OBJECTIVE Evaluate correlations between variations in eletrocardiogram (ECG) recordings and acute myocardial infarction. METHODS Use of a low-cost software to digitalize printed and/or ".pdf" file format ECG recordings. Calculation of ST-segment area and amplitudes of the J and Y points. RESULTS The amplitude of the Y point holds maximum correlation with troponin concentration. ST-segment e...

OBJECTIVES To describe the ERICO study (Strategy of Registry of Acute Coronary Syndrome), a prospective cohort to investigate the epidemiology of acute coronary syndrome. METHODS The ERICO study, which is being performed at a secondary general hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, is enrolling consecutive acute coronary syndrome patients who are 35 years old or older. The sociodemographic informatio...

BACKGROUND Some aspects of prognosis are not reflected by cumulative survival estimates. These aspects include information on the time already survived by the patient and the patient's survival compared with the general population. Conditional survival (ie, conditional on having survived a certain period of time already) and relative conditional survival (ie, compared with the general populatio...

Acute myocardial infarction is a rare event in a patient with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). We present a case of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in a LVAD patient.

The differential diagnosis of ST-segment elevation includes four major processes: ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI); early repolarization; pericarditis; and ST elevation secondary to an abnormality of the QRS complex (left bundle branch block, left ventricular hypertrophy, or preexcitation). Other processes that may be associated with ST elevation include hyperkalemia, pulmonar...

BACKGROUND Diabetes mellitus and admission blood glucose are important risk factors for mortality in ST segment elevation myocardial infarction patients, but their relative and individual role remains on debate. OBJECTIVE To analyze the influence of diabetes mellitus and admission blood glucose on the mortality of ST segment elevation myocardial infarction patients submitted to primary corona...

INTRODUCTION Acute coronary syndrome is the major leading cause for coronary care unit admission. Its spectrum comprises a variety of disorders including unstable angina, non ST elevation and ST elevation myocardial infarction. Its spectrum and incidence is crucial as a part of need assessment of cardiac catheterization laboratories. METHODS An observational study was designed to study the sp...

BACKGROUND Treatment of ST-elevation myocardial infarction has undergone great evolution since introduction of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The purpose was therefore to assess the outcome of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction undergoing surgical revascularization with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). METHODS A total of 138 consecutive patients with ST-elevati...

A consecutive series of 179 survivors of acute myocardial infarction had a symptom-limited 12-lead electrocardiographic treadmill exercise test, coronary angiographic studies, and left ventriculograms six to eight weeks after infarction. The exercise-induced ST-segment responses were correlated with the presence of multivessel disease, the presence of advanced left ventricular wall motion abnor...

BACKGROUND Prior studies have found that smokers undergoing thrombolytic therapy for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction have lower in-hospital mortality than nonsmokers, a phenomenon called the "smoker's paradox." Evidence, however, has been conflicting regarding whether this paradoxical association persists in the era of primary percutaneous coronary intervention. METHODS AND RESULTS...