Analysis of Subjective and Objective Screening Techniques as Predictors of Safety for Radial Artery Intervention.

Background: There is no currently accepted standard in safety evaluation for radial artery intervention. We sought to compare the accuracy of various subjective and objective screening techniques in predicting safety for radial artery intervention.

Methods: Fifty-four patients in a prospective cohort study at a single institution underwent subjective Allen's test, objective Barbeau test, and several objective hand ultrasound techniques to assess safety for radial artery intervention.

Late Incomplete stent apposition is associated with late/very late stent thrombosis: A meta-analysis.

Background: There is a lingering controversy in the current literature about the impact of late incomplete stent apposition (LISA) on clinical outcomes, especially stent thrombosis (ST). Therefore, we aimed to synthesize the available evidence evaluating the association between LISA and adverse clinical outcomes.

Methods: We systematically searched electronic databases for studies reporting clinical outcomes in patients with and without LISA.

Endothelin as a clinical target in the treatment of systemic hypertension.

Endothelin is a potent vasoconstrictor substance that also can exert proliferative, inflammatory, and fibrotic changes in blood vessels and other organs. It acts on tissues in a paracrine and autocrine fashion, with local production and regulation occurring in both endothelial and nonendothelial cells. Endothelin stimulation of ETA and ETB receptors results in different and often opposing effects, which under physiologic conditions, establishes a balance that contributes to the regulation of vascular tone and blood pressure.