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Background Whether final kissing ballooning (FKB) is mandatory in the 1-stent technique is uncertain. Objective To evaluate the effect of FKB on long-term clinical outcomes in coronary bifurcation lesions treated with the 1-stent technique. Methods Consecutive patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention using drug-eluting stents for non-left main bifurcation lesions were enrolled from 16 centres in Korea between January 2004 and June 2006. In patients treated with the 1-stent technique major adverse cardiac events (MACE; cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), or target lesion revascularisation (TLR)) were compared between those undergoing main vessel stenting only (non-FKB group, n=736) or those undergoing FKB after main vessel stenting (FKB group, n=329). Propensity score-matching analysis was also performed in 222 patient pairs (444 from the non-FKB group and 222 from the FKB group). Results During follow-up (median 22 months), the FKB group had a higher incidence of MACE (HR 2.58; 95% CI 1.52 to 4.37; p<0.001) and TLR (HR 3.63; 95% CI 2.00 to 6.56; p<0.001), but not of cardiac death or MI. Most TLR occurred in the main vessel (HR 3.39 for the FKB group; 95% CI 1.86 to 6.19; p<0.001). The rate of stent thrombosis was similar in both groups (0.5% in the non- FKB group vs 0.6% in the FKB group, p=0.99). After propensity score matching, the FKB group still had higher rates of MACE and TLR than the non-FKB group (HR 2.13; 95% CI 1.15 to 3.95; p=0.02 and HR 2.84; 95% CI 1.45 to 5.55; p=0.002, respectively). Conclusions In patients treated with the 1-stent technique for bifurcation lesions, FKB after main vessel stenting may be harmful mainly due to increased TLR. Trial Registration Number clinicaltrials.gov number: NCT00851526. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background--The optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after implantation of drug-eluting coronary stents remains undetermined. We aimed to test whether 6-month DAPT would be noninferior to 12-month DAPT after implantation of drug-eluting stents. Methods and Results--We randomly assigned 1443 patients undergoing implantation of drug-eluting stents to receive 6- or 12-month DAPT (in a 1:1 ratio). The primary end point was a target vessel failure, defined as the composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, or ischemia-driven target vessel revascularization at 12 months. Rates of target vessel failure at 12 months were 4.8% in the 6-month DAPT group and 4.3% in the 12-month DAPT group (the upper limit of 1-sided 95% confidence interval, 2.4%; P=0.001 for noninferiority with a predefined noninferiority margin of 4.0%). Although stent thrombosis tended to occur more frequently in the 6-month DAPT group than in the 12-month group (0.9% versus 0.1%; hazard ratio, 6.02; 95% confidence interval, 0.72-49.96; P=0.10), the risk of death or myocardial infarction did not differ in the 2 groups (2.4% versus 1.9%; hazard ratio, 1.21; 95% confidence interval, 0.60-2.47: P=0.58). In the prespecified subgroup analysis, target vessel failure occurred more frequently in the 6-month DAPT group than in the 12-month group (hazard ratio, 3.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.42-7.03; P=0.005) among diabetic patients. Conclusions--Six-month DAPT did not increase the risk of target vessel failure at 12 months after implantation of drug-eluting stents compared with 12-month DAPT. However, the noninferiority margin was wide, and the study was underpowered for death or myocardial infarction. Our results need to be confirmed in larger trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smaller guiding catheters can help reduce local complications and patient morbidity during transradial coronary intervention (TRI). This study was designed to compare the patient's morbidity, success rate, and the operator's convenience between 5-French (5Fr) and 6-French (6Fr) TRIs. This is a single-center prospective randomized study. Patients who underwent TRI, in 2003, were prospectively randomized to either 5Fr or 6Fr catheter groups (100 patients in each group). Procedure-related patient morbidity as well as clinical and procedural characteristics was scored and analyzed. Procedural success rate was not significantly different between the groups. The number of unsatisfactory supports (6% in 5Fr group, 3% in 6Fr group; P = 0.31) and the incidence of local wound complications were not significantly different between the groups. Local wound pain scores were significantly lower in the 5Fr group compared with the 6Fr group, particularly during sheath insertion and removal, and during procedures. Pain scores were higher in female patients than in male patients during sheath removal (male: 1.3 ± 1.3, female: 1.7 ± 1.5; P = 0.049). Radial artery diameter was well correlated with local pain score during sheath removal (r = 0.31, P < 0.001), and with the height and weight of the patients (height: r = 0.33, P < 0.001; weight: r = 0.27, P < 