Journal of the American Heart Association
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With adoption of telemedicine, physicians are increasingly asked to diagnose ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMIs) based on electrocardiograms (ECGs) with minimal associated clinical information. We sought to determine physicians' diagnostic agreement and accuracy when interpreting potential STEMI ECGs. ⋯ There is significant physician disagreement in interpreting ECGs with features concerning for STEMI. Such ECGs lack the necessary sensitivity and specificity to act as a suitable "stand-alone" diagnostic test.
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Comparative Study
Coronary artery bypass graft surgery using the radial artery as a secondary conduit improves patient survival.
The clinical benefits of the left internal thoracic artery-to-left anterior descending coronary artery graft are well established in coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). However, limited data are available regarding the long-term outcome of the radial artery (RA) as a secondary conduit over the established standard of the saphenous venous graft. ⋯ The RA as a secondary conduit provided superior long-term survival after CABG, especially in diabetic patients, women, and the elderly. This effect was most pronounced >5 years after surgery.
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Controversy persists regarding the optimal revascularization strategy for diabetic patients with multivessel coronary artery disease (MVD). Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has been compared with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using drug-eluting stents (DES) in recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs). ⋯ These data demonstrate that CABG in diabetic patients with MVD at low to intermediate surgical risk (defined as EUROSCORE <5) is superior to MVD PCI with DES. CABG decreased overall death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and repeat revascularization at the expense of an increase in stroke risk.
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Prehospital 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) is critical to timely STEMI care although its use remains inconsistent. Previous studies to identify reasons for failure to obtain a prehospital ECG have generally only focused on individual emergency medical service (EMS) systems in urban areas. Our study objective was to identify patient, geographic, and EMS agency-related factors associated with failure to perform a prehospital ECG across a statewide geography. ⋯ Across a large geographic area prehospital ECG use increased significantly, although important quality improvement opportunities remain. Increasing ECG availability and improving EMS certification and training levels are needed to improve overall care and reduce rural-urban treatment differences.
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The purpose of this study was to define the incidence, imaging characteristics, natural history, and prognostic implication of corticospinal tract Wallerian degeneration (CST-WD) in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) using serial MR imaging. ⋯ Wallerian degeneration along the CST is common in spontaneous supratentorial ICH, particularly in deep ICH. It can be detected 1 week after ICH on DWI and progresses rostrocaudally along the CST over time. The presence of CST-WD is associated with poor motor and functional recovery after ICH.