Use of diagnostic coronary angiography in women and men presenting with acute myocardial infarction: a matched cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Based on evident sex-related differences in the invasive management of patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), we sought to identify predictors of diagnostic coronary angiography (DCA) and to investigate reasons for opting out an invasive strategy in women and men. METHODS: The study was designed as a matched cohort study. We randomly selected 250 female cases from a source population of 4000 patients hospitalized with a first AMI in a geographically confined region of Denmark from January 2010 to November 2011. Each case was matched to a male control on age and availability of cardiac invasive facilities at the index hospital. We systematically reviewed medical records for risk factors, comorbid conditions, clinical presentation, and receipt of DCA. Clinical justifications, as stated by the treating physician, were noted for the subset of patients who did not receive a DCA. RESULTS: Overall, 187 women and 198 men received DCA within 60 days (75 % vs. 79 %, hazard ratio: 0.82 [0.67-1.00], p = 0.047).In the subset of patients who did not receive a DCA (n = 114), clinical justifications for opting out an invasive strategy was not documented for 21 patients (18.4 %). Type 2 myocardial infarction was noted in 11 patients (women versus men; 14.5 % vs. 3.8 %, p = 0.06) and identified as a potential confounder of the sex-DCA relationship. Receipt of DCA was predicted by traditional risk factors for ischaemic heart disease (family history of cardiovascular disease, hypercholesterolemia, and smoking) and clinical presentation (chest pain, ST-segment elevations). Although prevalent in both women and men, the presence of relative contraindications did not prohibit the use of DCA. CONCLUSION: In this matched cohort of patients with a first AMI, women and men had different clinical presentations despite similar age. However, no differences in the distribution of relative contraindications for DCA were found between the sexes. Type 2 MI posed a potentiel confounder for the sex-related differences in the use of DCA. Importantly,clinical justification for opting out an invasive strategy was not documented in almost one fifth of patients not receiving a DCA.

Effectiveness of an early versus a conservative invasive treatment strategy in acute coronary syndromes: a nationwide cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Randomized clinical trials have found that early invasive strategies reduce mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), and rehospitalization compared with a conservative invasive approach in acute coronary syndromes (ACSs), but the effectiveness of such strategies in real-world settings is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To investigate adverse cardiovascular outcomes of an early versus a conservative invasive strategy in a national cohort of patients with ACSs. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Administrative health care data on hospitalizations, procedures, and outcomes abstracted from the Danish national registries and covering all acute invasive procedures in patients presenting with an ACS. PATIENTS: 19 704 propensity score-matched patients hospitalized with a first ACS between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2011. MEASUREMENTS: Risk for cardiac death or rehospitalization for MI within 60 days of hospitalization. RESULTS: Compared with a conservative approach, early invasive strategies were associated with a lower risk for cardiac death (cumulative incidence, 5.9% vs. 7.6%; adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.75 [95% CI, 0.66 to 0.84]; P < 0.001). Similar results were found for rehospitalization for MI (cumulative incidence, 3.4% vs. 5.0%; adjusted odds ratio, 0.67 [CI, 0.58 to 0.77]; P < 0.001) and all-cause death (cumulative incidence, 7.3% vs. 10.6%; adjusted HR, 0.65 [CI, 0.59 to 0.72]; P < 0.001). LIMITATION: Potential residual confounding due to lack of core clinical variables. CONCLUSION: In this real-world cohort of patients with a first hospitalization for an ACS, the use of an early invasive treatment strategy was associated with a lower risk for cardiac death and rehospitalization for MI compared with a conservative invasive approach. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Gentofte.

