Acute myocardial infarction of the right coronary artery originating from the distal left circumflex artery.

A case of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) of the distal left circumflex, near the origin of an aberrant right coronary artery is presented. Coronary stenting was successfully performed. According to several reports, this anomaly is a common site for coronary atherosclerosis, but this is the first report of AMI.

Cross-over trial of intensive monotherapy with atorvastatin and combined therapy with atorvastatin and colestimide for Japanese familial hypercholesterolemia.

Background: In familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C)-lowering therapy is important to avoid predisposition to coronary artery disease. This study investigated the advantages of combined therapy with atorvastatin and colestimide vs intensive monotherapy with atorvastatin.

Methods And Results: The trial used a randomized cross-over design consisting of 2 16-week periods of open-label drug therapy.

Upregulation of vascular extracellular superoxide dismutase in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

Objective: We examined the vascular expression levels of extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD), a major antioxidant enzyme in the cardiovascular system, in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

Methods And Results: Twenty-one consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 14 patients with unstable angina, 11 patients with stable angina, and 20 control subjects were studied. The levels of vascular EC-SOD expression were assessed by the difference in plasma EC-SOD concentrations before and after intravenous heparan injection.

Plasma level of homocysteine is inversely-associated with the development of collateral circulation in patients with single-vessel coronary artery disease.

Homocysteine induces endothelial injury and inhibits endothelial cell proliferation, which is a key role in angiogenesis. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the plasma level of homocysteine is associated with the development of collaterals in patients with single-vessel coronary artery disease (CAD). Among a series of 105 male patients with angiographic estimation, 49 with single-vessel CAD were intensively investigated.