[Where is the automated external defibrillator? Development and education].

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation has presented a universal sign to indicate the presence of automated external defibrillators (AED). To disseminate the knowledge of this important signage, a review in a Danish context is presented. It is essential that the public in general and health care professionals in particular know where to locate on AEDs.

[Peer-led training in basic life support and resuscitation using an automatic external defibrillator].

Peer-led training has been identified as a useful tool for delivering undergraduate healthcare training. In this paper we describe the implementation of the European Resuscitation Council BLS/AED Course as a peer-led training program for medical students.

The antiplatelet effect of aspirin is reduced by proton pump inhibitors in patients with coronary artery disease.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) on the platelet response to aspirin in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

Design: Case-control study.

Patients: 418 stable patients with CAD, 54 of whom were treated with PPIs.

Evaluation of aspirin response by Multiplate whole blood aggregometry and light transmission aggregometry.

Several studies indicate that a biochemically reduced response to aspirin increases the risk of cardiovascular events. This study was designed to investigate the performance of Multiplate whole blood aggregometry as regards assessment of platelet function prior to and after aspirin treatment, and to compare it with light transmission aggregometry (LTA). We included 21 healthy individuals and 43 patients with documented coronary artery disease (CAD).

Update on oral antiplatelet therapy: principles, problems and promises.

Platelets are major players in arterial thrombosis, and antiplatelet therapy has a clear clinical benefit in the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular events. In particular, aspirin and clopidogrel have become cornerstones in the treatment of patients with atherothrombosis. However, despite the proven efficacy of antiplatelet drugs, cardiovascular events remain an important cause of morbidity and mortality in these patients.

Optical platelet aggregation versus thromboxane metabolites in healthy individuals and patients with stable coronary artery disease after low-dose aspirin administration.

Introduction: Aspirin reduces cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), but studies report a highly variable response to aspirin, often referred to as 'aspirin low-responsiveness'. We investigated whether 75 mg of daily non-enteric coated aspirin would completely inhibit the platelet cyclooxygenase-1 activity to a comparable extent in healthy individuals and stable CAD patients.

Methods: We assessed serum thromboxane B2 (S-TxB2), urinary 11-dehydro-TxB2 (U-TxM) and arachidonic acid-induced optical platelet aggregometry (OPA) in 44 CAD patients on aspirin and in 22 healthy individuals before and after aspirin.

Immature platelets in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

Platelets newly released from the bone marrow are RNA-containing and more haemostatically active than mature platelets. Immature platelets are reliably quantified by flow cytometry, and the immature platelet fraction (IPF) reflects platelet production and the rate of platelet turnover. It was the objective of this study to evaluate the presence of immature platelets in healthy subjects, patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and patients with acute coronary syndromes.

Monitoring aspirin therapy with the Platelet Function Analyzer-100.

Objective: Low platelet response to aspirin has been reported to be associated with a high incidence of vascular events. The reported prevalence of aspirin low-responsiveness varies, which may be explained by poor reproducibility of the methods used to evaluate aspirin response and low compliance. The Platelet Function Analyzer-100 (PFA-100) is a commonly used platelet function test.

Aspirin response evaluated by the VerifyNow Aspirin System and light transmission aggregometry.

Introduction: Patients with inadequate platelet inhibition by aspirin, referred to as aspirin resistance, might have an increased risk of suffering cardiovascular events. Therefore, identification of these patients by measuring platelet function is of great interest. Our objectives were to evaluate performance parameters of VerifyNow and to determine the agreement between VerifyNow and light transmission aggregometry (LTA) ad modum Born.

Angiotensin II inhibition increases cellular glucose transport during reperfusion but not ischemia in pig hearts.

Objective: To study whether ACE inhibition and AT-II receptor blockade modulates myocardial glucose uptake during ischemia and reperfusion.

Design: We developed a method for in vivo sampling of large trans-myocardial tissue samples from beating pig hearts and in vitro measurement of sarcolemmal glucose transport, in a series of experiments in which hearts were exposed to stimuli (glucose-insulin and pacing) known to promote cellular glucose transport. In the subsequent study we compared three experimental groups: (i) ACE inhibition (ACE-I, n = 6): increasing oral doses of benazepril up to 40 mg daily for 3 weeks, (ii) angiotensin II receptor antagonist (AT II-A, n = 7): increasing oral doses of valsartan up to 320 mg for 3 weeks, (iii) control (n = 7).