The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) plays a central role in protein degradation and regulates a variety of critical cellular processes. During recent years, the cardiac UPS has become increasingly recognized as a key regulator of cardiac function under both physiological and pathological conditions. Numerous studies have demonstrated that altered UPS function is involved in the pathogenesis o...

Myocardial protection by pre-conditioning involves increasing the tolerance to ischaemia-reperfusion injury and can be achieved by either mechanical or pharmacological means. Pre-conditioning involves the therapeutic manoeuvre being applied before the start of ischaemia while post-conditioning applies the manoeuvre after the start of ischaemia. The initial method for achieving myocardial protec...

In this issue of the Journal Manfrini et al., demonstrate that radically different autonomic profiles accompany episodes of spontaneous myocardial ischaemia compared to myocardial ischaemia in the same patient. Practicing cardiologists have known for decades that the location of myocardial ischaemia determines the pattern of autonomic response. For example, acute transmural anterior wall myocar...

The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) plays a central role in protein degradation and regulates a variety of critical cellular processes. During recent years, the cardiac UPS has become increasingly recognized as a key regulator of cardiac function under both physiological and pathological conditions. Numerous studies have demonstrated that altered UPS function is involved in the pathogenesis o...

Background: B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and the inactive amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) have a prognostic value in heart failure and in myocardial infarction. There has been some evidence that BNP and NT-proBNP can be used in the diagnosis of myocardial ischaemia by improving the sensitivity of exercise-stress testing. Objective: To observe the relationship betwee...

Fifty two patients were examined 4-6 weeks after myocardial infarction to assess whether factors other than coronary artery narrowing affect the maximal ST/HR slope which is used as an index of myocardial ischaemia. The slope was compared with indices of myocardial scarring or cardiac enlargement derived from x ray and echocardiographic and angio-cardiographic investigations. In 35 (67%) patien...

A coronary artery-left ventricular fistula (CAF) is an extremely rare anatomical abnormality in which blood drains directly from a coronary artery into the left ventricle. CAF may cause myocardial ischaemia and angina. Myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) is a non-invasive technique which assesses myocardial perfusion. We describe a patient with CAF in whom transmural myocardial ischaemia...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of physiological ischaemia training on the quantity and activity of endothelial progenitor cells in rabbits with intermittent myocardial ischaemia. METHODS A reversible coronary artery water balloon occluder (5.0 mm inner diameter) was placed around the proximal left ventricular branch and intermittent myocardial ischaemia was induced by deflation and infl...

BACKGROUND We wanted to evaluate the presense of myocardial ischaemia in asymptomatic patients with high cardiovascular risk, the influencing clinical and laboratory factors and the impact of ischaemia on final management decision. MATERIAL AND METHODS We evaluated 60 asymptomatic patients with high CV risk, who underwent SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) for detection of suspected CAD...

UNLABELLED Silent myocardial ischaemia (SMI), defined as objective evidence of myocardial ischaemia in the absence of symptoms, has important clinical implications for the patient with coronary artery disease. We present a dramatic case of SMI in a diabetes patient who attended annual review clinic with ST elevation myocardial infarction. His troponin was normal on admission but raised to 10.7 ...