Global longitudinal strain is not impaired in type 1 diabetes patients without albuminuria: the Thousand & 1 study.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate if systolic myocardial function is reduced in all patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) or only in patients with albuminuria. BACKGROUND: Heart failure is a common cause of mortality in T1DM, and a specific diabetic cardiomyopathy has been suggested. It is not known whether myocardial dysfunction is a feature of T1DM per se or primarily associated with diabetes with albuminuria. METHODS: This cross-sectional study compared 1,065 T1DM patients without known heart disease from the outpatient clinic at the Steno Diabetes Center with 198 healthy control subjects. Conventional echocardiography and global longitudinal strain (GLS) by 2-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography was performed and analyzed in relation to normoalbuminuria (n = 739), microalbuminuria (n = 223), and macroalbuminuria (n = 103). Data were analyzed in univariable and multivariable linear regression models adjusted for confounding factors including conventional risk factors, medication, and systolic and diastolic dysfunction. Investigators were blinded to degree of albuminuria. RESULTS: Mean age was 49.5 years, 52% men, mean glycated hemoglobin 8.2% (66 mmol/mol), mean body mass index 25.5 kg/m(2), and mean diabetes duration 26.1 years. In unadjusted analyses, GLS differed significantly between T1DM patients and control subjects (p = 0.02). When stratified by degrees of albuminuria, the difference in GLS compared with control subjects was -18.8 ± 2.5% versus -18.5 ± 2.5% for normoalbuminuria (p = 0.28), versus -17.9 ± 2.7% for microalbuminuria (p = 0.001), and versus -17.4 ± 2.9% for macroalbuminuria (p < 0.001). Multivariable analyses, including clinical characteristics, diastolic and systolic dysfunction, and use of medication, did not change this relationship. CONCLUSIONS: Systolic function assessed by GLS was reduced in T1DM compared with control subjects. This difference, however, was driven solely by decreased GLS in T1DM patients with albuminuria. T1DM patients with normoalbuminuria have systolic myocardial function similar to healthy control subjects. These findings do not support the presence of specific diabetic cardiomyopathy without albuminuria.

Underuse of an invasive strategy for patients with diabetes with acute coronary syndrome: a nationwide study.

BACKGROUND: Guidelines recommend an early invasive strategy for patients with diabetes with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). We investigated if patients with diabetes with ACS are offered coronary angiography (CAG) and revascularisation to the same extent as patients without diabetes. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study is a nationwide cohort study linking Danish national registries containing information on healthcare. The study population comprises all patients hospitalised with first-time ACS in Denmark during 2005-2007 (N=24 952). Diabetes was defined as claiming of a prescription for insulin and/or oral hypoglycaemic agents within 6 months prior to the ACS event. Diabetes was present in 2813 (11%) patients. Compared with patients without diabetes, patients with diabetes were older (mean 69 vs 67 years, p<0.0001), less often males (60% vs 64%, p=0.0001) and had more comorbidity. Fewer patients with diabetes underwent CAG: cumulative incidence 64% vs 74% for patients without diabetes, HR=0.72 (95% CI 0.69 to 0.76, p<0.0001); adjusted for age, sex, previous revascularisation and comorbidity HR=0.78 (95% CI 0.74 to 0.82, p<0.0001). More patients with diabetes had CAG showing two-vessel or three-vessel disease (53% vs 38%, p<0.0001). However, revascularisation after CAG revealing multivessel disease was less likely in patients with diabetes (multivariable adjusted HR=0.76, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.85, p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In this nationwide cohort of patients with incident ACS, patients with diabetes were found to be less aggressively managed by an invasive treatment strategy. The factors underlying the decision to defer an invasive strategy in patients with diabetes are unclear and merit further investigation.

NT-ProBNP independently predicts long-term mortality in patients admitted for coronary angiography.

Recently, research interests are focussed on biomarkers to predict the outcome in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). We examined whether the levels of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) could predict outcome in patients who underwent elective or acute coronary angiography (CAG). A total of 337 patients with suspected CAD who underwent elective or acute CAG were followed up for a mean period of 6.7 years. Primary end points were all-cause mortality (ACM) and the combined end point of ACM, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and revascularization. In all, 53 (16%) patients died and 88 (26%) patients reached the combined end point. Preprocedural NT-proBNP above 32 pmol/L independently predicted ACM (hazard ratio [HR] 3.11; confidence interval [CI]: 1.60-6.07; P = .001) and the combined end point (HR 2.44 [CI: 1.50-3.97]; P < .001). This study indicates that high NT-proBNP is an independent predictor of ACM on long-term follow-up. N-terminal-proBNP is a reliable predictive marker of mortality in the setting of stable or unstable angina.

