BACKGROUND: Persons with a clinically recognized myocardial infarction are at increased risk for atrial fibrillation. However a large proportion of all myocardial infarctions remain clinically unrecognized. Whether subjects with electrocardiographic signs of an unrecognized myocardial infarction are also at an increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation is unknown. The objective ...

Dynamic risk models update the risk profile of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients over the acute period following the event and have implications to clinical practice and research. Multivariable survival models were developed in 5,745 STEMI patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) enrolled in the APEX-AMI trial to predict ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate plaque characteristics of culprit and non-culprit lesions in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients at the index procedure and 10months later using iMap intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). BACKGROUND: The exact site of the plaque rupture or erosion in coronary arteries with subsequent thrombosis ...

A relationship between l-[methyl-(11)C]methionine ((11)C-methionine) uptake and angiogenesis has been suggested in gliomas. However, methionine uptake in myocardial ischemia and reperfusion has received little attention. We investigated the serial changes and mechanisms of (14)C-methionine uptake in a rat model of myocardial ischemia and reperfusion. METHODS: The left coronary artery was ...

BACKGROUND: THERE ARE EVIDENCE-BASED GUIDELINES FOR STAGING OF PATIENTS WITH ST-ELEVATION MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION (STEMI) UNDERGOING PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION (PCI), BUT WE ARE NOT AWARE OF ANY EVIDENCE COMPARING THE STRATEGY OF COMPLETE REVASCULARIZATION (CR) WITH PCI IN THE INDEX ADMISSION VERSUS THE STRATEGY OF STAGING IN A SUBSEQUENT ADMISSION FOR ...

QUESTION Does cardiovascular (CV) risk associated with use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) after a first myocardial infarction (MI) differ by time since MI? METHODS DESIGN Cohort study with individual-level linkage of data from national registries. SETTING Denmark. PATIENTS 99 187 patients ≥ 30 years of age (mean age 69 y, 64% ...

Phrynocephalus vlangalii is a species of lizard endemic in China, which lives on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau ranging from 2000 to 4600 m above sea level. In this study, P. vlangalii were collected from low altitude (2750 m) and high altitude (4564 m). The lizards from low altitude were acclimatized in simulated hypoxic chamber (equivalent ...

BACKGROUND: Timely primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the preferred reperfusion strategy in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, universal access is limited outside metropolitan centres and portends worse outcomes for rural patients. This study evaluates the outcomes of STEMI patients treated in a metropolitan and nonmetroplitan setting within Vital Heart ...

INTRODUCTION: While most ventricular arrhythmias (VA) can be ablated successfully using an endocardial (endo) approach, epicardial (epi) mapping and ablation is sometimes required. There may be suggestive clues on the surface electrocardiogram; however, identification of an epi origin of VA with certainty remains problematic. METHODS AND RESULTS: All patients referred ...

MicroRNA-34a (miR-34a) promotes apoptosis via down-regulating many anti-apoptotic proteins. Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) is an anti-apoptotic enzyme whose activity decline associates with myocardial injury. We tested hypothesis that miR-34a might play a pro-apoptotic role in myocardial infarction (MI) by down-regulating ALDH2. MiR-34a was highly increased while ALDH2 expression was decreased ...

The endothelin subtype-A receptor (ET-A) is a promising therapeutic target in cardiovascular disease. We sought to determine the feasibility of an (18)F-labeled ligand, (18)F-(N-[[29-[[(4,5-dimethyl-3-isoxazolyl)amino]sulfonyl]-4-(2-oxazolyl)[1,19-biphenyl]-2-yl]methyl]-N,4-fluorobenzamide) ((18)F-FBzBMS), for imaging ET-A in the healthy and injured rat heart. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were used for all experiments. The specificity of cardiac (18)F-FBzBMS uptake ...

A relevant (at least moderate) paravalvular regurgitation (PAR) after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is found in up to 20% of cases and associated with increased mortality. The ratio of the diastolic over the systolic pressure time integral DPTI:SPTI has been proposed to reflect an estimate of myocardial oxygen supply ...

BACKGROUND: 9p21.3 is among the most strongly replicated regions for cardiovascular disease (CVD). There are few reports of sequencing the associated 9p21.3 interval. We set out to sequence the 9p21.3 region followed by a comprehensive study of genetic associations with clinical and subclinical CVD and its risk factors, and with ...

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous transluminal septal myocardial ablation (PTSMA) is an alternative therapy for patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) that results in sustained improvement in the global diastolic dysfunction. Regional diastolic abnormalities and diastolic asynchrony are very common and closely related to global diastolic dysfunction. The aim of this study was ...

Objectives: The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been investigated as a new predictor for cardiovascular risk. Admission NLR would be predictive of adverse outcomes after primary angioplasty for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods: A total of 2410 patients with STEMI undergoing primary angioplasty were retrospectively enrolled. The study ...

