We investigated the polarization states of macrophages in coronary atherectomy tissues retrieved from patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI, n = 52) or stable angina pectoris (SAP, n = 22). The specimens were analyzed immunohistochemically using antibodies specific to CD11c (M1 marker), CD206 (M2 marker), and to markers of endothelial ...

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to elucidate the role of nuclear medicine imaging in the selection of candidates for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and in the evaluation of CRT effectiveness METHODS: We studied 28 patients (19 male and 9 female) with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and heart failure (HF). ...

To investigate the effects of tirofiban on the no-reflow phenomenon of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) rats received reperfusion, as well as the underlying mechanisms. Fifty-six male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: Sham operation group (Sham), AMI/reperfusion group (AMI/R), Tirofiban group (Tiro) and Tiro+N-nitro-L-arginine group (L-NNA; an endothelial ...

OBJECTIVES: As most clinical studies measure WBV from peripheral samples, potential differences in WBV obtained from the coronary arteries are often ignored. This study investigated differences in WBV measured from coronary artery specimens in patients with and without acute coronary syndrome (ACS). METHODS AND RESULTS: Consecutive patients with chest pain ...

A first pilot study of interleukin-1 blockade in ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction showed improved remodeling. In the present second pilot study, we enrolled 30 patients with clinically stable ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction randomized to anakinra, recombinant interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, 100 mg/day for 14 days or placebo in a ...

BACKGROUNDAIMS: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is characterized by increased inflammatory processes and endothelial activation. We investigated the association between ACS and inflammatory mediators and matrix-degrading enzymes. We prospectively enrolled 55 consecutive patients with ACS: 25 with unstable angina (UA) and 30 with non-ST elevated myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). For comparison, 25 ...

AIMS: Ventricular tachycardia spreading from the anterior or posterior division of the left bundle branch is generally called fascicular tachycardia (FT). We will present our experience with FT, a type of ventricular tachycardia not necessarily implying the absence of heart disease and/or sensitivity to selective antiarrhythmic drugs, but only particular ...

We report the 5-year results of the SYNTAX trial, which compared coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for the treatment of patients with left main coronary disease or three-vessel disease, to confirm findings at 1 and 3 years. The randomised, clinical SYNTAX trial with nested ...

Dysfunction of the coronary microcirculation is considered as one of the factors responsible for symptoms and abnormal stress tests in patients with angina and normal coronaries (syndrome X). We sought to evaluate the usefulness of coronary sinus filling time (CSFT) to assess coronary microcirculation in this group of patients. We ...

BACKGROUND: Traditional pulmonary artery banding (PAB) is not always suitable for mature subpulmonary ventricle retraining. We sought to assess in detail the myocardial morphologic adaptations of two different protocols for inducing right ventricular (RV) hypertrophy in an adult animal model. METHODS: Eighteen adult goats were distributed into three groups: sham ...

Background: It has been shown that sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is associated with adverse prognosis in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), but little is known about the relationship between SDB and life-threatening arrhythmias. Methods and Results: Fifty patients with CHF and SDB (33 male; mean age, 61 years) underwent Holter electrocardiogram and ...

Background We aimed to assess the impact of C-reactive protein (CRP) on clinical outcomes after off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG).Methods Seven hundred fifty-five consecutive OPCABG patients were divided into two groups according to their preoperative CRP level (normal CRP [NCRP] group [CRP ≤ 6.0 mg/L] versus high CRP [HCRP] ...

OBJECTIVES: There is no evidence for the increasing use of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with surgery in patients with left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease. We compared the clinical outcomes of patients with LMCA disease who had undergone PCI with those of patients who had off-pump coronary artery bypass ...

We investigated the effect of cardiac-targeting erythropoietin(EPO)-encapsulated liposomes with Sialyl Lewis X (SLX) on myocardial infarct (MI) size, left ventricular (LV) remodeling and function, and its molecular mechanism for repairing infarcted myocardium. In rabbits, myocardial infarction (MI) was induced by 30 min coronary occlusion followed by reperfusion. EPO-encapsulated liposomes with ...

BACKGROUND: Myocardial necrosis occurs frequently in elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and is associated with subsequent major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). This study assessed the protective effect of remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) in patients undergoing successful drug-eluting stent implantation with normal baseline troponin values. METHODS: We analyzed 205 participants with ...

BACKGROUND: Administration of a loading dose of atorvastatin 80 mg/d has been shown to be beneficial in patients with stable coronary artery disease and acute coronary syndromes. However, little is known about the impact and mechanism behind the beneficial effects of loading-dose atorvastatin treatment before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), especially ...

