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 ...

Contrast-enhanced first-pass magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in combination with a tracer kinetic model, for example, MMID4, can be used to determine myocardial blood flow (MBF) and myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR). Typically, the arterial input function (AIF) required for this methodology is estimated from the left ventricle (LV). Dispersion of the ...

A 7-year-old boy was diagnosed to have dilated cardiomyopathy with severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction at 1 year of age. Although well compensated, his LV function remained impaired over the follow-up years. His electrocardiogram (ECG) was initially misinterpreted as left bundle branch block. However, on follow-up, it was recognized as ...

This study sought to evaluate the prevalence and potential role of myocardial bridging in the pathogenesis of apical ballooning syndrome (ABS). ABS is characterized by reversible left ventricular dysfunction, frequently precipitated by a stressful event, but the pathogenesis remains still unclear. Forty-two consecutive patients (40 female, mean age 66 ± ...

Although high-molecular-weight (HMW) adiponectin is believed to protect against atherosclerosis, the association between HMW adiponectin and the composition of coronary plaques is unknown. We evaluated whether the HMW to total adiponectin ratio was associated with the presence of coronary plaque and its composition using multi-slice computed tomography coronary angiography (MSCTCA). ...

Several studies have indicated that CYP2C19 loss-of-function polymorphisms have a higher risk of stent thrombosis (ST) after percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs). However, this association has not been investigated thoroughly in a Chinese population. In this study, we aimed to determine the effect of CYP2C19*2 and CYP2C19*3 loss-of-function polymorphisms on the ...

The recent JUPITER trial demonstrated that potent statin therapy reduces by 50 % the risk of heart attack and stroke among men and women with low levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol who are at increased vascular risk due to elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker of low-grade systemic inflammation. ...

Terminal T wave inversions (TTWI) indicate advanced stages of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The present study investigated whether TTWI predict unfavorable in-hospital outcomes in STEMI patients treated with urgent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). A retrospective cohort study was performed with consecutive 188 STEMI cases undergoing urgent PCI. The primary endpoint ...

Inflammatory mechanisms involving complement activation has been shown to take part in the pathophysiology of congestive heart failure, but the initiating mechanisms are unknown. We hypothesized that the main initiator molecules of the lectin complement pathway mannose-binding lectin (MBL), ficolin-2 and ficolin-3 were related to disease severity and outcome in ...

: Evidence based largely on US cohorts suggests that long-term exposure to fine particulate matter is associated with cardiovascular mortality. There is less evidence for other pollutants and for cardiovascular morbidity. By using a cohort of 836,557 patients age 40 to 89 years registered with 205 English general practices in ...

The authors sought to report the temporal stability of an untreated, nonculprit lesion phenotype in patients presenting with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The temporal stability of the untreated, nonculprit lesion phenotype has been studied using intravascular ultrasound-virtual histology (IVUS) in patients with stable ischemic heart disease, but not in ...

An action potential duration (APD) restitution curve with a steep slope ≥1 has been associated with increased susceptibility for malignant ventricular arrhythmias. We aimed to evaluate the "restitution hypothesis" and tested ventricular APD restitution slope as well as effective refractory period (ERP)/APD ratio for long-term prognostic value in patients with ...

Mortality for refractory cardiogenic shock (RCS) remains high. However, with improving mechanical circulatory support device (MCSD) technology, the treatment options for RCS patients are expanding. We report on a recent 5-year single-center experience with MCSD for treatment of RCS. This study was a retrospective review of adult patients who required ...

Knowledge on the impact of pretreatment statin therapy on presentation of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) is incomplete. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of statin pretreatment on presentation patterns of patients with CAD. The study included 12,989 consecutive patients with CAD who underwent coronary ...

Introduction: Early detection of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is important. We conducted a prospective observational study to test the ability of cystatin C (CysC) to predict AKI and mortality among in intensive care unit (ICU) patients after acute myocardial infarction (MI). Methods: One hundred patients were enrolled in this study, ...

Introduction: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is an uncommon form of congestive heart failure, affecting obstetric patients around the time of delivery. The epidemiology of PPCM is infrequently reported. This study was undertaken to define the prevalence, presentation and outcome of PPCM among women giving birth in a teaching hospital in Malaysia. ...

