American Journal of Cardiology

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

We aimed to correlate left atrial appendage (LAA) structure and function with the history of stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We analyzed data of 649 patients with AF who were scheduled for catheter ablation. Patients underwent cardiac CT and transesophageal echocardiography prior to ablation. LAA morphologies depicted by cardiac CT were categorized into four groups: cauliflower, chicken wing, swan and windsock shapes. Mean age was 61.3±10.5 years, 33.9% were female...

The 2019 ACC/AHA guidelines regarding low-dose aspirin in primary prevention of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) indicate increased risk of bleeding without a net benefit. Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) score could be used to guide aspirin therapy in high-risk individuals without increased risk of bleeding. With this systematic review, we aim to analyse studies that have investigated the role of CAC in primary prevention with aspirin. Four relevant studies were identified and the primary outcomes of interest were bleeding events and major adverse cardiac events...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The longstanding debate on off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) versus on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (ONCAB) has primarily focused on short-term and mid-term outcomes, with limited attention to long-term survival. This study aims to address this gap by providing an updated analysis of 10-year mortality rates after OPCAB versus ONCAB. We have conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, incorporating 22 studies comprising 69,449 patients. The primary end point was all-cause mortality at 10 years...

The Universal definition (UD) of Myocardial Infarction (MI) has been an important contribution to the literature and has, among other aims, helped explain the significance of elevated troponin levels. The clinician caring for patients admitted to the hospital must determine the etiology of the troponin elevation and whether or not it meets criteria for acute MI. The concept of a Type 2 MI- an MI due to a supply/demand mismatch and not to athero thrombosis is one of the most important contributions of the UD...

BACKGROUND: Off-pump coronary revascularization (OPCAB) has been proposed to benefit patients at greater surgical risk as it avoids the use of extracorporeal circulation. While historically older patients were considered high risk candidates, recent studies implicate frailty as a more comprehensive measure of perioperative fitness. Yet, outcomes of OPCAB among frail patients have not been elucidated. Thus, using a national cohort of frail patients, we assessed the impact of OPCAB, relative to on-pump (ONCAB)...

Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) causes changes in P-wave parameters. However, the difference in changes in P-wave parameters including P-wave vector magnitude (Pvm) between radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) and cryoballoon ablation (CBA) remains unknown. Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) patients who underwent only PVI were enrolled. Pvm was calculated by the square root of the sum of the squared P-wave amplitude in leads II and V6 and one-half of the P-wave amplitude in V2. The patients were divided into two groups: RFCA and CBA...

The diagnosis of vasospastic angina (VSA) according to Japanese guidelines involves an initial intracoronary acetylcholine (ACh) provocation test in the left coronary artery (LCA) followed by testing in the right coronary artery (RCA). However, global variations in test protocols often lead to the omission of ACh provocation in the RCA, potentially resulting in the underdiagnosis of VSA. This study assessed the validity of the LCA-only ACh provocation approach for the VSA diagnosis and whether vasoreactivity in the LCA aids in determining further provocation in the RCA...

Trans-radial access (TRA) is the primary arterial approach for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, occasionally, a crossover to trans-femoral access is necessary due to unsuccessful TRA. The impact of failed TRA on the prognosis in STEMI patients and the utility of predictive models for TRA failure remains uncertain. Data from the Hungarian Myocardial Infarction Registry (January 2014 - December 2020) were analyzed. Primary endpoints were 1-year mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE)...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Rotational atherectomy (RA) is used to address complex calcified coronary lesions but data regarding the association between gender and outcomes of patients undergoing RA remained uncertain. We aimed to investigate the short and long-term outcomes of patients undergoing RA based on sex. METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases from its inception until August 2023 for relevant studies. Endpoints were pooled using the DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model as odd ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI)...

Near-infrared spectroscopy-intravascular ultrasound (NIRS-IVUS) can identify the lipid-rich lesions, described as high lipid-core burden index (LCBI). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between lipid core plaque (LCP) in the infarct-related lesion detected using NIRS-IVUS and no-reflow phenomenon during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We investigated 371 ACS patients who underwent NIRS-IVUS in the infarct-related lesions before PCI...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Low-voltage areas have been used as atrial structural substrates in estimating fibrotic degeneration in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The high-resolution maps obtained by recently developed mapping catheters allow the visualization of several functional abnormalities. We investigated the association between left atrial (LA) functional abnormal findings on a high-resolution substrate map and AF recurrence in patients who underwent pulmonary vein isolation without any additional LA substrate ablation...

Diastolic dysfunction (DD) is associated with incident atrial fibrillation (AF). The influence of resting heart rate (RHR) on incident AF in patients with DD has not been investigated. The goal of this study is to assess the influence of RHR on incident AF in patients with DD. Patients from a large health system with no prior history of AF, a left ventricular ejection fraction ≥50% and documented DD on echocardiography were divided into quartiles (<66, 66-76, 77-91, >91 bpm) based on RHR. Incident AF was estimated using AF hospitalization during follow-up...