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Metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is a cluster of medical disorders, is common and it is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between characteristics of metabolic syndrome and the grade of diastolic dysfunction. The study included 72 patients (29 male and 43 female), who had central obesity and at least two of the other four characteristics of metabolic syndrome according to IDF (International Diabetes Federation) criteria. The exclusion criteria were age above 65, impaired systolic function (left ventricular ejection fraction < 55%) atrial fibrillation, valvular and pericardial heart disease. Diastolic function was determined according to the criteria of the American Society of Echocardiography. There was a positive correlation between the number of characteristics of metabolic syndrome and the diastolic dysfunction grade (p < 0.0001). The positive correlation was found between the grade of diastolic dysfunction and the waist circumference (p < 0.0001), arterial hypertension (p < 0.001). pared glucose tolerance/diabetes (P = 0.0063), and hypertriglyceridemia (p = 0.0262). A low level of high-density lipoprotein did not show a statistically significant correlation. The presence of metabolic syndrome is associated with the presence of diastolic dysfunction. The grade of diastolic dysfunction is dependent on the number of coexisting characteristics of metabolic syndrome. Arterial hypertension, central obesity, hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia showed a significant correlation with the degree of diastolic dysfunction.

Background As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has reached pandemic status, authors from the most severely affected countries have reported reduced rates of hospital admissions for patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Aim The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of the COVID-19 outbreak on hospital admissions and outcomes in ACS patients in a single high-volume centre in southeastern Europe. Methods This retrospective observational study aimed to investigate the number of hospital admissions for ACS, clinical findings at admission, length of hospitalisation, major complications and in-hospital mortality during the COVID-19 outbreak and to compare the data with the same parameters during an equivalent time frame in 2019. For the ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) subgroup of patients, changes in ischaemic times were analysed as well. Results There was a significant reduction of 44.3% in the number of patients admitted for ACS during the COVID-19 outbreak when compared with the same period in 2019 (151 vs 271; 95% confidence interval 38.4–50.2, p < 0.01) with a higher mortality rate (13.2% vs 7.2%, p = 0.03). In 2020, patients with non-ST-elevated myocardial infarction presented more often with acute heart failure (3.3% vs 0.7%, p = 0.04). During the COVID-19 outbreak, we observed increases in the total ischaemic time (303 ± 163.4 vs 200.8 ± 156.8 min, p < 0.05) and door-to-balloon time (69.2 ± 58.4 vs 50.5 ± 31.3 min, p < 0.01) in STEMI patients. Conclusions These findings should increase the awareness of morbidity and mortality related to missed or delayed treatment of ACS among the public and the healthcare services.

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Objective: To report a case of a patient treated with clozapine who developed pericarditis with pericardial effusion that resolved when the drug was discontinued. Method: Case report of a 21-year-old man with psychotic disorder that had been stable on clozapine therapy for five months (after failure of atypical antipsyhotic agents) presented to the emergency department complaining of chest pain and progressive shortness of breath that had lasted for a few days. Echocardiography showed a pericardial effusion suggestive of a cardiac tamponade, and the fluid was removed by pericardiocentesis. All other possible causes of the pericardial effusion were ruled out and clozapine was suspected as the most likely explanation. Clozapine was discontinued and the patient's symptoms improved markedly. Discussion: According to the Naranjo probability scale, clozapine is a probable cause of pericarditis. Although clozapine is a known cause of myocarditis and cardiomyopathy, there are only several reports in the literature describing clozapine-induced pericarditis and pericardial effusion. In our patient, the pericardial effusion cleared within several days following clozapine discontinuation. Conclusion: There have been only a few cases of clozapine-induced pericarditis reported in the literature, however this adverse effect of clozapine can occur, as this case report clearly demonstrates. Cardiac adverse effects of clozapine are potentially life threatening, hence early recognition is essential to prevent serious outcomes.

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Background and Objectives: There is emerging evidence of the usefulness of left atrial strain (LAS) in the assessment of diastolic dysfunction (DD). In this study we assess the sensitivity and specificity of LAS, to determine cut-off values and their association to DD with increased left atrial pressure (LAP) in patients with well-treated arterial hypertension. Materials and Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study on 180 subjects with well-treated arterial hypertension. All patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography. Patients were divided into two groups: a group without increased LAP and/or DD and a group with increased LAP DD. Results: In multivariate logistic regression, LAS proved to be the strongest statistically significant predictor of DD with increased LAP (OR 0.834, p < 0.0005), with AUC 0.885 and a set cut-off value of 24.27% with high sensitivity of 78.9% and specificity of 84.6%. The set cut-off for LAS > 24.27% was significantly highly prevalent in the group of DD with increased LAP 78.9% when compared to the group without increased LAP 15.4%, p < 0.0001. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that LAS could be a useful and highly sensitive and specific marker in the evaluation of DD. There is the potential for using LAS in everyday practice as a standard parameter in diastolic function assessment.

The knowledge of certain electrocardiographic signs in patients with acute coronary syndrome and left bundle branch block increases the chances of early diagnosis and the possibility of better and timely treatment.