Taking a stand, ready or not: navigating sensitive end-of-life care conversations in patients with end-stage heart failure.

Aims: Patients with heart failure (HF) often experience delayed identification of palliative care needs. While communication with HF patients and their caregivers is increasingly stressed, systematic conversations about end-of-life care wishes remain a gap. This study explores a dyad experience of Advance Care Planning (ACP) conversations in an HF outpatient clinic.

Identifying Palliative Care Needs in Patients With Heart Failure Using Patient Reported Outcomes.

Context: Heart failure (HF) is considered a multifaceted and life-threatening syndrome characterized by high symptom-burden and significant mortality.

Objectives: To describe the symptom-burden in patients with HF and identify their palliative care needs. In this respect, symptom burden related to sex, age and classification of HF using New York Heart Association Functional Classification (NYHA) were analyzed.

Effect of Body Mass Index on Effectiveness of CT versus Invasive Coronary Angiography in Stable Chest Pain: The DISCHARGE Trial.

Background Recent trials support the role of cardiac CT in the evaluation of symptomatic patients suspected of having coronary artery disease (CAD); however, body mass index (BMI) has been reported to negatively impact CT image quality. Purpose To compare initial use of CT versus invasive coronary angiography (ICA) on clinical outcomes in patients with stable chest pain stratified by BMI category. Materials and Methods This prospective study represents a prespecified BMI subgroup analysis of the multicenter Diagnostic Imaging Strategies for Patients with Stable Chest Pain and Intermediate Risk of Coronary Artery Disease (DISCHARGE) trial conducted between October 2015 and April 2019.

CT or Invasive Coronary Angiography in Stable Chest Pain.

Background: In the diagnosis of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), computed tomography (CT) is an accurate, noninvasive alternative to invasive coronary angiography (ICA). However, the comparative effectiveness of CT and ICA in the management of CAD to reduce the frequency of major adverse cardiovascular events is uncertain.

Methods: We conducted a pragmatic, randomized trial comparing CT with ICA as initial diagnostic imaging strategies for guiding the treatment of patients with stable chest pain who had an intermediate pretest probability of obstructive CAD and were referred for ICA at one of 26 European centers.

Prognostic Value of Coronary CT Angiography in Patients With Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndromes.

Background: Severity and extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) assessed by invasive coronary angiography (ICA) guide treatment and may predict clinical outcome in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTEACS).

Objectives: This study tested the hypothesis that coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) is equivalent to ICA for risk assessment in patients with NSTEACS.

Methods: The VERDICT (Very Early Versus Deferred Invasive Evaluation Using Computerized Tomography in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes) trial evaluated timing of treatment in relation to outcome in patients with NSTEACS and included a clinically blinded coronary CTA conducted prior to ICA.

Coronary CT Angiography in Patients With Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Background: In patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTEACS), coronary pathology may range from structurally normal vessels to severe coronary artery disease.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to test if coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) may be used to exclude coronary artery stenosis ≥50% in patients with NSTEACS.

Methods: The VERDICT (Very Early Versus Deferred Invasive Evaluation Using Computerized Tomography in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes) trial (NCT02061891) evaluated the outcome of patients with confirmed NSTEACS randomized 1:1 to very early (within 12 h) or standard (48 to 72 h) invasive coronary angiography (ICA).

Early Versus Standard Care Invasive Examination and Treatment of Patients With Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Background: The optimal timing of invasive coronary angiography (ICA) and revascularization in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome is not well defined. We tested the hypothesis that a strategy of very early ICA and possible revascularization within 12 hours of diagnosis is superior to an invasive strategy performed within 48 to 72 hours in terms of clinical outcomes.

Methods: Patients admitted with clinical suspicion of non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome in the Capital Region of Copenhagen, Denmark, were screened for inclusion in the VERDICT trial (Very Early Versus Deferred Invasive Evaluation Using Computerized Tomography) ( ClinicalTrials.

Cardiac troponin I degradation in serum of patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy undergoing percutaneous septal ablation.

