Value of measuring ankle brachial index for diagnosing peripheral arterial disease in Chinese patients with high cardiovascular risk / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the value of measuring ankle brachial index (ABI) for diagnosing peripheral arterial disease(PAD) compared with conventional digital subtraction angiography (DSA) as the reference standard.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 383 consecutive inpatients (245 male, mean age 64.1 +/- 11.7 years) underwent both conventional DSA and ABI measurements.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The rate of statin intervention was 90.9%, ACEI 69.2%, antiplatelet 96.6% and beta-blockers 67.9%. The intravascular stenosis was classified into six degrees: normal, < 30%, 30% - 49%, 50% - 69%, 70% - 89% and > or = 90%. Compared to the traditional gold standard (DSA) in diagnosis PDA, the ABI value decreased in proportion to the severity of PAD (the ABI value was 1.08 +/- 0.11, 1.05 +/- 0.16, 0.99 +/- 0.17, 0.66 +/- 0.24, 0.55 +/- 0.28 and 0.54 +/- 0.00 respectively in the six ranks). There was a significant correlation between DSA and ABI in diagnosis PAD.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ABI measurement is an accurate and reliable non-invasive alternative to conventional DSA in the assessment of lower extremity arteries in patients with peripheral arterial disease.</p>

Determining the relationship between coronary artery and coronary sinus and its tributaries using multislice computed tomography / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To obtain the coronary artery and coronary sinus (CS) and its tributaries imaging with multislice computed tomography (MSCT), measure the distance between coronary artery and CS and its tributaries and analyze their spatial relationships.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The MSCT scans of 117 patients (67 men, 50 women, age 56 +/- 10 years) were obtained, 3D image reconstructed and the vessels courses evaluated. The concomitant distances and spatial relationships of the vessels were determined.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Right coronary artery domination was found in 107 cases (91.4%), left coronary artery domination in 7 cases (6.0%), and co-domination in 3 cases (2.6%). Left circumflex artery (LCX) was concomitant with CS or the great cardiac vein (GCV) in 81 cases (69.2%), intersected with left posterior vein in 62 cases (53.0%) and with middle cardiac vein (MCV) in 5 cases (4.3%), respectively. The dominant coronary artery branched out into the posterior descending artery (PDA) and the left posterior artery (LPA) in 112 cases (95.7%). PDA was concomitant with MCV in 93 cases (79.5%) and intersected with MCV in 44 cases (37.6%). LPA was intersected with MCV in 106 cases (90.6%), and concomitant with CS in 50 cases (42.7%).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>MSCT is a reliable tool to visualize the relationship between coronary artery and CS and its tributaries. Owing to the multiple possibilities inherent to this technique, MSCT has broad potential for more clinical use.</p>