Background: Health-care systems always strive for alternative cardiac rehabilitation (CR) models to ensure that options available to patients better fit their needs, risk factor profiles, and preferences. We assessed the effects of hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation (HBCR) and hybrid cardiac rehabilitation (HCR) on psychological symptoms (i.e., anxiety, depression, and stress) among patients following coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG).
Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 115 CABG patients who were referred to the Department of Cardiac Rehabilitation at Imam Ali Hospital in the Iranian city of Kermanshah between January and May 2016. The patients were assigned to 1 of the 2 programs of HBCR (26 sessions) and HCR (10 sessions). The study population’s psychological symptoms were assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS) before and after the intervention, and the data were analyzed using paired t-tests and ANCOVA.
Results: A total of 105 (91%) patients concluded the CR program. Respectively, 50.8% and 26.2% of the participants in the HBCR and HCR programs were female. The mean age was 59.6±9.2 years in the HBCR group and 58.7±6.1 years in the HCR group. The ANCOVA results indicated that both HBCR and HCR programs were equally effective in reducing anxiety (P=0.001 vs. P=0.015) and stress (P=0.002 vs. P=0.003) among the CABG patients, while only HBCR was effective in alleviating depressive symptoms (P=0.001).
Conclusion: Our results demonstrated the efficacy of HBCR and HCR in diminishing stress and anxiety levels among the CABG patients. However, depression was affected only by HBCR.

Background: Despite recent advances in interventional equipment and techniques, the angiographic no-reflow phenomenon occurs in a considerable number of patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We investigated the clinical, angiographic, preprocedural, and procedural characteristics associated with the no-reflow phenomenon among patients undergoing primary PCI.
Methods: Between March 2008 and April 2013, 530 patients (78.5% male, mean age=58.11±12.39 y) with ST-segment-elevation myocardial-infarction who underwent primary PCI were categorized in 2 groups according to their postprocedural thrombolysis-in-myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow grades:  those with a maximum score of 2 (the no-reflow or slow-flow group) and the ones with a score of 3 (the reflow group). A multivariable logistic regression model was used to find the multiple correlates of the no-reflow phenomenon after PCI.
Results: There were 166 (31.3%) patients in the no-reflow group and 364 (68.7%) in the reflow group. The no-reflow patients were older and had significantly longer target lesion lengths, higher SYNergy between percutaneous coronary intervention with TAXus and cardiac surgery (SYNTAX) scores, higher infarct-related artery SYNTAX scores, more thrombus burden, and a higher frequency of initial TIMI flow grades of 2 or lower. Our multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that older age, higher numbers of Q waves, not using statin, longer target lesion lengths, higher thrombus grades, and higher infarct-related artery SYNTAX scores remained the independent correlates of increased no-reflow rates after primary PCI (area under the ROC curve=0.784,  95% CI: 0.742–0.826; P<0.001).
Conclusion: Clinical, angiographic, and procedural features of patients undergoing primary PCI may be correlated with the occurrence of the no-reflow phenomenon. The thrombus grade and the infarct-related artery SYNTAX score could be among these factors.

Background: The diagnosis and management of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have improved significantly over the past few decades; however, the recognition of myocardial ischemia still proves to be a dilemma for cardiologists. The aim of this study was to determine the role of hematological and coagulation parameters in the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with ACS.
Methods: This prospective study recruited 250 patients with ACS and 250 healthy controls. The diagnostic role of hematological and coagulation parameters was assessed by comparing the patients with ACS with the control group. The relationships between these parameters and mortality were determined by dividing the patients into 2 groups: Group A (discharged) and Group B (patients who died within 30 days of follow-up). Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to calculate the hazard ratio (HR).
Results: The mean age of the patients was 55.14±10.71 years, and 65.2% of them were male.  Prothrombin time (P<0.001), activated partial thromboplastin time (P<0.001), mean platelet volume (MPV) (P<0.001), white blood cell (WBC) count (P<0.001), and red blood cell distribution width (RDW) (P<0.001) were significantly higher in the case group than in the control group. WBC count (P<0.001), RDW (P<0.001), and MPV (P<0.001) were significantly higher in the controls than in the case group. The Cox regression model showed that RDW above 16.55% (HR=6.8), MPV greater than 11.25 fL (HR=2.6), and WBC higher than 10.55×10³/μL (HR=6.3) were the independent predictors of mortality.
Conclusion: In addition to being the independent predictors of short-term mortality, RDW, WBC, and MPV when used together with the coagulation profile may aid in the diagnosis of ACS in patients presenting with chest pain.

