ESC Congress 2003

Aortic stenosis (AS) is the narrowing or obstruction of the heart´s aortic valve, which prevents it from opening properly and blocks the flow of blood from the left ventricle to the aorta. AS is common in the ageing population and has become the most frequent native valve disease in Europe. AS when severe, may cause left heart failure, fainting or angina, but the natural progression of less severe degrees is highly variable.

The risk factors for the developm

Surgical repair of such aneurysms and interposition of vascular protheses were until recently the only treatment option for complicated cases (diameter „d 5.5 cm; impending rupture; malperfusion syndrome; recurrent pain). Although great strides have been achieved by improving surgical techniques, postoperative complications (such as persistent paralysis of both legs, stroke, acute renal failure or pulmonary dysfunction) and 30-day mortality remain high. Especially elderly patients with accompanying

Are they really capable of replacing injured cells and reducing infarct size?

The new concept of cell transplantation has been addressed by two recent human investigations. Bone marrow cells of the patient are injected into the coronary circulation about one week after myocardial infarct to replace the injured cells and reduce the infarct size. This intervention seemed to be successful to reduce the contractile malefunction after myocardial infarction. The background of this observati

ESC Congress 2003: Hot Line I – Medical Treatment & Heart Failure

We have shown that a simple blood test measuring B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), a marker of heart failure, greatly helps doctors to manage patients presenting with shortness of breath to the emergency department. Used in conjunction with other clinical information, rapid measurement of BNP reduced hospitalisations, reduced need for intensive care, reduced total treatment time and significantly reduced total treatmen

Probably, animals and human beings possess a biochemical vehicle for measuring life span. The key role in this vehicle is played by a short DNA – chronomere. The chronomeric ageing theory, based on tremendous experimental material, has been developed with support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.

Early in the 70s of the 20th century, Russian researcher Alexy Olovnikov forecast existence of the chromosomes’’ end sequences – telomer, which shorten after each cell division

Bisphosphonate drugs reduce the risk of bone complications when used in patients whose cancer has spread to the bone, according to a new study in the BMJ.

Researchers reviewed over 30 studies examining the effect of bisphosphonates – a group of drugs commonly used to treat osteoporosis – on complications of secondary bone cancer. Cancers that commonly spread to the bone include breast cancer, prostate cancer and multiple myeloma.

They found that patients given bisphosphonate drugs w