BACKGROUND Several studies have investigated the diagnostic performance of computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) for the detection of significant coronary artery disease (CAD). These studies were performed in patients that were already referred for invasive coronary angiography (ICA) and prevalence of significant CAD was high. Although the negative predictive value of CTCA was consist...

INTRODUCTION To investigate differences between outpatients with progressive and nonprogressive coronary artery disease (CAD) measured by coronary angiography. MATERIAL AND METHODS Chart reviews were performed in patients in an outpatient cardiology practice having ≥ 2 coronary angiographies ≥ 1 year apart. Progressive CAD was defined as 1) new non-obstructive or obstructive CAD in a previous...

background: serum n-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (nt-probnp), a polypeptide secreted by ventricular myocytes in response to stretch, was suggested as a predictor of adverse prognosis of the acute coronary syndrome (acs). we examined the association between nt-probnp level and angiographic findings in acs patients to determine whether it could be used as a predictor of the severity of ...

PURPOSE The coronary calcium score (CCS) predicts significant coronary artery disease (CAD) in the general population. While moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with high CCS, the use of CCS to predict significant CAD in these patients is unknown. METHODS A total of 704 patients underwent computed tomography coronary angiography for the assessment of CCS and CAD. Sixty-nine (1...

INTRODUCTION The GRACE and TIMI scores have been well validated for assessment of prognosis in non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS). However, their value in predicting coronary artery disease (CAD) has been little studied. We aimed to assess the relationship between these scores and the extent of coronary disease. METHODS We analyzed 238 consecutive patients admitted for NSTE-A...

BACKGROUND Symptomatic non-obstructive coronary artery disease is a growing clinical dilemma for which contemporary testing is proving to be of limited clinical utility. New methods are needed to identify cardiac dysfunction. METHODS AND RESULTS This is a prospective observational cohort study conducted from December 2013 to August 2015 in two outpatient cardiology clinics (symptomatic cohort...

PURPOSE Noninvasive ischemia testing (NIST) is recommended for most patients suspected to have stable coronary artery disease (CAD) before invasive coronary angiography (ICA). We sought to assess the diagnostic predictive ability of NIST over clinical risk profiling in a contemporary sample of patients undergoing the currently recommended diagnostic triage strategy. METHODS From 2006 to 2011,...

women die of cardiovascular disorders even more than a combination of breast cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer. recent data show that while 1 out of 2.6 women die of coronary artery disease (cad), only 1 out of 4.6 die from cancer. whereas some studies show an increase in the age-adjusted mortality of cad in both women and men, some other studies report an i...

The diagnostic management of patients with angina pectoris typically centres on the detection of obstructive epicardial CAD, which aligns with evidence-based treatment options that include medical therapy and myocardial revascularisation. This clinical paradigm fails to account for the considerable proportion (approximately one-third) of patients with angina in whom obstructive CAD is excluded....

OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of the coronary artery calcium score (CACS), coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and a combination of these tools in the diagnosis of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with chronic kidney disease referred for cardiac evaluation before kidne...