Management of chronic heart failure:Role of home echocardiography in monitoring care programs

AIM:To identify a possible role of home echocardiography for monitoring chronic heart failure(CHF)patients.METHODS:We prospectively investigated 118 patients hospitalized during the last year for CHF who could not easily reach the pertaining District Healthcare Center.The patients were followed up with 2 home management programs:one including clinical and electrocardiographic evaluations and also periodic home echocardiographic examinations(group A),the other including clinical and electrocardiographic evaluations only(group B).RESULTS:At the end of the 18-mo follow-up no significant differences were observed between the 2 groups as regards the primary endpoint:rehospitalization occurred in 4 patients of the group A and in 6 patients of the group B;major cardiovascular events occurred in 2 and in 3 patients,respectively.No significant differences were observed with respect to the secondary endpoints:one vascular event appeared in both the groups,3 cardiovascular deaths occurred in group A and 2 in group B.No significant differences were observed between the 2 groups as regards the composite endpoint of death plus hospitalization.CONCLUSION:Home echocardiography for monitoring of CHF patients does not improve the cardiovascular endpoints.In our CHF patients,a low incidence of vascular events was observed.

Impaired diastolic function in nave untreated human immunodeficiency virus infected patients

AIM:To evaluate cardiac function and structure in un-treated human immunodeficiency virus(HIV) patients without clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease.METHODS:Fifty-three nave untreated HIV-infected patients and 56 healthy control subjects underwent clinical assessment,electrocardiography(ECG) and echocardiography,including tissue doppler imaging.Moreover,a set of laboratory parameters was obtained from all subjects,including HIV-RNA plasma levels,CD4 cell counts and tumor necrosis factor-α levels.RESULTS:The two groups showed normal ECG traces and no differences regarding systolic morphologic parameters.In contrast,a higher prevalence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction(abnormal relaxation or pseudonormal filling pattern) was found in the HIV patients(36% vs 9% in patients and controls,respec-tively,P <0.001).CONCLUSION:Subclinical cardiac abnormalities ap-pear in an early stage of the HIV infection,indepen-dent of antiretroviral therapy.The data suggest that HIV per se plays a role in the genesis of diastolic dys-function.

Anomalous course of the carotid arteries in the retrooesophageal space: An unusual cause of chest pain

The differential diagnosis of chest pain, one of the most frequent symptoms referred in the emergency department, includes cardiac and noncardiac causes and represents a difficult challenge for clinicians. Noncardiac chest pain can be defined as the recurrence of chest pain episodes indistinguishable from coronary events after the exclusion of a cardiac cause. It may be of musculoskeletal, pulmonary, gastroenterological, psychosomatic or neurological aetiology, oesophageal disorders representing the most common detectable cause. In this report we describe a rare case of chest pain which appeared after dinner, due to an oesophageal spasm caused by the anomalous course of the carotid arteries. The case is relevant because it describes a very uncommon variant of the physiological course of the carotid arteries, and because it is unusual that a retro thoracic vascular abnormality can be related to the appearance of chest pain without dysphagia. Chest pain which appears after dinner in our case is probably due to the unusual anatomic connection between oesophagus and carotid arteries that probably begins to make stronger when the patient undertakes the supine position: for that reason nocturnal chest pain promptly relieves after the assumption of orthostatic or semi orthostatic decubitus. In conclusion, in a patient who refers the sudden appearance of nocturnal chest pain certainly unrelated to coronary artery disease, the physicians should consider the involvement of oesophageal system, maybe determined by vascular course abnormalities.