AIMTo summarize the current evidence on psychological issues in thoracic aortic disease (TAD) and infective endocarditis (IE) setting.METHODSWe performed a narrative review about psychological issues in adults with IE and TAD. Through the electronic databases, PubMed and PsycINFO, we searched full manuscripts in English and published until September 1, 2014.RESULTSWe found sixteen studies exploring psychological issues in patients with IE (six studies) and in TAD (ten papers). Psychological issues assessed were quality of life, depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder. Quality of life was explored in IE (four papers) and in TAD (eight papers). Depression and anxiety were analyzed in TAD only (five papers). Post-traumatic stress disorder was assessed in IE (one study). Quality of life was found impaired in three of four studies about IE and in three of eight studies about TAD. Posttraumatic stress disorder was present in 11% and was associated with lower levels of quality of life in IE patients. In TAD patients, anxiety and depression levels after different invasive interventions did not differ.CONCLUSIONSixteen studies report about psychological issues in IE and TAD. Most of them explore quality of life and to a less extent anxiety and depression.

A literature review about depression, anxiety, illness perception and neurocognitive impairment in adults with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) was performed. Through PubMed and PsycINFO published studies from 1980 until March 2017 were searched. Two papers assessed depression and anxiety. Four papers explored illness perception. Five studies assessed cognitive impairment. Mean depression and anxiety scores were within normal range. From the reviewed research, it can be concluded that deficits in executive functioning and memory appear in FH patients between 18 and 40 years old, and mild cognitive impairment in older than 50. The research in the field of the present review is relatively recent: all the studies have been published in the current century. Further research should be done using complete standardized neuropsychological assessment and brain imaging techniques. Studies exploring the possible influence of cognitive deficits on adherence should be conducted also.

SUMMARYTo study the possible associations between emotional intelligence and executive dysfunction, in healthy adults between 40 and 60 years of age. A pilot, transversal study involving 60 subjects who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. TMMS-24 was used for emotional intelligence. DEX-sp was used to assess the executive dysfunction. When testing bivariate associations between age, emotional intelligence and executive dysfunction, we found statistically significant associations between age and emotional intelligence (p = 0.01); age and executive dysfunction (p = 0.01); emotional intelligence and executive dysfunction (p = 0.01). The present study found significant associations between emotional intelligence and executive dysfunction, in healthy adults between 40 and 60 years of age. Future studies might explore the interactions between each component of executive functions and each component of emotional intelligence over time.

Familial hypercholesterolemia is a genetic and metabolic disorder associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Two main types of familial hypercholesterolemia are distinguished: heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia and homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia progresses much more aggressively with higher levels of LDL-C and higher risk of cardiovascular disease at earlier ages. The prognosis of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia largely depends on the LDL-C levels. Reducing the LDL-C level is one of the primary goals of treatment patients with familial hypercholesterolemia. Effective control of LDL-C significantly reduces the cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Understanding the factors likely to affect treatment adherence is paramount. Adherence to treatment can be improve when a genetic etiology is confirmed. Positive genetic test result has beneficial effects on adherence to pharmacotherapy and in achieving LDL-C levels reduction.

We performed a narrative review about psychological disorders in adults with Takotsubo syndrome and inherited cardiomyopathies. Through the electronic database PubMed and PsycINFO we searched all relevant related manuscripts published between 2000 and 2015. We found twelve studies that explore psychological disorders in Takotsubo syndrome and eight about inherited cardiomyopathies: five enrolled patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, two dilated cardiomyopathy, and one arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. All papers reported the presence of psychological disorders. In Takotsubo syndrome, depression fluctuates between 20.5 and 48% and anxiety was present among 26 and 56%. A study reported that anxiety increases the probability of developing Takotsubo syndrome. In dilated cardiomyopathy, anxiety was present in 50% and depression in 22%. In arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, younger age, poorer functional capacity and having experienced at least one implantable cardioverter defibrillator shock, were significant independent predictors of both device-specific and generalized anxiety. In hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, anxiety and depression were present in 45.2% and 17.9%, respectively. Thirty seven percent met diagnostic criteria for anxiety disorders and 21% for mood disorders. Nearby half hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients report triggering of chest pain, dyspnea, and dizziness by emotional stress. Due to the small number of studies, conclusions are limited. However, we discuss some results.