Reduced-dose fibrinolytic acceleration of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction treatment coupled with urgent percutaneous coronary intervention compared to primary percutaneous coronary intervention alone results of the AMICO (Alliance for Myocardial Infarction Care Optimization) Registry.

Objectives: We sought to evaluate the impact of a strategy of reduced-dose fibrinolytic acceleration of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treatment followed by urgent percutaneous coronary intervention (FAST-PCI) on the mortality, reinfarction, and stroke rates in STEMI patients as compared with a primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) approach.

Background: Time to reperfusion is a major determinant of mortality among STEMI patients. Rapid initiation of fibrinolytic therapy can shorten time to reperfusion, and mechanical therapy of the culprit lesion is known to be beneficial.

Symptom-limited exercise combined with dipyridamole stress: prognostic value in assessment of known or suspected coronary artery disease by use of gated SPECT imaging.

Background: Combining vasodilator and exercise stress reduces noncardiac side effects, improves image quality, and enhances the detection of ischemia, compared with suboptimal exercise or vasodilator stress alone. However, prognostic data with combined protocols are limited.

Methods And Results: Consecutive patients (n = 2064) who underwent symptom-limited exercise and dipyridamole stress with gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging, without early revascularization, were studied.

Thermal mapping of right ventricular outflow tract tachycardia.

Background: Acute and long-term success of catheter ablation of right ventricular outflow tract tachycardia (RVOT VT) may be limited by the inability to reproduce the arrhythmia at the time of activation (AM) and pace mapping (PM). We have observed early initiation of the clinical VT when subtherapeutic radiofrequency (RF) energy was applied to the target area (TA), defined as a 2-cm(2) area around a pace match. We describe a novel approach using thermal mapping (TM) to guide the ablation of RVOT VT.