0.001). In conclusion, using a 5Fr catheter during TRI reduce, local access site pain, particularly in female patients with smaller body size, whereas the success and local complication rates were similar to a 6Fr approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The gender disparity in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is greatest between young men and women. However, the causes of that are not fully understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between insulin resistance and the presence of coronary artery calcium (CAC) to identify risk factors that may predispose young men and women to CVD. Methodology/Principal Findings: Insulin resistance and CVD risk factors were examined in 8682 Korean men and 1829 women aged 30-45 years old. Insulin resistance was estimated using the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and CAC was measured using computed tomography. Women were less likely to be insulin resistant (upper quartile of HOMA-IR, 18% vs. 27%, p<0.001)and had a lower prevalence of CAC (1.6% vs. 6.4%, p<0.001). Even when equally insulin resistant men and women were compared, women continued to have lower prevalence of CAC (3.1% vs. 7.2%, p = 0.004) and a more favorable CVD risk profile. Finally, after adjustment for traditional CVD risk factors, insulin resistance remained an independent predictor of CAC only in men (p = 0.03). Conclusions/Significance: Young women have a lower risk for CVD and a lower CAC prevalence compared with men. This favorable CVD risk profile in women appears to occur regardless of insulin sensitivity. Unlike men, insulin resistance was not a predictor of CAC in women in this cohort. Therefore, insulin resistance has less impact on CVD risk and CAC in young women compared with men, and insulin resistance alone does not explain the gender disparity in CVD risk that is observed at an early age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the treatment of chronic total occlusion (CTO), the efficacy and safety of the everolimus-eluting stent (EES) remain less well defined. Also, there are limited data for the predictors of outcome after CTO intervention. The purpose of this study was to compare clinical outcomes of the EES with the first-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) in CTO intervention and to investigate the predictors of clinical outcome. The Korean National Registry of CTO Intervention is a retrospective cohort of 26 centers from the past 5 years. The primary end point was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) defined as a composite of cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization. Of the 1,754 all-comer patients, 1,509 patients (EES 311, sirolimus-eluting stent [SES] 642, paclitaxel-eluting stent 556) were finally analyzed after excluding 245 patients (mixed DESs in 46 and follow-up loss in 199). In the inverse probability weighting–adjusted population, the 1-year MACE rate of the EES was comparable with that of the SES (5.8% vs 3.4%, p = 0.796) and the paclitaxel-eluting stent (5.8% vs 6.9%, p = 0.740). Each component of MACE was also comparable among the 3 stents. Importantly, the independent predictors of MACE were diabetes mellitus, previous congestive heart failure, and left circumflex CTO. In conclusion, for the first time in the largest CTO cohort, the EES showed good 1-year clinical outcomes that were comparable with the SES. Independent predictors of MACE after CTO intervention were clinical factors (diabetes and congestive heart failure) and lesion location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background There are limited data about long-term outcomes for biodegradable polymer biolimus-eluting stent (BES) versus durable polymer everolimus-eluting stent (EES) in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We sought to compare the two-year efficacy and safety of BES versus EES in AMI patients. Methods A total of 707 consecutive patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction who underwent PCI with BES (n = 171) or EES (n = 536) between July 2008 and June 2012 were enrolled in this study. The efficacy endpoint (target vessel failure; a composite of cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization) and the safety endpoint (a composite of all cause death, myocardial infarction, and stent thrombosis) at two years were compared in crude and propensity score-matched cohorts. Results After two years, target vessel failure occurred in 13 patients treated with BES and 49 patients treated with EES (7.6% versus 9.1%; adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.58-2.04; p = 0.78). The rates of composite safety endpoint at two years were not different between two groups (BES 7.6% versus EES 10.8%; adjusted HR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.47-1.62; p = 0.66). The rates of stent thrombosis did not differ between two groups (BES 0.6% versus EES 1.3%; adjusted HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.06-6.20; p = 0.69). These findings were substantiated by similar