Radiotracer kinetics were used to evaluate the activity of the sympathetic nervous system in 10 patients who had had unstable ischaemic symptoms within the previous 12 weeks and 10 with stable angina. Patients with recent unstable angina or angina after recent acute myocardial infarction had higher basal cardiac noradrenaline spillover than patients with stable angina. This represents a selecti...

BACKGROUND Sublingual nitroglycerin increases exercise duration in patients with stable angina. Brief results from this study were published previously in German. Here, we more fully describe the study methodology, patient characteristics, and detailed results. METHODS This double-blind, crossover study enrolled 51 patients with stable angina. Patients were randomized to 1 of 5 treatment sequ...

BACKGROUND Although abnormal vasoconstriction may be involved in the pathogenesis of the acute coronary syndromes, the vasoreactivity of the lesion responsible for unstable angina (culprit lesion) has not been directly investigated. It is also unknown if enhanced vasoreactivity is found downstream to this lesion or extends to uninvolved coronary arteries. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied seven ...

Background Rupture of atherosclerotic plaques is probably the most important mechanism underlying the sudden onset of acute coronary syndromes. Macrophages may release lytic enzymes that degrade the fibrous cap and therefore produce rupture of the atherosclerotic plaque. This study was designed to quantify macrophage content in coronary plaque tissue from patients with stable and unstable coron...

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether CD40L/CD154 on platelets and soluble CD40L/CD154 may play a role in the inflammatory process of acute coronary syndromes. DESIGN AND SETTING Observational study in a university hospital. PATIENTS 15 patients with acute myocardial infarction, 25 patients with unstable angina, 15 patients with stable angina, and 12 controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES CD40L/CD154...

OBJECTIVES We sought to examine completed 10-year survival and event-free survival in patients with stable and unstable angina pectoris treated by coronary balloon angioplasty. BACKGROUND Patients with unstable angina are at increased risk for recurrent acute coronary events. METHODS The study included 208 consecutive patients (133 with stable and 75 with unstable angina pectoris) undergoin...

BACKGROUND Rupture of atherosclerotic plaques is probably the most important mechanism underlying the sudden onset of acute coronary syndromes. Macrophages may release lytic enzymes that degrade the fibrous cap and therefore produce rupture of the atherosclerotic plaque. This study was designed to quantify macrophage content in coronary plaque tissue from patients with stable and unstable coron...

BACKGROUND Angina, the cardinal symptom of coronary artery disease (CAD), is amenable to a range of therapies, and its routine assessment is considered a performance measure of quality. However, the prevalence of frequent angina among outpatients with CAD is unknown. METHODS The Coronary Artery Disease in General Practice (CADENCE) Study utilized a cluster-stratified, cross-sectional design t...

BACKGROUND Whereas acute coronary syndromes (ACS) typically develop from the rupture of lipid core plaque (LCP), lesions causing stable angina are believed to be composed of fibrocalcific plaque. In this study, intracoronary near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to determine the frequency of LCP at target and remote sites in patients with ACS versus those with stable angina. METHODS AND ...