Journal of the American College of Cardiology
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J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. · Oct 1997
Impact of early discharge after coronary artery bypass graft surgery on rates of hospital readmission and death. The Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT) Investigators.
This study examined the impact of early hospital discharge on short-term clinical outcomes of elderly patients treated with coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) in the United States in 1992. ⋯ As of 1992, early discharge of elderly patients treated with CABG in non-HMO settings was not associated with higher 60-day rates of death or readmission. This suggests that physicians were able to identify low risk candidates for early discharge. Variation across the nation in early discharge rates, along with the percentage of patients without major risk factors for adverse outcomes, suggests that higher rates of early discharge might be safely achieved.
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J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. · Oct 1997
Catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia after myocardial infarction: relation of endocardial sinus rhythm late potentials to the reentry circuit.
We sought to determine whether endocardial late potentials during sinus rhythm are associated with reentry circuit sites during ventricular tachycardia (VT). ⋯ Although sites with sinus rhythm late potentials often participate in VT reentry circuits, many reentry circuit sites do not have late potentials. Late potentials can also arise from bystander regions. Late potentials may help identify abnormal regions in sinus rhythm but cannot replace mapping during induced VT to guide ablation.
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J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. · Oct 1997
Multicenter Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialFirst international new intravascular rigid-flex endovascular stent study (FINESS): clinical and angiographic results after elective and urgent stent implantation. The FINESS Trial Investigators.
The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility, safety and efficacy of elective and urgent deployment of the new intravascular rigid-flex (NIR) stent in patients with coronary artery disease. ⋯ Despite unfavorable clinical and angiographic characteristics of the majority of patients enrolled, the acute angiographic results and early clinical outcome after NIR stent deployment were very promising. A prospective, randomized trial comparing the NIR stent with other currently available stents appears warranted.
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J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. · Oct 1997
Cause of death analysis in the NHLBI PTCA Registry: results and considerations for evaluating long-term survival after coronary interventions.
We examined cause of death in relation to age, length of follow-up and other baseline characteristics in patients in the 1985-1986 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (NHLBI PTCA) Registry. ⋯ All-cause mortality rates may be high in elderly revascularized patients, yet cardiac mortality may be less than that expected because of a high risk of noncardiac death. Although all-cause mortality is a more reliable end point than cause-specific mortality, both cardiac and all-cause mortality should be considered in coronary intervention studies involving older patients and long-term follow-up.