Coronary artery disease
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Coronary artery disease · May 2010
Impact of the attainment of current recommended low-density lipoprotein cholesterol goal of less than 70 mg/dl on clinical outcomes in very high-risk patients treated with drug-eluting stents.
We sought to evaluate whether the attainment of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goal of less than 70 mg/dl would affect clinical outcomes in Korean patients treated with drug-eluting stents (DES). ⋯ This study showed that the attainment of LDL-C goal of less than 70 mg/dl was significantly associated with a lower MACCE or TVR rate in very high-risk Korean patients treated with DES.
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Coronary artery disease · May 2010
Association between increasing levels of hemoglobin A1c and coronary atherosclerosis in asymptomatic individuals without diabetes mellitus.
Earlier studies have shown an association between high-normal glucose and increasing glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and cardiovascular events. The objective of this investigation was to study the association between increasing levels of HbA1c in asymptomatic individuals without diabetes mellitus (DM) and coronary plaque characteristics. ⋯ Increasing levels of HbA1c in asymptomatic individuals without DM are associated with the presence of coronary atherosclerosis, but more specifically with the presence and burden of mixed coronary plaques. Elements of plaque instability have been associated with mixed coronary plaques.
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Coronary artery disease · May 2010
ReviewCoronary revascularization in patients with type 2 diabetes and results of the BARI 2D trial.
This Perspective reviews the results of early and contemporary studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of coronary revascularization in patients with diabetes. It also addresses the implications of some of the data in the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation in type 2 diabetes (BARI 2D) trial. ⋯ Patients with diabetes benefit from revascularization by coronary thrombolysis, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). However, with each intervention the benefit is less and the risks and complications are greater than in patients without diabetes. Revascularization for treatment of ST elevation myocardial infarction increases survival. When used for treatment of non-ST elevation myocardial infarction or unstable angina, it does not except in those at very high risk. In patients with chronic, symptomatic coronary artery disease, long-term mortality is comparable after CABG or PCI. However, the incidence of major adverse cardiac events is greater after PCI primarily because of the need for more subsequent revascularization procedures. Both interventions relieve symptoms, but neither improves survival except in patients at high risk. In patients with clinically stable chronic coronary disease, survival after CABG or PCI is comparable with that in patients treated with optimal medical therapy alone. Accordingly, evaluation for revascularization can be deferred until signs and symptoms worsen except in patients at high risk. In patients at high risk survival after promptly implemented CABG is greater than that with optimal medical therapy, especially when the diabetes is being treated with insulin sensitizing agents.