Autoantibodies against apolipoprotein A-1 and phosphorylcholine for diagnosis of non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the diagnostic accuracies of anti-apolipoproteinA-1 (anti-ApoA-1) IgG and anti-phosphorylcholine (anti-PC) IgM alone, expressed as a ratio (anti-ApoA-1 IgG/anti-PC IgM), and combined with the Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) score for non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) (NSTEMI-TIMI score) to create a new diagnostic algorithm - the Clinical Autoantibody Ratio (CABR) score - for the diagnosis of NSTEMI and subsequent cardiac troponin I (cTnI) elevation in patients with acute chest pain (ACP). METHODS: In this single-centre prospective study, 138 patients presented at the emergency department with ACP without ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. Anti-ApoA-1 IgG and anti-PC IgM were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay on admission. Post hoc determination of the CABR score cut-off was performed by receiver operating characteristics analyses. RESULTS: The adjudicated final diagnosis was NSTEMI in 17% (24/138) of patients. Both autoantibodies alone were found to be significant predictors of NSTEMI diagnosis, but the CABR score had the best diagnostic accuracy [area under the curve (AUC): 0.88; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.82-0.95]. At the optimal cut-off of 3.3, the CABR score negative predictive value (NPV) was 97% (95% CI: 90-99). Logistic regression analysis showed that a CABR score >3.3 increased the risk of subsequent NSTEMI diagnosis 19-fold (odds ratio: 18.7; 95% CI: 5.2-67.3). For subsequent cTnI positivity, only anti-ApoA-1 IgG and CABR score displayed adequate predictive accuracies with AUCs of 0.80 (95% CI: 0.68-0.91) and 0.82 (95% CI: 0.70-0.94), respectively; the NPVs were 95% (95% CI: 90-98) and 99% (95% CI: 94-100), respectively. CONCLUSION: The CABR score, derived from adding the anti-ApoA-1 IgG/anti-PC IgM ratio to the NSTEMI-TIMI score, could be a useful measure to rule out NSTEMI in patients presenting with ACP at the emergency department without electrocardiographic changes.

[Mechanical complications of myocardial infarction]. / Complications mécaniques de l'infarctus du myocarde.

Despite a marked reduction in mortality after myocardial infarction during the last decades thanks to heart monitoring and early reperfusion, there remains a significant rate of in-hospital mortality. This is a consequence of refractory ventricular dysfunction in most cases, or mechanical complications of myocardial infarction in the remaining cases. Mechanical complications include septal rupture with ventricular septal defect, tamponnade following rupture of the left ventricular free wall, and acute mitral regurgitation due to papillary muscle infarction and rupture. Although these complications are rare, their prognosis is very poor. An early detection of clinical signs of mechanical complications is crucial to urgently precise the diagnosis by echocardiography and subsequently plan the most appropriate medico-surgical management.

[Specificities of diabetes in acute coronary syndromes]. / Spécificités du diabète dans le syndrome coronarien aigu.

Contrary to the decline in the prevalence of several risk factors such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and smoking, diabetes is an expanding health burden in the western world. Because of the proatherosclerotic, proinflammatory, and prothrombotic states associated with diabetes, diabetic patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are at high risk of subsequent cardiovascular events. However, they derive greater benefit from aggressive platelet inhibition and an early invasive strategy than non-diabetic individuals. Despite the documented efficacy, diabetic patients with ACS receive evidence-based treatments less frequently than non-diabetic individuals.

Diabetes and acute coronary syndrome.

Contrary to the decline in the prevalence of several risk factors such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and smoking, diabetes is an expanding health burden in the Western world. Because of the proatherosclerotic, proinflammatory, and prothrombotic states associated with diabetes, diabetic patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are at high risk of subsequent cardiovascular events. However, they derive at the same time greater benefit from evidence-based therapy than the non-diabetic individuals. The two mainstays of acute ACS therapy for diabetic patients are an aggressive platelet inhibition and an early invasive strategy. Aspirin should be administered in all patients and prasugrel is to be considered superior to clopidogrel in this setting. While the use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor inhibitors in the diabetic ACS population has been associated with a mortality reduction, the role of these agents in the prasugrel era remains to be elucidated. Importantly, the aggressiveness of anti-thrombotic therapy should be balanced in each individual patient with the risk of bleeding. The benefit of early coronary angiography and, if needed, revascularization, in the setting of non-ST-segment elevation ACS is more pronounced in diabetic than in non-diabetic individuals. All patients, diabetics and non-diabetics, qualify for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) as the therapy of choice for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. In order to reduce hemorrhagic complications related to vascular access for PCI, the radial approach should be favored. Additional important secondary preventive measures include high-dose statin therapy, ACE-Inhibition/angiotensin II receptor blockade, and adequate glucose metabolism control. Despite the documented efficacy, diabetic patients with ACS receive evidence-based treatments less frequently than non-diabetic individuals.

