Safe Triage of STEMI Patients to General Telemetry Units After Successful Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Objective: To analyze outcomes of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) after successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) triaged to the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) vs a general telemetry unit by a Zwolle risk score-based algorithm.

Methods: We introduced a quality improvement protocol in 2014 encouraging admission of STEMI patients with Zwolle score of 3 or less to general telemetry units unless they were hemodynamically unstable. We subsequently conducted a retrospective single-center cohort study of consecutive STEMI patients who had undergone primary PCI from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2018.

Clinical Outcomes of Various Management Strategies for Symptomatic Bradycardia.

Objective: To determine clinical outcomes of various management strategies for reversible and irreversible causes of symptomatic bradycardia in the inpatient setting.

Design: Retrospective observational study.

Setting: Emergency room and inpatient.

Thrombocytopenia independently predicts death in idiopathic PAH.

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive vascular disorder with a high mortality. Clinical experience and small case series suggest thrombocytopenia may be frequent in this population and associated with a poor prognosis. We sought to estimate the prevalence of thrombocytopenia in patients with PAH and characterize its association with disease characteristics and patient outcome.

Multimodal Imaging of Anomalous Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery in a 75-Year-Old Woman.

Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery is rare and typically results in mitral regurgitation, ventricular arrhythmias, heart failure, and sudden death. The condition most often manifests itself in early childhood, but some individuals are diagnosed much later. We describe the case of a 75-year-old woman with heart failure in whom stepwise multimodal imaging revealed anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery.

The prognostic significance of tricuspid valve regurgitation in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Introduction: Tricuspid valve regurgitation (TR) is a frequent finding in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, its prognostic significance and relation to PAH, while suspected, are poorly understood. We assessed 727 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed PAH who underwent transthoracic echocardiographic evaluation of tricuspid valve function.

Side Effects of CV Medications Following Hospitalization for ACS Are Associated With More Frequent Health-Care Contacts.

Background: Patients hospitalized for first acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are frequently discharged on multiple new medications. The short-term tolerability of these medications is unknown.

Methods: This single-center cohort study assessed 30-day health-care utilization and how it may be impacted by medication prescribing trends.

Fortilin reduces apoptosis in macrophages and promotes atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis, a deadly disease insufficiently addressed by cholesterol-lowering drugs, needs new therapeutic strategies. Fortilin, a 172-amino acid multifunctional polypeptide, binds p53 and blocks its transcriptional activation of Bax, thereby exerting potent antiapoptotic activity. Although fortilin-overexpressing mice reportedly exhibit hypertension and accelerated atherosclerosis, it remains unknown if fortilin, not hypertension, facilitates atherosclerosis.

Pericardial effusions in pulmonary arterial hypertension: characteristics, prognosis, and role of drainage.

Background: The presence and size of a pericardial effusion in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and its association with outcome is unclear.

Methods: In this single-center cohort study of 577 patients with group 1 PAH seen between January 1, 1995, and December 31, 2005, all patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography and were followed for ≥ 5 years. Echocardiography-guided pericardiocentesis was performed as needed.

RETRACTED: Syncope in adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

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