March 2008

Acute aortic occlusion: Common presentation of an uncommon catastrophe

ByBrett A. Sealove, MD,Joseph Sweeny, MD,Marc A. Miller, MD: The Zena,Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York

September 5th 2008

There is scant systematic literature available on acute aortic occlusion. A review of 46 cases in a single center found 2 primary causes, including embolism (65%) or thrombosis (35%).1 Smoking and diabetes were found to be the risk factors for thrombotic occlusion and pre-existing cardiac disease and female gender risk factors for embolism. Acute aortic occlusion due to embolization of a large thrombus from left atrial appendage occurred in a patient with atrial fibrillation at our institution recently (Radha Sharma,MD, personal communication, February 2008). Case reports have described embolization of atrial myxoma to the abdominal aorta resulting in aortoiliac occlusion.2,3

Late mortality with sirolimus-eluting stents in diseased saphenous vein grafts

ByPierfrancesco Agostoni, MD,Paul Vermeersch, MD,Stefan Verheye, MD, PhD,Paul van den Heuvel, MD,Carl Convens, MD,Frank van den Branden, MD,Glenn van Langenhove, MD, PhD for the DELAYED RRISC (Dea

September 5th 2008

In a secondary post-hoc analysis of the Reduction of Restenosis in Saphenous Vein Grafts with Cypher (RRISC) trial, we compared the long-term safety of sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) with bare-metal stents (BMS) in diseased saphenous vein grafts

Drug-eluting stents and diseased saphenous vein grafts: Long-term risk in RRISC

ByRichard J. Katz, MD, is Bloedorn Professor of Cardiology,director, Division of Cardiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC.

September 5th 2008

Progressive disease in saphenous vein grafts remains a major short-term and long-term clinical challenge after surgical revascularization.

Can corticosteroids prevent atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery?

ByJari Halonen, MD1,Tapio Hakala, MD, PhD2,Juha Hartikainen, MD, PhD1: From the 1Departments of Surgery,Internal Medicine, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio,the 2Department of Surgery, Nort

September 5th 2008

We conducted a prospective, double-blind, randomized, multicenter study among 241 patients who underwent their first on-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, aortic valve replacement (AVR), or combined CABG and AVR surgery to determine whether the use of hydrocortisone prevents atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery. Results showed that the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation was significantly lower in the hydrocortisone group compared with the placebo group.

Prevention of postoperative atrial fibrillation

ByEric J. Rashba, MD, is professor of medicine,director, Electrophysiology Service, Division of Cardiology, Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, NY.

September 5th 2008

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common after cardiac surgery, occurring in 11% to 40% of patients after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)1-8 and in more than 50% of patients after valvular heart surgery.

Nonfasting triglycerides and ischemic heart disease in men and women

ByB?rge G. Nordestgaard, MD, DMSc: From the Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Herlev University Hospital,The Copenhagen City Heart Study, Bispebjerg University Hospital, University of Copenhage

September 5th 2008

Triglyceride levels are usually measured after the patient has fasted, and then exclude remnant lipoproteins. Except for the first few hours of the morning, individuals are usually in a nonfasting state for most of the day. We investigated whether nonfasting triglyceride levels predicted the risk of myocardial infarction (MI), ischemic heart disease, and death in the general population. Results showed that increased nonfasting triglyceride levels were associated with an increased risk of MI, ischemic heart disease, and death.

Serial biomarker measurements in chronic heart failure

ByWayne L. Miller, PhD, MD,Allan S. Jaffe, MD: From the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases,Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.

September 5th 2008

Cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) have been used to estimate prognosis in heart failure. However, most studies have evaluated decompensated patients using single measurements. To determine the value of serial measurements, we evaluated 190 stable chronic heart failure patients every 3 months during 2 years.