Heart : official journal of the British Cardiac Society
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Acute myocarditis is an inflammatory disease of the heart muscle that may progress to dilated cardiomyopathy and chronic heart failure. A number of factors including the sex hormone testosterone, components of innate immunity, and profibrotic cytokines have been identified in animal models as important pathogenic mechanisms that increase inflammation and susceptibility to chronic dilated cardiomyopathy. ⋯ However, the diverse presentations of myocarditis and the lack of widely available, safe, and accurate non-invasive diagnostic tests remain major obstacles to early diagnosis and population based research. Recent advances in the understanding of disease pathogenesis described in this review should lead to more accurate diagnostic algorithms and non-invasive tests.
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The LUCAS mechanical chest compression device may be better than manual chest compression during resuscitation attempts after cardiac arrest. ⋯ There is insufficient evidence to make any recommendations for clinical practice. Large scale, high quality randomised trials of LUCAS are needed. Studies that have so far been published only as abstracts should be reported fully.