Background: Kidney failure (stage 5 chronic kidney disease [CKD]) is an independent risk factor for stent thrombosis (ST). Moderate (stage 3-4) CKD and proteinuria are both associated with adverse cardiovascular events, including worse outcomes after myocardial infarction (MI). Whether moderate CKD and proteinuria increase the risk of ST after MI is not known.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: After myocardial infarction (MI), biomarkers can be helpful to identify patients who might benefit from more intensive therapies. The prothrombin time-derived fibrinogen (PTDF) assay is widely available and relatively inexpensive. We determined whether PTDF predicts events in patients with MI and compared this assay with brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and C-reactive protein (CRP).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrognostic markers are needed to identify patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who are at high risk for adverse events. Although the search for new biomarkers is quite active, prognostic information is available from routine hematologic tests, such as the complete blood count. For example, elevated white blood cell counts during ACS are associated with increased risk of mortality, heart failure, shock, and left ventricular dysfunction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Patients with non-O blood groups have higher plasma von Willebrand factor (vWF) levels than those with type O. vWF mediates platelet adhesion, aggregation and thrombosis. These considerations likely explain the prior observations that non-O patients have higher rates of arterial and venous thromboembolic events.
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