El curso revisa desde una visión integral, el desarrollo, estructura, función y disfunción del sistema circulatorio. Las actividades de aprendizaje están diseñadas para que los estudiantes utilicen los conocimientos en sus explicaciones sobre los fundamentos del sistema circulatorio y de sus patologías más frecuentes. Curso de especialidad de la carrera de Medicina, de carácter teórico-práctico dirigido a los estudiantes del tercer nivel de la malla curricular, que busca desarrollar la competencia general Uso de la Información para el Pensamiento Crítico (nivel 1). Este curso pertenece a la línea del conocimiento de Estructura y Función. Este curso brinda las bases de la práctica clínica y en los cursos siguientes se desarrolle la competencia de diagnóstico, prevención y promoción.

Introduction: The study of predictors of negative outcomes in patients with heart failure has included the combination of natriuretic peptides and red cell distribution width (RDW). Objective: To evaluate the combined use of the amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and RDW as a prognostic factor for death from any cause, prolonged hospitalization, and readmission one year after discharge in patients with decompensated acute heart failure (AHF). Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study. We constructed a combined index = NT-ProBNP x RDW/100. ROC curves were constructed, sensitivity and specificity were estimated based on the cut-off points, and the relative risk was estimated to develop the outcomes studied. We compared the area under curve of combined index versus NT-proBNP and RDW, separately. Results: We analyzed data from 471 patients. The combined ...

Cardiac amyloidosis is a rare clinical entity and, therefore, almost unknown. It shows as a restrictive cardiomyopathy, since it is an infiltrative disease caused by the extracellular deposition of amyloids in the cardiac wall. Although it may be systemic, the heart condition determines its poor prognosis. This is the case of a 38-year-old patient who was admitted for dyspnea and severe fatigue. He was diagnosed with IgA multiple myeloma, lambda light chains, clinical stage IIIB, and initiated treatment with cyclophosphamide, thalidomide and dexamethasone. The patient stopped the treatment, and returned after one year and 2 months with an advanced disease and presence of amyloidosis. The patient progressed torpidly and eventually died. A review of the medical literature is performed concerning amyloidosis types, physiopathology, diagnostic methods and treatment.