Clinical Characteristics and Adverse Events in Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients with a History of Peripheral Arterial Disease.

Background: In clinical observation, patients with acute coronary syndrome complicated with peripheral artery disease have poor prognosis, so the relationship between the diseases and clinical characteristics need to be further explored.

Objective: This study aims to investigate clinical characteristics and independent risk factors for in-hospital adverse events in acute coronary syndrome patients with a history of peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Methods: A total of 5,682 patients with acute coronary syndrome were included into this study.

An interspecies study of lipid profiles and atherosclerosis in familial hypercholesterolemia animal models with low-density lipoprotein receptor deficiency.

Small rodents, especially mice and rats, have been widely used in atherosclerosis studies even though humans exhibit completely different lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerotic characteristics. Until recently, various rodent models of human familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) have been created, including mice, rats, and golden Syrian hamsters. Although hamsters reportedly possess metabolic features similar to humans, there is no systematic characterization of the properties of circulating lipids and atherosclerotic lesions in these rodent models.

Hemodynamics of the string phenomenon in the internal thoracic artery grafted to the left anterior descending artery with moderate stenosis.

Purpose: The internal thoracic artery is the choice of graft for coronary artery bypass grafting due to the excellent long-term patency. However internal thoracic artery graft failures still occur due to diffuse narrowing, known as the string phenomenon. Studies suggest that the string phenomenon is caused by competitive flow when the coronary stenosis is not serious, but the hemodynamics of the string phenomenon are still unclear.

Comparative analysis of early and middle outcomes of the arterial switch operation in children with complete transposition of the great arteries with ventricular septal defect and severe pulmonary artery hypertension.

Background: The best age for the arterial switch operation (ASO) in complete transposition of great arteries with ventricular septal defect is usually considered to be within six months. This is because of severe pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary arterial obstructive pathological changes. There are few reports on ASO surgery in children older than three years old.

Correlation between the hematocrit and slow coronary flow.

Background: Whether the hematocrit is implicated in the pathogenesis of slow coronary flow (SCF) is not known.

Methods: To evaluate the correlation between the hematocrit and SCF, we studied 367 patients with angiographically near-normal coronary arteries. They were divided into four quartiles based on the hematocrit.

Cathepsin S deficiency results in abnormal accumulation of autophagosomes in macrophages and enhances Ang II-induced cardiac inflammation.

Background: Cathepsin S (Cat S) is overexpressed in human atherosclerotic and aneurysmal tissues and may contributes to degradation of extracellular matrix, especially elastin, in inflammatory diseases. We aimed to define the role of Cat S in cardiac inflammation and fibrosis induced by angiotensin II (Ang II) in mice.

Methods And Results: Cat S-knockout (Cat S(-/-)) and littermate wild-type (WT) C57BL/6J mice were infused continuously with Ang II (750 ng/kg/min) or saline for 7 days.