Independent predictors of bleeding complications in patients undergoing PCI with concomitant treatment with bivalirudin in clinical practice results from the ImproveR registry.

BACKGROUND: Bleeding complications are associated with an adverse outcome after a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is performed. Traditional risk factors for bleeding complications are age, gender, underweight, hypertension, and renal impairment. The aim of our study was to identify the independent predictors of bleeding complications in patients undergoing a PCI with concomitant treatment with bivalirudin. METHODS: Between January 2005 and June 2006, a total of 3799 patients, undergoing a planned or urgent PCI with concomitant bivalirudin treatment, were prospectively enrolled in the ImproveR registry. One hundred two centers out of 12 European countries participated in the ImproveR registry. In this analysis, we report the incidence of bleeding complications in subgroups to be at a high risk for developing bleeding complications. A multivariate logistic regression model was performed to identify the independent predictors of bleeding complications. RESULTS: Major bleeding complications occurred in 1.7% of the patients. The highest incidence of major bleeding complications was observed in the subgroup with a sheath size ≥7F (4.3%), heparin use after the PCI (3.5%), and additional use of GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors (3.3%). The multivariate regression analysis revealed female gender [odds ratio (OR), 2.3; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.4-3.8], heparin after the PCI (OR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.9-5.1), and sheath size ≥7F (OR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.8-5.4) as the independent predictors of bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of occurrence of bleeding complications in patients undergoing a PCI with concomitant use of bivalirudin is low in clinical practice. Female gender and procedural factors, such as sheath size and heparin after PCI, were associated with an increase in bleeding complications, whereas other traditional risk factors associated with bleeding, such as age, diabetes mellitus, and renal impairment, had no impact.

Prognosis and treatment in patients admitted with acute myocardial infarction on weekends and weekdays from 1997 to 2009.

BACKGROUND: Less invasive treatment and poorer outcomes have been shown among patients admitted with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) on weekends compared to weekdays. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the 'weekend-effect' on mortality in patients with AMI. METHODS: Using nationwide registers we identified 92,164 patients aged 30-90 years who were admitted to a Danish hospital with a first AMI from 1997 to 2009. Patients were stratified according to weekday- or weekend admissions and four time-periods to investigate for temporal changes. All-cause mortality at 2, 7, 30, and 365 days was investigated using proportional hazards Cox regression. RESULTS: Mortality rates were higher on weekends within seven days of admission in 1997-99 (absolute difference ranging from 0.8 to 1.1%). Weekend-weekday hazard-ratios were 1.13 (1.03-1.23) at day 2 and 1.10 (1.01-1.18) at day 7. There were no significant differences in 2000-09 and estimates suggested an attenuation of the initial 'weekend-effect'. Overall, the use of coronary angiography (34.9% vs. 72.3%) and percutaneous coronary intervention (6.6% vs. 51.0%) within 30 days increased, as did the use of statins (49.9% vs. 80.1%.) and clopidogrel (26.7% vs. 72.7%). The cumulative mortality decreased during the study period from 5.4% to 2.5% at day of admission, from 19.5% to 11.0% at day 30 and from 28.0% to 19.0% at day 365 (all tests for trend p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: No persistent 'weekend-effect' on mortality was present in patients with AMI in 1997-2009. Overall, mortality rates have decreased concomitantly with an increased use of current guideline-recommended invasive and medical therapy.