results in the propensity score-matched cohort. Conclusions In the treatment of patients with AMI, BES showed similar efficacy and safety compared to those of EES for up to two years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: The role of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) remains controversial in adult patients with refractory septic shock. We sought to describe the clinical outcomes of adult patients supported by ECMO during septic shock refractory to conventional treatment. METHODS: We analysed consecutive adult patients with refractory septic shock, assisted by an ECMO system between January 2005 and December 2013 in a single-centre registry. The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge. RESULTS: A total of 32 patients (21 males) received ECMO support for refractory septic shock. Of these, 14 patients (43.8%) had undergone cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and 7 patients (21.9%) did not achieve the return of spontaneous circulation until initiation of ECMO flow. ECMO was weaned off successfully in 13 patients (40.6%) and 7 patients (21.9%) survived to hospital discharge. The survivors had lower peak lactate (4.5 vs 15.1 mmol/l, P = 0.03), lower Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment day 3 score (15 vs 18, P = 0.01) and higher peak troponin I (32.8 vs 3.7 ng/ml, P = 0.02) than the non-survivors. None of the patients (31.3%) in whom ECMO was initiated more than 30.5 h after onset of septic shock, survived. In multivariable-adjusted models, CPR [adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 4.61; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.55–13.69; P = 0.006] was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality after ECMO in patients with refractory septic shock. Higher peak troponin I > 15 ng/ml (adjusted HR, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.12–0.97; P = 0.04) was associated with a lower risk of in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Survival to hospital discharge remained low in adult patients with refractory septic shock despite ECMO support. Our findings suggest that implantation of ECMO during refractory septic shock could be considered in patients with severe myocardial injury but should be avoided in patients who have received CPR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is a serious complication that is difficult to predict in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The aim of this study was to investigate predictors and clinical out-comes of CI-AKI in patients with CKD after PCI. A total of 297 patients with CKD who underwent PCI from September 2006 to December 2011 were enrolled. CI-AKI was defined as serum creatinine level either ≥25% or ≥0.5 mg/dl from baseline within 72 hours after PCI. The primary outcome was all-cause death. The median follow-up duration was 26 months (interquartile range 12 to 40), and CI-AKI occurred in 55 patients (19%). In multivariate logistic regression analyses, the development of CI-AKI was associated with female gender, left ventricular systolic dysfunction, acute myocardial infarction, PCI for left main disease, serum hemoglobin level, and a contrast volume to creatinine clearance ratio >6.0. The development of CI-AKI was significantly associated with increased in-hospital mortality (18.2% vs 3.7%, p = 0.001). Cox proportional-hazard analysis showed that the incidence of all-cause death was significantly higher in patients who developed CI-AKI than in those without CI-AKI (41.8% vs 16.1%, adjusted hazard ratio 3.0, 95% confi-dence interval 1.6 to 5.6, p <0.001). In conclusion, female gender, left ventricular systolic dysfunction, acute myocardial infarction, PCI for left main disease, serum hemoglobin level, and contrast volume to creatinine clearance ratio >6.0 are independent predictors of CI-AKI. The development of CI-AKI is significantly associated with increased in-hospital and long-term adverse clinical outcomes in patients with CKD undergoing PCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the usefulness of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), the impact of IVUS guidance on clinical outcomes, particularly for chronic total occlusion (CTO) intervention, has rarely been studied. We sought to investigate the clinical usefulness of IVUS-guided CTO intervention with second-generation drug-eluting stent implantation. From 2007 to 2009, a total of 2,568 patients were enrolled in the Korean-CTO registry and 534 patients with successful implantation of second-generation drug-eluting stents were analyzed. IVUS-guided PCI was performed on 206 patients (39%). Clinical outcomes at 2 years were compared between the IVUS-guidance group and the angiographyguidance group in 201 propensity scoreematched pairs. The primary end point was the occurrence of definite or probable stent thrombosis. Clinical characteristics were similar between both groups after matching. At 2 years, the IVUS-guidance group showed significantly less stent thrombosis than the angiography-guidance group (0% vs 3.0%, p = 0.014) and a lesser trend toward myocardial infarction (1.0% vs 4.0%, p = 0.058). Target lesion revascularization (TLR) and major adverse cardiovascular event rates were similar. However, a significant interaction was observed between the use of IVUS and lesion length for predicting the TLR (p = 0.037), suggesting usefulness of IVUS in long-lesion (≥3 cm) relative to short-lesion CTO. In conclusion, although IVUS-guided CTO PCI was not associated with a reduction in overall major adverse cardiovascular events, IVUS guidance appears to be associated with a reduction of stent thrombosis and myocardial infarction compared with angiography-guided CTO PCI. Additionally, TLR occurred less frequently in the IVUS-guidance group, especially for long lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Although obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality, several studies have reported that patients with obesity who have suffered acute myocardial infarction or have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have better clinical outcomes than their normal weight counterparts. We evaluated the impact of overweight on myocardial infarct size in patients undergoing primary PCI for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods We performed contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging on 193 patients undergoing primary PCI for STEMI. Infarct size was measured with delayed-enhancement imaging and the area at risk was quantified on T2-weighted images. Results Baseline characteristics and angiographic findings were not significantly different between the normal weight group (body mass index [BMI] < 25 kg/m², n = 110) and the overweight group (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m², n = 83). The median percent infarct volume and area at risk were significantly smaller in the overweight group than the normal weight group (17.9% [9.0-24.9%] vs. 20.8% [11.4-33.1%], p = 0.04 and 29.4% [20.5-37.6%] vs. 36.0% [25.7-49.6%], p < 0.01, respectively). However, the myocardial salvage index was not different between the 2 groups (overweight group vs. normal weight group, 43.2% vs. 39.2%, p = 0.69). BMI ≥ 25 kg/m² was an independent predictor of smaller infarct size in multivariate analysis (Odds ratio 0.51, 95% Confidence interval 0.27-0.97, p = 0.039). Conclusion Overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m²) is independently associated with smaller infarct size in patients undergoing primary PCI for STEMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background There is no available data on clinical outcome in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated by cardiogenic shock who are supported by an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) in combination with extracorporeal life support (ECLS). Methods We analysed 96 consecutive patients with AMI and complicating cardiogenic shock who were assisted by an ECLS system between January 2004 and December 2011. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. The secondary outcomes were the success rate of weaning from ECLS and the lactate clearance for 48 hours (%). Results A combination of IABP and ECLS was used in 41 (42.7%) patients. In-hospital mortality occurred for 51 patients (ECLS with IABP versus ECLS alone; 51.2% vs. 54.5%, p = 0.747). The success rate of weaning from ECLS was similar between the two groups (63.4% vs. 58.2%, p = 0.604). Complications such as ischemia of a lower extremity or bleeding at the ECLS insertion site (p = 0.521 and p = 0.667, respectively) did not increase when ECLS was combined with IABP. Among patients who survived for 24 hours after intervention, lactate clearance was not significantly different between patients who received ECLS alone and those who received ECLS with IABP (p = 0.918). Conclusions The combined use of ECLS and IABP did not improve in-hospital survival in patients with AMI complicated by cardiogenic shock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We investigated the clinical impact of multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock with multivessel disease. Design: A prospective, multicenter, observational study. Setting: Cardiac ICU of a university hospital. Patients: Between November 2005 and September 2010, 338 patients were selected. Inclusion criteria were as follows: 1) ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock and 2) multivessel disease with successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention for the infarct-related artery. Patients were divided into multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention and culprit-only percutaneous coronary intervention. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Median follow-up duration was 224 days (interquartile range, 46-383 d). Multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention was performed during the primary percutaneous coronary intervention in 60 patients (17.8%). In-hospital mortality was similar in both groups (multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention vs culprit-only percutaneous coronary intervention, 31.7% vs 24.5%; p = 0.247). All-cause mortality during follow-up was not significantly different between the two groups after adjusting for patient, angiographic, and procedural characteristics as well as propensity scores for receiving multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention (35.0% vs 30.6%; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.61-1.86; p = 0.831). There were no significant differences between the groups in rates of major adverse cardiac events (41.7% vs 37.1%; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.62-1.71 ; p = 0.908) and any revascularization (6.7% vs 4.7%; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.88; 95% CI, 0.51-6.89; p = 0.344). Conclusions: Multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention could not reduce the prevalence of mortality in patients with cardiogenic shock complicating ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and multivessel disease during primary percutaneous coronary intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background--Ischemic postconditioning has been reported to reduce infarct size in patients with ST-segment--elevation myocardial infarction. However, cardioprotective effects of postconditioning have not been demonstrated in a large-scale trial. Methods and Results--We performed a multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded end-point trial. A total of 700 patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ST-segment--elevation myocardial infarction within 12 hours after symptom onset were randomly assigned to the postconditioning group or to the conventional primary PCI group in a 1:1 ratio. Postconditioning was performed immediately after restoration of coronary low as follows: The angioplasty balloon was positioned at the culprit lesion and inflated 4 times for 1 minute with low-pressure (<6 atm) inflations, each separated by 1 minute of deflation. The primary end point was complete ST-segment resolution (percentage resolution of ST-segment elevation >70%) measured at 30 minutes after PCI. Complete ST-segment resolution occurred in 40.5% of patients in the postconditioning group and 41.5% of patients in the conventional PCI group (absolute difference, -1.0%; 95% confidence interval, -8.4 to 6.4; P=0.79). The rate of myocardial blush grade of 0 or 1 and the rate of major adverse cardiac events (a composite of death, myocardial infarction, severe heart failure, or stent thrombosis) at 30 days did not differ significantly between the postconditioning group and the conventional PCI group (17.2% versus 22.4% [P=0.20] and 4.3% versus 3.7% [P=0.70], respectively). Conclusion--Ischemic postconditioning did not improve myocardial reperfusion in patients with ST-segment--elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary PCI with current standard practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited data are available on comparing the clinical outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation in patients with reduced left ventricular systolic function in the DES era. From January 2003 to December 2010, 953 patients with reduced left ventricular systolic function, defined as a left ventricular ejection fraction <50%, who had undergone percutaneous coronary intervention with DESs (n = 402) or CABG (n = 551) were enrolled in a retrospective, observational registry. Patients with acute myocardial infarction were excluded. Propensity score-matching analysis was also performed in 141 patient pairs. The primary outcome was all-cause death. The median follow-up duration was 32 months (interquartile range 15 to 61). All-cause death occurred in 81 patients (20.1%) in the DES group and 98 patient (17.8%) in the CABG group (p = 0.524). After propensity score matching, the long-term cumulative rate of death was not significantly different between the 2 groups (DES vs CABG 21.3% vs 19.1%; adjusted hazard ratio 1.23, 95% confidence interval 0.57 to 2.66, p = 0.603). However, the rate of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (35.5% vs 24.1%, adjusted hazard ratio 1.69, 95% confidence interval 1.04 to 2.77, p = 0.036) was higher in the DES group than the CABG group. This was driven by the higher incidence of repeat revascularization in the DES group (11.3% vs 4.3%, adjusted hazard ratio 3.65, 95% confidence interval 1.01 to 10.37, p = 0.018). In conclusion, DES implantation provides comparable long-term clinical outcomes, except for repeat revascularization, to CABG in patients with coronary artery disease and chronic left ventricular systolic dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss a study which determines the influence of myocardial infarction on angiographic collateral flow through chronic total occlusion (CTO) of arteries. They state that inverse correlation between the degrees of downstream epicardial CTO and angiographic collaterals have been confirmed. The authors note that Rentrop methodology has allowed for the assessment of collateral flow.

Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is increasingly used to treat unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis, although coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) has been considered to be the treatment of choice. Methods: We randomly assigned patients with unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis to undergo CABG (300 patients) or PCI with sirolimus-eluting stents (300 patients). Using a wide margin for noninferiority, we compared the groups with respect to the primary composite end point of major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events (death from any cause, myocardial infarction, stroke, or ischemia-driven target-vessel revascularization) at 1 year. Event rates at 2 years were also compared between the two groups. Results: The primary end point occurred in 26 patients assigned to PCI as compared with 20 patients assigned to CABG (cumulative event rate, 8.7% vs. 6.7%; absolute risk difference, 2.0 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], −1.6 to 5.6; P=0.01 for noninferiority). By 2 years, the primary end point had occurred in 36 patients in the PCI group as compared with 24 in the CABG group (cumulative event rate, 12.2% vs. 8.1%; hazard ratio with PCI, 1.50; 95% CI, 0.90 to 2.52; P=0.12). The composite rate of death, myocardial infarction, or stroke at 2 years occurred in 13 and 14 patients in the two groups, respectively (cumulative event rate, 4.4% and 4.7%, respectively; hazard ratio, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.43 to 1.96; P=0.83). Ischemia-driven target-vessel revascularization occurred in 26 patients in the PCI group as compared with 12 patients in the CABG group (cumulative event rate, 9.0% vs. 4.2%; hazard ratio, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.10 to 4.32; P=0.02). Conclusions: In this randomized trial involving patients with unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis, PCI with sirolimus-eluting stents was shown to be noninferior to CABG with respect to major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events. However, the noninferiority margin was wide, and the results cannot be considered clinically directive. (Funded by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, Seoul, Korea, and others; PRECOMBAT ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00422968.) N Engl J Med 2011;364:1718-27. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a retrospective, single-center observational study on the survival of patients with inhospital cardiac arrest who received extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (E-CPR) and those who underwent the conventional CPR. A total of 406 adult patients were involved in the study at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea. It found that E-CPR had more survival benefits than conventional CPR.

Background: With the introduction of drug-eluting stents (DES), the angiographic rates of restenosis have reduced dramatically but less prominently in diabetic patients. We compared the effects of sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) versus paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) on 6-month angiographic and clinical outcomes in Korean diabetic patients. Method: Diabetic patients with de novo coronary lesions (169 patients with 190 lesions) were randomly assigned to either SES or PES in six different cardiovascular centers from April 2005 to January 2006. Patients with vessel size >2.0 mm and ≤2 vessel diseases requiring ≤2 DES implantation were included in the study. Results: Baseline clinical and angiographic characteristics were similar between the two groups. At 6-month follow-up, the late lumen loss (0.26 ± 0.76 in the SES group vs. 0.39 ± 0.92 mm in the PES group, P = 0.356) and the rate of binary restenosis (2.8%[n = 2] in the SES group vs. 6.9%[n = 5] in the PES group, P = 0.441) showed no significant differences. Rates of death (1.2%[n = 1] in the SES group vs. 1.2%[n = 1] in the PES group, P = 1.000), myocardial infarction (1.2%[n = 1] in the SES group vs. 1.2%[n = 1] in the PES group, P = 1.000), and target lesion revascularization (2.4%[n = 2] in the SES group vs. 4.8%[n = 4] in the PES group, P = 0.443) were similar in both groups during 6 months of follow-up. Conclusion: The use of either SES or PES demonstrated similar 6-month angiographic and clinical outcomes in Korean diabetic patients with coronary artery disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response by the authors to a letter to the editor about their article on ischemic postconditioning during primary percutaneous coronary intervention in volume 128 is presented.

The article discusses research which examined the benefit of treatment with angiotensin receptor blocker to patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Topics covered include the association between angiotensin receptor blocker and risk of cardiac death, the involvement of STEMI patients who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention and the percentage of patients who experienced cardiac death.