Although family history (FH) of coronary artery disease (CAD) is considered a risk factor for future cardiovascular events, the prevalence, extent, severity, and prognosis of young patients with FH of CAD have been inadequately studied. From 27,125 consecutive patients who underwent coronary computed tomographic angiography, 6,308 young patients (men aged ...

BackgroundPerfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and delayed contrast-enhanced MRI (DE-MRI) serve as tools for tissue characterization.PurposeTo assess and compare semi-quantitative parameters of myocardial infarct (MI) in the subacute and chronic phase, and to correlate these parameters with qualitative enhancement analysis.Material and MethodsPerfusion MRI at rest and DE-MRI were performed in ...

This study aimed to assess myocardial involvement in infants and children with severe dengue (as per the new World Health Organization [WHO] classification 2009) using the Tei index. This prospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Pediatrics, PGIMER and the associated Dr. RML Hospital, New Delhi from August ...

BACKGROUND: Lectin complement pathway (LP) activation is an important mechanism in myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI). LP is activated via the recognition molecules mannose-binding lectin (MBL), ficolins-2 and-3 and is regulated by MBL/Ficolin-associated Protein-1 (MAP-1). Also, C-reactive protein (CRP) and ficolin-2 interact in vitro, but the role of the ficolins ...

AIMS: A precise knowledge of the coronary sinus (CS) anatomy and its potential anomalies seems essential to increase the rate of success in patients with a prior history of multiple ablation failures of the posteroseptal accessory pathway or in whom this procedure cannot be performed easily. We aimed to describe ...

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: there are limited data describing the long-term outcome of patients with concomitant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who develop ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: 11,118 consecutive STEMI patients enrolled in the web-based REAL registry (Registro Regionale Angioplastiche Emilia-Romagna) were followed-up and stratified according to COPD presence or ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and significance of increased left ventricular (LV) trabeculation in highly trained athletes. DESIGN: Cross sectional echocardiographic study. SETTING: Sports cardiology institutions in the UK and France. SUBJECTS: 1146 athletes aged 14-35 years (63.3% male), participating in 27 sporting disciplines, and 415 healthy controls of similar ...

AIMS: After atrial redirection surgery (Mustard-Senning operations) for transposition of the great arteries (TGA), the systemic right ventricle (RV) suffers from late systolic failure with high morbidity and mortality. Mechanisms of late RV failure are poorly characterized. We hypothesized that diffuse interstitial expansion representing diffuse fibrosis is greater in systemic ...

AIMS: Increased rates of structural abnormalities including externalized conductors have been reported in the Riata family of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator leads (St Jude Medical). Little is known about their reliability and the time lag for emergence of functional or structural abnormalities.METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty-six patients who received small-caliber leads of the ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate autonomic involvement in different types of idiopathic premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) grouped by heart rate (HR) dependency. METHODS: One hundred and sixty PVC patients and 31 controls were enrolled. Holter ECG was used to evaluate PVC occurrence, and spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) was calculated ...

BACKGROUND: Damage to the vascular endothelium may be one of the pathophysiological causes of in-stent thrombosis and restenosis. Endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) capture stents (ECS) have the ability to accelerate the damage repair process. However, the clinical outcomes of ECS remain unknown thus far. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of ...

BACKGROUND: The frequency and clinical correlates of global right ventricular (RV) dysfunction in patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention for a first acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) without a coexisting RV infarction is not well known. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred seven consecutive patients underwent conventional echocardiography and pulsed-wave ...

AIMS: Non-responder rates for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) vary from 11% to 46%. Retrospective data imply a better outcome with stimulation of the latest contracting left ventricular (LV) region. Our study analysed the feasibility, safety and clinical outcome of prospectively planned LV lead placement at the site of latest mechanical ...

BACKGROUND: -Cardiac troponins (cTn) may be elevated among patients with acute heart failure syndromes (AHFS). However, the optimal approach to management of AHFS with elevated cTn is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: -We compared the care and outcomes of 13,656 AHFS patients seeking care in the emergency department (ED) stratified by ...

Aim: At present, limited in vivo information is available on the prevalence and severity of coronary atherosclerosis in asymptomatic healthy subjects. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence, extent and severity of coronary atherosclerosis in healthy individuals.Methods: We performed an intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) examination on 198 heart ...

This study was performed to evaluate left ventricle (LV) function using pulsed tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) in healthy dogs and to determine the normal values of TDI parameters. Longitudinal myocardial motion at the septal mitral annulus was evaluated with pulsed TDI in 45 healthy adult dogs, and maximal myocardial velocities, ...

The purpose of this study was to examine smoking cessation rates among smokers with AMI to determine whether bupropion, started in-hospital, is safe and can improve cessation rates at 1 year. Bupropion doubles quit rates in otherwise healthy smokers and patients with stable cardiovascular disease. Although 2 previous trials examined ...