Smokers with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and short time to treatment have equal effects of PCI and fibrinolysis.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared to fibrinolysis in smokers and non-smokers with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Smokers seem to have less atherosclerosis but are more prone to thrombotic disease. Compared to non-smokers, they have higher rates of early, complete reperfusion when treated with fibrinolysis for MI. METHODS AND RESULTS: In the Second Danish Multicenter Trial in Acute Myocardial Infarction (DANAMI-2), a total of 1572 patients with STEMI were randomized to either fibrinolysis or PCI (1129 patients were enrolled at 24 referral hospitals and 443 patients at 5 invasive treatment centers). The primary endpoint for this substudy was death by any cause. Secondary endpoints were a composite of death by any cause, clinical re-infarction or disabling stroke. Follow-up was 3 years. The effect of PCI is reported according to time to treatment and smoking status. Data on smoking habits were available for 1534 patients (895 smokers and 639 non-smokers). Smokers with short time to treatment (<3 hours) benefited equally from PCI and fibrinolysis with a trend toward higher mortality in the PCI group (mortality [hazard ratio, 1.64 (0.79-3.41); P=.18], composite endpoint [hazard ratio, 1.06 (0.65-1.71); P=.82]). In non-smokers with short time to treatment PCI was superior to fibrinolysis (mortality [hazard ratio, 0.46 (0.22-0.93); P=.02], combined endpoint [hazard ratio, 0.45 (0.26- 0.79); P=.004]). Patients with >3 hours to treatment all showed a tendency toward a superior effect of PCI irrespective of smoking habits. CONCLUSIONS: PCI and fibrinolysis are equally beneficial in smokers with STEMI and short time to treatment.

Clopidogrel discontinuation after myocardial infarction and risk of thrombosis: a nationwide cohort study.

AIMS: The benefit of extending clopidogrel treatment beyond the 12-month period recommended in current guidelines after myocardial infarction (MI) is debated. We analysed the risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes after discontinuation of 12 months of clopidogrel treatment. METHODS AND RESULTS: This Danish retrospective nationwide study included all patients treated with clopidogrel after discharge from a first-time MI during 2004-09. The risk of death or recurrent MI after the discontinuation of clopidogrel was studied by multivariable Poisson regression models. Patients treated with and without percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were analysed separately. The follow-up was 18 months. Of the 29,268 patients included, 3214 (11.0%) experienced death or recurrent MI. There were 9819 (33.6%) patients treated only medically and 19,449 (66.4%) patients treated with PCI. Twelve months after the index MI, for patients treated only medically, the risk of death or recurrent MI in the first 90-day period of clopidogrel discontinuation was 1.07 (0.65-1.76; P= 0.79) [adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR) and 95% confidence interval] compared with the next 90-day period of discontinuation. For patients treated with PCI, the corresponding IRR was 1.59 (1.11-2.30; P= 0.013). The risk of recurrent MI yielded an IRR of 0.77 (0.36-1.67; P= 0.51) for patients treated only medically and 1.87 (1.11-3.15; P= 0.019) for PCI-treated patients. CONCLUSION: Discontinuation of clopidogrel 12 months after MI is associated with an increased risk of death or recurrent MI in the first 90 days of discontinuation compared with the next 90-day period of discontinuation for patients treated with PCI, but not for patients not treated with PCI.

Significance of the invasive strategy after acute myocardial infarction on prognosis and secondary preventive medication: a nationwide study of 6364 women and 11,915 men.