Background: Heart surgery is vital for patients with coronary artery diseases that do not respond to drug treatments. We aimed to determine the effects of the implementation of the first phase of a cardiac rehabilitation program on self-efficacy in patients after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG).
Methods: This clinical trial study was conducted on 60 post-CABG patients by convenience sampling method in 2016. Those selected were randomly assigned to intervention (n=30) and control group (n=30). Overall, 72 hours after CABG, the first phase of the cardiac rehabilitation program both in theory and in practice (face-to-face and group methods) was conducted. Data were collected using a self-efficacy questionnaire completed by the patients in 3 stages: before the intervention, at discharge, and at 1 month after discharge. Data was analyzed by using analysis of covariance and repeated measures.
Results: The mean of age in the intervention and control groups was 61.60±11.72 and 57.97±13. 4 years, respectively. There were 16 (53.3%) male patients in each group. The mean score of self-efficacy was not significantly different between the 2 groups before the intervention (P=0.076), whereas it had a meaningful statistical difference between the 2 groups at discharge and 1 month afterward (P<0.001).
Conclusion:  The implementation of the first phase of the cardiac rehabilitation program not only augmented self-efficacy in regard to independent daily activities but also lessened the need for the second phase of the program among our post-CABG patients.

Inferior vena cava (IVC) thrombosis is a rare medical condition. Suppurative thrombophlebitis of the IVC is even a more uncommon subtype of IVC thrombosis and is mostly associated with IVC filters or venous catheters. We describe a 66-year-old man with persistent fever and history of pyonephrosis secondary to transurethral lithotripsy 1 month before recent admission. Computed tomography scan of the chest and abdomen revealed a filling defect in the IVC protruding into the right atrium. Transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) revealed a large mass at the origin of the IVC entering into the right atrium, suggestive of a clot.
Diagnosis of suppurative thrombophlebitis of the IVC secondary to a retroperitoneal abscess was made, and intravenous antibiotic therapy for 6 weeks without anticoagulation conferred ample thrombus resolution. Follow-up TEE in week 16 showed no residual thrombus in the IVC.

Single coronary arteries (SCAs) constitute a rare coronary anomaly which is usually asymptomatic. However, SCAs may become symptomatic and even cause myocardial ischemia and infarction and as such necessitate proper intervention whether percutaneous or surgical. We describe an 89-year-old woman with an SCA from the right sinus of Valsalva presenting with chest pain and acute myocardial infarction. We succeeded in performing percutaneous coronary intervention and stenting on the ostial lesion of the SCA, and there were no further complications. The patient was discharged 2 days later with no adverse complications.

Intraventricular conduction abnormalities following cardiac surgery have been thoroughly described, especially after valvular surgery. It is also widely known that several anesthetic factors can cause autonomic disturbances resulting in the unmasking of sinus node dysfunction, significant bradycardia, and cardiovascular collapse during the intraoperative period. However, little is known about asymptomatic episodes, especially those occurring prior to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). We report a rare occurrence of an intraventricular conduction defect that presented in an asymptomatic patient following non–ST-elevation myocardial infarction prior to urgent CABG. Our patient presented with sudden-onset chest pain, and following coronary angiography he was found to have triple-vessel coronary disease. During anesthetic induction for inpatient CABG surgery, he developed episodes of acute sinus tachy-brady episodes, requiring a stat dose of adrenaline to maintain the heart rate prior to the establishment of cardiopulmonary bypass. The arrhythmia persisted postoperatively, necessitating the insertion of a permanent dual-chamber pacemaker for complete heart block. The patient was later discharged without further complications, and upon follow-up 12 months later, he remains in good health.

Background: Unraveling the relationship between health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instruments and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) seems essential due to the increasing importance of quality of life evaluations in patients with heart failure (HF) and the use of the ICF for comparative purposes. The aim of this study is to identify and compare the content of HRQOL instruments for HF using the ICF coding system.
Methods: In a 2-stage design, first we will identify all measures used to assess HRQOL for patients with HF and second we will compare the content of those measures using the ICF coding system.  Systematic search will be performed in in MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Scopus databases using a combination of free texts and MeSH terms between January 1960 and January 2017. All instruments will be linked to the ICF separately by 2 reviewers according to 10 linking rules developed for this purpose. The degree of agreement between the reviewers will be calculated via the kappa statistic.
Discussion: The results of this study may help clinicians and researchers to select the most appropriate outcome measure according to the ICF-based content validity.
ROSPERO Registration number: CRD42015025380.

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