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Article
Open AccessBlood groups and Rhesus status as potential predictors of outcomes in patients with cardiac resynchronisation therapy
Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) improves prognosis in patients with heart failure (HF) however the role of ABO blood groups and Rhesus factor are poorly understood. We hypothesise that blood groups may...
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Article
Open AccessPenicillin Allergy Testing and Delabeling for Patients Who Are Prescribed Penicillin: A Systematic Review for a World Health Organization Guideline
Secondary prevention with penicillin aims to prevent further episodes of acute rheumatic fever and subsequent development of rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Penicillin allergy, self-reported by 10% of the popul...
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Article
Open AccessSudden death in young South European population: a cross-sectional study of postmortem cases
To describe the annual incidence and the leading causes of sudden non-cardiac and cardiac death (SCD) in children and young adult Portuguese population. We retrospectively reviewed autopsy of sudden unexpected...
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Article
Open AccessPrognostic model for atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery: a UK cohort study
To develop a validated clinical prognostic model to determine the risk of atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery as part of the PARADISE project (NIHR131227).
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Article
An updated systematic review on heart failure treatments for patients with renal impairment: the tide is not turning
Advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) frequently aggravates heart failure (HF). However, these patients have inherently been excluded from most HF trials. We aim to provide updated estimates of the representat...
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Article
Initial experience of the High-Density Grid catheter in patients undergoing catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation
A significant proportion of patients undergoing catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) experience arrhythmia recurrence. This is mostly due to pulmonary vein reconnection (PVR). Whether map** using H...
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Article
Association of Metformin with the Mortality and Incidence of Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Pre-existing Cardiovascular Diseases
Whether metformin reduces all-cause cardiovascular mortality and the incidence of cardiovascular events in patients with pre-existing cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remains inconclusive. Some randomised control...
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Article
Open AccessAssociation of metformin monotherapy or combined therapy with cardiovascular risks in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Metformin is a first-line drug in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treatment, yet whether metformin may increase all-cause or cardiovascular mortality of T2DM patients remains inconclusive.
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Article
Impact of Ethnicity on the Prevalence of Early Repolarization Pattern in Children: Comparison Between Caucasian and African Populations
The patterns and prevalence of early repolarization pattern (ER) in pediatric populations from ethnic backgrounds other than Caucasian have not been determined. Black African children (ages 4–12) from north-we...
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Article
Open AccessFull blood count as potential predictor of outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy
Almost a third of patients fulfilling current guidelines criteria have suboptimal responses following cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Circulating biomarkers may help identify these patients. We aimed ...
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Article
Outcomes after cryoballoon or radiofrequency ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation: a multicentric propensity-score matched study
Recent data show no benefit of additional ablation beyond pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). Evidence suggests that radiofrequency energy (RF) and cryoballoon (CRYO) have co...
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Article
Open AccessAdditional value of associating aortic valve calcification to coronary calcium as a gatekeeper for coronary tomography angiography
Aortic valve calcification shares risk factors with coronary artery disease. Coronary calcium has been used has a gatekeeper to performing coronary tomography angiography. The aim of this study was to evaluate...
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Article
Open AccessWhich method of left atrium size quantification is the most accurate to recognize thromboembolic risk in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation?
Left atrial (LA) size is a predictor of cardiovascular outcomes in patients in sinus rhythm, whereas conflicting results have been found in atrial fibrillation (AF). This study aims to: (1) Evaluate the accura...
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Article
Open AccessFinancial impact of adopting implantable loop recorder diagnostic for unexplained syncope compared with conventional diagnostic pathway in Portugal
To estimate the short- and long-term financial impact of early referral for implantable loop recorder diagnostic (ILR) versus conventional diagnostic pathway (CDP) in the management of unexplained syncope (US)...
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Article
Open AccessCan cardiac computed tomography predict cardiovascular events in asymptomatic type-2 diabetics?: results of a long term follow-up
Doubts remain about atherosclerotic disease and risk stratification of asymptomatic type-2 diabetic patients (T2DP). This study aims to evaluate the usefulness of calcium score (CS) and coronary computed tomog...
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Article
Open AccessEvaluation of left atrial deformation to predict left atrial stasis in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation – a pilot-study
Speckle tracking-derived strain and strain rate are recently available parameters to assess left atrial (LA) deformation. We hypothesized that such new parameters could be of interest to evaluate the risk of L...
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Article
Atrial fibrillation, elevated troponin, ischemic stroke and adverse outcomes: understanding the connection
Cardiac troponin is widely used for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. In addition to this indication, the elevation of troponin has been found to play a prognostic role in ischemic stroke. It is hy...
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Article
Open AccessMean platelet volume is associated with the presence of left atrial stasis in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation
Mean platelet volume has been associated with stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. However, its role as a predictor of left atrial stasis, assessed by transesophageal echocardiography, in patients with...