The aim of the present study was to compare circulating levels of selected prothrombotic markers in patients suffering acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with and without left ventricular (LV) thrombus. One hundred patients with AMI treated with PCI on the LAD and dual antiplatelet therapy were included. LV thrombus formation ...

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is underutilized across the United States. Reported national average varies from 14-35% after acute myocardial infraction and 31% after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. No study to date has examined the utilization of CR in eligible veteran population. In this retrospective study, computerized veteran medical records at ...

This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of real-time integration of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) derived coronary anatomy and epicardial fat distribution and its impact on electroanatomical mapping and ablation. Epicardial catheter ablation for ventricular arrhythmias (VA) is an important therapeutic option in patients after endocardial ablation failure. ...

Recent data from "real world" registries and some randomised trials concerning the safety and efficacy of drug-eluting stents (DES) in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) are equivocal. We sought to compare DES with bare-metal stents (BMS) in STEMI patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention in terms of ...

To describe the ERICO study (Strategy of Registry of Acute Coronary Syndrome), a prospective cohort to investigate the epidemiology of acute coronary syndrome. The ERICO study, which is being performed at a secondary general hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, is enrolling consecutive acute coronary syndrome patients who are 35 years ...

The cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPX) is an affordable tool for risk prediction in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). We aimed to determine the role of CPX parameters in predicting the risk of incidence of sustained ventricular arrhythmias (SVA) in CHF. Sixty-one consecutive patients with CHF enrolled in the Daunia ...

Objective. The most important step in the treatment of ST elevation myocardial infarction is to sustain myocardial blood supply as soon as possible. The two main treatment methods used today to provide myocardial reperfusion are thrombolytic therapy and percutaneous coronary intervention. In our study, reperfusion arrhythmias were investigated as if ...

Many studies have shown that when hypothermia is started after coronary artery reperfusion (CAR), it is ineffective at reducing necrosis. However, some suggest that hypothermia may preferentially reduce no-reflow. Our aim was to test the effects of hypothermia on no-reflow when initiated close to reperfusion and 30 minutes after reperfusion, ...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death globally and evidence is steadily increasing on the role of non-traditional risk factors such as meteorology and air pollution. Nevertheless, many research gaps remain, such as the association between these non-traditional risk factors and subtypes of CVD, such as acute ...

Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1), a major regulator of the Wnt pathway, plays an important role in cardiovascular disease. However, no study has evaluated the association of DKK-1 and acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We investigated this association and whether the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) hospital-discharge risk score predicting major adverse ...

The purpose of this study was to propose a new index that quantifies the heterogeneity of myocardial uptake on gated myocardial perfusion SPECT (GMPS) with Tl and investigate its utility in diagnosing multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD). In 51 patients with CAD, adenosine-stress Tl GMPS and coronary angiography (CAG) were ...

To compare the effectiveness of in-hospital medical therapy versus coronary revascularisation added to medical therapy in patients who stabilised after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Propensity score-matched cohort study from the database of the Tampere ACS registry. A single academic hospital in Finland. 1149 patients with a recent ACS, but ...

Data from randomized clinical trials comparing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) may not accurately reflect current clinical practice, in which there is off-label usage of drug-eluting stents (DES). We undertook a prospective registry of coronary revascularization by CABG on- and off-pump and PCI with bare-metal ...

Major advances have been made in the treatment of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in outpatients. In contrast, little is known about outcomes in STEMI that occur in patients hospitalized for a noncardiac condition. This was a retrospective, single-center study of inpatient STEMIs from January 1, 2007, to July 31, 2011. ...

BACKGROUND: Combined treatment (CT) with statins and polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) resulted in a reduction of death and major cardiovascular events when administered after a myocardial infarction (MI). However, recent data suggests that CT may be ineffective because patients are currently treated aggressively and the risk may not be ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Homocysteine levels predict heart failure incidence in prospective epidemiological studies and correlate with severity of heart failure in cross-sectional surveys. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether a selective homocysteine lowering intervention beneficially affects cardiac remodelling and cardiac function after myocardial infarction (MI) in a ...

BACKGROUND: Transient ischemic attack has been redefined as a tissue-based diagnosis and MRI recommended as the preferred imaging modality. We aimed to investigate whether an increased use of MRI leads to a decrease in the proportion of TIA as compared to cerebral infarction. We also sought to see whether DWI-positive ...

