Carlos Aguiar

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..Nevertheless, with the current available system, this approach is difficult and cannot be widely used, not only because of the length but also because of the stiffness of the catheter...

..The procedure consists of the application of radiofrequency energy inside the renal arteries to ablate afferent and efferent sympathetic renal activity, which has been implicated in the pathophysiology of hypertension...

..Furthermore, the swiftness in the detection and treatment of the acute reversible cause (myocardial ischemia in this case) was crucial for long-term prognosis...

..CTA is not limited to non-invasive coronary angiography; it can make important additional diagnostic contributions in both extra-coronary cardiac evaluation, such as left ventricular function, and assessment of extracardiac findings...

..The development of mitral regurgitation after pericardiectomy has enriched this case with an unusual, but previously described, complication of this type of surgery...

..We sought to compare the prognostic value of three ACS risk scores (RSs) and their ability to predict benefit from myocardial revascularization performed during initial hospitalization...

..We investigated the feasibility of non-contact mapping (EnSite) for identification and successful ablation of pulmonary vein foci in such cases...

..The aim of this study is to investigate whether CSTM adds prognostic information to the risk scores (RS) currently used...

..This study characterizes these patients and investigates the impact of prior PCI on their prognosis...

..Overall, bilateral PV isolation was achieved in 5 pts. CONCLUSIONS: CARTO bipolar voltage mapping is a fast, simple means for evaluation of epicardial PV isolation...

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..Balloon mitral valvuloplasty is currently the preferred procedure for patients with mitral stenosis and a favorable valve anatomy...

..The aim of this study was to determine intermediate and long-term outcomes after percutaneous AF ablation and predictors of successful treatment...

..Bidirectional isthmus block is a criterion of successful ablation and is associated with the presence of different activation times on each side of the ablation line...

..After an acute myocardial infarction, women have a higher risk of death or reinfarction. In unstable angina, female gender seems to be protective. On the other hand, studies suggest that women are less frequently given coronary angiography...

..Conclusions: In a contemporary unselected population with NSTE-ACS, the universal definition of MI alone was not adequate for risk assessment and revascularization decision making. These purposes were fully addressed with the GRS...

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..Atherothrombotic coronary artery disease is increasingly recognized as part of a systemic metabolic disorder. However, little is known about the significance of metabolic dysfunction in the setting of acute coronary syndrome...

..This case illustrates that subacute LVFWR provides an opportunity for intervention. Recognition of the diversity of presentation and prompt use of echocardiography may be life-saving...

..The role of pulmonary veins (PV) in AF initiation is documented, and the recent demonstration of persistent fibrillatory activity in an isolated PV suggests that the PV play a role in the maintenance of AF...

..Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is a sensitive imaging technique that provides detailed quantification of coronary atherosclerosis burden and could be a complement to routine angiography...

..This paper reviews contemporary concepts in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of allograft vasculopathy, highlighting areas that are the subject of ongoing research...

..CONCLUSIONS: The CARTO system precisely located ectopic atrial foci, allowing a high success rate in the ablation of focal atrial tachycardias...

..Because the autonomic nervous system is an important determinant in the appearance of atrial fibrillation, we have assessed the role of ventral cardiac denervation for its prevention...

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..We report the case of a 61-year-old female rheumatoid arthritis patient, who presented with heart failure due to a large pericardial effusion and was successfully treated by a surgical approach...

..Several studies relate cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection to the development of atherosclerosis. Its influence in triggering acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is not known...

..The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of myocardial revascularization on prognosis in this setting...

..We sought to assess the clinical and survival benefit of atrial fibrillation surgery in patients submitted to mitral valve surgery after stabilization of postoperative rhythm at 1 year...

..This study investigated whether continuous ST-segment monitoring provides early prognostic information in such patients...

..The Portuguese Registry of Acute Coronary Syndromes was established in 2002, with the goal of gathering data on the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of Portuguese patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS)...

..No relation between previous medication and short-term prognosis was observed in the present study...

..Whether new echocardiographic methods are load-independent in evaluating left ventricular systolic and diastolic function remains controversial...