In Myocardial Infarction (in + myocardial_infarction)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Prospective Validation of a Modified Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction Risk Score in Emergency Department Patients With Chest Pain and Possible Acute Coronary Syndrome

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 4 2010
Erik P. Hess MD
Abstract Objectives:, This study attempted to prospectively validate a modified Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) risk score that classifies patients with either ST-segment deviation or cardiac troponin elevation as high risk. The objectives were to determine the ability of the modified score to risk-stratify emergency department (ED) patients with chest pain and to identify patients safe for early discharge. Methods:, This was a prospective cohort study in an urban academic ED over a 9-month period. Patients over 24 years of age with a primary complaint of chest pain were enrolled. On-duty physicians completed standardized data collection forms prior to diagnostic testing. Cardiac troponin T-values of >99th percentile (,0.01 ng/mL) were considered elevated. The primary outcome was acute myocardial infarction (AMI), revascularization, or death within 30 days. The overall diagnostic accuracy of the risk scores was compared by generating receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and comparing the area under the curve. The performance of the risk scores at potential decision thresholds was assessed by calculating the sensitivity and specificity at each potential cut-point. Results:, The study enrolled 1,017 patients with the following characteristics: mean (±SD) age 59.3 (±13.8) years, 60.6% male, 17.9% with a history of diabetes, and 22.4% with a history of myocardial infarction. A total of 117 (11.5%) experienced a cardiac event within 30 days (6.6% AMI, 8.9% revascularization, 0.2% death of cardiac or unknown cause). The modified TIMI risk score outperformed the original with regard to overall diagnostic accuracy (area under the ROC curve = 0.83 vs. 0.79; p = 0.030; absolute difference 0.037; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.004 to 0.071). The specificity of the modified score was lower at all cut-points of >0. Sensitivity and specificity at potential decision thresholds were: >0 = sensitivity 96.6%, specificity 23.7%; >1 = sensitivity 91.5%, specificity 54.2%; and >2 = sensitivity 80.3%, specificity 73.4%. The lowest cut-point (TIMI/modified TIMI >0) was the only cut-point to predict cardiac events with sufficient sensitivity to consider early discharge. The sensitivity and specificity of the modified and original TIMI risk scores at this cut-point were identical. Conclusions:, The modified TIMI risk score outperformed the original with regard to overall diagnostic accuracy. However, it had lower specificity at all cut-points of >0, suggesting suboptimal risk stratification in high-risk patients. It also lacked sufficient sensitivity and specificity to safely guide patient disposition. Both scores are insufficiently sensitive and specific to recommend as the sole means of determining disposition in ED chest pain patients. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE,2010; 17:368,375 © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine [source]


Clinical Experience with a Novel Intracoronary Perfusion Catheter to Treat No-Reflow Phenomenon in Acute Coronary Syndromes

JOURNAL OF INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
GABRIEL MALUENDA M.D.
Background:,The no-reflow phenomenon is an often seen complication in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This event is associated with poor prognosis and poses a therapeutic challenge. Methods:,This retrospective study cohort was composed of 30 patients who presented with ACS between September 2007 and April 2009, and developed no-reflow during subsequent PCI. The primary end-point was defined as normal Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) 3 flow with myocardial blush grade (MBG) ,2 or an increase in TIMI flow by ,2 grades with a MBG ,2 after intracoronary drug infusion via the ClearWay (CW) RX perfusion catheter. Results:,The population presented with a relatively high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors. ST-elevation myocardial infarction was the most common presentation (60.0%), while 20% of the patients presented with cardiogenic shock. After intracoronary infusion of nicardipine or nitroprusside using the CW catheter, TIMI flow improved from the baseline in 19 cases (63.3%, P < 0.001), and 16 patients (53.3%, P < 0.001) achieved normal coronary flow at the end of the procedure. The rate of in-hospital death was 6.7% (2 cases). No clinical differences were noted between those patients who successfully achieved normal coronary flow and those with persistent no-reflow. Conclusion:,The infusion of intracoronary drugs using the novel perfusion CW RX catheter seems to be safe and could help to improve myocardial perfusion in a selected group of patients presenting with ACS who developed no-reflow during PCI. (J Interven Cardiol 2010;23:109-113) [source]


One-year Outcomes Following Coronary Computerized Tomographic Angiography for Evaluation of Emergency Department Patients with Potential Acute Coronary Syndrome

