Chronic stable angina (CSA) is a significant problem in the United States that can negatively impact patient quality of life (QoL). An accurate assessment of the severity of a patient's angina, the impact on their functional status, and their risk of cardiovascular complications is key to successful treatment of CSA. Active communication between the patient and their healthcare provider is nece...

Stable angina is common. In England about 8% of men and 3% of women aged 55-64 years and about 14% of men and 8% of women aged 65-74 years have or have had angina. Stable angina is associated with a low but appreciable risk of acute coronary events and increased mortality. However, evidence exists of inconsistencies in management. This article summarises the most recent recommendations from the...

OBJECTIVES To define the role of mast cells in plaque destabilization. BACKGROUND Inflammation is an essential feature of human coronary plaques. Macrophages and T lymphocytes are considered to contribute to destabilization of the plaques. The role of mast cells in this setting is less well studied. We therefore counted the mast cells in coronary atherectomy specimens from patients with chron...

Identification of a characteristic morphology of a coronary stenosis likely to result in myocardial infarction would facilitate the prospective evaluation of infarct prevention strategies and identification of high-risk patients. We postulated that coronary lesions associated with recent myocardial infarction or unstable angina would have an angiographic morphology suggesting disruption of an a...

Correspondence to: Professor David C Crossman, Cardiovascular Research Unit, Division of Clinical Sciences (North), Clinical Sciences Centre, Herries Road, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield S5 7AU, UK; d.c.crossman@ sheffield.ac.uk _________________________ M yocardial ischaemia is responsible for angina, unstable angina, and, less commonly, shortness of breath secondary to ischaemic left ve...

Preamble .............................................................................................2093

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Mortality from acute coronary syndrome has fallen but a substantial number of chronic patients remain symptomatic. The present study was designed to determine the clinical characteristics and therapeutic treatment of patients with stable angina and its impact on their quality of life. METHODS A cross-sectional, multicenter, observational study of 2039 patients with...

Background Rupture of atherosclerotic plaques is probably the most important mechanism underlying the sudden onset of acute coronary syndromes. Macrophages may release lytic enzymes that degrade the fibrous cap and therefore produce rupture of the atherosclerotic plaque. This study was designed to quantify macrophage content in coronary plaque tissue from patients with stable and unstable coron...

BACKGROUND Chronic angina is a profoundly symptomatic disease. We evaluated the relationship between angina frequency and health utility. METHODS We used data from stable angina patients reporting ≥3 attacks/week enrolled in the Efficacy of Ranolazine in Chronic Angina (ERICA) trial. Angina frequency was classified using the Seattle Angina Questionnaire angina frequency (SAQAF) domain into no...

BACKGROUND Rupture of atherosclerotic plaques is probably the most important mechanism underlying the sudden onset of acute coronary syndromes. Macrophages may release lytic enzymes that degrade the fibrous cap and therefore produce rupture of the atherosclerotic plaque. This study was designed to quantify macrophage content in coronary plaque tissue from patients with stable and unstable coron...