BACKGROUND The 2013 American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association guidelines for patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction gives a class III indication for nonculprit artery percutaneous coronary intervention at the time of primary percutaneous coronary intervention, driven by data from observational studies. However, more recent trials suggest otherwise. ...

BACKGROUND Little is known about facility-level variation in the use of revascularization procedures for the management of stable obstructive coronary artery disease. Furthermore, it is unknown if variation in the use of coronary revascularization is associated with use of other cardiovascular procedures. METHODS AND RESULTS We evaluated all elective coronary angiograms performed in the Veter...

BACKGROUND Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a nonatherosclerotic acute coronary syndrome for which optimal management remains undefined. METHODS AND RESULTS We performed a retrospective study of 189 patients presenting with a first SCAD episode. We evaluated outcomes according to initial management: (1) revascularization versus conservative therapy and (2) percutaneous coronar...

To determine whether coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with complete revascularization improves survival in patients with multivessel disease (MVD) over CABG with incomplete revascularization, we performed a meta-analysis of adjusted (but not unadjusted) risk estimates from observational studies. Databases including MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched through October 2013 using Web-based sear...

AIMS To examine the relationship between revascularization within 7 days and 1-year mortality among ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients enrolled in GUSTO-V trial (n=13 451). To examine the relative contribution of system and patient level factors to the variation in international revascularization rates, and their impact on mortality outcomes. METHODS AND RESULTS Patients from North A...

Arterial revascularization in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) reestablishes large arterial blood supply to the ischemic muscles in lower extremities via bypass grafts or percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). Currently no gold standard is available for assessment of revascularization effects in lower extremity muscles. This study tests a novel near-infrared diffuse correla...

Surgical revascularization with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has become established as the most effective interventional therapy for patients with moderately severe and severe stable ischemic heart disease (SIHD). This recommendation is based on traditional 5-year outcomes of mortality and avoidance of myocardial infarction leading to reintervention and/or cardiac death. However, thes...

Diastolic dysfunction indicates a functional abnormality of diastolic relaxation, filling, or distensibility of the left ventricle (LV), regardless of whether the LVEF is normal or abnormal. Diastolic dysfunction is practically always progressive and connected with higher morbidity and mortality rates, and, if not treated may lead to a diastolic heart failure. The golden standard for evaluation...

OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of coronary artery revascularization in patients with ventricular arrhythmias. BACKGROUND Coronary artery revascularization is an effective treatment for myocardial ischemia; however, its effect on ventricular arrhythmias not related to an acute ischemic event has not been carefully studied. METHODS Sixty-four patients (58 ...

BACKGROUND In the Clinical Outcomes Utilizing Revascularization and Aggressive Drug Evaluation (COURAGE) trial, some patients with stable ischemic heart disease randomized to optimal medical therapy (OMT) crossed over to early revascularization. The predictors and outcomes of patients who crossed over from OMT to revascularization are unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS We compared characteristics o...