Predictors of Technical Failure in Transradial Coronary Angiography and Intervention.

Transradial access for coronary angiography and intervention is preferred over the femoral approach but can be technically challenging. Identification of predictors of transradial access failure is important, especially in the context of acute coronary syndromes. We therefore retrospectively analyzed 13,095 consecutive patients (66 ± 12 years, 64% male) in whom transradial access was attempted for coronary angiography or intervention to identify predictors of transradial access failure.

Plasma levels of sRANKL and OPG are associated with atherogenic cytokines in patients with intermediate cardiovascular risk.

Osteoprotegerin (OPG) and receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) are regulators of bone remodeling, but are also considered to play important roles in coronary artery disease (CAD). This study evaluated potential associations of soluble (s) RANKL and OPG with atherosclerosis-relevant cytokines. Blood was collected from 414 individuals who presented to our hospital with intermediate likelihood for CAD for further examination.

Influence of Cardiovascular Risk Factors on the Prevalence of Coronary Atherosclerosis in Patients with Angiographically Normal Coronary Arteries.

Rationale And Objectives: Cardiovascular (CV) disease is predominately influenced by CV risk factors and coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) is capable of detecting early-stage coronary artery disease. We sought to determine the influence of CV risk factors on the prevalence of nonobstructive atherosclerosis in patients with normal-appearing coronary arteries in invasive coronary angiography (ICA).

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective analysis, we included 60 consecutive symptomatic patients, having undergone ICA and coronary CTA.

Bioresorbable vascular scaffold thrombosis in a consecutive cohort of 550 patients.

Objective: To determine the rate of bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) thrombosis in a large, real-world population.

Background: There is some concern about device thrombosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using BVS. No data have been published for PCI using both BVS and metal stents.

Platelet CD40 contributes to enhanced monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 levels in patients with resistant hypertension.

Background: Growing evidence shows that inflammation plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of essential hypertension (EH). Although it is acknowledged that target organ damage involves an inflammatory response, most work has focused on the role of macrophages. However, recently, platelets were identified as inducing inflammation partly by releasing cytokines.