Angiology
-
Multicenter Study
Use of emergency medical services in the second gulf registry of acute coronary events.
Data are scarce regarding emergency medical service (EMS) usage by patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the Arabian Gulf region. This 9-month in-hospital prospective ACS registry was conducted in Arabian Gulf countries, with 30-day and 1-year follow-up mortality rates. Of 5184 patients with ACS, 1293 (25%) arrived at the hospital by EMS. ⋯ The EMSs are underused in the Arabian Gulf region. Short- and long-term mortality rates in patients with ACS are similar between those who used and did not use EMS. Quality improvement in the EMS infrastructure and establishment of integrated STEMI networks are urgently needed.
-
A low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level is a predictor of increased cardiovascular risk. We assessed the mean platelet volume (MPV) in patients with low HDL-C. We studied 59 patients with low HDL-C (HDL-C ≤35 mg/dL) and 56 control participants (HDL-C levels >35 mg/dL) with similar cardiovascular risk factors. ⋯ Platelet count was significantly lower among the patients with low HDL-C than that of the control group (213 ± 60 vs 285 ± 75 × 10(9)/L, respectively; P < .001). The MPV was significantly higher among the patients with low HDL-C than that of the control group (8.7 ± 0.6 vs 7.1 ± 0.5 fL, respectively; P < .001). We have shown that MPV was significantly elevated in patients with low HDL-C compared with control participants.