Triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio may be a better index of cardiometabolic risk in women than in men in Japan.

Background And Aims: Few data exist regarding the gender differences in the relationship between triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio and cardiometabolic risk leading to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). We investigated, by gender, the association between the TG/HDL-C ratio and metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components in the Japanese, who are less obese than their Western counterparts.

Methods And Results: A population consisting of 10,373 participants (average age, 47.

Higher frequency of fish intake and healthy lifestyle behaviors may be associated with a lower platelet count in Japan: Implication for the anti-atherosclerotic effect of fish intake.

Background: Habitual fish intake and healthier lifestyles are associated with a lower risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Higher platelet counts (PLCs) are reportedly associated with higher ASCVD events. We aimed to investigate the association between fish intake and lifestyle with PLCs.

Hepatic steatosis evidenced by computed tomography in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have common pathological links. This study investigates the prognostic impact of NAFLD assessed as hepatic steatosis (HS) by computed tomography (CT) in AMI patients and explores the mechanistic role of NAFLD in cardiovascular (CV) events using coronary angioscopy (CAS).

Methods: We retrospectively examined 342 AMI patients who underwent CT followed by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) between January 2014 and December 2019.

Massive left atrial calcification.

We reported this case because calcification of the mitral valve is a common complication of rheumatic fever, but calcification of the left atrium is rare.

Cardiovascular manifestations identified by multi-modality imaging in patients with long COVID.

Background: The possibility of permanent cardiovascular damage causing cardiovascular long COVID has been suggested; however, data are insufficient. This study investigated the prevalence of cardiovascular disorders, particularly in patients with cardiovascular long COVID using multi-modality imaging.

Methods: A total of 584 patients admitted to the hospital due to COVID-19 between January 2020 and September 2021 were initially considered.

Protective effect of the Impella on the left ventricular function after acute broad anterior wall ST elevation myocardial infarctions with cardiogenic shock: cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging strain analysis.

Background: The clinical efficacy of the Impella for high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and cardiogenic shock remains under debate. We thus sought to investigate the protective effects on the heart with the Impella's early use pre-PCI using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI).

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the difference in the subacute phase CMR imaging results (19 ± 9 days after admission) between patients undergoing an Impella (n = 7) or not (non-Impella group: n = 18 [12 intra-aortic balloon pumps (1 plus veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and 6 no mechanical circulation systems]) in broad anterior ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) cases.

Prognostic Significance of a Combination of Cardiogenic Shock and the Critical Culprit Lesion Location in ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarctions.

Both cardiogenic shock (CS) and critical culprit lesion locations (CCLLs), defined as the left main trunk and proximal left anterior descending coronary artery, are associated with worse outcomes in ST-elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMIs). We aimed to examine how the combination of CS and/or CCLLs affected the prognosis in Japanese STEMI patients in the primary percutaneous coronary intervention era (PPCI-era). The subjects included 624 STEMI patients admitted to our hospital between January 2013 and April 2020.

Diagnostic Utility of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance in Recurrent "Third Time" Myocarditis Without Electrocardiographic Changes.

A few studies have reported on recurrent myocarditis occurring more than twice in one patient. In this study, we present a recurrent "third time" acute myocarditis in a young female Japanese patient with a history of a definitive diagnosis of lymphocytic myocarditis by endomyocardial biopsy, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR), and catheter examination twice in the past. Although chest pain and an increase in the cardiac enzymes were observed the third time, no significant changes were noted in the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), and a definitive diagnosis could be achieved by CMR.

Mechanical Complications of Myocardial Infarction.

In this retrospective observational study, we have examined the incidence, characteristics, and treatment of serious myocardial infarction (MI) -associated mechanical complications (MCs) occurring in Japanese patients in this era of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), focusing on frailty, nutrition, and clinical implication of surgery. Included were 883 patients who, having suffered an MI, had been admitted to Nihon University Hospital between January 2013 and April 2020. Fifteen (1.

Impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on hospitalizations and outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction in a Japanese Single Center.

There are a few Japanese data regarding the incidence and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. We retrospectively reviewed the data of AMI patients admitted to the Nihon University Itabashi Hospital after a COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 (COVID-19 period) and the same period from 2017 to 2019 (control period). The patients' characteristics, time course of admission, diagnosis, and treatment of AMI, and 30-day mortality were compared between the two period-groups for both ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-STEMI (NSTEMI), respectively.

Repeated Cerebral Infarction Immediately after Bypass Graft Angiography: A Case Report.

A cerebral infarction (CI) is a common complication of coronary angiography (CAG); however, repeated CIs in the immediate period after a CAG have not been reported yet. The patient in the present study experienced left upper quadrant blindness immediately after internal thoracic arteriography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a high-intensity area in the right occipital lobe. Despite the administration of antithrombotic therapy, the patient became transiently comatose for 6 hours.

Absence of coronary angioscopy-derived in-stent thrombi is associated with major bleeding events in acute myocardial infarction.

Background And Aims: The optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy for acute myocardial infarction is controversial because the bleeding risk outweighs the thromboembolic risk. We hypothesized that an in-stent thrombus (IS-thrombus) detected by coronary angioscopy (CAS) after stent implantation would be associated with high bleeding risk.

Methods: This study included 208 patients who underwent CAS at 2 weeks after stent implantation for an acute myocardial infarction.

High Wall Shear Stress Is Related to Atherosclerotic Plaque Rupture in the Aortic Arch of Patients with Cardiovascular Disease: A Study with Computational Fluid Dynamics Model and Non-Obstructive General Angioscopy.

Aims: Wall shear stress (WSS) has been considered a major determinant of aortic atherosclerosis. Recently, non-obstructive general angioscopy (NOGA) was developed to visualize various atherosclerotic pathologies, including in vivo ruptured plaque (RP) in the aorta. However, the relationship between aortic RP and WSS distribution within the aortic wall is unclear.

Bradycardia Shock Caused by the Combined Use of Carteolol Eye Drops and Verapamil in an Elderly Patient with Atrial Fibrillation and Chronic Kidney Disease.

Ophthalmic carteolol is often used to treat glaucoma. Elderly patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are common among the super-elderly in Japan. Because these patients are exposed to polypharmacy, they are at a high-risk of adverse drug interactions.

Effective Pacing Intervention by Closed-loop Stimulation Using a Coronary Vein Lead in a Post-tricuspid Valve Replacement Patient.

To avoid the negative effects associated with pacing, pacemakers are designed to achieve a pacing cadence as close to physiological pacing as possible. In closed-loop stimulation (CLS; a type of rate-responsive functionality used in pacemakers), the changes in impedance (which correlates with the contractility of the myocardium around the lead tip electrode) are tracked, and the paced heart rate is adjusted accordingly. We herein report a case in which we implanted a pacemaker in a post-tricuspid valve replacement patient.