INTRODUCTION Adiponectin is a circulating hormone that is produced exclusively by adipocytes and has antiinflammatory and anti-atherogenic properties. The hypothesis that there are differences in adiponectin levels between stable and unstable coronary-artery disease patients remains controversial. Furthermore, the potential relationships between the plasma adiponectin level and the inflammatory...

Heart rate, a major determinant of angina in coronary disease, is also an important predictor of cardiovascular mortality. Lowering heart rate is therefore one of the most important therapeutic approaches in the treatment of stable angina pectoris. To date, beta-blockers and some calcium-channel antagonists reduce heart rate, but their use may be limited by adverse reactions or contraindication...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was the investigation of the in vivo role of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] and inflammatory infiltrates in the human coronary atherosclerotic plaque and their correlation with the clinical syndrome of presentation. BACKGROUND Lipoprotein(a) is an atherogenic and thrombogenic lipoprotein, and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndromes. Lip...

BACKGROUND Unstable angina is associated with enhanced lipid peroxidation and reduced antioxidant defenses. We have previously reported aspirin failure in the suppression of enhanced thromboxane (TX) biosynthesis in a subset of episodes of platelet activation in this setting. We tested the hypothesis that the in vivo formation of the F(2)-isoprostane 8-iso-prostaglandin (PG)F(2alpha), a bioacti...

The monorail technique allows monitoring of all steps of the coronary angioplasty procedure by high quality coronary angiography; easy, rapid, and safe recrossing and redilatation of the lesion if necessary; and stepwise dilatation of a stenosis with sequential increase of size of balloons. Transstenotic pressure differences cannot, however, be measured through the narrow shaft of the standard ...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that the active coronary endothelial lesions in unstable angina raise the endothelin concentration in coronary venous blood. DESIGN Systemic and coronary venous blood samples were obtained from unselected patients with the clinical syndromes of either stable or unstable angina at the time of cardiac catheterisation and coronary arteriography. Control ven...

BACKGROUND Given the ongoing burden of cardiovascular disease and an ageing population, physical activity in patients with coronary artery disease needs to be emphasized. This study assessed whether sedentary behaviour and physical activity levels differed among older patients (≥75 years) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) consisting of ST-segme...

BACKGROUND Computed tomographic coronary angiography (CTA) is a non-invasive alternative to conventional coronary angiography (CCA) in detecting chronic coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the value of CTA in estimating acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has not been evaluated. METHODS CTA and CCA were performed on 10 patients with non-ST-elevated AMI and 17 patients with stable angina pec...