Comparison between valsartan and amlodipine regarding cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in hypertensive patients with glucose intolerance: NAGOYA HEART Study.

It has not been fully examined whether angiotensin II receptor blocker is superior to calcium channel blocker to reduce cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients with glucose intolerance. A prospective, open-labeled, randomized, controlled trial was conducted for Japanese hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus or impaired glucose tolerance. A total of 1150 patients (women: 34%; mean age: 63 years; diabetes mellitus: 82%) were randomly assigned to receive either valsartan- or amlodipine-based antihypertensive treatment.

The number and function of circulating CD34(+)CD133(+) progenitor cells decreased in stable coronary artery disease but not in acute myocardial infarction.

Objective: Circulating CD34(+)CD133(+) cells are one of the main sources of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). Age is inversely related to the number and function of CD34(+)CD133(+) progenitor cells in stable coronary artery disease (CAD), but the relationship remains unclear in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The authors aimed to clarify how ageing affects the number and function of mobilised CD34(+)CD133(+) progenitor cells in AMI.

Predictors of in-hospital delay to reperfusion in patients with acute myocardial infarction in Japan.

The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with in-hospital delay in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Japan. In this observational study, 155 consecutive patients admitted with AMI to one of five urban hospitals were studied. The median door-to-needle time and door-to-catheterization-laboratory time was 19 min and 60 min, respectively.

Trajectory of prehospital delay in patients with acute myocardial infarction in the Japanese health care system.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to understand the trajectory of prehospital delay in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the Japanese health care system, which offers patients a choice between seeking treatment in a neighborhood clinic/small hospital (clinic group) or a large hospital with comprehensive cardiac services, including a cardiac catheterization laboratory (hospital group).

Methods: In this cross sectional study, 155 consecutive patients admitted with AMI to one of 5 urban hospitals in Japan were interviewed within 7 days after admission.

Results: The median total prehospital delay time in the clinic group (n=84) was significantly longer than the hospital group (n=71) (6 h and 48 min vs 2 h and 9 min, p<.

Symptom severity as a predictor of reported differences of prehospital delay between medical records and structured interviews among patients with AMI.

Background: The time interval from symptom onset to hospital arrival can guide the decision to start reperfusion for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Aims: The aims of the study were 1) to examine the consistency and agreement of prehospital delay time between medical record review and structured patient interview and 2) to identify whether symptom severity is an independent predictor of differences in reported prehospital delay between these two data sources.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a convenience sample of 155 patients with AMI in Japan was recruited.

Do Japanese workers who experience an acute myocardial infarction believe their prolonged working hours are a cause?

Background: Cardiovascular disease related to excessive work/job stress has been a significant social concern for the Japanese public. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study to (1) compare job stress levels between patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients and healthy workers, and (2) examine the types of stresses associated with patients' causal belief of AMI among patients with AMI.

Methods: Forty-seven patients admitted to the hospital with AMI and 47 healthy workers visiting a hospital for their annual physical examination were recruited in Japan.

Prehospital delay and independent/interdependent construal of self among Japanese patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Reducing the time from symptom onset to reperfusion therapy is an important approach to minimizing myocardial damage and to preventing death from acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Previous studies suggest that certain ethnic or national groups, such as the Japanese, are more likely to delay in accessing care than other groups. The aims of this paper were the following; (1) to examine whether culture (defined as independent and interdependent construal of self) is associated with delay in accessing medical care in Japanese patients experiencing symptoms of AMI; (2) to determine if the relationship between independent and interdependent construal of self and prehospital delay time is mediated by cognitive responses and/or emotional responses; and (3) to determine if independent and interdependent construal of self independently predicts choice of treatment site (clinic vs.

Illness attribution among Japanese patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe causal attribution of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Japanese patients.

Design: A cross-sectional study design was used.

Setting: The setting for this study was 5 hospitals in urban areas in Japan.

Risk stratification and survival in post myocardial infarction patients: a large prospective and multicenter study in Japan.

Background: Recent clinical trials suggest that the mortality in high-risk patients with ischemic heart disease can be significantly reduced with the use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). Given the high cost and invasiveness of the procedure, it is important to apply it to the patients after myocardial infarction (MI) highly susceptible to sudden arrhythmic death.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess clinical predictors of mortality in post-MI patients in Japan.

Association of gene polymorphisms with coronary artery disease in individuals with or without nonfamilial hypercholesterolemia.

A substantial proportion of individuals with coronary artery disease (CAD) has concomitant hypercholesterolemia. A large-scale association study was performed to identify separately genes that confer susceptibility to CAD in the absence or presence of nonfamilial hypercholesterolemia. The study population comprised 5248 unrelated Japanese individuals, including 3085 subjects with CAD (2350 men, 735 women) and 2163 controls (1329 men, 834 women).

Effects of coagulation Factor VII polymorphisms on the coronary artery disease in Japanese: Factor VII polymorphism and coronary disease.

We investigated the relationships among Factor VII coagulant activity (FVIIc), genetic polymorphisms of Factor VII (FVII) and coronary artery disease (CAD) in 380 unrelated Japanese individuals (mean 64 years) who underwent coronary angiography and whose cholesterol levels were within normal range. CAD subjects were defined as those in whom one of the three major coronary arteries showed >50% narrowing after nitroglycerin administration. FVIIc was measured and the following polymorphisms of FVII were determined: R353Q polymorphism (M1, M2 alleles), -323 0/10 bp polymorphism (0, 10 alleles), hypervariable region 4 of intron 7 (HVR4; H5, H6, H7 alleles).