Cardiology, transplantation, sport medicine, heart failure

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Transient increases (overshoot) in respiratory gas analyses have been observed during exercise recovery, but their clinical significance is not clearly understood. An overshoot phenomenon of the respiratory exchange ratio (RER) is commonly observed during recovery from maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), but it has been found reduced in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The aim of the study was to analyze the clinical significance of these RER recovery parameters and to understand if these may improve the risk stratification of patients with HFrEF...

AIM: With an increasing prevalence of heart failure (HF), more patients with advanced disease have to be treated in cardiology units by sophisticated medical and interventional strategies. We therefore developed a dedicated advanced heart failure unit (AHFU) to target the specific needs of the many patients with advanced HF. We here present our concept and its impact on outcome in high-risk high-urgency (HU) heart transplant candidates. METHODS AND RESULTS: The eight-bed unit was established as an extension of the cardiologic intensive care and coronary care units in an intermediate care setting...

Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory studies have provided definitive evidence that physical activity is able to improve fitness and reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Moreover, physical exercise also seems to significantly reduce the risk of developing other chronic diseases such as obesity, osteoporosis, diabetes, tumours and depression. Promoting physical activity in the general population is therefore one of the primary objectives of our healthcare institutions. Although the benefits of an active lifestyle have been demonstrated by numerous scientific data, only a few numbers of Italians and Europeans take up regular physical exercise...