Bmc Cardiovasc Disor
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Bmc Cardiovasc Disor · Jan 2011
Circulating angiopoietins-1 and -2, angiopoietin receptor Tie-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor-A as biomarkers of acute myocardial infarction: a prospective nested case-control study.
Angiogenesis is up-regulated in myocardial ischemia. However, limited data exist assessing the value of circulating angiogenic biomarkers in predicting future incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Our aim was to examine the association between circulating levels of markers of angiogenesis with risk of incident acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in men and women. ⋯ Our data support a role of Ang-2 as a biomarker of incident AMI independent of traditional risk factors.
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Bmc Cardiovasc Disor · Jan 2011
Evaluation of coronary blood flow velocity during cardiac arrest with circulation maintained through mechanical chest compressions in a porcine model.
Mechanical chest compressions (CCs) have been shown capable of maintaining circulation in humans suffering cardiac arrest for extensive periods of time. Reports have documented a visually normalized coronary blood flow during angiography in such cases (TIMI III flow), but it has never been actually measured. Only indirect measurements of the coronary circulation during cardiac arrest with on-going mechanical CCs have been performed previously through measurement of the coronary perfusion pressure (CPP). In this study our aim was to correlate average peak coronary flow velocity (APV) to CPP during mechanical CCs. ⋯ Our study showed good correlation between CPP and APV which was highly significant, during cardiac arrest with on-going mechanical CCs in a closed chest porcine model. In addition APV was even higher during mechanical CCs compared to baseline. Mechanical CCs can, at minimum, re-establish coronary blood flow in non-diseased coronary arteries during cardiac arrest.
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Bmc Cardiovasc Disor · Jan 2011
Multicenter Study Comparative StudySerum neuron-specific enolase as predictor of outcome in comatose cardiac-arrest survivors: a prospective cohort study.
The prediction of neurological outcome in comatose patients after cardiac arrest has major ethical and socioeconomic implications. The purpose of this study was to assess the capability of serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE), a biomarker of hypoxic brain damage, to predict death or vegetative state in comatose cardiac-arrest survivors. ⋯ NSE levels measured early in the course of patient care for those who remained comatose after cardiac arrest were significantly higher in patients with outcomes of death or vegetative state. In addition, we provide a cut-off value for NSE (> 97 ng/mL) with 100% positive predictive value of poor outcome. Nevertheless, for decisions concerning the continuation of treatment in this setting, we emphasize that an approach based on a combination of SSEPs, NSE and clinical EEG would be more accurate for identifying patients with a poor neurological outcome.
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Bmc Cardiovasc Disor · Jan 2011
Multicenter StudyB-type natriuretic peptide and high sensitive C-reactive protein predict 2-year all cause mortality in chest pain patients: a prospective observational study from Salta, Argentina.
Several mechanisms are involved in the pathophysiology of the Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). We have addressed whether B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in admission samples may improve risk stratification in chest pain patients with suspected ACS. ⋯ BNP and hsCRP may act as clinically useful biomarkers when obtained at admission in a population with suspected ACS.
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Bmc Cardiovasc Disor · Jan 2011
Clinical TrialThe effect of an educational intervention on coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients' participation rate in cardiac rehabilitation programs: a controlled health care trial.
Cardiac rehabilitation has a beneficial effect on the prognosis and quality of life of cardiac patients, and has been found to be cost-effective. This report describes a comprehensive and low cost educational intervention designed to increase the attendance at cardiac rehabilitation programs of patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass graft surgery. ⋯ We report a low cost yet comprehensive intervention designed to increase cardiac rehabilitation participation by raising both patient and medical staff awareness to the potential benefits of cardiac rehabilitation.