European heart journal
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European heart journal · Feb 1996
Determinants of exercise capacity in patients with coronary artery disease and mild to moderate systolic dysfunction. Role of heart rate and diastolic filling abnormalities.
To test the hypothesis that diastolic filling abnormalities are an important cause of exercise limitation in some patients with coronary artery disease we assessed the factors limiting exercise capacity in a group of patients with coronary artery disease in whom exercise limitation was greater than expected from the degree of resting left ventricular systolic dysfunction. ⋯ We have observed a strong correlation between exercise capacity and indices of exercise left ventricular diastolic filling, and have confirmed previous studies showing a poor correlation with resting and exercise indices of systolic function and resting diastolic filling, in patients with coronary artery disease.
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European heart journal · Feb 1996
Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialDifferential effects of tissue plasminogen activator and streptokinase on infarct size and on rate of enzyme release: influence of early infarct related artery patency. The GUSTO Enzyme Substudy.
The recent international GUSTO trial of 41,021 patients with acute myocardial infarction demonstrated improved 90-min infarct related artery patency as well as reduced mortality in patients treated with an accelerated regimen of tissue plasminogen activator, compared to patients treated with streptokinase. A regimen combining tissue plasminogen activator and streptokinase yielded intermediate results. The present study investigated the effects of treatment on infarct size and enzyme release kinetics in a subgroup of these patients. ⋯ Rapid and complete coronary reperfusion salvages myocardial tissue, resulting in limitation of infarct size and accelerated release of proteins from the myocardium. Treatment with tissue plasminogen activator, resulting in earlier reperfusion was more effective in reducing infarct size than the streptokinase regimens, which contributes to the differences in survival between treatment groups in the GUSTO trial.