Gender differences in endothelial tissue-type plasminogen activator release in middle-aged adults.

experience in a small and highly selected patient cohort with a remarkably low-risk profile and a very short time-to-treatment. There is a conflicting evidence about the prognostic significance of prodromal angina associated with pPCI, because someone found a better outcome (7), while others not (8,9). We documented that the additional infarct size reduction associated with prodromal angina translated into better long-term ejection fraction, which could positively affect prognosis in an appropriately sized patient cohort. Differences in patient selection and study protocols (retrospective vs. prospective), as well as inconsistency of the prodromal angina definition, could also explain conflicting results. In conclusion, in our study, prodromal angina leads to a smaller infarct size most likely through ischemic preconditioning. This might represent a clinical “marker” of myocardial viability. Larger prospective trials are needed to demonstrate whether this observation translates into a better outcome in patients receiving pPCI.