The acute management of ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction.

Acute ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) results from complete obstruction to coronary artery blood flow accompanied by the appearance of ST-segment-elevation on the electrocardiogram. Emergency treatment is required to restore coronary perfusion, thereby limiting the extent of damage to the myocardium and the likelihood of early death or future heart failure. This concise guideline summarises key recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guideline on acute management of STEMI (CG167), of relevance to all healthcare professionals involved.

Systematic review of discriminating power of outcome measures used in clinical trials of fibromyalgia.

Objective: Fibromyalgia (FM) comprises many symptoms and features. Consequently, studies on the condition have used a wide variety of outcome measures and assessment instruments. We investigated those outcome measures and instruments in association with the OMERACT (Outcome measures in Rheumatoid Arthritis Clinical Trials) FM Workshop initiative to define core outcome measures that should be used to assess FM.

Steadiness of quadriceps contractions in young and older adults with and without a history of falling.

Decreased steadiness of muscle force may be associated with ageing and could be a cause of falls in older people. We studied this in isometric and anisometric quadriceps contractions in healthy young and older people. The older group contained people with and without a history of medically unexplained falls.

Strength, power output and symmetry of leg muscles: effect of age and history of falling.

Risk factors for medically unexplained falls may include reduced muscle power, strength and asymmetry in the lower limbs. Conflicting reports exist about strength and there is little information about power and symmetry. Forty-four healthy young people (29.

Power output, isometric strength and steadiness in the leg muscles of pre- and postmenopausal women; the effects of hormone replacement therapy.

There are conflicting reports of the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on strength preservation in postmenopausal women, while any effect on power output has received little attention. Decreased steadiness of force generation has been reported in older muscles and may be related to the hormonal changes associated with the menopause, but the effect of HRT has not been investigated. We have studied the effect of HRT on strength, power output and isometric force steadiness in healthy women.