OBJECTIVE To investigate whether plaque rupture and thrombosis have a role in silent ischaemia as well as in unstable angina. DESIGN Prospective analysis of the results of haemostatic diagnostic tests at the moment of developing silent ischaemia at rest. SETTING Coronary care unit. PATIENTS 22 patients with acute myocardial infarction, 12 patients with symptomatic angina (unstable angina)...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess whether the cardioprotective effect of ischaemic preconditioning (IPC) on endothelial function in coronary arteries and myocardial function is affected in the streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat heart. METHODS Isolated hearts, perfused under constant flow conditions, were exposed to 30 min of partial ischaemia (flow rate 1 ml min-1) followed by 20...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate Holter and treadmill responses in patients with stable angina or recent myocardial infarction in order to compare the mechanisms of ischaemia and its symptomatic expression in these two groups. PATIENTS 75 patients with ischaemic ST segment depression on both a treadmill stress test and ambulatory Holter monitoring. Group A comprised 35 patients with stable angina, and g...

Remote ischaemic preconditioning (RIPC) represents a strategy for harnessing the body's endogenous protective capabilities against the injury incurred by ischaemia and reperfusion. It describes the intriguing phenomenon in which transient non-lethal ischaemia and reperfusion of one organ or tissue confers resistance to a subsequent episode of lethal ischaemia reperfusion injury in a remote orga...

Exogenous administration of adenosine induces atrial fibrillation in up to 7.0% of patients. Animal studies affirm endogenous adenosine released in response to tissue hypoxia may play a mechanistic role in arrhythmias associated with myocardial ischaemia or hypoxia. Therefore, atrial fibrillation occurring early after the acute phase of myocardial infarction involving atrial tissue may be secon...

Endothelial dysfunction may contribute to the extent of ischaemia/reperfusion injury. ET (endothelin)-1 receptor antagonism protects against myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury in animal models. The present study investigated whether oral administration of an ET(A)/ET(B) receptor antagonist protects against ischaemia/reperfusion-induced endothelial dysfunction in humans. FBF (forearm blood ...

SUMMARY Obesity is increasing at an alarming rate globally. Several studies have shown that premenopausal women have a reduced risk of CV disease and a reduced myocardial susceptibility to ischaemia/reperfusion injury. The effect of obesity on myocardial tolerance to ischaemia in women has not been established. To determine how obesity affects myocardial susceptibility to ischaemia/reperfusion ...

OBJECTIVE To find the frequency of silent myocardial ischaemia in diabetics as compared to non-diabetics. METHODS This was a cross sectional study conducted between November 2008 and March 2010. Two hundred subjects were recruited by convenience sampling after informed consent. All were subjected to an exercise stress test. Electrocardiographic changes were noted for silent Ischaemia Descript...

Interruption of oxygen supply in acute myocardial ischaemia reduces venous return of oxygen at the coronary sinus. In this study, the oxygen content of venous return in the coronary sinus was measured by using spectrometry in the near infrared spectrum. The authors developed a new intravascular catheter made of fibre optics. After in vitro calibration by blood flow based on a standard gas mixtu...