Medical care outcomes are largely dependent on physician's qualification. This obvious message was once again confirmed by the Government decision to significantly increase funding of the national healthcare. Medical and preventive treatment facilities (MPTF) are increasingly equipped with up-to-date facilities to ensure provision of high-tech medical care, and doctors now can prescribe a wider variety of new drugs. With the positive changes occurring in the healthcare infrastructure, the issue of staff shortage became especially acute. Wanted are specialists qualified to use new equipment safely and effectively, and capable of providing proper pharmacotherapeutic care. A vast majority of countries all over the world face staff shortage, which is especially pronounced in cardiology - the fastest growing area of medicine. Another fact speaing in favour of training relevance is that at recent global, European and Russian cardiology conferences special meetings are devoted to advanced medical training.

The article tells about incidence of pulmonary hypertension after pulmonary artery thromboembolia; congenital and acquired coagulation abnormalities in patients with venous thromboembolism; potential factors of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension; certain medical conditions and diseases contributing to the development of pulmonary hypertension after pulmonary artery thromboembolia.

Despite adequate therapy of cardio-vascular diseases, high blood pressure often persists. The present review tells about treatment of hypertension resistant to conventional treatment. Key approaches are described. Рассмотрены основные подходы к терапии. Classes of drugs used in the treatment of the disease, key actions and patterns of use in combination therapy, as well as new drugs, are highlighted in the article.

Reduction in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is not always or only owed to antihypertensive effect of treatments. Decrease in systolic blood pressure helped by antihypertensive drugs may be different in the central and peripheral vascular segments, which is largely explained by different pathophysiology of central and peripheral arterial blood pressure. This review is devoted to current views on pathophysiology, diagnostic techniques, medication effects on central blood pressure, clinical and prognostic value of measuring central blood pressure and prospects for its evaluation.

The article tells about the role of angiotensin II receptor blockers in risk management of cardiovascular and renal complications in diabetes mellitus. The results of clinical trials of Irbesartan (Aprovel®) are demonstrated.

The article is about treatment and secondary prevention of myocardial infarction. Recently published recommendations of the Russian Society of Cardiology, the European Society of Cardiology, the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association are reviewed. The rationale for invasive examination and myocardial revascularization is discussed.

The article focuses on differential choice of ACE inhibitor in clinical practice. Mechanisms of action common for all drugs in this group, indications and benefits are described. Differences in pharmacokinetic features, RAAS blockade, additional unique attributes, indications and strength of evidence for the class representative ramipril are highlighted. There is clinical data of Russian studies on anti-hypertensive effectiveness and anti-atherosclerotic properties of Hartil® (ramipril,"EGIS", Hungary).

The paper reviews the relevance of various types of cholesterol as factors of cardiovascular risks. According to recent recommendations, apart from the routinely evaluated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-H), clinicians now look at non-HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. The paper questions, whether there is enough clinical and scientific evidence to change priorities in the lipid assessment of cardiovascular risk: measurement and monitoring of non-HDL cholesterol vs. routine lipid markers - LDL cholesterol and plasma HDL cholesterol.

Algorithm for selection of antihypertensive treatment in patients with metabolic syndrome and hypertension ACE inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers are major antihypertensive classes of drugs used in the treatment of hypertension in patients with metabolic syndrome. Each drug in the group is characterized by specific clinical and pharmacological features and application patterns. An algorithm for differential choice of drugs is suggested based on the review of their peculiarities.

High blood pressure (BP) is the largest contributor to mortality from cardiovascular diseases compared with other risk factors (RF). In 2008, International Society of Hypertension (HT) published a forecast showing that by 2025 HT will become the leading cause of death and disability not only in the developed countries but around the world [1]. This justifies close attention to hypertension as a socially significant disease.

Diabetes mellitus type 2 is a chronic progressive disease which leads to specific vascular complications - microangiopathy and macroangiopathy. These complications are the reason of increased cardiovascular mortality, which is 4-5 times higher in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus than in the general population.

Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) is a well-known anti-thrombotic agent which has been used in medical practice for more than 100 years. The effectiveness of low-dose ASA (75-150 mg/day) in secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease is proved by numerous studies [1, 2]. At the same time, research revealed that aspirin therapy prevents only 25% of adverse cardiovascular events [3-5].

Indeed, why ? After all, heart rate (HR) increase is a natural adaptive response of the organism to a decrease in stroke volume of the left ventricle. It is due to the increase in HR that in patients with low cardiac output the minute volume of blood (MVB) remains normal. On the other hand, heart rate increase leads to growing myocardial oxygen demand and accelerates exhaustion of its contractile reserve. Heart rate elevation is especially beneficial for patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) with a high risk of acute and progression of chronic myocardial ischemia, subsequent exacerbation of systolic dysfunction. Furthermore, patient-specific critical value of HR elevation is no longer a compensation and adaptation mechanism; it causes stroke volume to reduce following a decrease in ventricular filling due to diastolic shortening.

One of the major challenges in the modern medicine is chronic heart failure (CHF) characterized by high incidence, really unfavourable prognosis and high cost of treatment.

Myocardial revascularization procedures (coronary artery bypass surgery, percutaneous coronary intervention) raise the question of protecting the myocardium. Trimetazidine is an adequate method of myocardial protection. We discussed the use of trimetazidine in myocardial revascularization with Yuriy Mikhailovich Lopatin, MD, professor, head of subdepartment of cardiology and functional diagnostics at advanced medical training department of the Volgograd State Medical University.

Arrhythmology as an independent field of medicine was formed in the late 1980s. Since then considerable progress has been made: implantation and minimally invasive techniques have made a transformation in the treatment of dangerous arrhythmias. We have talked to Vitaly Andreyevich Sulimov, MD, professor, head of subdepartment of intermediate internal medicine No. 1 of general medicine department, director of Intermediate internal medicine and interventional cardiology clinic named after V.N. Vinogradov, director of heart rhythm disorders section of the Russian Society of Cardiology (RSC).

A complex clinical, laboratory and instrumental examination of 234 patients found that hypertension occurs with equal frequency in men and women. Gender differences were determined by such most common risk factors as impaired fat metabolism and hypertriglyceridemia. Thickening of the intima-media complex greater than 1.3 mm and atherosclerotic plaques were found consistently more often in patients with hypertension, while their frequency was not linked to gender.

Concluding proceedings of the young researchers' conference of the Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry named after A.I. Evdokimov, 2013