BACKGROUND:Preservation of myocardial perfusion during general anesthesia is likely important in patients at risk for perioperative cardiac complications. Data related to the influence of general anesthesia on the normal myocardial circulation are limited. In this study, we investigated myocardial microcirculatory responses to pharmacological vasodilation and sympathetic stimulation during general anesthesia ...

Purpose:To compare the relationship of myocardial edema and corresponding contractile function over time in patients with reperfused acute myocardial infarction (AMI).Materials and Methods:This study was approved by the regional ethics committee; all patients gave written informed consent. Thirty-nine patients (34 men; mean age, 57 years; age range, 35-73 years) underwent ...

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias in the form of frequent, monomorphic premature ventricular contractions (PVC) can cause PVC-induced cardiomyopathy (PICMP). The aim of this study was to determine the baseline echocardiographic characteristics and the time course and degree of recovery of left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction in patients with PICMP. METHODS: ...

BACKGROUND: The potential of iron to generate reactive oxygen species has motivated a long-standing interest in whether excess iron is causally linked to atherosclerotic heart disease. Circulating catalytic iron ("free" iron) is that which is not bound to transferrin or ferritin and is available to generate reactive oxygen species that ...

Background: Thrombus propagation on disrupted atherosclerotic plaque leads to acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Recent studies have shown that the histopathology of the coronary thrombus is associated with myocardial reperfusion, ST-segment recovery, distal embolization and long-term mortality in patients with AMI. Therefore, we investigated the histopathologic characteristics of material aspirated during percutaneous ...

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to assess patterns and functional consequences of mitral apparatus infarction after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). BACKGROUND: The mitral apparatus contains 2 myocardial components: papillary muscles and the adjacent left ventricular (LV) wall. Delayed-enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance (DE-CMR) enables in vivo study of inter-relationships and potential contributions ...

To assess the usefulness of the MGuard stent in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in whom a high thrombus burden persists after manual aspiration. In some patients with STEMI, a high thrombus burden may persist after manual aspiration. These patients may be at high risk of distal embolization ...

Atrial fibrillation is common in the emergency department (ED). Mortality rates at 30, 90, and 365 days for ED patients with a main diagnosis of atrial fibrillation are 4, 6, and 11%, respectively; there are no data on the characteristics and outcomes of ED patients with atrial fibrillation who have alternative ...

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to test the hypothesis that hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN)-based biological pacing might be improved significantly by hyperpolarizing the action potential (AP) threshold via coexpression of the skeletal muscle sodium channel 1 (SkM1). BACKGROUND: Gene-based biological pacemakers display effective in vivo pacemaker function. However, approaches used to ...

Repeat percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with unfavorable prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease, but there is a current lack of related systematic cross-sectional studies in China. The survey was to investigate a real world of repeat PCIs and their associated factors during the drug eluting stent era ...

Beta blockers provide both morbidity and mortality benefits for post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients. Despite this, beta blockers are still often underused or used at suboptimal dosages. This was a retrospective observational study with the objectives of estimating the proportion of post-MI patients who are receiving beta-blocker therapy in University Malaya ...

Aim: Stent thrombosis is a major safety issue after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stent implantation and it is associated with major early and mid-term complications. However, its long-term impact has been incompletely described. We thus aimed to appraise incidence, predictors and very long-term outlook of stent thrombosis after bare ...

Although radial approach is increasingly used in percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) including in acute myocardial infarction (MI), patients with cardiogenic shock have been excluded from comparisons with femoral approach. The aim of our study was to compare clinical outcomes in patients undergoing primary PCI with cardiogenic shock by radial and ...

PURPOSE: To compare myocardial T1 against T2 and T2* in patients with thalassemia major (TM) for myocardial iron characterization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 106 TM patients (29 ± 10 years; 58 males) were studied on a 1.5 Tesla scanner using dedicated T1, T2*, and T2 relaxometry sequences. A ...

Certain β-adrenergic blockers have proven useful in the regression of ventricular remodeling when administered as long-term treatment. However, early regression of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) has not been reported, following short-term administration of these drugs. We tested the hypothesis that short-term administration of the cardioselective β-blocker esmolol induces early regression ...

We evaluated the association of total bilirubin with post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) coronary blood flow and in-hospital major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary PCI. A total of 536 consecutive patients with STEMI (male 79%, mean age = 59.9 ± 12.6 years) ...

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular (LV) systolic strain provides additional prognostic value to LV ejection fraction (LVEF) and wall motion analysis. However, the relationship between myocardial multidirectional strain and LVEF, and the effect of LV hypertrophy on this relationship, are not completely understood especially in unselected populations. METHODS: LV global longitudinal (ε(L) ...

