BACKGROUND The prognostic value of BNP in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has been repeatedly assessed, but not completely well established. Literature data for establishing the best time for assessing BNP, be it on hospital admission or after coronary intervention, are controversial. OBJECTIVE To analyze BNP in non-ST segment elevation ACS (NSTE-ACS) in the long term, and to assess the associa...

We thank Balta et al. [1] for their comments. As stated in our article, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was found to be an independent predictor for both short (30-day) and long-term (2-year) mortality after adjusting for biomarkers and hematological markers [2]. Additionally, a cut-off value of NLR ≥ 7.4 × 10/L significantly improved the predictive power in combination with standardized T...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The acute stroke literature lacks a standard convention regarding the critical end point of revascularization. Two distinct parameters may be clinically important: (1) recanalization of the primary arterial occlusive lesion (AOL) and (2) global reperfusion of the distal vascular bed. We sought to determine their relationship in the Interventional Management of Stroke (IMS...

AIM Myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) is effective in predicting myocardial viability and functional recovery on a segmental level in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In this study, we investigated whether insufficient myocardial reperfusion plays an important role in left ventricular (LV) remodeling and functional recovery in patients with thrombolysis in myocardial in...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to create a practical score for risk stratification in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated with primary angioplasty and to assess the feasibility of early discharge in low-risk patients. METHODS AND RESULTS A prognostic score was built according to 30-day mortality rates in 1791 patients undergoing primary angioplasty f...

INTRODUCTION Left ventricular (LV) function and prognosis in patients after myocardial infarction are associated with some angiographic parameters. OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to assess the associations between the TIMI score in the infarct-related artery (IRA) before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), myocardial blush grade (MBG) following effective PCI, and the extent of coll...