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The world changed in just a few months after the emergence of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by a beta coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. Brazil currently has the world's second-highest COVID-19 death toll, second only to the USA. The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading fast in the world with more than 181 countries affected. ARRY-575 nmr This editorial refers to the article published in Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia "Increase in home deaths due to cardiorespiratory arrest in times of COVID-19 pandemic."1 Their main results show a gradual increase in the rate of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Their data demonstrate a proportional increase of 33% of home deaths in March 2020 compared to previous periods. Their study is the first Brazilian paper to demonstrate the same trend observed in other countries.

Cardiovascular diseases constitute an important group of causes of death in the country. Ischemic heart diseases that are the main causes of cardiopulmonary arrest, leading to an impact on the mortality of the cardiovascular diseases in the health system.

Assess the number of home deaths by cardiopulmonary arrest notified by the Mobile Emergency Medical Service (SAMU) in March 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Observational study carried out from the analysis of cardiopulmonary arrest mortality data of citizens assisted by SAMU in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Social and clinical characteristics and occurrence information of the patients were analyzed. The mortality rate due to cardiopulmonary arrest in relation to the total number of attendances was assessed. A significance level of 95% was considered.

There was increase of home deaths due to cardiopulmonary arrest in March 2020 compared to March 2018 (p<0.001) and March 2019 (p=0.050). Of the deaths reported in 2020, 63.8% of the patients were aged 60 years or older, 63.7% of the occurrences were performed in the afternoon and approximately 87% of the cardiopulmonary arrest notified had associated clinical comorbidities, with systemic arterial hypertension and heart failure represented by 22.87% and 13.03% of the reported cases, respectively. The majority of the evaluated sample of this study did not have any medical care follow-up (88.7%).

Considering the increase in the number of the deaths, we suggest reflections and readjustments regarding the monitoring of chronic non-transmissible diseases during a pandemic, as well as improvements in death surveillance. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2021; 116(2)266-271).

Considering the increase in the number of the deaths, we suggest reflections and readjustments regarding the monitoring of chronic non-transmissible diseases during a pandemic, as well as improvements in death surveillance. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2021; 116(2)266-271).

Exertional dyspnea is a common complaint of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). HFpEF is common in COPD and is an independent risk factor for disease progression and exacerbation. Early detection, therefore, has great clinical relevance.

The aim of the study is to detect the frequency of masked HFpEF in non-severe COPD patients with exertional dyspnea, free of overt cardiovascular disease, and to analyze the correlation between masked HFpEF and the cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) parameters.

We applied the CPET in 104 non-severe COPD patients with exertional dyspnea, free of overt cardiovascular disease. Echocardiography was performed before and at peak CPET. Cut-off values for stress-induced left and right ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD/ RVDD) were E/e'>15; E/e'>6, respectively. Correlation analysis was done between CPET parameters and stress E/e'. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant.

6ESE) and CPET for the early detection and proper management of masked HFpEF in this population. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2021; 116(2)259-265).

The histopathological characteristics of Chagas disease (ChD) are presence of myocarditis, destruction of heart fibers, and myocardial fibrosis. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a biomarker involved in the mechanism of fibrosis and inflammation that may be useful for risk stratification of individuals with ChD.

We sought to evaluate whether high Gal-3 levels are associated with severe forms of Chagas cardiomyopathy (CC) and whether they are predictive of mortality.

We studied anti-T. cruzi positive blood donors (BD) Non-CC-BD (187 BD without CC with normal electrocardiogram [ECG] and left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF]); CC-Non-Dys-BD (46 BD with CC with abnormal ECG but normal LVEF); and 153 matched serum-negative controls. This cohort was composed of 97 patients with severe CC (CC-Dys). We used Kruskall-Wallis and Spearman's correlation to test hypothesis of associations, assuming a two-tailed p<0.05 as significant.

The Gal-3 level was 12.3 ng/mL for Non-CC-BD, 12.0 ng/mL for CC-Non-Dys-BD, 13.8 ng/mL for controls, and 15.4 ng/mL for CC-Dys. LVEF<50 was associated with higher Gal-3 levels (p=0.0001). In our linear regression adjusted model, we found association between Gal-3 levels and echocardiogram parameters in T. cruzi-seropositive subjects. In CC-Dys patients, we found a significant association of higher Gal-3 levels (≥15.3 ng/mL) and subsequent death or heart transplantation in a 5-year follow-up (Hazard ratio - HR 3.11; 95%CI 1.21-8.04; p=0.019).

In ChD patients, higher Gal-3 levels were significantly associated with severe forms of the disease and more long-term mortality, which means it may be a useful means to identify high-risk patients. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2021; 116(2)248-256).

In ChD patients, higher Gal-3 levels were significantly associated with severe forms of the disease and more long-term mortality, which means it may be a useful means to identify high-risk patients. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2021; 116(2)248-256).