Aims: The long-term clinical performance of drug-eluting stents (DES) coated with biodegradable polymers is poorly known. Methods and results: A total of 274 coronary patients were randomly allocated to paclitaxel-eluting stents, sirolimus-eluting stents, or bare metal stents (2:2:1 ratio). The two DES used the same biodegradable polymers and were identical ...

PURPOSE: Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) have an increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias, particularly during autonomic dysreflexia (acute hypertensive episodes). This may be partly due to impaired autonomic control of the heart after SCI. The interval between the peak and end of the T-wave of the electrocardiograph (ECG) provides ...

: Upper reference values of echocardiographic left-ventricular mass in the European population are based on scanty data mostly derived from northern European population-based samples. Furthermore, data in apparently healthy populations have included individuals with conditions affecting left-ventricular mass such as obesity, diabetes and masked hypertension. Thus, from 1051 individuals with ...

The importance of the epicardium for myocardial and valvuloseptal development has been well established; perturbation of epicardial development results in cardiac abnormalities, including thinning of the ventricular myocardial wall and malformations of the atrioventricular valvuloseptal complex. To determine the spatiotemporal contribution of epicardially derived cells to the developing fibroblast population ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to determine whether lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], considered a causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease, primarily promotes thrombosis or atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using a Mendelian randomization study design, we measured plasma Lp(a) and genetically elevated Lp(a) levels through the LPA kringle IV type ...

Patients with severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and multi-vessel coronary artery disease (CAD) are at high risk during revascularisation, however they are also likely to derive the most benefit. Historically, the detection of dysfunctional but potentially viable myocardium ('stunned or hibernating myocardium') has been central to the decision-making regarding revascularisation. ...

The internal mammary artery (IMA) is routinely used for grafting of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD), providing good flow to the anterior left ventricle (LV) wall. Impeded IMA-to-LAD flow may result in myocardial ischaemia and haemodynamic deterioration. From a study population, we describe two incidents where myocardial ischaemia ...

After many years of study clofibrate, the first of the fibrates, seemed in the 1960s, to be an effective means of lowering raised plasma cholesterol. It provided an opportunity for examining the key question of whether reduction of plasma cholesterol might lead to reduction in the incidence of coronary heart ...

AIMS: To establish the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in the general population in the UK, and in those with risk factors.METHODS AND RESULTS: The prevalence of AF on electrocardiography was established in prospectively selected groups: 3960 randomly selected from the population, aged 45+; 782 with a previous diagnosis of ...

Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia, and is responsible for substantial morbidity and mortality in the general population. Current treatments have moderate efficacy and considerable risks, especially of pro-arrhythmia, highlighting the need for new therapeutic strategies. In recent years, substantial efforts have been invested in developing ...

Chronic kidney disease is now widely accepted as an independent risk factor for coronary disease and the dialysis population may represent the highest risk subgroup. Among all dialysis patients, a cardiac cause of mortality has been estimated at 40%. In addition, prior studies have demonstrated that when cardiac catheterization is ...

BACKGROUND: Prior studies have suggested that African Americans with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) have increased bleeding risks with fibrinolysis relative to Caucasians, yet these data were quite limited. Additionally, it is unknown whether there are racial differences in bleeding risks among STEMI patients receiving primary percutaneous coronary intervention ...

The goal of this study was to define electrocardiographic (ECG) and echocardiographic characteristics of adolescent African athletes. Recent observations in African athletes reported large prevalence of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and ECG abnormalities. No data, so far, exist for adolescent Africans, which comprise a growing proportion of competitive/professional athletes. The ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is a recently recognized rare disorder. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may help to clarify the uncertainties related to this genetic cardiomyopathy. Despite the fact that many articles have been published concerning the use of MRI in the study of LVNC, there is a lack ...

The prevalence of atrial fibrillation is much greater among persons with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) than among the general population. While significant advances have been made recently in the treatment of atrial fibrillation in the general population, we know very little about the treatment of atrial fibrillation among those with ...

BACKGROUND: Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) is the single leading cause of death among non-transmitted chronic diseases in Brazil. The knowledge of mortality trends is necessary for planning prevention strategies. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate trends in mortality from myocardial infarction in the period from 1998 to 2009 in Curitiba (PR), their distribution ...

BACKGROUND: Despite the high prevalence and clinical importance of atrial fibrillation (AF), there is no Brazilian study about the clinical profile of patients with AF and the most used treatment strategy (heart rhythm control vs. heart rate control) for them. OBJECTIVE: To assess the most used treatment strategy for AF ...