OBJECTIVE: To describe gender-specific long-term outcome and initiation of secondary preventive medication among patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). DESIGN: Observational cohort study. SETTING: Nationwide registries. PATIENTS: We included 18,279 patients: 6364 women (35%) and 11,915 men (65%), admitted with AMI (median age, 67 years; range, 30-90 years) surviving for at least 2 months. INTERVENTIONS: According to sex, patients were stratified by invasive treatment strategy: (1) revascularized; (2) examined with coronary angiography (CAG) but not revascularized; and (3) not examined with CAG. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: All-cause mortality and readmission with AMI. Initiation of secondary preventive medication. RESULTS: Of 18,279 patients with a first AMI who survived 2 months, 1857 women (29%) and 1756 men (15%) were not examined with CAG (P<.001), 1295 women (20%) and 1563 men (13%) were examined but not revascularized (P<.001), and 3212 women (51%) and 8596 men (72%) were revascularized (P<.001). Not being examined with CAG after AMI was associated with a three-fold increase in risk of death and, importantly, a 50% increase in the risk of a recurrent AMI compared with patients who were revascularized. Among patients who were revascularized, 85-92% initiated recommended secondary preventive medication compared to 46-71% in patients not examined with CAG (P<.001). Initiation of secondary preventive medication was higher in men (81-84%) than in women (73-79%; P<.001), which could be ascribed to the differences in invasive strategy. CONCLUSIONS: In both sexes, those who were not examined had a highly increased risk of both recurrent AMI and death. Moreover, initiation of secondary preventive medication was closely related to the choice of invasive strategy disfavoring the women.

No gender differences in prognosis and preventive treatment in patients with AMI without significant stenoses.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate possible gender differences in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and without significant stenoses on coronary angiography (CAG) regarding prognosis and use of secondary preventive medication. DESIGN: Nationwide register-based cohort study. PATIENTS: By compiling data from Danish registries, we identified 20,800 patients hospitalized with AMI during 2005-2007. We included the 834 women and 761 men without significant stenoses on CAG who were discharged and alive after 60 days. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: All-cause mortality, recurrent AMI, and redeeming a prescription for a lipid-lowering drug, beta-blocker, clopidogrel, or aspirin within 60 days of discharge. RESULTS: During follow-up, 97 women and 60 men died, resulting in a crude female/male hazard ratio (HR) of 1.51 (95% CI 1.09-2.08). After adjustment for age, time-period, and comorbidity, the gender difference was attenuated (HR 1.22, 95% CI 0.86-1.72). AMI recurrence was experienced by 28 women and 29 men with a female/male HR 0.88 (95% CI 0.52-1.48). After multivariable adjustment results were similar (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.50-1.43). More women than men redeemed a prescription for lipid-lowering drugs with no differences in other medication. In the adjusted models lipid-lowering drugs, beta-blockers, clopidogrel, and aspirin were all redeemed equally with odds ratio (OR) 1.25 (95% CI 0.99-1.59), OR 1.10 (95% CI 0.88-1.37), OR 1.09 (95% CI 0.88-1.34), and OR 1.13 (95% CI 0.90-1.42), respectively. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that in a population of patients with a first admission for AMI and no significant stenoses on CAG, women share the same prospects as men regarding long-term prognosis and the extent of secondary preventive medical treatment.

The Angio-Seal™ femoral closure device allows immediate ambulation after coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention.

AIMS: To test the safety of immediate mobilisation of patients undergoing coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) closed with Angio-Seal™ -a femoral vascular closure device. METHODS AND RESULTS: First, a randomised controlled trial of immediate mobilisation vs. delayed ambulation was performed followed by a prospective validation registry to test the obtained results in a real-world situation. The randomised trial comprised 300 patients; the validation registry comprised 1,097 patients. Primary endpoints were complications defined as: small haematoma <5 cm and/or minor bleeding/oozing from the puncture site, haematomas ≥ 5 cm, bleeding needing transfusion, bleeding needing surgical attention, pseudoaneurysm and vasovagal reaction. In the randomised trial, overall complications were similar in both groups (16.0%vs.18.8%; p=0.53). Small haematomas/small bleedings/oozing were the most frequent (12.2% vs.15.3; p=0.44). There were no bleedings needing transfusion or surgical attention, and no pseudoaneurysms occurred. The prospective registry showed similar results. In the standard-care cohort, complications were similar to those in the implementation cohort (9.6% vs.11.3%; p=0.41), mainly consisting of small haematomas/minor bleedings/oozing (6.1% vs.7.3%; p=0.49). No bleedings needed transfusion or surgical attention. Pseudoaneurysms occurred in 1 (0.34%) vs. 3 (0.37%; p=0.94) and vasovagal reactions in three (1.0%) vs. four (0.5%; p=0.33) patients. It was possible to mobilise 87% of patients in the implementation cohort. CONCLUSIONS: In patients undergoing coronary angiography or PCI, the use of immediate mobilisation after Angio-Seal™ deployment is safe. With routine use of a femoral vascular closure device, approximately 87% of patients are suitable for immediate mobilisation.