BackgroundPatients with coronary heart disease often suffer from an impaired health-related quality of life (HRQoL). A healthier lifestyle not only extends individuals' lengths of life but might also improve their HRQoL. The aim of this study was to explore the relation between self-reported lifestyle changes and HRQoL in European coronary ...

BACKGROUND: Sudden cardiac death is prevalent in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients while the dialysis process may have arrhythmogenic potential. We sought to examine the effect of HD on conventional electrocardiographic parameters as well as on novel indexes of repolarization, given that increased spatial dispersion of repolarization is related to ventricular ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The presence of carotid plaque reflects overall atherosclerotic burden and may predict coronary artery disease events. We examined the association among carotid atherosclerosis, history of atherothrombotic events, and risk of coronary events. METHODS: Among 45 227 patients in the Reduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) Registry with ...

BACKGROUND:: Delayed cerebral ischemia is common after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) and is a major contributor to poor outcome. Yet, while generally attributed to arterial vasospasm, neurologic deterioration may also occur in the absence of vasospasm. OBJECTIVE:: To determine the relationship between delayed infarction and angiographic vasospasm and compare the ...

Door-to-balloon (DTB) time is an important metric in primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction to optimize clinical outcomes. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of immediate PCI on culprit lesions in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions versus diagnostic angiography followed ...

BACKGROUND: In cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices, the interventricular (VV) delay denotes the time interval between left (LV) and right ventricular (RV) pacing. This study aimed to determine the proportion of patients in whom the effective VV delay (VV(eff) , delay between LV and RV depolarization, being induced either by ...

AimAtrial fibrillation (AF) commonly co-exists with heart failure (HF). The risk factors for and prognostic implications of incident HF development in patients with first-diagnosed AF and structurally normal hearts are poorly defined. In a cohort of patients with first-diagnosed AF and structurally normal hearts on baseline echocardiography, we investigated baseline ...

Abstract Background: Identifying older patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) within the very large proportion with elevated high-sensitive cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) is a diagnostic challenge because they often present without clear symptoms or electrocardiographic features of acute coronary syndrome to the emergency department (ED). We prospectively investigated the diagnostic ...

Thrombotic and bleeding complications are major concerns during orthopedic surgery. Given the frequency of orthopedic surgical procedures and the limited data in the literature, we sought to investigate the incidence and risk factors for thrombotic (myocardial necrosis and infarction) and bleeding events in patients undergoing orthopedic surgery. We performed a ...

This study aimed to evaluate the performance of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), cardiac biomarkers, and endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) results to predict left ventricular reverse remodeling (LVRR) in individuals with recent-onset dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). LVRR is a marker of a favorable prognosis in individuals with recent-onset DCM. We used the aforementioned ...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the therapeutic impact of combining extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and early coronary revascularization on acute myocardial infarction (AMI)-induced cardiopulmonary collapse. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 35 consecutive patients rescued by ECMO for AMI -induced cardiopulmonary collapse in a single institution between June 2003 and December ...

AimsFamily history is an established risk factor for myocardial infarction (MI), but it is not clear how this risk changes with number and gender of first-degree relatives with MI. We used the entire Danish population to examine the importance of MI in siblings and parents.Methods and resultsThis study is a ...

Background. Granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) has been investigated in trials aiming to promote recovery of myocardial function after myocardial infarction. Long-term safety-data have never been reported. A few studies indicated an increased risk of in-stent re-stenosis. We aimed to investigate clinical events 5 years after inclusion into a randomized trial of ...

BACKGROUND: Coronary and microvascular blood flow reserve have been established as important predictors of prognosis in patients with cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to assess the value of coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) and real-time myocardial perfusion echocardiography (RTMPE) for predicting events in patients with nonischemic dilated ...

To the Editor: In the study by Thiele et al. (Oct. 4 issue)(1) on the use of intraaortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP) in patients with cardiogenic shock caused by acute myocardial infarction, the authors' conclusion that IABP did not significantly reduce 30-day mortality has to be taken with caution. In one ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence on complex interaction between the nervous and immune systems in patients with cerebral infarction. This study was conducted to evaluate cytotoxic function of CD8+ T lymphocytes isolated from patients with acute severe cerebral infarction. In order to determine role of immune system in stroke, ...

The onset of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been shown to occur in a nonrandom pattern, with peaks in midmorning and on weekdays (especially Monday). The incidence of AMI has been shown to increase locally after natural disasters, but the effect of catastrophic events on AMI biorhythms is largely unknown. ...

To the Editor: In the study by Thiele et al. (Oct. 4 issue)(1) on the use of intraaortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP) in patients with cardiogenic shock caused by acute myocardial infarction, the authors' conclusion that IABP did not significantly reduce 30-day mortality has to be taken with caution. In one ...

