Chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) is a heterogeneous group of diseases encompassing obstructive and non-obstructive coronary atherosclerotic disease with or without previous myocardial infarction (MI) or coronary revascularization, in addition to the disease diagnosed only by non-invasive tests. According to data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study, the total number of people living with ischemic heart disease in Brazil, whether symptomatic or not, increased from 1.48 million to more than 4 million between 1990 and 2019. Population growth, aging, […]

In addition to traditional biological risk factors, several social determinants play a significant role in cardiovascular risk. The Social Determinants of Health (SDH) refer to the social, economic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and environmental conditions in which people live and how these conditions impact health. These determinants can encompass factors such as income, working conditions, access to health services, education, housing, transportation, support networks, and others., The relationship between socioeconomic factors and health began to be observed during the Industrial Revolution […]

At the Annual Conference of the International Society for Computerized Electrocardiology (ISCE) in 2015, in San José – Costa Rica, a session was organized to honor the extraordinary work and life of specialists in electrocardiology, among them Ron Selvester. Ron Selvester was one of the best editors of the Journal of Electrocardiology. He recruited the best connoisseurs to be co-editors, leading the Journal to grow in content and improving its impact factor. […]

Sarcopenia is considered an age-dependent syndrome characterized by a gradual decline in skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical performance that was recognized as a specific clinical entity by the World Health Organization only in 2016. The diagnostic criteria have been a matter of debate. However, the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP), in their revised consensus, defined that sarcopenia diagnosis must start with low muscle strength as the first criterion to identify patients with probable sarcopenia, which […]

In Medical School, we learn the traditional way to conduct the investigative process in order to reach a diagnosis. This process is traditionally based on the collection of anamnesis and clinical exams, clinical reasoning, the generation of a hypothesis, and tests with complementary exams. In general, we follow the the Occam’s razor principle: “the simplest answer is usually the correct answer,” or as William Osler’s aphorism: “Where you hear hoofs, you don´t think of zebras”. However, in this investigative process, […]

Endocarditis is an extremely challenging disease, both regarding diagnosis and due to the diversity of its presentation, as well as its management, which requires an endocarditis team including professionals from different specialties. An infectious disease specialist, clinical microbiologist, cardiologist, cardiac surgeon, neurologist and imaging specialist are of the essence, and assistance from other specialists is also desirable depending on each case. Its incidence has been increasing in recent decades, especially due to population aging, the growing number of individuals undergoing […]

Heart failure (HF) is a severe public health problem due to its high prevalence, morbidity and mortality. It is the main cause of hospitalization in the United States. The prevalence of the disease increases with age, making elderly patients even more susceptible to the repercussions of this disease. This increases the importance of precise treatment of HF and its complications, including decompensated HF (dHF). In patients with dHF, who require diuretic therapy, concomitant acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common […]

The Art of War by Sun Tzu is a masterpiece about military strategy published around 2,500 years ago. In his work, Tzu states: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” Although we are not army generals, teachings from Tzu may be proven useful in cardiovascular science as well. They reinforce the need for understanding the current picture of cardiovascular epidemiology in our society and how it evolves, as a […]