Proton pump inhibitor use and risk of adverse cardiovascular events in aspirin treated patients with first time myocardial infarction: nationwide propensity score matched study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of proton pump inhibitors on adverse cardiovascular events in aspirin treated patients with first time myocardial infarction. DESIGN: Retrospective nationwide propensity score matched study based on administrative data. Setting All hospitals in Denmark. PARTICIPANTS: All aspirin treated patients surviving 30 days after a first myocardial infarction from 1997 to 2006, with follow-up for one year. Patients treated with clopidogrel were excluded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The risk of the combined end point of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke associated with use of proton pump inhibitors was analysed using Kaplan-Meier analysis, Cox proportional hazard models, and propensity score matched Cox proportional hazard models. Results 3366 of 19,925 (16.9%) aspirin treated patients experienced recurrent myocardial infarction, stroke, or cardiovascular death. The hazard ratio for the combined end point in patients receiving proton pump inhibitors based on the time dependent Cox proportional hazard model was 1.46 (1.33 to 1.61; P<0.001) and for the propensity score matched model based on 8318 patients it was 1.61 (1.45 to 1.79; P<0.001). A sensitivity analysis showed no increase in risk related to use of H(2) receptor blockers (1.04, 0.79 to 1.38; P=0.78). Conclusion In aspirin treated patients with first time myocardial infarction, treatment with proton pump inhibitors was associated with an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events.

Influence of distance from home to invasive centre on invasive treatment after acute coronary syndrome: a nationwide study of 24 910 patients.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether distance from a patient's home to the nearest invasive centre influenced the invasive treatment strategy in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). METHODS: This was an observational cohort study using nationwide registries involving 24,910 patients admitted with ACS (median age 67, range 30-90 years). All persons were grouped in tertiles according to the distance from their residence to the invasive centre. Cox proportional hazard models were applied to estimate the differences in coronary angiography and revascularisation rate within 60 days of admission according to the distance to the centre. The end points were coronary angiography and subsequent revascularisation. RESULTS: Of 24,910 patients with a first ACS, 33% resided <21 km from one of the five invasive centres in Denmark, 33% lived between 21 and 64 km away and 34% lived >64 km away. The incidence of coronary angiography was 68% for long distance versus 77% for short distance (p<0.05), with an HR of 0.78 (95% CI 0.75 to 0.81, p<0.0001). Adjustment for patient characteristics such as age, sex, co-morbidity and socioeconomic status did not attenuate the difference (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.71 to 0.77, p<0.0001). Furthermore, revascularisation in the subgroup examined with coronary angiography was less likely for those residing a long distance from the invasive centre compared with those living nearer (adjusted HR of 0.82 (95% CI 0.78 to 0.85, p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In patients hospitalised with ACS, invasive examination and treatment were less likely the further away from an invasive centre the patients resided, thus equal and uniform invasive examination and treatment was not found.

[Heart screening of elite athletes]. / Hjertescreening af eliteatleter.

Sudden cardiac death in competing athletes is usually caused by unsuspected heart disease, and pre-participation screening may reduce the incidence of this tragic event. Although the cost-effectiveness of screening programs is unclear, international sports associations are currently implementing mandatory screening of elite athletes. During the first year of screening in the top Danish soccer league, all athletes were found to be eligible for continued participation in the game, suggesting that concern about false positive screening results may be exaggerated.