OBJECTIVES: Recently, the initial therapy for refractory cardiogenic shock has largely been based on use of short-term mechanical devices with later conversion to durable options. The premise is that such patients cannot tolerate cardiopulmonary bypass and the extended surgery needed for implantable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) placement. We have ...

Objectives: To assess the impact of age on safety and efficacy of paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES) implantation during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Background: The benefits of paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES) implantation during primary PCI were confirmed by the long-term results of the HORIZONS-AMI ...

OBJECTIVES: This multicenter registry aimed to assess the ClearWay™ (CW) perfusion catheter in reduction of thrombus burden and improvement of the coronary flow during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND: The presence or development of thrombus during PCI is associated with poor prognosis. METHODS: The utility of the CW perfusion catheter ...

INTRODUCTION: Drug-coated balloons (DCB) are being increasingly used in interventional cardiology. The effect of DCB on acute changes of coronary flow reserve (CFR) has never been reported. METHODS: Patients with in-stent restenosis or with contraindication for use of clopidogrel were included in this study. The FloWire was used to assess ...

BACKGROUND: We aimed to determine the prevalence of silent myocardial infarction (SMI) in people with newly-diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D), and its relationship to future myocardial infarction (MI) and all-cause mortality. METHODS AND RESULTS: We examined data from the 5,102 patients in the 30-year UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) and ...

The impact of regulatory requirements, which require central adjudication for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in cardiac biomarker studies, is unclear. We determined the impact of local (at the site of subject enrollment) versus central adjudication of AMI on final diagnosis. This is a retrospective analysis of data ...

Abstract Background. In-hospital mortality for ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has declined thanks to a greater use of primary percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) associated to more effective antiplatelet and anticoagulant drugs. In this regard, bivalirudin has been shown to decrease total and cardiac mortality as compared to unfractionated heparin (UFH). ...

RATIONALE: Inflammation exacerbates a number of deleterious effects on the heart, most notable being left ventricular dysfunction (LVD). A promoter polymorphism of the NFKB1 gene (encodes p50 subunit) results in lower protein levels of NFkB p50 subunits, which in its dimmer (p50)(2) form has anti-inflammatory effects. The active NFkB transcription ...

AIMS: Following ischemic injury, myocardial healing and remodeling occur with characteristic myofibroblast trans-differentiation and scar formation. The current study tests the hypothesis that hyperoxia and nitric oxide (NO) regulate TGF-β1 signaling in the post-ischemic myocardium. MAIN METHODS: C57BL/6 wild-type (WT), endothelial and inducible nitric oxide synthase knockout (eNOS(-/-) and iNOS(-/-)) ...

It is unknown whether unstable angina (UA) results in previously nondetectable low-level myocardial necrosis. We compared the pattern of myocardial necrosis between patients with UA, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) using 3 high-sensitive cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) assays. In a multicenter study, we enrolled 842 unselected patients ...

AimsVascular integrity is disturbed in shock contributing to clinical appearance and serious outcomes. While angiopoietin (Ang)-1 protects from vascular inflammation and leakage, Ang-2 disrupts endothelial barrier function. The imbalance of Ang-1 and Ang-2, their association to haemodynamic deterioration, and their prognostic relevance are not known and, thus, were prospectively evaluated ...

Objectives: To compare the incidence of cardiac and cerebrovascular events following non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) compared to published control data using the Framingham, United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) and the National Vascular Disease Prevention Alliance (NVDPA) data. Methods: A retrospective study of all consecutive cases of NAION ...

OBJECTIVEDysglycemia is associated with poorer prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Whether admission glycemic variability (GV) has important value in prognosis of AMI patients is still unknown. The aim of study is to investigate the prognostic value of admission GV, glucose, and glycosylated HbA(1c) in AMI patients.RESEARCH DESIGN ...

This study was designed to determine the roles most salient for individuals following a myocardial infarction (MI) and identify relationships among worker demographics, depression, illness intrusion, role identity, and self-esteem. Thirty participants 18 years or older, paid employees working 20 or more hours per week immediately prior to the MI, ...

Objectives. Ambulatory systolic-diastolic pressure regression index (ASDPRI) is a composite marker of cardiovascular properties. The study was conducted to investigate the relationship between ASDPRI and cardiovascular events in patients with significant coronary atherosclerosis confirmed in angiography. Methods. Associations between ASDPRI and cardiovascular events were examined in 891 subjects referred for ...

BACKGROUND: PREINFARCTION ANGINA MAY ACT AS A CLINICAL SURROGATE OF ISCHEMIC PRECONDITIONING THAT MAY REDUCE INFARCT SIZE AND IMPROVE MORTALITY IN THE SETTING OF THROMBOLYTIC THERAPY FOR ST-ELEVATION MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION. HOWEVER, THE BENEFITS OF PREINFARCTION ANGINA IN THE SETTING OF PRIMARY PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION WITH STENTING IS INCONCLUSIVE BECAUSE OF ...