Gender disparity in 48-hour mortality is limited to emergency percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Background: Previous studies indicate that mortality from acute coronary syndromes is higher in women than in men, especially in case of interventional strategy.

Aim: To assess whether the in-hospital mortality rate differs between genders during the first 48h after emergency percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (emergency PCI-STEMI) or after non-emergency PCI.

Methods: All patients treated with PCI between January 2005 and June 2008 were included.

Clinical assessment of ischemia-modified albumin and heart fatty acid-binding protein in the early diagnosis of non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome in the emergency department.

Objectives: Heart fatty acid-binding protein (h-FABP) and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) have recently been evaluated, but to the best of our knowledge, no study has reported an analysis of these two markers for the detection of early myocardial infarction and myocardial ischemia in a large cohort of consecutive patients presenting to an emergency department (ED). This study evaluates the diagnostic accuracy and the clinical utility of h-FABP and IMA for non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (ACS) diagnosis in the first hour of management in an ED.

Methods: In a prospective 11-month study, 677 patients admitted to the ED with chest pain and suspected non-ST-segment elevation ACS were enrolled.

Consensus of the French Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics and the French Society of Cardiology for the management of coronary artery disease in older adults.

Coronary heart disease is a common and serious condition in patients aged over 80 years. The presenting clinical symptoms are all the more atypical and the prognosis poorer when it occurs in patients with multiple comorbid diseases. The presence of comorbidities dictates the need for a standardized geriatric assessment to screen for the existence of underlying frailty.

Are there specific prognostic factors for acute coronary syndrome in patients over 80 years of age?

Purpose: In elderly patients, the prognosis of acute coronary syndrome is bleak and the impact of geriatric factors is as yet unknown. The purpose of this work was to identify factors predictive of poor outcome at Month 6 in a population of elderly subjects admitted into hospital with acute coronary syndrome.

Materials And Methods: One hundred and thirty-two patients over 80 years of age were compared with 127 patients under 80, all admitted into a cardiology intensive care unit with acute coronary syndrome between May 2006 and January 2007, vis-à-vis outcome, mortality and cardiovascular events, both during the hospital stay and six months later.

Factors predictive for in-hospital mortality following percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: Despite advances in procedures for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and enhancement of materials and adjunctive therapy, postprocedural mortality remains a possible adverse outcome after PCI.

Aims: To assess factors independently associated with in-hospital mortality in patients referred for PCI.

Methods: Between January 2004 and December 2005, 4074 PCI were performed in our University Hospital, with 70 deaths registered either during the procedure or during the in-hospital stay.

Resumption of atrioventricular conduction by levosimendan after radiofrequency ablation of the AV node:

We report the case of a patient in whom radiofrequency catheter ablation of the AV node was initially successfully performed for persistent atrial fibrillation with fast ventricular rate, but in whom atrioventricular conduction transiently resumes following therapy with levosimendan. Plausible hypothesis are discussed as well as potential implications.

Mediastinal lymphadenopathy in congestive heart failure: a sequential CT evaluation with clinical and echocardiographic correlations.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency and evolution after treatment of mediastinal lymphadenopathy associated with congestive left heart failure on CT scans in correlation with clinical and echocardiographic findings. Thirty-one consecutive patients with subacute left heart failure underwent a clinical evaluation using the NYHA classification, a CT examination, and transthoracic echocardiography at the time of initial presentation (T1). After initiation of medical treatment (T2), follow-up CT scans were systematically obtained together with a clinical evaluation.