Patterns of activation and deposition of platelets exposed to the polymeric surface of the paclitaxel eluting stent.

The interaction of platelets with the polymeric surface of drug eluting stents has not been fully described in the literature. Our aim was to analyze the patterns of activation and deposition of platelets exposed to two different stent platforms; (a) the polymeric surface of the paclitaxel eluting stent (Taxus((R)) stent, PES,) and (b) the metallic surface of a stent with identical structural design (Express((R)) stent, BMS). Platelet activation was tested by deploying stents in an in vitro flow chamber model.

Clinical outcomes and stent thrombosis following off-label use of drug-eluting stents.

Context: Clinical trials that have excluded patients at high risk for cardiac events have led to commercial labeling approval of drug-eluting stents; nevertheless, such high-risk patients commonly undergo stent placement in clinical practice. The degree to which they experience cardiac events at a higher rate than non-high-risk patients is unclear.

Objective: To assess the rates of major adverse cardiac events during the index admission and 1 year after the implantation of drug-eluting stents in patients with high-risk angiographic and clinical features.

In vivo plaque characterization using intravascular ultrasound-virtual histology in a porcine model of complex coronary lesions.

Objective: To determine the accuracy of detection of different tissue types of intravascular ultrasound-virtual histology (IVUS-VH) in a porcine model of complex coronary lesions.

Methods And Results: Coronary lesions were induced by injecting liposomes containing human oxidized low-density lipoprotein into the adventitia of the arteries. IVUS-VH imaging was performed in vivo at 8.

Percent change in B-type natriuretic peptide levels during treadmill exercise as a screening test for exercise-induced myocardial ischemia.

Background: Myocardial ischemia leads to changes in regional wall stress. Induction of ischemia during a treadmill exercise, although brief, may lead to transient elevation in the plasma level of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) from baseline levels, which could serve as a biochemical marker of myocardial ischemia.

Methods: Sixty subjects (mean age 57, 41 men) undergoing myocardial single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in conjunction with Bruce protocol treadmill exercise for evaluation of chest pain or screening for ischemia had their BNPs measured (Triage Biosite Test) at baseline, immediately postexercise, and 10 to 15 minutes after exercise.