BACKGROUND: The release kinetics of copeptin in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have been difficult to establish.METHODS: We analyzed the release kinetics of copeptin in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy undergoing transcoronary ablation of septal hypertrophy (TASH) as a model of AMI. We included 21 consecutive patients who underwent ...

To the Editor: In the study by Thiele et al. (Oct. 4 issue)(1) on the use of intraaortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP) in patients with cardiogenic shock caused by acute myocardial infarction, the authors' conclusion that IABP did not significantly reduce 30-day mortality has to be taken with caution. In one ...

AIMS: Coronary flow reserve (CFR) assessment by transthoracic ultrasound of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery during dipyridamole stress echocardiography has been shown to predict prognosis in large unselected populations. Low values of CFR are strongly correlated with significant stenosis of the LAD; aim of the present study was to ...

Experimental studies implicate late systolic load as a determinant of impaired left-ventricular relaxation. We aimed to assess the relationship between the myocardial loading sequence and left-ventricular contraction and relaxation. Time-resolved central pressure and time-resolved left-ventricular geometry were measured with carotid tonometry and speckle-tracking echocardiography, respectively, for computation of time-resolved ejection-phase ...

Background: Whether the hematocrit is implicated in the pathogenesis of slow coronary flow (SCF) is not known. Methods: To evaluate the correlation between the hematocrit and SCF, we studied 367 patients with angiographically near-normal coronary arteries. They were divided into four quartiles based on the hematocrit. The corrected thrombolysis in ...

BACKGROUND: We have previously identified a phenomenon that we called vascular rhexis (VR) after coronary occlusion in mice. To explore its potential pathogenetic impact on the destruction of vessels described, its potential universality, and its characterization as a scaffolding for evaluating amelioration, we studied Sprague-Dawley rats from which multiple blood ...

In addition to lowering cholesterol, statins stabilise atherosclerotic plaques and can potentially reduce the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias. We tested the hypothesis that prior statin therapy is associated with a lower incidence of inhospital ventricular arrhythmias among patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The study population consisted of 2007 patients ...

The aim of this prospective, randomized trial was to assess the 10-year long-term safety and effectiveness of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass surgery (MIDCAB) for the treatment of proximal left anterior descending (LAD) lesions. Long-term follow-up data comparing PCI and MIDCAB surgery for isolated ...

Impaired left ventricular (LV) diastolic function is a common pathophysiological feature of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). High-normal thyrotropin (thyroid-stimulating hormone, TSH) levels may alter the performance of the left ventricle. To ascertain whether the severity of impaired LV diastolic function in HCM patients might worsen with elevating TSH levels ...

The aim of the present study was to examine the value of the right atrial volume index (RAVI) as predictor of functional capacity in patients with heart failure. A total of 51 patients with stable chronic heart failure of ischaemic or non-ischaemic aetiology were prospectively enrolled. The systolic function of ...

OBJECTIVE: This study uses a prospective design to examine the association between self-reported job insecurity and incident coronary heart disease; an association which has been little investigated previously. METHODS: Participants were 4174 British civil servants (1236 women and 2938 men), aged 42 to 56 with self-reported data on job insecurity ...

A-FABP (adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein), one of the most abundant proteins in adipocytes, plays a key role in obesity-related insulin resistance, inflammation and atherosclerosis in animals. In the present study, we sought to investigate the association of A-FABP with HF (heart failure) in Chinese subjects. Serum A-FABP levels were measured ...

Post-infarction remodelling (PIR) determines left-ventricular (LV) function and prognosis after myocardial infarction. The aim of this study was to evaluate transthoracic ultrasound-mediated microbubble stimulation (UMS) as a novel gene- and cell-free therapeutic option after acute myocardial infarction and reperfusion (AMI/R) in mice. For myocardial delivery of UMS, a novel therapeutic ...

Percutaneous coronary intervention( PCI) for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has been widely accepted for patient who come within 12 hours, but for those who come to the hospital late (12 hours to 28 days) the long-term data and possible predictors are limited regarding 'hard' endpoints in 'real world'. The registry ...

Heart failure (HF) is a multifactorial disorder in which clinical, environmental and genetic components take part. For this reason it is possible that common gene variants could affect development, progression and response to pharmacological therapy. In recent years the role of AGEs in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases has become ...

To examine whether the total burden of comorbidity and pattern of co-occurring conditions varies in individuals with heart failure (HF) with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (HF-P) or HF with reduced LVEF (HF-R). Cross-sectional cohort study. Four participating health plans within the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-sponsored Cardiovascular ...

Coronary reperfusion strategies for acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) include primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), intravenous thrombolytic agents and recently mechanical thrombectomy alone during PCI, the latter reserved for those without significant residual disease post-thrombectomy. We describe the success of 'mechanical thrombectomy alone' in two young patients undergoing ...