BACKGROUND There are limited data regarding the prognostic value of serum uric acid (UA) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We investigated whether UA predicts the prognosis independently and whether it has an incremental value to other factors, including N-terminal Pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-ProBNP), in patients with AMI. METHODS AND RESULTS This study included 850 patients wit...

BACKGROUND a significant proportion of octogenarian patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stenting. Dual antiplatelet therapy is recommended in these patients, requiring a period of triple therapy with dual antiplatelet agent plus oral anticoagulation (OAC). Concerns remain regarding the appropriateness of OAC in octogenarians. METHODS we...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Statin-induced changes in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) are unrelated. Many patients initiated on statins experience a paradoxical decrease in HDL-C. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between a decrease in HDL-C and risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). METHODS Data from ...

OBJECTIVE Our aim was to compare short-term outcomes and long-term major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) -free survival and independent predictors of long-term MACE after off-pump (OPCAB) versus on-pump beating-heart (ONBHCAB) coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). METHODS We retrospectively reviewed data of all consecutive patients who underwent elective CABG, performed by the same surg...

OBJECTIVES We sought to identify predictors of in-hospital and long-term (> 1 year) mortality and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in elderly patients referred for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS Seventy-three patients (> or = 80 years) were included. Clinical and interventional characteristics were collected retrospectively. Primary end points were in-hospital and long-t...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the predictive effect of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in malignant obstructive jaundice (OJ) patients using plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) level and surgical Apgar scoring (SAS) system. METHODS Forty one malignant OJ patients undergoing surgical treatments were studied at a single center. Pre-and postoperative plasma BNP level, total bilirubin (TBil) an...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the utility of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR)-derived myocardial strain measurement for the prediction of poor outcomes in patients with acute myocarditis. MATERIALS AND METHODS We retrospectively analyzed data from 37 patients with acute myocarditis who underwent CMR. Left ventricular (LV) size, LV mass index, ejection fraction and presence of myocardial late g...

AIMS Studies demonstrate that percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents (DES) is associated with reduced revascularization and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) rates compared to bare metal stents (BMS) in native coronary vessels. Optimal PCI treatment of saphenous vein graft (SVG) lesions remains unclear despite SVG procedures representing up to 10% of PCI cases. We t...

BACKGROUND The ratio of early transmitral flow velocity to early diastolic velocity of the mitral annulus (E/e') correlates with left ventricular (LV) filling pressure. In particular, an E/e' ratio more than 15 is an excellent predictor of increased LV filling pressure. The authors evaluated the prognostic implications of preoperative estimated LV filling pressure, assessed by E/e' ratio, in pa...

The production of singlet oxygen was measured indirectly for three classes of photosensitizers: porphyrins (Photofrin II, TPPS4), chlorins (MACE, DACE), and a phthalocyanine (CASPc). Buffered solutions of sensitizers and singlet oxygen acceptors were irradiated with a CW dye laser and the oxygen depletion was monitored electrochemically with a Clark-type microelectrode. A comparison of oxygen-d...