Fibrinopeptide A (FpA) concentrations in plasma and in 24 hr urine specimens as well as beta-thromboglobulin (BTG) in plasma were measured in 17 patients with severe angina pectoris, including both stable and unstable angina, and in 19 patients with acute myocardial infarction. Patients with unstable angina had plasma FpA and BTG levels of 5.2 +/- 1.7 ng/ml and 91 +/- 23 ng/ml, respectively. Th...

They should not have tables or figures and should relate solely to an article published in Circulation within the preceding 12 weeks. Authors of letters selected for publication will receive prepublication proofs, and authors of the article cited in the letter will be invited to reply. Replies must be signed by all authors listed in the original publication. Please submit three typewritten, dou...

They should not have tables or figures and should relate solely to an article published in Circulation within the preceding 12 weeks. Authors of letters selected for publication will receive prepublication proofs, and authors of the article cited in the letter will be invited to reply. Replies must be signed by all authors listed in the original publication. Please submit three typewritten, dou...

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...

BACKGROUND Although abnormal vasoconstriction may be involved in the pathogenesis of the acute coronary syndromes, the vasoreactivity of the lesion responsible for unstable angina (culprit lesion) has not been directly investigated. It is also unknown if enhanced vasoreactivity is found downstream to this lesion or extends to uninvolved coronary arteries. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied seven ...

Thrombosis is the key pathological process in both unstable angina and acute myocardial infarction (MI). Treatment directed against the thrombus may consist of thrombolysis by plasminogen activators, thrombin inhibition, or platelet inhibition. Data from the TIMI IIIA and IIIB trials have shown conclusively that in contrast to their proven benefits in acute MI, plasminogen activators make the p...