This study was designed to assess the circadian variation of the efficacy of thrombolytic therapy (TT) in 163 patients with acute myocardial infarction. Statistical analysis of the results suggests the existence of circadian variation in the efficacy of thrombolytic therapy with marked early morning resistance and significantly better late daytime results. There is a strong relationship between the normal physiologic rhythms of biochemical, hemodynamic, and hematologic parameters, observed in patients with CAD and the circadian fluctuations of efficacy of TT. Obviously the efficacy of TT is influenced by more evident impact of chronorisk factors during the early morning hours.

No abstract

Self-terminating ventricular fibrillation (VF) was recorded in a 42-year-old woman without coronary artery or structural heart disease. Reviewing the scientific literature, we found that this type of VF had appeared in vivo in some animal models but was sparsely described in clinical practice. This most unusual case shows that potentially lethal arrhythmias may be self-terminating.

Cardiovascular (CV) nursing as an entity in Israel dates back to 1952, when the nurses in Tel-Hashomer hospital took care of postoperative heart surgery patients. The first intensive cardiac care units (ICCUs) were established in 1971. In 1982, the first ICCU course was established in Tel-Hashomer hospital nursing school. Today, most of the nursing staff in Israels ICCUs are graduates of ICCU courses. The nurses professional society, the Society for Nursing of Israel, was established in 1947. In 1989 the Society for Advancement of Cardiac Nursing in Israel (SACN) was established. The main goals of the society were: the exchange of CV nursing knowledge, CV nursing research, CV nursing education in nursing schools, education of nurses in other departments in the care of the cardiac patient, and CV nursing education in the community. The CV nurse takes a large role in the total care of the cardiac patient, which includes rehabilitation within the hospital and in the ambulatory setting and coordination of nursing in national and international multicenter clinical trials. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health Nursing Division, Israeli CV nurses participate in national and international projects to: develop and upgrade nursing education; train new CV nurses; develop, review, and revise nursing protocols and guidelines; and establish new, more advanced ICCUs in underdeveloped areas within Israel and around the world. Our vision for the future development of CV nursing in Israel includes coordination and management roles in the hospital setting, and the establishment and management of home-care programs.