Cardiac tamponade due to rupture of coronary artery fistula to the coronary sinus with giant aneurysm of coronary artery: usefulness of transthoracic echocardiography.

A 68-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of back pain and syncope. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed pericardial effusion, a collapsed right ventricle, a giant aneurysm connected to the coronary sinus, a dilated left main trunk coronary artery, and a dilated left circumflex artery (LCx). Furthermore, there was a coronary artery fistula arising from the LCx that drained into the coronary sinus.

Cardiotrophin-1 stimulates intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 in human aortic endothelial cells.

Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) play critical roles in mediating monocyte adhesion to the vascular endothelium and monocyte migration into the subendothelial regions of the vessels. Inasmuch as cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1), an IL-6-type cytokine, was expressed in human atherosclerotic plaque, we examined whether CT-1 induces monocyte adhesion and migration by stimulating gene and protein expressions of ICAM-1 and MCP-1 in human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs). Immunocytochemistry revealed that CT-1 increased intensity of ICAM-1 and MCP-1 immunoreactivity in HAECs.

Plasma levels of soluble glycoprotein 130 in acute myocardial infarction.

Objectives: Soluble glycoprotein 130 (sgp130), a circulating form of receptor subunit for the interleukin (IL) -6 cytokine family, modulates the biological actions of its ligands as an inhibitory regulator. The role of sgpl30 in cardiovascular diseases such as acute coronary syndrome remains unknown.

Methods: Plasma levels of sgp130 were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 33 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI; mean age 67 +/- 2 years, 21 males and 12 females), who were admitted to our hospital within 24 hr of onset of AMI and survived for 4 weeks.

Noninvasive prediction of complications with anteroseptal acute myocardial infarction by left ventricular Tei index.

Background: Tei index has been proposed as a noninvasive and simple index that enables the evaluation of global left ventricular (LV) function and prediction of patient prognosis. However, its use to predict complications with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is not fully investigated. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not LV Tei index allows noninvasive prediction of complications with AMI.

R353Q polymorphism, activated factor VII, and risk of premature myocardial infarction in Japanese men.

Background: The association between myocardial infarction (MI) and the R353Q polymorphism of the Factor VII (FVII) gene, which reportedly influences FVII concentrations, activated Factor VII (FVIIa), or FVII antigen (FVIIag), remains controversial.

Methods And Results: The present case - control study in 127 Japanese men with their first MI at or before 45 years of age and 150 matched healthy controls was designed to clarify this association in premature MI. R353Q polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction, and plasma concentrations of FVIIa and FVIIag were assayed.

Rationale for the use of combination angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin II receptor blocker therapy in heart failure.

Background: The present multicenter study investigated whether the combination of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) and angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) is more beneficial for preventing left ventricular remodeling and suppressing neurohumoral factors than either ACEI or ARB alone.

Methods And Results: One hundred and six patients with mild-to-moderate congestive heart failure treated in 26 Japanese institutes were randomly assigned to the combination therapy or monotherapy. Changes in physical activity (New York Heart Association functional classes, Specific Activity Scale (SAS)), concentrations of neurohumoral factors (plasma renin activity, angiotensin II, aldosterone, and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP)), and cardiac function for 6 months were compared between the 2 groups.

Homocysteine and hemostatic disorder as a risk factor for myocardial infarction at a young age.

Introduction: Hyperhomocysteinemia is a coronary risk factor, but its pathophysiologic mechanism remains unclear.

Materials And Methods: The importance of hyperhomocysteinemia in the pathogenesis of early myocardial infarction, was determined in case-control study of 127 men with a first early myocardial infarction View Article and Find Full Text PDF

[Usefulness of rapid quantitative cardiac troponin T and myoglobin assays for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction].

Background And Objectives: The rapid cardiac troponin T (cTnT) test is widely used to detect myocardial necrosis in the emergency setting. This assay system is rapid and myocardial-specific, but the plasma cTnT concentration is difficult to determine quantitatively. A recently developed bedside cTnT and myoglobin (Mb) analyzer (CARDIAC system) was evaluated.

Transesophageal echocardiographic diagnosis of left atrial mass as thrombus by demonstrating its attachment to the patch closing atrial septal defect: a case report.

A 65-year-old-man was referred for echocardiographic examination because of palpitations. He had a history of an atrial septal defect surgically treated with an artificial synthetic polyester textile fiber patch. TTE showed a large, mobile mass in a dilated left atrium.