Cardiology Journal 2009, tom 16, nr 2

A 16-year-old male patient was referred to our institution due to occasional chest tightness for one month. Electrocardiogram showed some atrioventricular junctional beats. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a hyperechoic mass about 1.4 × 0.5 cm in size in the right atrium...

Catheter ablation has emerged as an important therapy for the management of drug refractory symptomatic paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). Although the elderly account for the majority of patients with AF, limited data exists regarding the use of catheter ablation for elderly patients with AF. As AF ablation has become more widespread, ablation techniques have improved and the complication rate has decreased...

Growing up many of us experienced the joy of manipulating needles or other metals with small magnets trying to maneuver them through obstacles. Today this same concept can be used to precisely guide catheters during cardiac procedures. The Niobe II Magnetic Navigation System developed by Stereotaxis (St. Louis, MO, USA) now affords clinicians the opportunity to perform invasive electrophysiology procedures with extreme precision and safety...

The role of the central nervous system in the modulation and precipitation of sudden cardiac death has been a matter of controversy for decades. Establishing a cause-effect relationship in the setting of a cerebro-vascular event has been complex, as patients with stroke usually have risk factors for coronary artery disease as well...

Dual antiplatelet therapy is currently recommended for all patients with acute coronary syndromes, independent of whether they receive pharmacological treatment or undergo percutaneous coronary intervention. Antiplatelet agents are the cornerstone of pharmacological treatment in interventional cardiology...

Electrocardiographic (ECG) recording of the bioelectrical activity of the heart has remained virtually unchanged for more than a century. However, advances in knowledge led to more and more diagnostic and prognostic information being obtained from the same ECG recordings...

Background: There has been scant academic consideration paid to investigations of mitral leaflet flail in terms of clinical profile, surgical strategy, and surgical outcome.

Methods: One hundred consecutive patients with mitral leaflet flail referred for surgical treatment in the past 42/3 years were included in this study...