Heart : official journal of the British Cardiac Society
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To test if delay-to-angiography (>72 hours from admission) in patients presenting with high-risk non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS) is associated with adverse outcomes. ⋯ High-risk NSTE-ACS is suboptimally managed with 43% not undergoing angiography. One-third of those undergoing angiography are delayed >72 hours. Longer delays were more likely with higher risk, sicker patients. These delays were associated with adverse outcomes at six months. Very long delay was associated with lower MACE, but not mortality, compared to conservative management.
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To investigate the usefulness of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) as a predictive marker for angiographically significant coronary artery disease (CAD) and CAD severity compared with other newer biochemical risk markers and classic risk factors in patients with clinically suspected CAD. ⋯ The predictive value of NT-proBNP for CAD severity is better than that of hs-CRP or GGT. However, NT-proBNP is also of limited value compared with traditional risk factors for predicting significant CAD.
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To identify functional aortic regurgitation (FAR) determinants in patients with ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm (ATAA) and surgically confirmed normal aortic valve anatomy. ⋯ The diastolic tenting of aortic leaflets is strongly related to FAR severity in patients with ATAA. The mismatch of STJ/A is significantly associated with diastolic leaflet tenting and its correlated valve regurgitation, independently of the actual ATAA dimension. These findings provide new insight into the mechanism of FAR arising from ATAA.