Introduction: Troponin has become the most important marker for diagnosing acute myocardial infarction, yet knowledge is scarce regarding appearance of specific degradation fragments in the blood. We have recently described the appearance of intact cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and 7 degradation products in patients suffering from ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) using Western blot analysis. However, the time resolution in STEMI patients is hampered by the rather vague time point 'onset of pain'.

"Mirror-lake" serial relationship of electrocardiographic and biochemical indices for the detection of reperfusion and the prediction of salvage in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Serial observations of biochemical markers in the blood and bioelectric markers on the electrocardiogram (ECG) have been used to evaluate the effectiveness of reperfusion therapy in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This study presents a combined method for clinical use, based on the "mirror-lake" tendency of the serial changes in these markers.

Methods: Consecutive thrombolytic-treated patients with AMI (n = 43) had ST-segment monitoring (Mortara Eli 100) and frequent serum sampling of myoglobin (MG) concentration.

Use of biochemical markers of infarction for diagnosing perioperative myocardial infarction and early graft occlusion after coronary artery bypass surgery.

Study Objectives: Perioperative myocardial infarction (PMI) during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is an important clinical problem because it is closely associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The diagnosis of PMI is, however, associated with several problems. Due to the surgical trauma, the usual indicators of myocardial infarction (pain, ECG changes, and elevated biochemical markers of infarction) have uncertain diagnostic value.

Recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa): characterization, manufacturing, and clinical development.

Recombinant activated coagulation factor VII (rFVIIa) (NovoSeven) was developed for treatment of bleeding in hemophilia patients with inhibitors (antibodies) against factors VIII or IX. rFVIIa initiates the coagulation cascade by binding to tissue factor at the site of injury and causes the formation of sufficient amounts of thrombin to trigger coagulation. Patients with a variety of other coagulation deficiencies than hemophilia characterized by an impaired thrombin generation and life-threatening bleeding have been reported as successfully treated with rFVIIa.

Coronary angiographic findings and troponin T in patients with unstable angina pectoris.

This study sought to identify differences in coronary anatomic pathology in patients with unstable angina and elevated versus nonelevated serum troponin T values. Previous studies have shown a worse prognosis in unstable angina patients with elevated serum troponin T values. Consecutive patients (n = 117) with Braunwald class IIIB angina were included in the study.

Very early diagnosis and risk stratification of patients admitted with suspected acute myocardial infarction by the combined evaluation of a single serum value of cardiac troponin-T, myoglobin, and creatine kinase MB(mass).

Aims: The diagnostic and prognostic capacity of biochemical markers of acute myocardial infarction in the emergency department were evaluated in consecutive patients (n=155) with suspected acute myocardial infarction.

Methods And Results: Serum myoglobin >/=110 microg. l(-1)and creatine kinase MB(mass)>/=5 microg.

Serum myoglobin for the early non-invasive detection of coronary reperfusion in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

The ideal non-invasive method for detecting coronary reperfusion has not yet been established. In 63 patients with acute myocardial infarction, serum myoglobin and creatine kinase-MB were measured every 15 min. Thrombolytic treatment was given (n = 52) and acute coronary angiography showed a patent infarct-related artery in 49 patients while 14 patients had no coronary reperfusion.

[Serum myoglobin as a non-invasive marker of coronary reperfusion after intravenous thrombolytic therapy in patients with acute myocardial infarction].

Non-invasive methods for evaluation of intravenous thrombolytic treatment in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are needed, since approximately 30% of the patients never obtain coronary reperfusion. These patients could be candidates for additional thrombolytic treatment or acute PTCA. This study included 63 AMI patients.

[Serum creatine kinase isoenzyme MB and myoglobin in patients with acute myocardial infarction and coronary reperfusion].

Thrombolytic therapy in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) changes the time-concentration curve of serum creatine kinase isoenzyme MB (CK-MB) and serum myoglobin. In this study, 60 AMI patients received thrombolytic therapy and acute coronary arteriography, or conservative treatment. Group one (n = 32) demonstrated a patent infarct-related artery after intravenous thrombolytic therapy; group two (n = 17) had an initially occluded coronary artery which became patent during catheterisation; group three (n = 11) did not receive thrombolytic therapy.