[Acute coronary syndrome: guidelines and geriatrics specificity]. / Syndrome coronarien aigu: guidelines et spécificité gériatrique.

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) includes unstable angina pectoris, myocardial infarction without ST elevation and myocardial infarction with ST elevation. ACS is more frequent in the elderly than in the general population and is associated with very high morbidity and mortality. As older individuals are often excluded from clinical trials, the geriatrician needs to take care of these subjects without specific guidelines. Although older subjects (or very old subjects) represent a group at high risk of complications, they would benefit most of an aggressive coronary revascularisation procedure. Given the current state of knowledge, biological age itself should not be the only limiting criteria when considering an invasive coronary procedure, but the existing quality of life and physical conditions of the individual should also be taken into account in the global management strategy.

[Carotid stenting: an alternative to surgery?]. / Stenting de la carotide: une alternative à la chirurgie?

A stenosis of the internal carotid artery may cause 10-20% of all ischemic strokes. In symptomatic patients, carotid revascularization is indicated in the presence of a stenosis 50%. in asymptomatic patients, the indication for revascularization based on randomized trials is given at > or = 60% stenosis, as long as the estimated perioperative death or stroke risk is < 3%. In clinical practice however, asymptomatic stenoses are usually treated only if luminal narrowing exceeds 70-80%. The choice of the revascularization strategy (endarterectomy versus stenting) should be based on the surgical risk profile of the patient and on the locally available expertise. Carotid artery stenting is particularly beneficial in patients at high risk for surgery.

[Fighting heart attacks and atherosclerosis: a therapeutical challenge]. / Combattre l'infarctus du myocarde et l'athérosclérose: un défi thérapeutique.

Myocardial infarction is a frequent, serious and recurrent complication of a chronic disease: atherosclerosis. Therapeutic advances have improved the clinical outcome of affected patients and have shortened the hospital length of stay. However, to decrease the recurrence of cardiovascular events, it is essential to increase adherence to therapeutic projects by improving information given to coronary patients during the short initial hospitalization. This can be achieved by using tools that have been developed for the management of chronic disease: therapeutic education and motivational interviews. Moreover, these information tools have to perform well and have to be used at appropriate times to ensure a positive effect on patients.

Myocardial perfusion assessment by use of system identification method in a one-compartment model.

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance has been shown to provide high data quality for myocardial perfusion assessment. However, to analyze the perfusion data, some signal processing and modeling is needed to correct for motion related artifacts and limited spatial resolution. This study describes a method based on system identification, allowing, after a first step of image registration, to integrate and correct the partial volume effect in the myocardium perfusion quantification. This method is then applied to patients with coronary artery disease or hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

Gamma-irradiation markedly inhibits the hydrated collagen gel contradiction by arterial smooth muscle cells.

BACKGROUND: Vessel wall responses to percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty include neointimal proliferation and arterial remodeling. The contraction of a collagen gel is a good in vitro model of wound repair and vascular remodeling. Because irradiation is an important new therapeutic modality capable of preventing restenosis, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of irradiation on the contraction of a collagen gel by smooth muscle cells (SMCs), on SMCs viability, and on DNA synthesis. METHODS: We studied the effect of different doses of gamma-irradiation (0 [control], 6, 12, and 18 Gy) on the contraction of a collagen gel seeded with SMCs (calf carotid arteries) during a period of 15 days. RESULTS: Maximal gel diameter reduction (from 35 to 6.8 mm, +/-0.5 mm in control) was markedly inhibited in the 6-, 12-, and 18-Gy groups (35 to 13.7 mm, +/-0.8 mm; 35 to 15.5 mm, +/-0.9 mm; and 35 to 16.1 mm, +/-0.9 mm, respectively; P<0.0001). The irradiated gels showed a dose-dependent reduction in the SMC proliferation rate (P<0.0001) and an increase in the number of nonviable SMCs (P<0.002) 15 days after irradiation. CONCLUSIONS: Gamma-irradiation produces a significant dose-dependent inhibition of the contraction of collagen gels seeded with arterial SMCs. This effect is related to a significant decrease in SMC viability and a decrease in SMC proliferation rate. These findings shed light on mechanisms whereby irradiation may positively affect arterial remodeling after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasties.