Vivas MF, Vivas ME, Perea A, Rey A, Constantino AB. Factores de riesgo coronario entre la juventud de Cáceres y Barcelona. Enferm Cardiol 2003; 28: 22-24.

Myocardial ischemia is generally due to a decrease of the blood flow through coronary arteries. The coronary flow reduction is a side effect, in most cases, of arteriosclerotic injuries.
The prevalence of this disease widely varies depending on geographical areas. Ischemic cardiopahty is still the main cause of mortality in most western industrial countries.
The risk factors associated to this disease are genetic as well as acquired, in relation to the way of life, the diet, the environmental factors, and so.
This report tries to contrast opinions. The aim is to know if today’s youths are informed, and if they are worried about myocardial infarction and its risk factors. For this purpose, I have run 82 surveys; to 42 youngsters from Barcelona and to 40 youngsters from Cáceres, being an average 18 years old. The report proves that there are no significant differences between these communities, excepting diet and tobacco.

García Niebla J. Electrocardiografía extrasistólica. Enferm Cardiol 2003; 28: 25-28.

García Niebla J.

C.S. Valle del Golfo. Área de Salud de El Hierro. El Hierro (Canary Islands).

López Gandul S, Pérez Moure G, Simó Perdigó M, García Garzón JR, Setoain Peregó X, Pons Beristain C, Castell Conesa J, Lomeña Caballero F. Tomografía por emisión de positrones (PET) en la cardiopatía isquémica. Estudio de la viabilidad miocárdica. Enferm Cardiol 2003; 28: 29-34.

López Gandul S, Pérez Moure G, Simó Perdigó M, García Garzón JR, Setoain Peregó X, Pons Beristain C, Castell Conesa J, Lomeña Caballero F.

Nuclear medicine techniques play an important role in studying several heart diseases to evaluate left ventricular function, myocardial perfusion, acute myocardial infarction, shunt quantification, and currently myocardial metabolism measurement.
The ischemic cardiopathy is the most frequent disease and the one with most morbidity-mortality in the western world.
The immediate consequence of the coronary arterial disease is the abnormal myocardial perfusion that can cause other clinical manifestations, such as angina and myocardial infarction. Possibly left ventricular disfunción can be produced, what makes more difficult the prognosis of the disease.
Positron emission tomography (PET) provides us with a new non invasive tool into nuclear cardiology field to measure the myocardial flow "in vivo" and it is the only technique that offers information about glucose and fatty acid myocardial consumption. PET-FDG is the gold standard for myocardial viability study.

Positron emission tomography · PET · myocardial viability · acute myocardial infarction · nitrogen-13- ammonia, F-18-FDG-fluordeoxyglucose.

Gallego López JM, Carmona Simarro JV, Soliveres Ripoll J, Gans Llorens FJ. Balón de contrapulsación intra-aórtico (BCIA): Conceptos y cuidados de enfermería. Enferm Cardiol 2003; 28: 35-39.

Gallego López JM*, Carmona Simarro JV**, Soliveres Ripoll J***, Gans Llorens FJ****.

The appropriate blood circulation is essential for the suitable maintenance in systemic and myocardial perfusion. It is mandatory to identify the problem in order to act quickly when a patient presents circulatory disorders and an altered state of his hemodynamic conditions, as a result of hypovolemia, myocardial ischemia, volume overload, or mechanical upheavals. The election of treatment will depend on the cause of the circulatory deficit, and mainly on the degree of the patient’s hemodynamic decompensation.
To increase the volume/minute rate devices of circulatory attendance are used in order to increase the venous return and the venous resistance. Thus, the therapeutic objective will consist of an appropriate perfusion, myocardical as well as cerebral perfusion.
One of these devices is the intraaortic balloon counterpulsation. The support of the cardiac function by means of the intraaortic balloon counterpulsation has two objectives: to improve the contribution of oxygen to the myocardium, and to reduce the overload of the heart. It is an acute and short term treatment for those patients with left ventricular failure or for those patients who need to improve the irreversible cardiac insufficiency.
Before taking care of a patient who carries an intraaortic ballon counterpulsation, nurses must know the principles of the aseptic technique (general precautions), cardiovascular anatomy and physiology and peripheral vascular system, principles of the hemodynamics monitoring and monitoring of the critical patient, evaluation and interpretation of vital signs, and above all the principles of counterpulsation.

Sierra Talamantes C, Muñoz Izquierdo A, Peiró Andrés A. Estudio comparativo de la aplicación de dos protocolos de anticoagulación terapéutica. Enferm Cardiol 2003; 28: 40-44.

Sierra Talamantes C, Muñoz Izquierdo A, Peiró Andrés A.

In the treatment of acute myocardial infarction with non divided heparin, according to the protocol that nurses apply, control and manage, the dose is adjusted according to the weight of the patient, and later according to the values of the partial time of activated thromboplastin. In a previous study, it was identified that patients with acute myocardial infarction who were treated with thrombolytics and non divided heparin were inorrectly anticoagulated in a high number of cases, and moreover, in almost half the cases with adverse effects; what caused the modification of the usual protocol of heparin to test it with another group of patients.
The aim of the present study consisted of the evaluation of the effectiveness or not of a second modified protocol. We made a cross-sectional study between two groups of acute myocardial infarction diagnosed patients treated with thrombolytics and non divided heparin, but with different management protocols: A (usual) and B (modified). We studied its influence in the correct anticoagulation level and the appearance of adverse effects.
The examined variables were: the values of coagulation, and the adverse effects due to the treatment with heparin. The data were processed with the statistical software SPSS 9.0.1. The results showed that in patients treated with the protocol A, only 15.38% of patients were anticoagulated correctly, with a 46% of adverse effects. The patients who followed protocol B were correctly anticoagulated in a 45.45% of the cases, with 9% of adverse effects.

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