Coronary artery disease with normal lipids and low coronary artery calcium in two women with high lipoprotein(a).

We present 2 patients with elevated levels of lipoprotein (a) and significant coronary artery disease despite having little coronary artery calcification. Clinicians should be aware that patients with elevated lipoprotein (a) may have important coronary artery disease with low coronary artery calcification scores.

Clinical effectiveness of an outpatient pathway for low-risk chest pain emergency department visits.

Background: Studies suggest that patients who present with atypical chest pain and are low or low-intermediate risk can safely undergo a rapid rule-out for cardiac ischemia with serial ECGs and cardiac biomarkers followed by additional testing as needed. We sought to evaluate a novel Emergency Department (ED) protocol for patients to undergo their additional functional testing as an outpatient.

Methods: Patients presenting to the ED with atypical chest pain, normal ECG, and negative cardiac troponin felt to be low risk were referred for outpatient stress testing within 72 hours of presentation as part of a pilot program.

A Case of Imatinib-Induced Hepatitis.

A 71-year-old female with a past medical history of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia on imatinib therapy, Sjogren's syndrome, and hypothyroidism presents with acute hepatitis. After a comprehensive workup ruling out viral, infectious and metabolic etiologies imatinib is stopped which results in immediate improvement. The biopsy is consistent with drug-induced liver damage; the patient is started on oral prednisone and discharged.

Influence of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy on In-Hospital Outcomes in Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is associated with worse outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, its role in an acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) has not been reported. This was a retrospective cohort study during 2008-2012 at an academic medical center. AECOPD patients >18 years with available echocardiographic data were included.

Stent and Non-Stent Based Outcomes of Infrainguinal Peripheral Artery Interventions From the Multicenter XLPAD Registry.

Background: There are limited data regarding contemporary use of stent and non-stent based treatment strategies of infrainguinal peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Methods: We analyzed data from the ongoing multicenter XLPAD registry between July 2005 and October 2013 to report on the use of non-stent (atherectomy ± balloon angioplasty) and stent-based treatment of superficial femoral artery (SFA), popliteal, and below-the-knee (BTK) vessels in contemporary clinical practice.

Results: A total of 584 interventions (SFA, 82.