Journal of Rare Cardiovascular Diseases

Dear Readers,
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
The fifth issue of the Journal of Rare Cardiovascular Diseases is now ready. At the end of the year 2013, being at the same time, the very first year of the Journal’s life, I want to give thanks first to all the authors and reviewers, who shared their time and resources to support this idea of creating a comprehensive mean for exchanging knowledge and experience on orpahn cardiovascular diseases.
By your invaluable contribution the Journal is becoming a more and more audible voice in this field, the field of neglected diseases. Special thanks I direct to the team of the editorial office. Your dedication and enthusiasm make it all happening, and happening outstandingly. After this year of various ups and downs, turns and twists we are stronger and ready… for the next one to come.
Introducing to you this issue containing a great deal of interesting articles and case reports, we are hopeing it will not only be a good way to expand your knowledge on rare cardiovascular dieseases but will also inspire you to share your experience in this Journal.
First dr Marcin Waligóra et al. in the review article is focusing on the rythm disorders in the group of patients with pulmonary hypertension. It introduces an important topic, which is otherwise insubstantially represented in the literature. To highlight the importance of this article one should realize that as many as 80% of clinical deteriorations in patients with PAH are related to various types of arrhythmia.
Dr Leszek Wrotniak et al. present a study of 20 patients with Takayasu arteritis undergoing endovascular procedures.
They show that up to 70% of these patients have significant stenosis or occlusion in more than one major arterial territory. Majority of this lesions can safely be treated percutaneously, however close follow‑up has to be maintained since the restenosis may occure.

Four case reports including: cavernous hemangioma of the heart in a 37‑years‑old patient, successful reversal of advanced heart failure in preipartum cardiomyopathy with aggressive pharmacotheraphy and continuous‑flow left ventricular assist device from the Scottish National Advanced Heart Failure Unit, Golden Jubilee National Hospital, Glasgow, desmin – related restrictive cardiomyopathy and anomalous left coronary originating from the pulmonary artery from the Institute of Cardiology in Warsaw provide a wide range of know‑how regarding rare clinical cases.
Every case is assigned the RCD code according to the Classification of Rare Cardiovascular Diseases which was presented to the international audience for the first time during the ESC Congress in Amsterdam 2013. Following professor Ottavio Alfieri’s opinion (San Rafaele Hospital in Milan) as well as our classification consultant’s conviction expressed during the ESC presentation, it is a milestone in understanding and moving the important topic of rare cardiovascular diseases forward.
At the end of this issue you will find a report from the biggest workshop on interventional cardiology in Central and Eastern Europe – the “New Frontiers in Interventional Cardiology”. It was organized for the fourteenth time this year, since 1999 in Krakow, Poland.
With ca. 1200 participants from all over the World, live transmissions, EAPCI Fellow courses and many up‑to‑date discussions, it became a valuable event at the end of each year in Krakow.
We look forward to your submissions in all available forms. Please visit our web page www.jrcd.eu to find more details about submissions of articles and find all issues of JRCD with free access including the most recent one.

Piotr Podolec
Editor‑in‑Chief
Journal of Rare Cardiovascular Diseases

 

Classification of Rare Cardiovascular Diseases