SALMANTICOR study. Rationale and design of a population-based study to identify structural heart disease abnormalities: a spatial and machine learning analysis

[EN]Introduction: This study aims to obtain data on the prevalence and incidence of structural heart disease in a population setting and, to analyse and present those data on the application of spatial and machine learning methods that, although known to geography and statistics, need to become used for healthcare research and for political commitment to obtain resources and support effective public health programme implementation. Methods and analysis: We will perform a cross-sectional survey of randomly selected residents of Salamanca (Spain). 2400 individuals stratified by age and sex and by place of residence (rural and urban) will be studied. The variables to analyse will be obtained from the clinical history, different surveys including social status, Mediterranean diet, functional capacity, ECG, echocardiogram, VASERA and biochemical as well as genetic analysis. Ethics and dissemination: The study has been approved by the ethical committee of the healthcare community. All study participants will sign an informed consent for participation in the study. The results of this study will allow the understanding of the relationship between the different influencing factors and their relative importance weights in the development of structural heart disease

Gestión de las salas de procedimientos invasivos cardiológicos durante el brote de coronavirus COVID-19: Documento de consenso de la Asociación de Cardiología Intervencionista y la Asociación del Ritmo Cardiaco de la Sociedad Española de Cardiología

During March 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 virus spread throughout Europe, with the spread being especially intense in Italy and Spain. Given the emergency created by the COVID-19 outbreak, routine activity has been altered in most cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology labs. Health staff working in these areas are faced with performing procedures in patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 or with uncertainty in unconfirmed cases. This article is a consensus document of the Interventional Cardiology Association and Heart Rhythm Association of the Spanish Society of Cardiology and aims to provide information to health care professionals working in these invasive cardiology facilities (cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology labs, pacemaker implantation) in order to guarantee quality patient care and adequate levels of infection prevention.Durante marzo de 2020, el virus SARS-CoV-2 se ha extendido por toda Europa, con especial intensidad en Italia y España. Ante la emergencia creada por el brote de COVID-19, la inmensa mayoría de las salas de hemodinámica y electrofisiología han visto alterada su actividad habitual. Además se enfrentan a la realización de procedimientos en pacientes con diagnóstico confirmado de COVID-19 o con la incertidumbre en casos no confirmados. El presente texto es un documento de consenso de la Asociación de Cardiología Intervencionista y la Asociación del Ritmo Cardiaco de la Sociedad Española de Cardiología que pretende dar información al personal sanitario de estas instalaciones de cardiología invasiva (hemodinámica y electrofisiología y marcapasos) para garantizar una atención de calidad a los pacientes así como unos niveles los niveles adecuados de prevención de la infección

Identification of serum endoglin as a novel prognostic marker after acute myocardial infarction

Abstract Endoglin is a proliferation-associated and hypoxia-inducible protein expressed in endothelial cells. The levels of soluble circulating endoglin and their prognostic significance in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are not known. In this observational prospective study serum endoglin levels were measured by ELISA in 183 AMI patients upon admission to hospital and 48 hrs later and in 72 healthy controls. Endoglin levels in AMI patients on admission were significantly lower than in healthy controls (4.25 ± 0.99 ng/ml versus 4.59 ± 0.87 ng/ml; P= 0.013), and decreased further in the first 48 hours (3.65 ± 0.76 ng/ml, P < 0.001). Upon follow-up (median 319 days), patients who died had a significantly greater decrease in serum endoglin level over the first 48 hrs than those who survived (1.03 ± 0.91 versus 0.54 ± 0.55 ng/ml; P= 0.025). Endoglin decrease was an independent predictor of short-term (30 days) (hazard ratio 2.33;95% CI = 1.27–4.23; P= 0.006) cardiovascular mortality, and also predicts overall cardiovascular mortality during the follow-up (median 319 days) in AMI patients (hazard ratio 2.13;95% CI = 1.20–3.78; P= 0.01). In conclusion, early changes in serum endoglin may predict mortality after AMI