BACKGROUND: Clopidogrel requires oxidation dependent on the cytochrome P450 enzyme 2C19 (CYP2C19) to form its active metabolite. The importance of loss-of-function alleles (particularly CYP2C19*2, 681G>A) in poor platelet response to clopidogrel is well recognized. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and prognostic impact of the CYP2C19*2 allele in a local acute ...

BACKGROUND: <0.001 for trend for each) between 2000-2008, adjusted rates of decline varied by region (annual declines ranging from 2.9-6.1%). Widening geographic disparities, as measured by percent change of between-state variance from 2000-2008, were observed for MI incidence (37.6% increase, P=0.03) and percutaneous coronary intervention rates (31.4% increase, P=0.06). Significant ...

Heart rate variability (HRV) is the temporal beat-to-beat variation in successive RR intervals on an electrocardiographic (ECG) recording and it reflects the regulation of the heart rate (HR) by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). HRV analysis is a noninvasive tool for the assessment of autonomic function that gained momentum in ...

Multiple echocardiographic techniques have been utilized to quantify systolic function. The shortening and ejection fraction remain the most commonly used and accepted methods. However, these measures are affected by altered loading conditions, and are not applicable when ventricular geometry differs from the prolate ellipsoid typical of a left ventricle. Mitral ...

Objectives: Vessel size imaging is a novel technique to evaluate pathological changes of the microvessel density quantity Q and the mean vessel size index (VSI). As a follow-up study, we assessed these parameters for microscopic description of ischemic penumbra and their potentials in predicting lesion growth. Methods: Seventy-five patients with ...

Although electrocardiographic criteria for diagnosing left ventricular hypertrophy have a low sensitivity in the general population, their test characteristics have not been evaluated in the high-prevalence group of American Americans with chronic kidney disease. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate these test characteristics among African Americans (n ...

Left ventricular systolic function is an important indicator of clinical well-being and outcomes for patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). This study tested the hypothesis that left ventricular diastolic function by pulsed-wave tissue Doppler is associated with quality of life in this population. In this study, 38 subjects (age, ...

BACKGROUND: The optimal percutaneous treatment of drug-eluting stent (DES) in-stent restenosis (ISR) and the correlates for recurrent DES ISR remain unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS: From 2003 to 2008, 563 patients presenting with recurrent symptoms of ischemia and angiographic ISR after DES implantation were included. Of these, 327 were treated with ...

The development of cardiovascular pathologies is potentially connected to the surrounding environment, partly due to purely environmental factors, like exposition to pollutions, or anthropological ones, like the type of manual or stressing working activities. The relevant literature has already widely discussed the correlation between the acute and chronic exposition to ...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Death and hospitalization for acutely decompensated heart failure are predominantly due to volume overload, have increased in the past 10 years, carry poor outcomes, and are costly to the healthcare system. Clinical monitoring with daily weight and symptoms is relatively insensitive for early detection of volume overload. ...

Systolic time intervals are highly correlated to fundamental cardiac functions. Several studies have shown that these measurements have significant diagnostic and prognostic value in heart failure condition and are adequate for long-term patient follow-up and disease management. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of using heart sound (HS) to ...

Introduction: Alteplase is the only approved drug for thrombolysis in acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) after its initial use in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Its role in functional recovery is time-dependent while its major adverse effect, intracranial haemorrhage, is dose-dependent. These underline the importance of the pharmacokinetics of alteplase to its ...

BACKGROUND: South Asians have a high prevalence of ischemic heart disease and experience high incident acute myocardial infarction (AMI) rates at younger ages than their white counterparts. The aim of this study was to compare outcomes after AMI in a Canadian population of South Asian and white patients, aged 20 ...

BACKGROUND: <0.05). The presence of major aortopulmonary collateral arteries, older operative age, and previous shunt operation are independent risks of late cardiac deaths. Secondary to cardiac mortality, unnatural deaths (accident and suicide) accounted for 27.6% of late deaths, significantly higher compared with that of the general population (odds ratio, 2.18; ...

Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia, is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. AF has a slightly lower incidence and prevalence in Asian populations than in Western populations, but the associated relative risk of stroke and mortality is similar. Patients with AF in Asia have similar disease ...

Acquired left ventricle (LV) to left atrial (LA) fistula is a very rare complication following aortic valve replacement (AVR). This can usually be surgically repaired but the risk of re-operation is high due to repeat sternotomy and also due to other comorbidities usually seen in this population. We report a ...

Coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Four randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical trials -VALIANT, EPHESUS, OPTIMAAL, and CAPRICORN evaluated pharmacologic intervention in a total of 28,771 high-risk patients following acute MI complicated with signs of heart failure or evidence of left ventricular dysfunction. ...

Heart failure (HF) is very common in the general population, and risk factors for HF, such as coronary artery disease, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension, are frequently present in patients with CKD. Therefore, HF is also an important cause of morbidity and mortality in this population. Diastolic heart failure (DHF), also ...

Long-term alternate nostril breathing (ANB) has been shown to enhance autonomic control of the heart by increasing parasympathetic modulation. However, there is no information on the immediate effects of ANB on autonomic control compared to paced breathing (PB) at the same rate in individuals who are inexperienced with yogic breathing. ...

The quantity of blood arriving at the left side of the heart oscillates throughout the breathing cycle due to the mechanics of breathing. Neurally regulated fluctuations in the length of the heart period act to dampen oscillations of the left ventricular stroke volume entering the aorta. We have reported that ...

BACKGROUND: Socioeconomic status (SES) and area of residence are known to impact access to invasive cardiac procedures. Low SES adversely affects long-term mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Most of the data were derived from private healthcare systems. Our objectives were to evaluate the effects of SES and area of ...

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies reported associations between insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) serum concentration and cardiac morbidity and mortality, but the association between IGF-I serum concentration and cardiac repolarization has not been investigated in a population-based study so far. Therefore, we analyzed the impact of IGF-I concentrations on QTc, QT and ...

Right ventricular (RV) function is increasingly recognized as having prognostic significance in various disease processes. The current gold standard for noninvasive measurement of RV function is cardiac magnetic resonance imaging; however, because of practical considerations, echocardiography remains the most often used modality for evaluating the RV. In the past, because ...

Heart failure (HF) is a common condition leading to an unfavourable prognosis and impaired quality of life. In this review, we provide an overview of published literature on possible epidemiological and pathophysiological differences between patients with systolic HF of South Asian origin and those from other ethnic groups (mainly White). ...

Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is present in trace amounts or more in 82-86% of the population and is greater than mild in 14% of the population. In severe cases, it can contribute to right heart failure and adversely affect mitral valve repair durability. One major cause of TR is the dilation ...

BACKGROUND:We evaluated kinetic changes of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and patients with hs-cTnT increases not due to ACS to rule in or rule out non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).METHODS:hs-cTnT was measured serially in consecutive patients presenting to the emergency department. Patients with ...

The XIENCE V USA (XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System Condition-of-Approval Post-Market Study) sought to evaluate the safety of everolimus-eluting coronary stent systems in a real-world population with a total of 5,054 participants (1,875 standard-risk; 3,179 extended-risk). At 1 year, the rate of Academic Research Consortium-defined definite and probable ...

Accidental deep hypothermia with body temperature < 28 degrees C induces high mortality rates for neurological and cardiac complications. Although several reports described successful treatment of hypothermic arrest by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), the field of warming in the homeless is almost completely unquestioned although the malnutrition and the co-morbidities ...

To determine the predictive value of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), N-terminal pro-ANP (NT-proANP), and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) for mortality and cardiovascular events in the general population in the absence of overt heart failure (HF). We identified a community-based cohort of 2042 individuals. Those with stage C or D ...

ObjectiveTo compare short and medium-term prognosis in South Asian and Caucasian patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to determine if there are ethnic differences in case death rates.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingA cardiology referral centre in east London.Patients9771 patients who underwent PCI from October 2003 to December 2007 of whom 7966 (81.5%) ...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The numbers of patients with ongoing mechanical circulatory support (MCS) is expanding significantly. These patients continue to have significant risk of both atrial and ventricular arrhythmias with few guidelines to suggest appropriate therapeutic strategies. Cardiologists need to understand the risks and therapeutic alternatives for the management of ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: There is variation in cardiac catheterization utilization across jurisdictions. Previous work from Alberta, Canada, showed no evidence of a plateau in the yield of high-risk disease at cardiac catheterization rates as high as 600 per 100,000 population suggesting that the optimal rate is higher. This work aims 1) ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Increasing population rates of cardiac catheterization can lead to the detection of more people with high risk coronary disease and opportunity for subsequent revascularization. However, such a strategy should only be undertaken if it is cost-effective. METHODS: Based on data from a cohort of patients undergoing cardiac catheterization, ...