Objectives: To determine sex bias in the selection of strategies to evaluate patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and determine if the choice of strategy influences survival. Background: Controversy exists regarding the role of female sex in the use of invasive evaluation for AMI and its possible effect on adverse ...

Background: Dual anti-platelet therapy including clopidogrel or prasugrel is standard of care for patients receiving stents. Prasugrel has quicker onset so it can be loaded later than clopidogrel with greater efficacy. However, prasugrel is much more expensive than clopidogrel. Objectives: To describe the incidence of 30-day death from cardiovascular causes, ...

BACKGROUND: -Twelve lead electrocardiograms (ECG's) have limited value in precisely identifying atrial and ventricular activation during arrhythmias, including accessory atrio-ventricular (AV) conduction activation. The aim of this study was to report a single center's clinical experience validating a novel, noninvasive, whole heart, beat-by-beat, 3D mapping technology with invasive electrophysiological studies ...

Background: It is controversial whether angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI)/angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) provide significant survival benefits in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) but without myocardial infarction (MI). This study investigated whether the association of ACEI/ARB therapy with clinical outcome in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was affected by history ...

Rotational atherectomy (RA) has been advocated in the bare metal stent (BMS) era but is underused now due to technique demands and nonsuperior outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the procedural and clinical outcomes of patients with very complex, severely calcified coronary lesions treated by RA and ...

Smoking marijuana has been reported to increase risk of myocardial infarction (MI) immediately after use, but less is known about the long-term impact of marijuana use among patients with established coronary disease. The Determinants of MI Onset Study is a multicenter inception cohort study of myocardial infarction (MI) patients enrolled ...

Background: Little is known about the prognostic significance of elevated serum heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) in post-acute myocardial infarction (post-AMI) patients. Methods and Results: A total of 1,283 post-AMI patients with available serum samples collected in the convalescent stage were studied. During a median follow-up period of 1,785 days, 176 patients ...

OBJECTIVES: The myocardial bridge (MB) is an anatomical structure consisting of myocardium covering a part of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). The extent and spatial distribution of atherosclerosis in the LAD with an MB is influenced by the anatomical properties of the MB. In this study, the relationship ...

This study aimed to investigate the correlations between the detection rate of mural coronary artery (MCA) by 128-slice CT and the MCA compression extent in systole with myocardial bridge (MB) length and thickness. A retrospective analysis was conducted for 580 patients receiving multislicespiral CT coronary angiography (MSCTCA). In addition, the ...

BACKGROUND: -Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation for prevention of sudden cardiac death is typically deferred for 90 days after coronary revascularization, but mortality may be highest early after cardiac procedures in patients with ventricular dysfunction. We determined mortality risk in post-revascularization patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤35% and ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) T1 mapping has been used to characterize myocardial diffuse fibrosis. The aim of this study is to determine the reproducibility and sample size of CMR fibrosis measurements that would be applicable in clinical trials. METHODS: A modified Look-Locker with inversion recovery (MOLLI) sequence was ...

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is able to determine a significant improvement of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The variations of LV global longitudinal strain (GLS) have not been yet investigated in TAVI patients with reduced LVEF. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of TAVI on ...

The atrial sites associated with fractionated activity and/or high-frequency signals are commonly considered as targets of ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF); however, their temporal stability has not been established. A total of 21 patients with paroxysmal AF were studied. Left atrial (LA) ganglionated plexi (GP) were identified by high-frequency stimulation, ...

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory process, and inflammatory biomarkers have been identified as useful predictors of clinical outcomes. The prognostic value of leukocyte count in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions who undergo primary percutaneous coronary intervention is not clearly defined. In 325 patients with STEMIs treated with primary percutaneous coronary ...

Evidence regarding therapy with drug-eluting stents in the left main coronary artery (LM) is based mostly on trials performed with first-generation drug-eluting stents. The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term clinical outcomes after treatment for unprotected LM disease with paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) and everolimus-eluting stents (EES). The ESTROFA-LM ...

Background: Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is used as a diagnostic marker of cardiovascular diseases. BNP is secreted mainly from the myocardium and has been detected by immunoreactivity in brain and cerebral arteries. The aim of our study was to investigate plasma BNP in patients with acute cerebral infarction according ...