East meets West: Bringing the ESH 2023 hypertension guidelines into Asia.

Hypertension remains a major problem worldwide, especially across the Asia-Pacific region, which reports high prevalence rates and slow improvements in treatment rate and blood pressure (BP) control rate. Asian patients with hypertension may also vary with regard to phenotype and the epidemiology of the complications of hypertension, especially when compared with Western patients. Given these differences, Western guidelines may not necessarily be applicable to countries in the Asia Pacific.

Stent parameters predict major adverse clinical events and the response to platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa blockade: findings of the ESPRIT trial.

Background: Only limited data describe relationships between stent parameters (length and diameter), adverse events after percutaneous coronary intervention, and effects of platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa blockade by stent parameters.

Methods And Results: In this post hoc analysis of the 1983 patients receiving a stent in the Enhanced Suppression of the Platelet Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Receptor with Integrilin Therapy randomized percutaneous coronary intervention trial of eptifibatide versus placebo, rates of the major adverse cardiac event (MACE) end point (death, myocardial infarction, urgent target-vessel revascularization, or thrombotic bailout) at 48 hours and 1 year were correlated with stent parameters and then analyzed by randomization to eptifibatide versus placebo. In the placebo group, MACE increased with number of stents implanted, total stent length (by quartiles of <15, 15 to <18, 18 to <30, and >or=30 mm), and total stented vessel area (by quartiles of area <141, 141 to <188, 188 to <292, and >or=292 mm(2)).

Long-term safety and efficacy are observed after implantation of Zotarolimus-Eluting stent in real-world clinical practice.

Aims: Zotarolimus-eluting stents (ZESs) have been shown to be safe and effective in randomised trials. We sought to report the clinical outcomes after implantation of ZES in real-world clinical practice.

Methods And Results: ZES have been approved for clinical use in Singapore since April 2005.

Shortening of median door-to-balloon time in primary percutaneous coronary intervention in Singapore by simple and inexpensive operational measures: clinical practice improvement program.

Background: Primary percutaneous coronary intervention is the standard reperfusion strategy for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in our center. We aimed to shorten the median door-to-balloon time from over 100 minutes to 90 minutes or less.

Methods: We have been using three strategies since March 2007 to shorten the door-to-balloon time: (1) the intervention team is now activated by emergency department physicians (where previously it had been activated by coronary care unit); (2) all members of the intervention team have converted from using pagers to using cell phones; and (3) as soon as the intervention team is activated, patients are transferred immediately to the cardiac catheterization laboratory (where previously they had waited in the emergency department for the intervention team to arrive).