Association between Androgenic Hormone Levels and Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction.

Background: Androgens have been shown to have diverse effects on the cardiovascular system. The aim of this study was to compare androgenic hormone levels in patients with different left ventricular ejection fractions (EF).

Methods: The study population consisted of 515 consecutive men who were referred for angiographic studies and whose results of echocardiography and coronary angiography were available.

In-hospital and mid-term clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention with the use of sirolimus- or paclitaxel-eluting stents.

Background: Drug-eluting stents improved the outcome after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), however, there may be significant differences in their safety and efficacy.

Aim: To compare the in-hospital and mid-term clinical outcomes of stenting with sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) versus paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) for the treatment of coronary artery lesions in our routine practice.

Methods: This study was performed on 1311 consecutive patients treated exclusively either with SES or PES in our hospital between March 2003 and March 2007.

In-hospital and late clinical outcomes of direct stenting strategy versus stenting after predilatation for the treatment of coronary artery lesions.

Background: Direct stenting without balloon dilatation may reduce procedural costs and duration, and hypothetically, the restenosis rate. This study was designed to compare the in-hospital and long-term outcomes of direct stenting (DS) versus stenting after predilatation (PS) in our routine clinical practice.

Methods: One thousand six hundred and three patients treated with stenting for single coronary lesions were enrolled into a prospective registry.

Clinical outcomes of drug-eluting stents compared with bare metal stents in our routine clinical practice.

Introduction: This study was designed to characterize patients treated with drug-eluting stents (DES) versus those treated with bare metal stents (BMS) and to investigate their clinical outcomes in our routine clinical practice.

Methods: We studied a consecutive series of 1796 patients, selected from a computerized registry, who underwent stenting for coronary artery lesions either with BMS (1568 patients, 87.3%) or DES (228 patients, 12.

Transcatheter closure of a coronary fistula with an Amplatzer vascular plug: should a retrograde approach be standard?

Coronary artery fistulae are rare disorders. Only 2 reports in the medical literature discuss the use of vascular plugs to occlude coronary fistulae, and the same device-the Amplatzer Vascular Plug-was deployed via different techniques to treat those patients. The safety, the feasibility, and the standard approach to deployment have yet to be established.

Association between hepatitis B surface antibody seropositivity and coronary artery disease.

Background: Specific infectious agents have been found to be related to the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis.

Aims: We assessed the possible association between angiographically proven coronary artery disease (CAD) and hepatitis B surface antibody (HBS Ab) seropositivity in a population with relatively high prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

Setting And Design: This was a cross-sectional study.

Premedication for coronary angiography: effects on anxiety and hemodynamic status.

Aim: This study was designed to compare the outcomes of two current methods of premedication, for coronary angiography with placebo, on the level of anxiety and hemodynamic status.

Methods And Results: In all, 151 patients referring for coronary angiography were randomized into three groups with equal populations. The first group (group M) received 0.

Comparison of outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention on proximal versus non-proximal left anterior descending coronary artery, proximal left circumflex, and proximal right coronary artery: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Previous studies have shown that lesions in proximal left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) may develop more restenosis after balloon angioplasty than lesions in other coronary segments. However, stenting seems to have reduced this gap. In this study, we compared outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on proximal LAD versus proximal left circumflex (LCX) or right coronary artery (RCA) and proximal versus non-proximal LAD.