Influence of serotonin transporter gene polymorphism on depressive symptoms and new cardiac events after acute myocardial infarction.

Background: In patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), depressive symptoms increase the risk for cardiac events. Recently, the S allele of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene-linked polymorphic region was shown to reduce transcription of this gene and thus reduce serotonin reuptake, and this allele is linked with depressive symptoms as well as other psychiatric diseases. However, the influence of the S allele on depressive symptoms and cardiac events after AMI is unclear.

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and its link to coronary risk factors in Japanese patients with acute myocardial infarction.

The association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and coronary artery disease, as well as the association between H. pylori infection and classic coronary risk factors, is controversial in patients from Western countries.

Depressive symptoms predict 12-month prognosis in elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Several studies have associated depressive symptoms with an increased risk for cardiac events after the onset of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of the depressive symptoms on prognosis of the elderly patients with AMI.

Method: Depression was assessed in consecutive patients with AMI (n = 1042; mean age 63 +/- 11 years) using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS).

Muscle pump-dependent self-perfusion mechanism in legs in normal subjects and patients with heart failure.

Leg venous pressure markedly falls during upright exercise via a muscle pump effect, creating de novo perfusion pressure. We examined physiological roles of this mechanism in increasing femoral artery blood flow (FABF) and its alterations in chronic heart failure (CHF). In 10 normal subjects and 10 patients with CHF, standard hemodynamic variables, mean ankle vein pressure (MAVP), and FABF with Doppler techniques were obtained during graded upright bicycle exercise.