Mechanical Ventilation and Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Retrospective Observational Study.

Purpose: Patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and respiratory impairment may be treated with either invasive or non-invasive mechanical ventilation (MV). However, there has been little testing of non-invasive MV in the setting of AMI. Our objective was to evaluate the incidence and associated clinical outcomes of patients with AMI who were treated with non-invasive or invasive MV.

Increasing doses of simvastatin versus combined ezetimibe/simvastatin: effect on circulating endothelial progenitor cells.

Background: Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) should be treated with statins to attain very low cholesterol levels, in order to reduce cardiovascular adverse events. More than 70% of these patients do not reach the appropriate cholesterol goal despite moderate statin doses. However, it is not known whether therapeutic uptitration with different lipid-lowering strategies has a similar "pleiotropic" effect on atherosclerotic endothelial dysfunction evaluated by measurement of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs).

Preprocedural statin therapy, inflammation, and myocardial injury in low-risk stable coronary artery disease patients submitted to coronary stent implantation.

Objective: Evaluate if statin therapy prior to elective coronary stent implantation (CSI) reduces the plasma levels of markers of inflammation and of myocardial necrosis in low-risk stable coronary artery disease patients (CAD).

Background: The elevation of markers of inflammation and of myocardial necrosis after percutaneous coronary intervention may interfere with clinical outcome. Among acute coronary syndrome patients, statins improve clinical outcomes when used before CSI-mostly due to reduction of CSI-related myocardial infarction.

Pleiotropic effects of ezetimibe/simvastatin vs. high dose simvastatin.

Background: In the setting of stable coronary artery disease (CAD), it is not known if the pleiotropic effects of cholesterol reduction differ between combined ezetimibe/simvastatin and high-dose simvastatin alone.

Objective: We sought to compare the anti-inflammatory and antiplatelet effects of ezetimibe 10mg/simvastatin 20mg (E10/S20) with simvastatin 80 mg (S80).

Methods And Results: CAD patients (n=83, 63 ± 9 years, 57% men) receiving S20, were randomly allocated to receive E10/S20 or S80, for 6 weeks.

Influence of leukocytes and glycemia on the prognosis of patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that leukocytosis and hyperglycemia verified at the admission of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are associated with intrahospital mortality. However, little is known on the long-term impact of these markers.

Objective: To evaluate the short-and long-term influence of the levels of glucose and leukocytes on the prognosis of patients with AMI.

[Negative sestamibi-dipyridamole perfusion imaging in severe coronary artery disease in the preoperative period of correction of abdominal aortic aneurysm].

We report the case of a 73-year-old male patient who was a candidate for correction of an abdominal aortic aneurysm without abnormalities in his first cardiological evaluation. The surgery was postponed because of the need for treatment of epididymitis. Two weeks later, the patient returned to the hospital with thoracic pain, when the angiography showed obstructions in 2 coronary arteries, which were successfully treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stent implantation.