Proton-pump inhibitors are associated with increased cardiovascular risk independent of clopidogrel use: a nationwide cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Controversy remains on whether the dual use of clopidogrel and proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) affects clinical efficacy of clopidogrel. OBJECTIVE: To examine the risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes related to concomitant use of PPIs and clopidogrel compared with that of PPIs alone in adults hospitalized for myocardial infarction. DESIGN: A nationwide cohort study based on linked administrative registry data. SETTING: All hospitals in Denmark. PATIENTS: All patients discharged after first-time myocardial infarction from 2000 to 2006. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was a composite of rehospitalization for myocardial infarction or stroke or cardiovascular death. Patients were examined at several assembly time points, including 7, 14, 21, and 30 days after myocardial infarction. Follow-up was 1 year. RESULTS: Of 56 406 included patients, 9137 (16.2%) were re-hospitalized for myocardial infarction or stroke or experienced cardiovascular death. Of the 24 702 patients (43.8%) who received clopidogrel, 6753 (27.3%) received concomitant PPIs. The hazard ratio for cardiovascular death or rehospitalization for myocardial infarction or stroke for concomitant use of a PPI and clopidogrel among the cohort assembled at day 30 after discharge was 1.29 (95% CI, 1.17 to 1.42). The corresponding ratio for use of a PPI in patients who did not receive clopidogrel was 1.29 (CI, 1.21 to 1.37). No statistically significant interaction occurred between a PPI and clopidogrel (P = 0.72). LIMITATIONS: Unmeasured and residual confounding, time-varying measurement errors of exposure, and biases from survival effects were possible. CONCLUSION: Proton-pump inhibitors seem to be associated with increased risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes after discharge, regardless of clopidogrel use for myocardial infarction. Dual PPI and clopidogrel use was not associated with any additional risk for adverse cardiovascular events over that observed for patients prescribed a PPI alone.

Tissue Doppler echocardiography reveals distinct patterns of impaired myocardial velocities in different degrees of coronary artery disease.

UNLABELLED: Aim To determine how the left ventricular wall motion assessed by echocardiographic Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI) is affected by increasing severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) among patients with stable angina pectoris and preserved ejection fraction. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study comprises 82 patients with suspected angina pectoris, no previous cardiac history, and a normal ejection fraction, who were all examined with colour TDI prior to coronary angiography. Patients without significant stenoses (n = 35) constituted the control group and patients with significant stenoses (n = 47) were divided into three groups according to significant one-, two-, or three-vessel disease (n = 18, n = 14, and n = 15, respectively). Regional longitudinal peak systolic (s'), early (e'), and late diastolic (a') myocardial velocities were measured at six mitral annular sites and averaged to provide global estimates. Each patient with significant coronary disease was matched with a control of the same age, sex, body mass index, and status regarding diabetes and hypertension. Global systolic and diastolic performance by TDI (in terms of global s' and E/e') were negatively correlated to the number of vessels with significant stenoses (both P < 0.05). Regional analyses revealed that in one- and two-vessel disease, e' decreased significantly in the segments supplied by a stenotic artery. In patients with one-vessel disease, a' increased compensatorily with a significant reduction of e'/a'-ratio (0.86 +/- 0.24 vs. 1.00 +/- 0.28, P < 0.05). Both regional and global s' was significantly reduced in patients with three-vessels disease. CONCLUSION: Colour TDI performed at rest in patients with stable angina and preserved ejection fraction reveals both diastolic and systolic dysfunction and the nature of the dysfunction depends on the extent of the CAD.

Women with acute coronary syndrome are less invasively examined and subsequently less treated than men.

