Acoustic-based rule-out of stable coronary artery disease: the FILTER-SCAD trial.

Background And Aims: Overtesting of low-risk patients with suspect chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) is widespread. The acoustic-based coronary artery disease (CAD)-score has superior rule-out capabilities when added to pre-test probability (PTP). FILTER-SCAD tested whether providing a CAD-score and PTP to cardiologists was superior to PTP alone in limiting testing.

Myocardial Flow Reserve, an Independent Prognostic Marker of All-Cause Mortality Assessed by Rb PET Myocardial Perfusion Imaging: A Danish Multicenter Study.

Background: Rubidium-82 positron emission tomography (Rb PET) myocardial perfusion imaging is used in clinical practice to quantify regional perfusion defects. Additionally, Rb PET provides a measure of absolute myocardial flow reserve (MFR), describing the vasculature state of health. We assessed whether Rb PET-derived MFR is associated with all-cause mortality independently of the extent of perfusion defects.

Coronary Microvascular Disease Assessed by 82-Rubidium Positron Emission Tomography Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Is Associated With Small Vessel Disease of the Kidney and Brain.

Background Coronary microvascular disease (CMD) may be part of a systemic small vessel disease that also manifests as neurological impairment and kidney disease. However, clinical evidence supporting a potential link is scarce. We assessed whether CMD is associated with an increased risk of small vessel disease in the kidney and brain.

Prediction models as gatekeepers for diagnostic testing in angina patients with suspected chronic coronary syndrome.

Aims: Assessment of pre-test probability (PTP) is an important gatekeeper when selecting patients for diagnostic testing for coronary artery disease (CAD). The 2019 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines recommend upgrading PTP based on clinical risk factors but provide no estimates of how these affect PTP. We aimed to validate two published PTP models in a contemporary low-CAD-prevalence cohort and compare with the ESC 2019 PTP.

Cost-effectiveness of adding a non-invasive acoustic rule-out test in the evaluation of patients with symptoms suggestive of coronary artery disease: rationale and design of the prospective, randomised, controlled, parallel-group multicenter FILTER-SCAD trial.

Introduction: Most patients with symptoms suggestive of chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) have no obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) and better selection of patients to be referred for diagnostic tests is needed. The CAD-score is a non-invasive acoustic measure that, when added to pretest probability of CAD, has shown good rule-out capabilities. We aimed to test whether implementation of CAD-score in clinical practice reduces the use of diagnostic tests without increasing major adverse cardiac events (MACE) rates in patients with suspected CCS.

Do ultrathin strut bare-metal stents with passive coating improve efficacy in large coronary arteries? Insights from the randomized, multicenter BASKET-PROVE trials.

Background: The new generation thinner-strut silicon carbide (SiC) coated cobalt chromium (CoCr) bare-metal stents (BMS) are designed to accelerate rapid endothelialisation and reduce thrombogenicity when implanted in coronary arteries. However, smaller studies suggest higher rates of symptomatic restenosis in patients receiving the newer generation BMS. We investigated the efficacy of a newer generation ultrathin strut silicon-carbide coated cobalt-chromium (CoCr) BMS (SCC-BMS) as compared to an older thin-strut uncoated CoCr BMS (UC-BMS) in patients presenting with coronary artery disease requiring stenting of large vessels (≥3.

Drug-eluting stents in large coronary vessels improve both safety and efficacy compared with bare-metal stents in women: a pooled analysis of the BASKET-PROVE I and II trials.

Background: Drug-eluting stents (DES) have proven superior to bare-metal stents (BMS) in terms of safety and efficacy. However, inference to the female subgroup has been limited by low enrolment rates of women in clinical trials. The objective of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of DES versus BMS in women and men.

Use of diagnostic coronary angiography in women and men presenting with acute myocardial infarction: a matched cohort study.

Background: Based on evident sex-related differences in the invasive management of patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), we sought to identify predictors of diagnostic coronary angiography (DCA) and to investigate reasons for opting out an invasive strategy in women and men.

Methods: The study was designed as a matched cohort study. We randomly selected 250 female cases from a source population of 4000 patients hospitalized with a first AMI in a geographically confined region of Denmark from January 2010 to November 2011.