Treatment of all coronary arteries is important to improve the prognosis of acute coronary syndrome after early reperfusion of the culprit lesion. Early statin treatment has been reported to cause regression of plaques away from the site of the culprit lesion in patients with acute coronary syndrome. However, the precise ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: There is an increased incidence of major depressive disorder (MDD) in individuals after myocardial infarction (MI), but the pathophysiological processes mediating this association are unclear. Our previous study demonstrated an increase in pro-apoptotic pathways in the myocardium and hippocampus in MDD, which was reversed by venlafaxine. This study ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the right ventricular functions in patients with nasal polyposis using the strain (S) and strain rate (SR) echocardiography. METHODS: A prospective, cross-sectional observational study was performed. The study included 40 patients with nasal polyposis (NP) (Group 1), and 25 healthy controls ...

Heavy alcohol consumption is a risk factor for developing atrial fibrillation, but whether chronic alcohol use affects left atrial volume is unknown. We evaluated the association of self-reported alcohol consumption with 5-year change in left atrial volume among patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). We studied 601 participants with stable ...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate intracardiac hemodynamic idiosyncrasies responsible for various presentations of severe aortic stenosis (AS). BACKGROUND: Syncope, dyspnea, and chest pain are well-established indications for aortic valve replacement in patients with severe AS. Patients' survival is limited once they develop symptoms from AS, and ...

We retrospectively followed 250 patients who started dialysis between 2005 and 2009 to clarify the prevalence, the prognosis and the prescribed heart failure treatment of systolic heart failure patients on dialysis. This cohort was divided according to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF): group A with a reduced LVEF (< or ...

Several trials investigating erythropoietin as a novel cytoprotective agent in myocardial infarction (MI) failed to translate promising preclinical results into the clinical setting. These trials could have missed crucial events occurring in the first few minutes of reperfusion. Our study differs by earlier intracoronary administration of a longer-acting erythropoietin analogue ...

BACKGROUND: Atrial ganglionated plexi (GP) have been shown to modulate sinus rate, atrioventricular conduction and atrial electrophysiology. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of low-intensity GP stimulation (GPS) on ventricular electrophysiological properties in normal heart and on ventricular arrhythmogenesis after acute myocardial ischemia (AMI) in canine. ...

BACKGROUND: The association between oral contraceptives (OC) and myocardial infarction remains controversial. The new generation contraceptive Yasmin (30 µg ethinyl estradiol and 3 mg drospirenone) has a lower estrogen and newer progestin component. To date, there are no data available for the myocardial infarction risk and outcome for drospirenone. We ...

High low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (L/H) ratio is associated with progressions of coronary arteriosclerosis and chronic kidney disease. On the other hand, renal function markedly declined after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The aims of the present study were (1) to identify what type of patients with AMI would have ...

We evaluated the impact of triple antiplatelet therapy on platelet reactivity, reducing cardiovascular events and the safety in obese patients undergoing coronary stenting. Obese patients (n = 428) undergoing coronary stenting were randomly assigned to 2 groups: standard dual group (clopidogrel plus aspirin, n = 215) and triple group (n ...

To investigate endothelium-dependent and -independent coronary microvascular functions in patients with vasospastic angina (VSA). Thirty-six patients with VSA (30 men and 6 women; mean age, 58 years) were enrolled in this study. VSA was defined as ≥ 90% narrowing of the epicardial coronary arteries on angiography performed during a spasm ...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of early angioplasty within 12 h and selective angioplasty 1 week later after successful thrombolysis in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. METHODS: A total of 224 patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction who received thrombolysis with ...

The integrin β1 subunit and its downstream molecule focal adhesion kinase have been identified as critical molecules for the inhibition of postinfarction cardiac remodeling, ischemic cardiomyopathy, and heart failure. However, as a component of the integrin pathway, it is still unclear whether Dock180 (dedicator of cytokinesis 1) protein is expressed ...

AimsFractional flow reserve (FFR) is the reference standard for the assessment of the functional significance of coronary artery stenoses, but is underutilized in daily clinical practice. We aimed to study long-term outcomes of FFR-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the general clinical practice.Methods and resultsIn this retrospective study, consecutive patients ...

PURPOSE: If specific organized substrates of ventricular-fibrillation (VF) are identified, they may provide important-information for prevention of sudden-cardiac-death. To identify specific organized substrates of VF, we compared 320-slice CT heart images in non-ischemic VF subjects with non-ischemic sustained and non-sustained ventricular-tachycardia (VT) subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of a ...

Aims:We determined whether implantation of heart tissue-derived decellularized matrix, which contains native biochemical and structural matrix composition, could thicken the infarcted left ventricular (LV) wall and improve LV function in a rat myocardial infarction model.Methods and RESULTS: Myocardial infarction was induced by left coronary ligation in Fischer rats. One week ...