AIMS: To investigate if gender bias is present in today's setting of an early invasive strategy for patients with acute coronary syndrome in Denmark (population 5 million). METHODS AND RESULTS: We identified all patients admitted to Danish hospitals with acute coronary syndrome in 2005-07 (9561 women and 16 406 men). Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the gender differences in coronary angiography (CAG) rate and subsequent revascularization rate within 60 days of admission. Significantly less women received CAG (cumulative incidence 64% for women vs. 78% for men, P < 0.05), with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.68 (95% CI 0.65-0.70, P < 0.0001) compared with men. The difference was narrowed after adjustment for age and comorbidity, but still highly significant (HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.80-0.85, P < 0.0001). Revascularization after CAG was less likely in women with an HR of 0.68 (95% CI 0.66-0.71, P < 0.0001) compared with men. More women (22%) than men (10%) (P < 0.0001) had no significant stenosis on their coronary angiogram. However, after adjustment for the number of significant stenoses, age, and comorbidity women were still less likely to be revascularized (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.87-0.95, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Women with ACS are approached in a much less aggressively invasive way and receive less interventional treatment than men even after adjusting for differences in comorbidity and number of significant stenoses.

Long-term prognosis in an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction population treated with routine primary percutaneous coronary intervention: from clinical trial to real-life experience.

BACKGROUND: We sought to describe the long-term prognosis after routine primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) in a contemporary consecutive population of patients with presumed ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, compare it with similar results from the landmark DANAMI-2 trial, and to identify a possible impact of time of presentation and referral pattern. METHODS AND RESULTS: Long-term prognosis in 1019 presumed ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients, treated according to modern routine pPCI during the year 2004, was analyzed and compared with similar data from the DANAMI-2 trial. Furthermore, we analyzed the impact of patient presentation to the angioplasty center during "off hours" (4 pm to 8 am plus weekends and holidays) and the impact of being referred from noninvasive hospitals. At 3 years, 20.4% in the routinely treated population versus 19.6% in the DANAMI-2 trial reached the combined end point of death, reinfarction, or stroke (P=0.68), whereas the all-cause mortality was 13.0% and 13.7%, respectively (P=0.65). Patients admitted during off hours had the same risk of reaching the combined end point of death, reinfarction, or stroke compared with patients admitted during office hours (hazards ratio, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.8 to 1.5; P=0.81). Door-to-balloon times of less than 90 minutes were achieved in 60% among patients admitted directly to an invasive center but only in 40% among transferred patients (P<0.001). Despite this difference, no difference in unadjusted or adjusted long-term prognosis was found between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients treated with contemporary routine pPCI achieve a similar long-term prognosis as patients in the landmark randomized pPCI trial (DANAMI-2). Furthermore, the long-term prognosis was the same regardless of whether the pPCI was performed during off hours or office hours. Thus, pPCI including transportation of patients from noninvasive centers can be applied successfully in a real-life population.

Level of complement activity predicts cardiac dysfunction after acute myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: The positive effect of reperfusion after ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) can be reduced by ischemic/reperfusion (I/R) injury.Mannose-binding-lectin (MBL) and soluble C5b-9 (membrane-attack-complex) are involved in complement-driven cell lysis and may play a role in human myocardial I/R injury. We evaluated the potential association between MBL and sC5b-9 in plasma and subsequent cardiac dysfunction in patients with STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI). METHODS: The study included 74 STEMI-patients with acute occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery who were successfully treated with pPCI. Cardiac dysfunction was defined as left ventricular ejection fraction LVEF < 35%. RESULTS: Patients with subsequent LVEF < 35% had significantly higher median MBL and lower sC5b-9 compared to patients with LVEF > or = 35%. After adjustment of the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the odds for reduced LVEF was 5.5 (95% CI:1.5-19.3; p = 0.01) for patients with MBL > or = 800 mcg/L, and 5.0 (95% CI 1.4-18.4; p = 0.01) for patients with sC5b-9 < or = 160 mcg/L. CONCLUSION: High plasma MBL and low plasma sC5b-9 are independently associated with increased risk of cardiac dysfunction in STEMI patients treated with pPCI, probably due to increased complement activity during the ischemic and reperfusion process. The predictive value of low peripheral plasma sC5b-9 may be explained by an accumulation and activation of sC5b-9 in the infarcted myocardium.