One of the urgent tasks is the search for early and specific markers of cardio­vascular diseases (CVD) in order to stratify the cardiovascular risk, develop methods for their prevention, early diagnosis and treatment. In recent decades, considerable attention has been paid to plasma cell-free nucleic acids free: circulating cell-free DNA (сfDNA) and circulating non-coding RNA, in particular microRNA, which are considered as promising prognostic and diagnostic bio­markers of many pathological conditions, since they play a key role in the regu­lation of physiological and pathophysiological processes. This review covers current understanding of the potential of plasma cfDNA and microRNA assessment in cardiovascular patients as specific biomarkers for diagnosis, risk stratification, severity assessment and monitoring of CVD, with a focus on coronary artery dise­ase, heart failure and cardiac allograft rejection, where this area of research is promising.

Oral anticoagulants are currently widely used, which requires continued research on their safety. With the improvement of diagnostic methods and power of magnetic resonance systems, cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), which are small deposits of hemosiderin-laden macrophages around the brain vessels, are increasingly being detected. Recently, CMB has been considered as a predictor of intracranial hemorrhage with oral anticoagulant use. In this regard, we decided to summarize the data on the safety of oral anticoagulants in relation to CMBs.

The role of inflammasomes in cardiovascular diseases has not been sufficiently studied at present. However, there are a number of recent studies showing the participation of these multiprotein complexes in the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases. Thus, in atrial fibrillation, the inflam­masome triggering helps to reduce the duration and refractivity of the atrial action potential, induction of early and/or delayed afterdepolarization, which maintains ectopic activity. In heart failure, the triggering of inflammasome cascade initiates and maintains chronic inflammation, leading to cardiac remo­deling and fibrosis. In coronary artery disease, inflammasome activation maintains ischemia and increases the necrosis area. Inflammatory reactions in pericarditis and myocarditis also do not occur without the participation of this multiprotein complex. In these pathologies, inflammasome inhibition helps to improve clinical symptoms and normalize the cardiac function. Therefore, inflammasome inhibitor agents can become a promising method of therapy in the above diseases.

Patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) are identified by Russian and foreign experts as a risk group for moderate vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) and vascular dementia. As a result of various pathogenetic mechanisms, patients with MI develop the so-called cardiac cerebral syndrome, which makes a significant contribution to global cognitive impairment in this group of patients. The impact of MI on the risk and progression of cognitive impairment is one of the key links in improving the prognosis and quality of life in patients after MI. The aim of the review was to analyze the incidence of moderate VCI and vascular dementia in patients with MI in the acute and late periods.

Dilated cardiomyopathy is one of the most common types of cardiomyopathy, characterized by left ventricular dilation and systolic dysfunction. The disease is accompanied by a high risk of adverse outcomes, including heart failure decompensation and sudden cardiac death (SCD). Traditionally, only left ventricular ejection fraction ≤35% was used to identify candidates for cardioverter-defibrillator implantation for the primary prevention of SCD. However, with the advances in therapy for heart failure, cardiac resynchronization therapy and modern cardiac imaging techniques such as delayed contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging and genetic tests, SCD risk stratification approaches should be revised. This paper reviews the state of the art on SCD risk stratification in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. Particular attention is paid to the role of magnetic resonance imaging and genetic studies, which significantly expand the potential of risk assessment and allow more accurate identification of patients requiring cardioverter-defibrillator implantation for primary SCD prevention.

Aim. To study the literature data and evaluate the telemonitoring results in patients with heart failure to determine their impact on the quality of life.

Material and methods. We searched information according to PRISMA require­ments using the following databases: PubMed, Embase, Crossref, MedLine, Clinical Trials and e-Library. Ten randomized controlled trials were selected for the final analysis of full-text articles. In these studies, the quality of life was analyzed using the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) and EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D Utilities and EQ-5D VAS) questionnaire.

Results. Among 285 patients with telemonitoring and 294 patients with standard management, MLHFQ did not reveal statistical significance (mean difference -0,75, -7,08-5,58, I2=97%, p=0,82). Similar results were obtained for the EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D VAS — mean difference 2,76, -1,23-6,74, I2=44%, p=0,18) and EQ-5D Utilities (mean difference 0,00, -0,05-0,05, I2=0%, p=1,00) questionnaires.

Conclusion. The current systematic review and meta-analysis showed that the use of telemedicine technologies in patients with heart failure does not affect the quality of life of patients.

The aim of this review was to answer the question of whether clinical and research practice require blood pressure load indices from ambulatory BP monitoring data.

To identify related publications, a search of Pubmed, eLibrary, elpub databases and snowball sampling were used. A total of 264 publications were found. Then, publications were excluded in which the term "blood pressure load" stayed out of the context of 24-hour BP monitoring, as well as reviews and studies with fewer than 21 observations. A total of 69 publications selected were classified as follows: outcome studies; studies on target organ damage and risk factors; studies in special groups; intervention studies.

The literature review showed that there are no studies with methodology provided evidence of a clear additional value of BP load compared to mean BP values. In contrast, studies with high statistical power specifically aimed at the question under study showed lack of predictive power of BP loads for either outcome or target organ damage in general and special populations. There is also no evidence that any intervention based on target BP loads is superior to treatment based on standard BP. The results of our review suggest that there is no need to calculate BP loads. Routine clinical decision-making should be based only on standard BP values compared with the thresholds adopted by medical scientific societies in clinical guidelines.

Cardiovascular diseases, in particular ST-elevation (STE-ACS) and non-ST-elevation (NSTE-ACS) acute coronary syndrome remain one of the main causes of death worldwide. Published data indicate that in a number of patients, the cause of NSTE-ACS is infarct-related artery occlusion. In modern medicine, there are both invasive and non-invasive coronary thrombosis imaging methods. The aim of the study was to analyze and systematize the literature data on coronary thrombosis imaging methods. The review was prepared using publications indexed in the PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Cyberleninka databases. The search depth was 5 years, starting from 2020. The review is based on summarized data from the most relevant clinical studies, reports, and systematic reviews. The conducted literature analysis showed that both invasive and non-invasive imaging methods have a number of advantages and disadvantages. In this regard, improving these techniques remains an urgent research task.

Post-radiation chest injury is characterized by complications in the lungs and heart. Radiation-induced cardiac and vascular damage has been described by various authors. Currently, there are 5 following main types of heart injury after radiation therapy: pericarditis, cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, acquired valvular heart disease and arrhythmias. The scientific community continues to study this group of heart diseases. There are no unambiguous data on the prevention of these conditions. The aim of this work was to summarize current information on the pathogenesis and consequences of post-radiation heart injury.