Left ventricular dysfunction secondary to ischemia in women with angina and normal coronary angiograms.

Background: Microvascular disease is proposed as a cause of segmental myocardial blood flow abnormalities and heterogeneous myocardial perfusion in cardiac syndrome X.

Objective: To assess if myocardial ischemia can be evidenced through both perfusion abnormalities and poststress left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) reduction by gated single photon emission tomography (SPECT) myocardial scintigraphy in women with syndrome X in a similar way to those with epicardial coronary lesions.

Methods: Three groups of postmenopausal women were studied: group I, 20 women with angina, perfusion defects, and normal coronary angiography; group II, 20 women with epicardial coronary lesions (> or =50% of coronary lumen reduction); group III, 15 volunteers without signs or symptoms of ischemia (control group).

Angiographic patency study of an albumin-free recombinant streptokinase formulation in acute myocardial infarction.

Purpose: Fibrinolytic therapy restores coronary patency and reduces mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Albumin is present in most of the streptokinase formulation as a stabilizer but it is not known whether it plays a role in the product's efficacy and safety profiles. The aim of this study was to assess 90 minutes-coronary patency of a new albumin-free recombinant streptokinase (rSK) formulation.