BACKGROUND Endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) are present in peripheral blood and can develop a functional endothelial phenotype. The number and function of circulating EPCs are altered in atherosclerosis, diabetes, and after myocardial infarction and EPCs have been shown to promote postnatal angiogenesis and vasculogenesis. We investigated the number and adhesive properties of EPCs from patien...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether unstable angina, which is characterised by recurring episodes of myocardial ischaemia and reperfusion, is associated with oxidative stress (that is, where there is an imbalance between oxidants, such as free radicals, which are in excess and antioxidants). DESIGN Between group comparison of patients with unstable angina, stable angina, and healthy controls. SE...

OBJECTIVES To assess the incidence and significance of anticardiolipin antibodies after myocardial infarction and in unstable angina. DESIGN A prospective study of all patients under 60 admitted to the coronary care unit over a 12 month period with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction who were followed up for a further 12 months. Patients admitted with unstable angina were similarly ass...

BACKGROUND The CD40 ligand (CD40L) on activated T cells and platelets may be activating matrix metalloproteinases, inducing procoagulant activity, and be involved in the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndromes by promoting plaque rupture in atheroma. METHODS AND RESULTS To study the role of CD40L-CD40 interaction in coronary disease, we analyzed levels of soluble (s) and membrane-bound CD40L...

BACKGROUND This study was designed to evaluate the plasma levels of tissue factor (TF) and tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) in patients with unstable angina and investigate whether there is a relationship between these levels and unfavorable outcome. METHODS AND RESULTS The plasma TF and free TFPI antigen levels were determined in plasma samples taken from 51 patients with unstable angi...

The clinical presentation of ischaemic heart disease includes stable and unstable angina pectoris, silent ischaemia, myocardial infarction, heart failure and sudden death [1]. For many years, unstable angina has been considered an intermediate syndrome between chronic stable angina and acute myocardial infarction. In recent years, its pathophysiology has been clarified and acute coronary syndro...

introduction: in cases with potential diagnosis of ischemic chest pain, screening high risk patients for adverse outcomes would be very helpful. the present study was designed aiming to determine the diagnostic accuracy of thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (timi) score in patients with potential diagnosis of ischemic chest pain. method: this diagnostic accuracy study was designed to evaluat...

BACKGROUND Myocardial infarction (MI) is often preceded by unstable angina. Helping patients identify the onset of unstable angina rather than MI may result in earlier treatment and improve outcomes. Unstable angina is angina occurring at a lower-than-usual workload. Since heart rate (HR) is correlated with degree of exertion, we hypothesised that angina occurring at low HR is a warning signal ...

BACKGROUND Platelet activation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of acute coronary disease. Monocytes are involved in the progression of atherosclerosis and are potent activators of blood coagulation through their ability to synthesize tissue factor (TF). The aim of this study was to compare markers of monocyte and coagulation activation in the systemic blood of patients with unstable an...

Unstable angina is not a specific disease but a clinical syndrome, more akin to hypertension than to streptococcal endocarditis. The classification of unstable angina has, until now, been based on simple clinical descriptors, such as whether the ischaemic pain is on exertion and accelerating, or whether it occurs at rest, and whether or not ischaemia persists despite vigorous anti-ischaemic tre...