Comprehensive comparative efficacy and safety of potent P2Y inhibitors in patients undergoing coronary intervention: A systematic review and -analysis.

Potent P2Y receptor antagonists have been used widely for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with different results. Benefits from different regimens various between trials. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have restrictive inclusion and exclusion criteria; thus, they may limit the generalizability of the findings to a broader population.

Antithrombotic Treatment of Stable Coronary Artery Disease.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the leading causes of death in Taiwan. Despite the use of current guideline-recommended therapies for secondary prevention, the residual risk of recurrent cardiovascular events remains high in CAD, warranting the need for new treatment options. Antithrombotic drugs are one of the most important medical therapies for CAD.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Very Small Vessels With the Use of a Newer-Generation 2.0 mm Drug-Eluting Stent.

Objectives: The outcomes of treating coronary artery disease (CAD) in very small vessels <2.25 mm are sparse. The present study aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of the Resolute Onyx 2.

The Impact of Fractional Flow Reserve-Guided Coronary Revascularization in Patients with Coronary Stenoses of Intermediate Severity.

Background: Previous studies have shown that the use of fractional flow reserve (FFR) in addition to angiography significantly reduced the rate of all major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). However, this practice has not been widely accepted and limited outcome data exist about FFR-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in Taiwan. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible impact of FFR-guided PCI in coronary stenoses of intermediate severity.

Circulating Adiponectin Levels Following Treatment Can Predict Late Clinical Outcomes in Chronic Heart Failure.

Background: Circulating adiponectin concentration increases in patients with chronic heart failure (HF). We sought to explore the prognostic value of temporal changes in adiponectin concentration following treatment for chronic HF.

Methods: Serum adiponectin levels were measured at baseline and after a 3-month anti-failure treatment in 124 patients with symptomatic chronic systolic HF.

Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Reduces Endothelin-1-Caused Cardiomyocyte Hypertrophy by Inhibiting Nuclear Factor-B and Adiponectin.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) plays a role in the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy, although its underlying mechanism remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of PPAR activation on endothelin-1- (ET-1-) caused cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and explore its underlying mechanisms. Human cardiomyocytes (HCMs) were cultured with or without ET-1, whereafter the inhibitory effects of fenofibrate, a PPAR activator, on cell size and adiponectin protein were tested.

Endothelin-1-Induced Cell Hypertrophy in Cardiomyocytes is Improved by Fenofibrate: Possible Roles of Adiponectin.

Aim: Previous studies demonstrated that endothelin-1 (ET-1) can significantly increase the cell size and stimulate adiponectin expression in cultured human cardiomyocytes (HCM). The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of fenofibrate, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα) activator, on cell hypertrophy and adiponectin expression in vitro and in a rat model of daunorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy.

Methods: The cultured human cardiomyocytes (HCM) were stimulated with or without ET-1.

Transradial versus transfemoral rotablation for heavily calcified coronary lesions in contemporary drug-eluting stent era.

Background: Although radial access for drug-eluting stent (DES) combined with rotational atherectomy (RA) in patients with calcified coronary lesions may be associated with a lower risk of major bleeding complications and obtain favorable clinical results compared with femoral access, the long-term outcome data of this approach were limited in contemporary DES era.

Methods & Results: This retrospective study sought to compare in-hospital and long-term outcomes for patients undergoing RA via the transradial (TR) and transfemoral (TF) route in 126 consecutive patients (59 radial, 67 femoral) from 2009 to 2014. TR RA procedures were performed in 44/62 (71%) by the three TR operators, compared with 15/64 (23%) by the four TF operators in the present study.

Associations between endothelin-1 and adiponectin in chronic heart failure.

Objectives: Endothelin-1 (ET-1) induces cardiac hypertrophy, whereas adiponectin may elicit protective effects in the vasculature and myocardium. We therefore evaluated the relationship between plasma ET-1 and adiponectin levels in heart failure (HF) patients, and the association between adiponectin expression and ET-1-induced hypertrophy of human cardiomyocytes (HCM) in vitro.

Methods: One hundred seventeen patients with chronic HF were enrolled into this study.

Transradial approach in myocardial infarction.

Objective: This study investigates the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of routine primary percutaneous coronary intervention via transradial approach in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Methods And Results: From 2005 to 2007,122 consecutive patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction within 12 hours, including those experiencing cardiogenic shock, were eligible for primary transradial PCI if the radial artery pulse could be felt. Efficacy, safety, and major adverse cardiac events regarding mortality, recurrent non-fatal myocardial infarction, and revascularization were recorded.

Effects of moderate alcohol consumption on inflammatory biomarkers.

Objectives: Although light to moderate alcohol consumption has been associated with lower all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality, the underlying mechanisms are only partly understood. Evidence has emerged in recent years that atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease. We hypothesize that beneficial effects of moderate alcohol consumption on CV mortality may be linked to antiinflammatory effects.

Independent prognostic value of elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in chronic heart failure.

Background: The serum concentration of C-reactive protein (CRP) is mildly elevated in patients with chronic congestive heart failure (CHF), but this level falls well within the range found in healthy subjects. Standard clinical assays for CRP lack sensitivity within the low reference range and thus cannot be used effectively for routine clinical risk prediction. Because assays for high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) are now available, we can measure hsCRP to determine its predictive value for the prognosis of patients with CHF.

Implantation of a passive fixation dual chamber pacemaker in a patient with persistent left superior vena cava.

Electrode instability and displacement have been reported in patients who underwent pacemaker implantation via persistent left superior vena cava. An active-fixation system, and sometimes epicardial pacing, is necessary to maintain pacing stability. We report the case of a 76-year-old man with a left superior vena cava who required dual-chamber permanent pacing.

The prognostic value of circulating soluble cell adhesion molecules in patients with chronic congestive heart failure.

Background: Circulating soluble (s) cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are elevated in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) and may play an important role in the pathogenesis of CHF by mediating the cell-cell interactions of the immune response. However, clinical data about the prognostic value of sCAMs are sparse. The purpose of this study is to determine whether various sCAMs can provide prognostic information in patients with CHF.

Development of an echocardiographic method for choosing the best fitting single-pass VDD lead.

To achieve stable single-lead VDD pacing, a selection of the electrode with the optimal distance between the lead tip and the floating atrial dipole (AV distance [AVD]) is important. The authors hypothesized that the size of the right heart chambers may affect atrial sensing, and that measurement of their internal dimension at end-diastole (RHIDd) in the apical four chamber view by transthoracic echocardiography may aid in choosing the proper AVD. Twenty-six consecutive cases that had undergone VDD pacer implantation using the conventional chest X ray were examined retrospectively by the echocardiographic method.