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Background: Oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) is proposed as an objective index of cardiorespiratory functional reserve. The AIM of the present study was to evaluate the effect of coexisting respiratory diseases on OUES in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) (New York Heart Association class II-III) during incremental exercise testing., Patients and Methods: Fifty-five males were allocated to three groups: group 1-19 patients with only CHF (CHF); group 2-17 patients with CHF and a history of respiratory disease (CHF-RD); group 3-19 matched controls (C). They all underwent comprehensive lung function testing and symptom-limited ramp cardiopulmonary exercise test on a cycle ergometer., Results: The patients with a history of respiratory diseases had the lowest value of OUES, but their results were not significantly different from those of the CHF patients (OUES mL.min(-1).logL(-1)= 1461 +/- 268 vs. 1571 +/- 383 vs. 2112 +/- 263 in controls). Significant correlation was found between OUES and important functional variables: VO2peak (r=0.833), V(E)/NCO2 slope (r = -0.757), FEV1 (r=0.582), T(L,CO) (r=0.574), and EF% (r=0.350)., Conclusions: OUES is significantly reduced in patients with CHF and tends to be lower in the presence of a respiratory disease. It can be regarded as an useful, reliable physiologic marker of reduced ventilatory efficiency and cardiorespiratory reserve in chronic heart failure.

Aim: Patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) often show complex morphology of coronary stenosis at angiography. In the present study we evaluated the association between different clinical forms of manifestation of acute coronary syndrome and the angiographic morphological patterns of coronary stenosis., Patients and Methods: A total of 112 patients with angiographically verified single vessel coronary artery disease were divided into two groups: a control group of 44 patients with simple coronary stenosis at angiography and a study group of 66 patients with complex coronary stenosis. Angiographic analysis was performed using a modified Ambrose classification. The two groups were compared according to the manifestation and distribution of the acute coronary syndrome based on Braunwald classification., Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the mean values of stenosis severity in the group with simple stenosis (79.8% +/- 10.7%) and the group with complex stenosis (82.7% +/- 8.2%) (P > 0.05). The incidence of current acute coronary syndrome - unstable angina or myocardial infarction - was higher in the group with complex stenosis (30.00% +/- 8.37% vs. 52.00% +/- 7.07%, P < 0.05). Patients with previous ACS were prevailing in the group with simple stenosis (70.00% +/- 8.37% vs. 48.00% +/- 7.07%, P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Complex coronary stenosis is associated with higher prevalence of acute coronary syndrome in acute clinical stage while simple coronary stenosis is associated with higher prevalence of previous acute coronary syndrome. A possible metamorphosis of coronary stenoses is taken into consideration.

Nonrheumatic atrial fibrillation (NRAF) and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) have long been recognised as risk factors for cerebral ischaemia and as predictors of recurrent vascular events. In the present study we aimed at determining the value of NRAF and LVH as predictors of recurrent vascular events in a cohort of patients with a first-ever episode of reversible ischemic neurological deficit (RIND). The study included 54 patients (37 men and 17 women, aged 62 +/- 9.6 yrs) who had suffered RIND; they were followed up for 30 days after the stroke in clinical conditions and for 12 months as outpatients. The patients were studied during the hospital stay by means of routine tests (electrocardiography, standard laboratory tests) and specialised studies (computer tomography, echocardiography). By the end of the one-year outpatient follow up there were 8 (14.8%) recurrent cerebrovascular events. By combining the statistically significant cerebrovascular risk factors (male sex, sudden onset of the event and moderately high systolic and diastolic blood pressure) with factors not reaching statistical significance (LVH, NRAF) we developed a statistically significant prediction model for patients with RIND.