Despite major advancements since its first description in the 19th century, infective endocarditis remains a significant medical challenge. Although commonly involving a single valve, multiple valve involvement may occur, complicating matters even further. Triplevalve endocarditis is a very rare phenomenon. Poorly studied and described only a handful of times in the literature, little is known about the o Read More