Table of contents
July 2005 Volume 2 No 7
Editorial
Viewpoint
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the community: why we should care
324Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a widespread condition that is often neglected and undiagnosed. Although there are still large gaps in our knowledge of the basic disease mechanisms, population studies have shown us that patients can have normal life expectancy but often develop disease-related complications. In this Viewpoint, Franco Cecchi, Magdi Yacoub and Iacopo Olivotto highlight the disease's screening and treatment, and some of the exciting new knowledge in the field.
Research Highlights
Cost-effective treatment of acute myocardial infarction with sirolimus-eluting stents
326Trends in coronary heart disease among British men
326Ventricular assist normalizes inducible nitric oxide synthase and reduces apoptosis in heart failure
326Measuring 'aspirin resistance': point-of-care platelet-function tests versus optical aggregometry
327Atherosclerosis-like lesions of the aortic valve in unselected adults
328Small-vessel coronary artery disease: bare-metal stents versus balloon angioplasty
328Acute coronary syndromes: relationship between plasma lipoproteins and clinical outcome
329Noncontact mapping: guiding ablation of infarct-related ventricular tachycardia
329Monocyte count predicts carotid plaque formation
329Clopidogrel: a study of dosing and responsiveness
331Practice Points
Can losartan prevent new-onset atrial fibrillation in hypertensive patients more effectively than atenolol?
332Could risk stratification aid the treatment of patients with acute decompensated heart failure?
334Does quantitative assessment of asymptomatic mitral regurgitation predict patients' outcomes?
336Is balloon aortic valvuloplasty a feasible treatment for neonates and young infants with aortic valve stenosis?
340Can the therapeutic window for tissue plasminogen activator be extended to 6 hours after stroke onset?
342Reviews
Management of long QT syndrome
346Patients with long QT syndrome can experience life-threatening arrhythmias and related mortality is high among symptomatic, untreated people. Identification of several responsible genes and their effects on ion channels has advanced understanding of this disorder. Here, Peter Schwartz reviews how these discoveries have, or have not, modified management and changed the direction of research.
doi:10.1038/ncpcardio0239 | Full Text | PDF (153K)
Sudden cardiac death: mechanisms, therapies and challenges
352Despite improvements in therapy, sudden cardiac death still poses a major problem for cardiovascular patients. In very high-risk patients, half of premature deaths are sudden. Certain inotropic drugs can increase the risk of death, but mechanical devices can provide prophylactic benefits. Winslow et al. sum up the major issues and challenges in this review.
doi:10.1038/ncpcardio0241 | Full Text | PDF (179K)
Technology Insight: possible applications of multislice computed tomography in clinical cardiology
361Multislice CT, with 16, 32 or 64 rows per image, can provide an image quality that has improved the noninvasive diagnosis of disorders such as atherosclerotic plaque or coronary anomalies. This review summarizes the main data available and, despite various remaining confounding factors to image quality, calls for guidelines.
doi:10.1038/ncpcardio0240 | Full Text | PDF (297K)
Case Study
Intracardiac leiomyomatosis: iliac vein to right-ventricular outflow tract
369doi:10.1038/ncpcardio0250 | Full Text | PDF (367K)
