Age-dependent prognostic significance of atrial fibrillation in outpatients with chronic heart failure: data from the Italian Network on Congestive Heart Failure Registry.

Objectives: The role of atrial fibrillation (AF) in older patients with heart failure (HF) is controversial because many variables seem to influence their outcome. We investigated the predictivity of AF in 3 age groups of outpatients with HF.

Methods: We analyzed 8,178 outpatients enrolled in the Italian Network on Congestive Heart Failure Registry with HF diagnosed according to the European Society of Cardiology criteria.

In vivo coronary plaque histology in patients with stable and acute coronary syndromes: relationships with hyperlipidemic status and statin treatment.

Objectives: Aim of the study was to investigate whether maintained moderate statin treatment influence atheroma, macrophage content, neoangiogenesis and/or haemorrhage in coronary plaques from patients with non-fatal coronary syndromes.

Methods: A total of 48 patients underwent elective directional coronary atherectomy on "de novo" culprit lesions; 16 patients had non-treated hypercholesterolemia, 16 patients received maintained moderate statin treatment for hypercholesterolemia and 16 had no lipoprotein abnormalities. These three patients groups were matched for age and clinical diagnosis of stable angina (SA) or unstable angina/non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (UA/NSTEMI).