The idea of right heart catheterization (RHC) grew in the milieu of modern thinking about the cardiovascular system, influenced by the experiments of William Harvey, which were inspired by the treatises of Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Gallen, who made significant contributions to the subject. RHC was first discovered in the eighteenth century by William Hale and was subsequently systematically improved by outstanding experiments in the field of physiology, led by Cournand and Dickinson Richards, which finally resulted in the implementation of pulmonary artery catheters (PAC) into clinical practice by Jeremy Swan and William Ganz in the early 1970s. Despite its premature euphoric reception, some further analysis seemed not to share the early enthusiasm as far as the safety and effectiveness issues were concerned. Nonetheless, RHC kept its significant role in the diagnosis, prognostic evaluation, and decision-making of pulmonary hypertension and heart failure patients. Its role in the treatment of end-stage heart failure seems not to be fully understood, although it is promising. PAC-guided optimization of the treatment of patients with ventricular assist devices and its beneficial introduction into clinical practice remains a challenge for the near future.

HF and is considered one of key contraindications to orthotopic heart transplant (OHT). 2,9 Reversing increased pulmonary capillary pressure represents a therapeutic challenge, which would make OHT-a final resolution of congestive HF-possible. There have been few studies that analyzed the impact of CF-LVAD implantation on pulmonary pressure and resistance. Some authors INTRODUCTION A constant increase in the number of patients with end-stage heart failure (HF) and a shortage of heart donors worldwide implies a wider use of mechanical circulatory support, mainly continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (CF-LVADs).

25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) plays a crucial role in human homeostasis. Its deficiency (vitamin D deficiency—VDD), being common in European population, combined with elevated concentration of parathyroid hormone (PTH), represents a vicious cycle of mechanisms leading to heart failure (HF). Despite several papers published in that field, the effect of VDD and PTH concentration on cardiovascular system remains unequivocal; thus, the aim of the study was to compare these data among HF and non-HF patients being prospectively enrolled into the study during hospital stay in the cardiology ward. Patients with HF had higher PTH concentration (85.0 ± 52.6 versus 64.5 ± 31.7, p ≤ 0.02) compared to non-HF patients. Mean PTH values were associated with the clinical status expressed by the New York Heart Association class (NYHA class) (“0”—66.04, “I”—56.57, “II”—72.30, “III”—85.59, and “IV”—144.37 pg/ml, p ≤ 0.00004). Interestingly, neither 25(OH)D (31.5 versus 29.7 ng/ml, p ≤ ns) nor phosphorus (P) (1.23 versus 1.18 mmol/l, p ≤ ns) nor total calcium (Ca2+) concentration (2.33 versus 2.37 mmol/l, p ≤ ns) differed among the groups. Reassuming PTH serum concentration in contrary to 25(OH)D, P and Ca2+ are significantly raised among the patients with HF and shows significant relationship with the clinical status expressed by the NYHA class.

Impact of tissue lactate accumulation on prognosis after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is biased. The study aimed to assess the prognostic role of lactate concentration (LC) in patients with AMI during one year of follow-up. 145 consecutive patients admitted due to AMI were enrolled. The data on the frequency of endpoint occurrence (defined as I, death; II, heart failure (HF); and III, recurrent myocardial infarction (re-MI)) were collected. The patients were divided into group A (LC below the cut-off value) and group B (LC above the cut-off value) for the endpoints according to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The cumulative survival rate was 99% in group I-A and 85% in group I-B (p = 0.0004, log-rank test). The HF-free survival rate was 95% in group II-A and 82% in group II-B (p = 0.0095, log-rank test). The re-MI-free survival rate did not differ between groups. A multivariate Cox analysis showed a statistically significant influence of LC on death [Hazard Ratio (HR): 1.41, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) (1.13–1.76), and p = 0.002] and HF [HR: 1.21, 95% CI (1.05–1.4), and p = 0.007] with no impact on re-MI occurrence. LC in capillary blood may be considered a useful prognostic marker of late-onset heart failure and death after AMI.

IntroductionCoronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), although widely used for a long time in diffuse coronary artery disease (CAD), has serious limitations associated with graft aging and its degeneration.AimThe relationship between saphenous vein graft (SVG) plaque morphology assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and clinical findings has not been elucidated yet.Material and methodsWe compared the morphology of SVG in stenotic vs. non-stenotic lesions using OCT imaging in 29 patients hospitalized in our center within the OCTOPUS registry.ResultsStenotic lesions were characterized by higher incidence of thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) (33% vs. 0%, p = 0.0048), thrombus (28% vs. 0%, p = 0.0008), lipid-rich plaque (LRP) (75% vs. 35%, p = 0.0013) and plaque within the SVG valve (19% vs. 0%, p = 0.0114) as compared to non-stenotic lesions. Patients with intimal tearing or rupture (ITR) were older (75.8% vs. 68.9 years, p = 0.047) and had lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (32.0% vs. 49.7%, p = 0.001) and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (36.0 vs. 73.6 ml/min/1.73 m2, p = 0.010). Patients with calcified lesions vs. those without had lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (33.2 vs. 44.1 mg/dl, p = 0.018), similarly to those with ruptured plaque vs. those without (28.3 vs. 41.7 mg/dl, p = 0.047).ConclusionsPresence of ITR was associated with advanced age, decreased LVEF and renal insufficiency. Decreased concentration of HDL was associated with higher occurrence of calcified and ruptured plaque.

PTH is significantly elevated in non-ischaemic HF patients compared to non-HF volunteers and correlates with established factors of worse prognosis, including age, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), serum concentrations of creatinine, and NT-proBNP. Declared sun exposure did not affect the serum concentration of vitamin D in the HF group, in contrast to the control group.

Currently, kidney transplantation is widely accepted as the renal replacement therapy allowing for the best quality of life and longest survival of patients developing end-stage renal disease. However, chronic transplant rejection, recurrence of previous kidney disease or newly acquired conditions, or immunosuppressive drug toxicity often lead to a deterioration of kidney allograft function over time. Complement components play an important role in the pathogenesis of kidney allograft impairment. Most studies on the role of complement in kidney graft function focus on humoral rejection; however, complement has also been associated with cell mediated rejection, post-transplant thrombotic microangiopathy, the recurrence of several glomerulopathies in the transplanted kidney, and transplant tolerance. Better understanding of the complement involvement in the transplanted kidney damage has led to the development of novel therapies that inhibit complement components and improve graft survival. The analysis of functional complotypes, based on the genotype of both graft recipient and donor, may become a valuable tool for assessing the risk of acute transplant rejection. The review summarizes current knowledge on the pathomechanisms of complement activation following kidney transplantation and the resulting diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities.

We present a case of a 58-year-old man presenting with chest pain irradiating to the back and left arm, history of smoking and untreated hypertension. The anamnesis, symptoms and ECG findings consisting of ST elevation in leads aVR and V1-V2 suggested ST segment elevated myocardial infarction. Performed ECHO examination revealed possible acute aortic dissection. Considering haemodynamic instability, augmentation of chest pain and passing time which was obviously worsening the prognosis patient was submitted to aortography which finally proofed acute aortic dissection. Patient was subsequently transferred to cardiac surgery unit and successfully treated.