Association between apolipoprotein C-III levels and coronary calcification detected by intravascular ultrasound in patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention.

There are few reports on the association between apolipoprotein C-III (ApoC-III) and coronary calcification using intravascular modalities. This study aimed to investigate the impacts of ApoC-III levels on coronary calcification using grayscale intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). Consecutive 263 culprit lesions for 202 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention using grayscale IVUS were included in this study and divided into four groups based on quartile ApoC-III values.

Three-dimensional optical coherence tomography to decide on reverse wire technique in bifurcation interventions.

A 79-year-old male with effort angina was admitted to receive optical coherence tomography (OCT)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention for restenosis of an everolimus-eluting stent implanted to the left anterior descending artery (LAD) eight years ago.

Right Ventricular Dyssynchrony in Patients With Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Background: Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) are characterized by elevated pulmonary arterial pressure resulting in right heart failure. Right ventricular (RV) dyssynchrony may be associated with early-stage RV dysfunction; however, the differences in RV dyssynchrony between CTEPH and PAH and the factors contributing to RV dyssynchrony remain unclear.

Methods and results: Forty-four patients (CTEPH, 26; PAH, 18) were enrolled in this study.

Effect of Infarction-Related Artery Location on Clinical Outcome of Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction in the Contemporary Era of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention - Subanalysis From the Prospective Japan Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry (JAMIR).

Background: Previous studies have reported that acute myocardial infarction (AMI) related to left anterior descending (LAD) lesion is associated with worse outcomes than left circumflex artery (LCX) or right coronary artery (RCA) lesions. However, it is unknown whether those relationships are still present in the contemporary era of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), using newer generation drug-eluting stents and potent antiplatelet agents.

Methods and results: This study is a sub-analysis of the Japan AMI Registry (JAMIR), a multicenter, prospective registry enrolling 3,411 AMI patients between December 2015 and May 2017.

Acute Coronary Syndrome Developed in a 17-year-old Boy with Sitosterolemia Comorbid with Takayasu Arteritis: A Rare Case Report and Review of the Literature.

A 17-year-old boy with acute coronary syndrome was admitted to our hospital. He had xanthomas over his elbow and Achilles tendon and a high level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; therefore, his initial diagnosis was familial hypercholesterolemia. However, a genetic analysis revealed a compound heterozygous mutation in the ABCG5 gene with a high serum level of sitosterol, leading to the diagnosis of sitosterolemia.

Cardio-ankle vascular index is associated with coronary plaque composition assessed with iMAP-intravascular ultrasound in patients with coronary artery disease.

Background: The cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) is an indicator of arterial stiffness and has been reported to be associated with the severity of coronary artery disease and cardiovascular events. However, whether CAVI can predict the composition of coronary plaques remains unclear.

Methods: We enrolled 208 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for culprit lesions evaluated with iMAP-intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), a radiofrequency imaging system for characterizing tissues.

Effects of Vonoprazan on the Antiplatelet Function of Prasugrel Assessed by the VerifyNow P2Y Assay in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease.

Vonoprazan is a potassium-competitive acid blocker increasingly used in Japan to prevent upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients undergoing dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 is involved in the primary metabolism of both vonoprazan and prasugrel. This raises concern about the possibility of a CYP3A4-mediated drug-drug interaction between vonoprazan and prasugrel that may lead to attenuation of prasugrel's antiplatelet effect.

Successful management of heart failure 45 years after surgical correction of tetralogy of Fallot.

A 59-year-old Japanese woman was admitted with heart failure due to severe pulmonary regurgitation and tricuspid regurgitation, in addition to atrial fibrillation 45 years after surgical correction of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). She had been under treatment with medication and catheter ablation for arrhythmia including ventricular tachycardia for the past 28 years. She underwent pulmonary valve replacement as well as tricuspid and mitral valvuloplasty, which obviously improved her status even though her right ventricular end-diastolic volume index exceeded the recommended threshold.

Serum soluble Klotho is inversely related to coronary artery calcification assessed by intravascular ultrasound in patients with stable coronary artery disease.

Background: Although the Klotho gene is recognized as an aging-suppressor gene, the clinical significance of its soluble product, soluble Klotho, in coronary artery disease (CAD) has not been completely determined. The relationship between soluble Klotho and coronary artery calcification (CAC) was investigated in patients with stable CAD.

Methods: CAC in culprit lesions was analyzed in 75 non-dialysis patients with stable CAD who were scheduled for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) following intravascular ultrasound (IVUS).

Aortic Stiffness Is Associated with Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction in Patients with Non-obstructive Coronary Artery Disease.

Objective Associations between aortic stiffness and cardiovascular disease events are mediated in part by pathways that include coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) and remodeling. However, the relationship between aortic stiffness and CMD remains unclear. The present study aimed to determine whether aortic stiffness causes CMD as evaluated by the hyperemic microvascular resistance index (hMVRI) in patients with non-obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD).

Ischemic heart disease cause of intradialytic hypertension in a patient with diabetic nephropathy.

A 73-year-old Japanese man was admitted with extreme intradialytic hypertension of four months' duration that was refractory to antihypertensive agents. He had started hemodialysis five years previously because of diabetic nephropathy. Coronary angiography revealed coronary artery disease with significant stenosis of the left main trunk and the right coronary artery, and he underwent a coronary artery bypass graft.

Acute thrombosis of everolimus-eluting platinum chromium stent caused by impaired prasugrel metabolism due to cytochrome P450 enzyme 2B6*2 (C64T) polymorphism: a case report.

Background: Dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and P2Y12 receptor inhibitor is an important option for preventing acute stent thrombosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Case Summary: A 72-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. Emergent coronary angiography identified the occlusion in the proximal left anterior descending artery.

Randomized, Open-Label, Cross-Over Comparison of the Effects of Benzbromarone and Febuxostat on Endothelial Function in Patients with Hyperuricemia.

Uric acid is generated with reactive oxygen species via xanthine oxidase (XO), and hyperuricemia, which is identified as the excess of uric acid in the blood, has been associated with vascular endothelial dysfunction. However, the effects of urate-lowering medicines on endothelial function have not been fully elucidated. Thus this study determined and compared the effects of benzbromarone (urate transporter 1 inhibitor) and febuxostat (XO inhibitor) on endothelial function.

A case of chronic myocarditis.

Chronic myocarditis is sometimes difficult to diagnose using several clinical diagnostic modalities. A 43-year-old Japanese man was admitted to our hospital with heart failure due to a diffusely hypokinetic left ventricle. No abnormal accumulation was seen on F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography.

Successful treatment with rivaroxaban for an acute pulmonary thromboembolism in a patient with primary antiphospholipid antibody syndrome.

A 73-year-old man was admitted with sudden onset of dyspnea. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed acute pulmonary thromboembolism and deep vein thrombosis. He was started on the direct oral anticoagulant rivaroxaban (factor Xa inhibitor) and this resolved the thrombus.

Paraganglioma of the carotid body and intrapericardium.

A 65-year-old Japanese woman with an intrapericardial tumor and neck tumor was admitted to our hospital. Intrapericardial tumor had not been resected because of massive bleeding from the hypervascular tumor and its invasion into the pericardium, ascending aorta, and pulmonary artery. The neck tumor had been successfully resected, and paraganglioma was pathologically diagnosed.