Heart : official journal of the British Cardiac Society
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To assess the prognostic value of various conventional and novel echocardiographic indices in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) caused by left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction. ⋯ In patients with CHF and LV systolic dysfunction despite optimal pharmacological treatment, the strongest independent echocardiographic predictor of prognosis was Sm velocity measured with quantitative colour coded Doppler tissue imaging.
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Plasma concentrations of D-dimer may prove a valuable addition in the diagnostic work-up of acute type A aortic dissection, but not as means of predicting mortality.
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To assess the long term prognostic value of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) on admission and its prognostic interaction with both admission troponin T (TnT) concentrations and resolution of ST segment elevation in fibrinolytic treated ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). ⋯ Admission NT-proBNP is a strong independent predictor of mortality and gives, together with 50% ST resolution at 60 minutes, important prognostic information even after adjustment for TnT and baseline characteristics in STEMI.