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cardiology

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Background: To systematically review the effectiveness of exercise on cognition in patients with arterial hypertension (HTN). Methods: A systematic search was performed in the subsequent databases starting from the oldest records existing till June 2022: MEDLINE (accessed by PubMed), CENTRAL, Scopus, and Web of Science (Web of Science Core Collection). The search was carried out from November 2021 to January 2022. Trials investigating the effects of exercise on cognition in patients with HTN were included in the review. Two authors assessed trial quality using PEDro and National Institute of Health (NIH) tools.
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Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the leading non-traumatic cause of mortality in athletes under 35, most often due to inherited cardiomyopathies or primary electrical disorders that may remain silent until a fatal event. The 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is the most accessible and cost-effective screening tool, yet its early use was hampered by poor specificity and high false-positive rates, mainly due to non-standardized interpretation and limited awareness of physiological adaptations.
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Background: The development of Mountain Ultra Marathon (MUM) raises several questions to health professionals, regarding the short or long-term consequences on the health of participants. Objective: to present the main acute and long-term effects of MUM on the main health issues usually studied among runners. Methods: Pragmatic review of the literature, including grey literature from the medical staff of the races, notably the Ultra-trail du Mont Blanc. Results:
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There seems to be a lack of consensus among medical associations, professional sports bodies and medical professionals about when pre-participation evaluations (PPE) are indicated and how they should be designed. Although it is generally accepted that the primary purpose of the PPE is the identification of cardiovascular disease and risk factors for sudden cardiac death in competitive athletes, there is an ongoing debate on which methods are most apt in the screening process. Furthermore, the need of PPE has been questioned all together in leisure or hobby athletes.
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The actual significance and definition of hypertensive response to exercise (HRE) is still debated. Up to now, there is consensus in defining it as a systolic blood pressure value of either ≥ 210 mmHg in men and ≥ 190 mmHg in women or a diastolic blood pressure ≥ 110 mmHg during maximal exercise stress test. The mechanisms underlying an exaggerated blood pressure response to exercise are poorly understood; however, there are studies suggesting that HRE may represent a preclinical stadium of essential hypertension, which shares several common pathological mechanisms mostly related to an endothelial dysfunction and vascular stiffness.
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Leisure-time and elite athletes often seek sports medical advice for inadequate exertional dyspnea and loss of performance. The work-up has to rule-out underlying cardiac pathologies that are associated with sudden cardiac death, although commonly the symptoms are training- and not disease-related. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) helps to differentiate between cardiac and pulmonary causes and guides further diagnostic and therapy. This article illustrates the potential of CPET in three clinical cases.
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Despite increasingly advanced diagnostic and therapeutic ­methods, coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction continue to be by far the leading cause of death worldwide. This makes it all the more important in this context to make full use of known but far from optimally used therapeutic measures. Adequate physical activity in everyday life and addi­tional targeted training lead to an evidence-based ­improvement in quality of life, a reduction in morbidity and above all to a ­significant reduction in cardiac and overall ­mortality.
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Heart failure is a clinical syndrome with different etiologies and phenotypes. For all forms, supervised exercise training and individual physical activity are class IA recommendations in current guidelines. Exercise training can start in the hospital, immediately after stabilization of acute heart failure (phase I). After discharge, it can continue in a stationary or ambulatory prevention and rehabilitation program (phase II). Typical components are endurance, resistance and respiratory training. Health insurances cover costs for three to six months. Patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators or left ventricular assist devices may train in experienced centers.
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Introduction: Adequate physical activity is important for a healthy and age-appropriate development in children and adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD). To enable each child with CHD individual and harmless physical ­activity an exam by a pediatric cardiologist/sports medicine physician, specific recommendations based on residual findings and structures of care are needed. Methods: A selective review of the literature in PubMed was performed to retrieve current guidelines and review ­articles.
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