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 8 2009
Judd E. Hollander MD
Abstract Objectives:, Coronary computerized tomographic angiography (CTA) has high correlation with cardiac catheterization and has been shown to be safe and cost-effective when used for rapid evaluation of low-risk chest pain patients from the emergency department (ED). The long-term outcome of patients discharged from the ED with negative coronary CTA has not been well studied. Methods:, The authors prospectively evaluated consecutive low- to intermediate-risk patients who received coronary CTA in the ED for evaluation of a potential acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Patients with cocaine use, known cancer, and significant comorbidity reducing life expectancy and those found to have significant disease (stenosis , 50% or ejection fraction < 30%) were excluded. Demographics, medical and cardiac history, labs, and electrocardiogram (ECG) results were collected. Patients were followed by telephone contact and record review for 1 year. The main outcome was 1-year cardiovascular death or nonfatal acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Results:, Of 588 patients who received coronary CTA in the ED, 481 met study criteria. They had a mean (±SD) age of 46.1 (±8.8) years, 63% were black or African American, and 60% were female. There were 53 patients (11%) rehospitalized and 51 patients (11%) who received further diagnostic testing (stress or catheterization) over the subsequent year. There was one death (0.2%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.01% to 1.15%) with unclear etiology, no AMI (0%; 95% CI = 0 to 0.76%), and no revascularization procedures (0%; 95% CI = 0 to 0.76%) during this time period. Conclusions:, Low- to intermediate-risk patients with a Thrombosis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) score of 0 to 2 who present to the ED with potential ACS and have a negative coronary CTA have a very low likelihood of cardiovascular events over the ensuing year. [source]


Does initial and delayed heart rate predict mortality in patients with acute coronary syndromes?

CLINICAL CARDIOLOGY, Issue 2 2004
David Kovar M.D.
Abstract Background: Lower admission heart rate (HR) is known to predict favorable outcome in ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction. However, there are limited short-term and no long-term data available regarding the prediction value of the initial HR in patients with the full spectrum of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). In addition, it is unknown whether the HR obtained later during hospitalization for ACS (i.e., Day 2 or 3) remains prognostically valuable. Hypothesis: The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of the initial and delayed HR in predicting outcome in patients with ACS. Methods: We examined mortality at 30 days and 10 months in 10,267 patients with ACS enrolled in the oral glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibition with Orofiban in Patients with Unstable coronary Syndromes-Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (OPUS-TIMI) 16 trial. Patients were stratified by HR and day from onset of ACS into the following groups: (1) HR < 60 beats/min, (2) HR 60-80 beats/min, (3) HR 80-100 beats/min, (4) HR > 100 beats/min; and HR obtained on (1) Day 1, (2) Day 2, and (3) Day 3. Results: By univariate analysis, mortality at 30 days and at 10 months increased progressively with higher HR strata (1.4 vs. 1.6 vs. 2.3 vs. 5.6%, p < 0.001, and 2.6 vs. 4.2 vs. 6.5 vs. 11.8%, p < 0.001, respectively). Elevated HR remained associated with mortality irrespective of time from onset of ACS. Conclusions: Higher initial and delayed HR is highly predictive of higher short- and long-term mortality in patients with ACS. This is a simple marker that could be easily used in risk assessment. [source]


Computed Tomography Coronary Angiography for Rapid Disposition of Low-risk Emergency Department Patients with Chest Pain Syndromes

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 2 2007
Judd E. Hollander MD
Background Patients with recent normal cardiac catheterization are at low risk for complications of ischemic chest pain. Computed tomography (CT) coronary angiography has high correlation with cardiac catheterization for detection of coronary stenosis. Therefore, the investigators' emergency department (ED) incorporated CT coronary angiography into the evaluation of low-risk patients with chest pain. Objectives To report on the 30-day cardiovascular event rates of the first 54 patients evaluated by this strategy. Methods Low-risk chest pain patients (Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction [TIMI] score of 2 or less) without acute ischemia on an electrocardiogram had CT coronary angiography performed in the ED. If the CT coronary angiography was negative, the patient was discharged home. The main outcomes were death and myocardial infarction within 30 days of ED discharge, as determined by telephone follow up and record review. Data are presented as percentage frequency of occurrence with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Of the 54 patients evaluated, after CT coronary angiography, 46 patients (85%) were immediately released from the ED, and none had cardiovascular complications within 30 days. Eight patients were admitted after CT coronary angiography: one had >70% stenosis, five patients had 50%,69% stenosis, and two had 0,49% stenosis. Three patients had further noninvasive testing; one had reversible ischemia, and catheterization confirmed the results of CT coronary angiography. All patients were followed for 30 days, and none (0; 95% CI = 0 to 6.6%) had an adverse event during index hospitalization or at 30-day follow up. Conclusions When used in the clinical setting for the evaluation of ED patients with low-risk chest pain, CT coronary angiography may safely allow rapid discharge of patients with negative studies. Further study to conclusively determine the safety and cost effectiveness of this approach is warranted. [source]