The association of high-normal international-normalized-ratio (INR) with mortality in patients referred for coronary angiography.

Aims: The international-normalized-ratio (INR) is typically used to monitor patients on warfarin or related oral anticoagulant therapy. The aim of our study was to investigate the association of the INR with mortality in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients not on oral anticoagulant therapy.

Methods And Results: Between 1997 to 2000 the LUdwigshafen RIsk and Cardiovascular Health (LURIC) study enrolled 3316 patients of German ancestry that had been referred for coronary angiography.

Targeted 46-gene and clinical exome sequencing for mutations causing cardiomyopathies.

With the implementation of high-throughput sequencing protocols, the exhaustive scanning of known and candidate disease genes has become a feasible approach to genetic testing of patients with cardiomyopathy. A primary objective of the present study was to assess the performance characteristics of a 46-gene next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay that targets well-established cardiomyopathy genes. A total of 25 samples were analyzed.

A genome-wide association study identifies 6p21 as novel risk locus for dilated cardiomyopathy.

Aims: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is one of the leading causes for cardiac transplantations and accounts for up to one-third of all heart failure cases. Since extrinsic and monogenic causes explain only a fraction of all cases, common genetic variants are suspected to contribute to the pathogenesis of DCM, its age of onset, and clinical progression. By a large-scale case-control genome-wide association study we aimed here to identify novel genetic risk loci for DCM.

High-density oligonucleotide-based resequencing assay for mutations causing syndromic and non-syndromic forms of thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections.

Thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection is associated with increasing mortality rate that may occur as part of a syndrome or as an isolated familial condition. Several genes have been implicated in causing TAAD, though an appropriate genetic test for their parallel testing is not yet available. Herein, we describe the novel 117-kb "MFSTAAD chip" that may help to understand the genetic basis of TAAD.