AIMS An increase in platelet aggregability is associated with unstable angina and myocardial infarction. Platelet size and activity correlate and mean platelet volume was found to be increased before acute myocardial infarction. We measured the mean platelet volume and platelet count in patients with stable angina, unstable angina and non-cardiac chest pain. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied 981...

BACKGROUND Earlier reports have shown that the outcome of balloon angioplasty or bypass surgery in unstable angina is less favorable than in stable angina. Recent improvements in percutaneous treatment (stent implantation) and bypass surgery (arterial grafts) warrant reevaluation of the relative merits of either technique in treatment of unstable angina. Methods and Results- Seven hundred fifty...

The incidence of major complications after percutaneous coronary angioplasty (PTCA) of a totally occluded artery was assessed retrospectively. A total of 1649 PTCA procedures were analyzed. After exclusion of procedures for acute myocardial infarction or total occlusion that resulted from restenosis, 90 patients were selected. Forty-four patients (49%) had stable angina and 46 (51%) had unstabl...

A retrospective study was made of 158 patients with unstable angina admitted to a coronary care unit over a 4-year period. Twenty patients (13 per cent) had myocardial infarcts while in hospital, and of these 3 died; three others died without preceding evidence of myocardial infarction. There was thus an acute mortality rate of 4 per cent. Patients with persisting angina after the first 24 hour...

Background—Earlier reports have shown that the outcome of balloon angioplasty or bypass surgery in unstable angina is less favorable than in stable angina. Recent improvements in percutaneous treatment (stent implantation) and bypass surgery (arterial grafts) warrant reevaluation of the relative merits of either technique in treatment of unstable angina. Methods and Results—Seven hundred fifty-...

BACKGROUND The goal of this study was to evaluate the role of the fibrinolytic system in patients with unstable angina at rest associated with transient electrocardiographic changes. METHODS AND RESULTS Tissue plasminogen activator activity in plasma was comparable among patients with unstable angina (n = 17), patients with stable exertional angina (n = 10), and control patients with normal c...

That unstable angina is a serious and potentially dangerous condition which requires immediate attention is a statement with which few clinicians would disagree. However, if it is examined more closely and attempts are made to establish exactly just how serious and how dangerous, an apparent confusion emerges. Furthermore, if clinicians start to discuss the details of the immediate attention, i...

Background. Because coronary thrombosis is important in the pathogenesis of unstable angina and correlates with in-hospital cardiac events, we hypothesized that thrombolytic therapy would decrease cardiac events. Methods and Results. We randomized 70 patients with unstable angina to tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) (0.49 MU/kg for 1 hour followed by 0.07 MU/kg per hour for 9 hours) or p...