Aim. The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of intracoronary shunt during off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery in patients with isolated left anterior descending coronary artery lesion. Methods. Forty patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass using the left internal mammary artery to bypass the left anterior descending ...

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to evaluate the endothelialization and the inflammatory responses depending on the administration duration of triple anti-platelet therapy at overlapping bioabsorbable polymer coated biolimus-eluting stents (BESs) in a porcine coronary model. METHODS: We successfully deployed 36 overlapping BESs for the left anterior descending coronary and left ...

BACKGROUND: The angiotensin type 2 (AT2)-receptor plays a unique role on growth inhibition in adult myocardium via modulation of ceramide synthesis. Angiotensin type 1 (AT1)-receptor blockade results in increased AT2-receptor activation by angiotensin II, and AT1-receptor blockers are sometimes prescribed to children for the treatment of cardiac hypertrophy or heart ...

AIM: The aim of our study was to evaluate atrial electromechanical delay (AEMD) and left atrial mechanical functions (LAMF) in the patients with secundum-type atrial septal defect (ASD). METHOD: We included 72 patients with secundum type ASD in the study group and 35 gender and age-matched healthy volunteers for the ...

Abstract Objective: We investigated the myocardial protective effect of sevoflurane in patients receiving off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG) and the role of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). Design: Forty-eight patients receiving elective OPCABG were randomly assigned to a control group, and 0.75 MAC, 1.0 MAC and 1.5 MAC sevoflurane groups. ...

AIMS: To compare the effects of two TNF-α antagonists, etanercept and infliximab, on post-cardiac arrest haemodynamics and global left ventricular function (LV) in a swine model following ventricular fibrillation (VF) METHODS: Domestic swine (n=30) were placed under general anaesthesia and instrumented before VF was induced electrically. After 7minutes of VF, ...

AIMS: Obesity has become a major health problem worldwide. Cardiovascular abnormalities have been described not only in obese adults but also in obese children and adolescents. The aim of the present study was to investigate left and right, systolic and diastolic ventricular dysfunction in obese paediatric patients without comorbidities using ...

We hypothesized that overexpression of cGMP-dependent protein kinase type 1α (PKG1α) could mimic the effect of tadalafil on the survival of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) contributing to regeneration of the ischemic heart. MSCs from male rats were transduced with adenoviral vector encoding for PKG1α ((PKG1α)MSCs).Controls included native ...

Previous studies based on coronary angiography or computed tomography coronary angiography have demonstrated a high prevalence of coronary stenosis in patients with cerebral infarction and no prior history of coronary artery disease (CAD). The purpose of the present study was to compare the coronary angiographic findings of patients with prior ...

In recent years, the alleviation of acute myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury (MI/RI) during myocardial reperfusion has presented a significant clinical challenge. This study was performed to investigate the effects of fasudil hydrochloride (FH) postconditioning on MI/RI and the underlying mechanism. Seventy-two rats were randomly divided into four groups: a ...

Incompleted ST segment resolution (STR) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with worse clinical outcomes. To investigate the association between plasma N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels on admission and STR after reperfusion, in a patient with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary PCI. After exclusion, ...

Ventricular hypertrabeculation/noncompaction is a morphologic and functional anomaly of myocardium characterized by prominent trabeculae accompanied by deep recessus. Dilated cardiomyopathy with left ventricular failure is observed in these patients, while the cause or pathophysiologic nature of this complication is not known. Anti-troponin antibodies are formed against circulating cardiac troponins after ...

To investigate the correlation between serum adiponectin (ADP) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) as well as risk factors in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). 90 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who were subjected to coronary angiography were involved. Among the patients, 41 had acute myocardial infarction (AMI), ...

Distal embolization of thrombus/platelet aggregates decreases myocardial reperfusion during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and is associated with worse immediate and long-term prognosis of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Assess the efficacy of a mesh covered stent (MGuard™ stent, MGS) in preventing distal embolization and microvascular reperfusion impairment during ...

Middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory infarct is the most common type of cerebral vascular territory infarct. Accurate prediction of motor outcome is important for stroke rehabilitation. We conducted an investigation of prognostic factors of motor outcome in patients with a large MCAterritory infarction, using diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) of the ...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL) often coexist. In some patients, AF remission is seen after successful percutaneous radiofrequency current ablation of the cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI). To evaluate factors affecting AF remission in patients with typical AFL and concomitant AF who underwent CTI ablation. The study included consecutive 69 ...

Objectives: The aim of this single-center, randomized placebo-controlled trial in 70 consecutive patients (64 ± 14 years) with acute myocardial infarction was to examine the role of a new protocol of adenosine administration during primary angioplasty on immediate electrocardiographic and angiographic results, clinical outcome and 1-year follow-up. Methods: Group A ...