ABSTRACT
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common kind of arrhythmia,it is one of the main reasons causing ischemic stroke in aged patients.Left atrial appendage is the primary site where the thrombus is formed in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients.Recent researches have indicated that occlusion of left atrial appendage can effectively reduce the occurrence of ischemic stroke in NVAF patients,its curative effect is no less than the preventive treatment effect of warfarin.The use of an ideal left atrial appendage occluder is the key to ensure a successful occlusion of the left atrial appendage.After decades of research,several left atrial appendage occluders have been developed,among them Watchman occluder and Amplatzer cardiac plug (ACP) are commonly used nowadays in clinical practice,and some kinds of occluder are still at their experimental research stage.This article aims to make a brief introduction about the current status of the study and the clinical application of left atrial appendage occluder.(J Intervent Radiol,2017,26:281-284)
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the relationship between plasm N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP) levels and severity of coronary artery disease and coronary artery lesions. Methods 150 patients complaining of chest pain and suspected to have coronary artery disease (CAD) were enrolled in the study. Plasm NT-proBNP contents were determined with ELISA method within 48h, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was assessed with echocardiography 5-7 days after admission. All patients underwent coronary artery angiography(CAG) 2-17 days after admission and the severity of coronary artery lesions was estimated by coronary angiographic Gensini scores. According to the clinical data and results of CAG, 78 patients were diagnosed as acute coronary syndromes (ACS), 33 patients as stable angina, and 39 patients in whom angiography showed negative findings, served as normal controls. The correlation of plasm NT-proBNP levels with clinical severity of coronary artery disease and Gensini scores were analysed. Results Plasm NT-proBNP levels in patients with ACS, stable angina and in normal controlls were 526.96?376.90, 95.61?56.32 and 41.75?24.26pg/ml,respectively(P