International journal of cardiology
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Comparative Study
Nitric oxide overproduction derived from inducible nitric oxide synthase increases cardiomyocyte apoptosis in human atrial fibrillation.
Inflammation and oxidant stress have been suggested to be involved in the structural remodeling in atrial fibrillation (AF), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is associated with inflammation and oxidant stress. To study whether iNOS could contribute to atrial remodeling in AF, we investigated the relationship between inflammation, oxidant stress, nitric oxide (NO) and its synthase, and cardiomyocytic apoptosis in the right atrium in human AF. ⋯ Levels of hs-CRP were far more enhanced in patients with PmAF compared to the controls. Plasma levels of NO(X) were significantly lower in PmAF patients than SR patients, but the production of NO(X) in the local right atrium increased obviously. Furthermore, iNOS and 3NT expressions increased dramatically in the right atrium in PmAF patients, whereas the expression of eNOS did not change apparently. In addition, when patients were further divided into a higher hs-CRP group (> or =5 mg/L) and a lower hs-CRP group (<5 mg/L) according to the hs-CRP level, significant upregulation of iNOS was found in the higher hs-CRP group. Apoptosis index and caspase 3 staining were also prominently enhanced in PmAF patients compared with SR patients. More importantly, we demonstrated in this study that a higher expression of 3NT was associated with an increased expression of iNOS/eNOS (r=0.74, P<0.05) and an enhanced apoptosis index (r=0.69, P<0.05). In conclusion, the results presented novel evidence that imbalanced expression of iNOS/eNOS could contribute to protein nitration and cardiomyocyte apoptosis in human AF, in which condition inflammation may be an important participant.
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Letter Comparative Study
Is high body mass index associated with increased risk of groin complications using manual compression after diagnostic coronary angiography?
There is a common perception that high body mass index (BMI) is associated with an increased risk of bleeding complications at the site of femoral puncture when manual compression is used for achieving hemostasis. Because of lack of evidence to support or refute this, we conducted a study to assess whether raised BMI is associated with increased risk of groin complications. 15 cases of groin complications after manual compression over 2 years and 40 controls were each divided into 3 groups according to BMI. Baseline characteristics of cases and controls were similar. High BMI was not found to be associated with increased risk of groin complications, suggesting that manual compression is safe and effective in patients with raised BMI.
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Letter Comparative Study
Comparison of fluoroscopic coronary angiography and multi-slice coronary angiography in the characterization of anomalous coronary artery.
Anomalous coronary arteries with an inter-arterial course are associated with sudden cardiac death. We reported a study comparing the accuracy of fluoroscopic coronary angiography (FCA) with that of multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) coronary angiography in determining the proximal course of anomalous coronary arteries. Twelve patients with thirteen anomalous coronary arteries had both FCA and MSCT coronary angiography were included in this study. ⋯ None of the cardiologists was correct in determining the proximal course of all anomalous coronary arteries. The median number of anomalous coronary arteries with their proximal courses correctly identified by the cardiologists was 7.5 (range 3-12). In conclusion, FCA was limited in delineating the proximal course of anomalous coronary arteries in comparison with MSCT coronary angiography.
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Chronic active Epstein-Barr virus (CAEBV) infection is characterized by chronic or recurrent infectious mononucleosis-like symptoms and the prognosis of CAEBV infection is quite poor. The incidence of myocarditis as a complication of EBV infection is not so high and it is unusual that heart failure appears as the initial symptom. However, it is very important to detect and treat chronic active myocarditis in the early phase of CAEBV infection because chronic active myocarditis disorganizes and decreases cardiomyocytes, resulting in the progression to heart failure. ⋯ Immunohistological analysis of biopsies revealed that the infiltrating cells were mainly T lymphocytes. And some of the infiltrating cells showed a positive signal for the EBV-encoded small nuclear RNA by in situ hybridization. Positron emission tomography using (18)F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) performed revealed increased uptake of (18)F-FDG of whole left ventricular wall with mild heterogeneity.
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To describe the short-and long-term outcome among patients with an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), assessed and treated by the emergency medical services (EMS) in relation to whether they were fast tracked to a coronary care unit (CCU) or admitted via the emergency department (ED). ⋯ Among patients transported with ambulance due to STEMI there was a significant association between early recognition and treatment followed by fast tracking to the CCU and long term survival. A higher rate of and a more rapid revascularisation were probably of significant importance for the outcome.