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Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is associated with atherosclerotic complications. However, elevated CAC may not always imply a worse prognosis. Herein, we report the clinical evolution of long-term red wine (RW) drinkers in relation to CAC. We followed 200 healthy male habitual RW drinkers and compared them to 154 abstainers for a period of 5.5 years. The initial evaluation included coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA), clinical, demographics, and laboratory data. CAC was quantified by the Agatston score. The follow-up process was conducted by telephone calls and/or hospital record review. The composite end-point of total death, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), or coronary revascularization (or major adverse cardiac event - MACE) was assessed. The RW drinkers ingested 28.9±15 g of alcohol/day for 23.4±12.3 years. They had higher high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein, but lower C-reactive protein than abstainers. Age, total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, and liver enzymes were similar. History of diabetes was lower among drinkers, but other risk factors were similar. However, drinkers had higher CAC than abstainers; the mean value was 131.5±362 in drinkers vs 40.5±320 in abstainers (P

BACKGROUND: The Brazilian Public Health System (SUS, acronym in Portuguese) establishes that coronary angioplasty with the double implant stent must not exceed 20% of the angioplasties, resulting in the need of assigning most of the procedures in patients with multiarterial disease. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to assess the paid values by the SUS in order to obtain the complete percutaneous myocardial revascularization in the SUS patients with the multiarterial disease, related to the number of necessary procedures and of implanted stents. METHODS: A total of 141 patients with multiarterial coronary disease, submitted to a successful complete revascularization, were included by the stent implant with coronariography in a 6-month period of post-implant. The complete revascularization was defined as the percutaneous treatment of all stenosis > 70% in vessels with diameter > 2 mm. For the costs analysis, the values from the Sistema de Informacoes Hospitalares (SIH) of the SUS table were considered as R$ 2,263.77, for the procedure; and R$ 2,034.23, per implanted stent. RESULTS: In the period from 7/2006 to 12/2007, 416 stents were implanted in 141 patients. The mean age was of 59.7 ± 9.9 years old, prevailing the male sex (68.1%). The number of vessels was 356 and the lesions number corresponded to 416. In order to obtain the complete revascularization by the coronary stent implant, it was necessary to stagger in up to four procedures. The mean time between the 1st and 2nd, 2ndand 3rd and 3rd and 4th angioplasties was of 45.8 ± 37.7; 55.4 ± 55.3 and 33.5 ± 19.1 days, respectively. CONCLUSION: The complete percutaneous revascularization in patients from the SUS with the multiarterial coronary disease, carried out in most of them staggered, causes considerable elevation of public expenses due to the increase of procedures' number.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the non-invasive detection of coronary abnormalities and specifically the remodeling process in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). MRI was performed in 10 control healthy subjects and 26 patients with angiographically proven CAD of the right coronary (RCA) or left anterior descending (LAD) artery; 23 patients were within two months of acute coronary syndromes, and 3 had stable angina with a positive test for ischemia. Wall thickness (WT), vessel wall area (VWA), total vessel area (TVA), and luminal area (LA) were measured. There were significant increases in WT (mean +/- SEM, RCA: 2.62 +/- 0.75 vs 0.53 +/- 0.15 mm; LAD: 2.21 +/- 0.69 vs 0.62 +/- 0.24 mm) and in VWA (RCA: 30.96 +/- 17.57 vs 2.1 +/- 1.2 mm(2); LAD: 19.53 +/- 7.25 vs 3.6 +/- 2.0 mm(2)) patients compared to controls (P0.001 for each variable). TVA values were also greater in patients compared to controls (RCA: 44.56 +/- 21.87 vs 12.3 +/- 4.2 mm(2); LAD: 31.89 +/- 11.31 vs 17.0 +/- 6.2 mm(2); P0.001). In contrast, the LA did not differ between patients and controls for RCA or LAD. When the LA was adjusted for vessel size using the LA/TVA ratio, a significant difference was found: 0.33 +/- 0.16 in patients vs 0.82 +/- 0.09 in controls (RCA) and 0.38 +/- 0.13 vs 0.78 +/- 0.06 (LAD) (P0.001). As opposed to normal controls, positive remodeling was present in all patients with CAD, as indicated by larger VWA. We conclude that MRI detected vessel wall abnormalities and was an effective tool for the noninvasive evaluation of the atherosclerotic process and coronary vessel wall modifications, including positive remodeling that frequently occurs in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

Editor da Secao: Alfredo Jose Mansur (ajmansur@incor.usp.br) Editores Associados: Desiderio Favarato (dclfavarato@incor.usp.br) Vera Demarchi Aiello (anpvera@incor.usp.br) Homem de 49 anos procurou atendimento medico por dor precordial de tres dias de duracao. Sabia ser portador de hipertensao arterial e era tabagista, com consumo de 30 cigarros diarios. Relatava o paciente que, sem antes nada sentir, comecou a apresentar dor precordial continua e epigastrica, em queimacao, sem relacao com esforcos, e houve aumento da intensidade no 3o dia, quando procurou atendimento medico. O exame fisico (26/06/03) foi normal, a frequencia cardiaca foi 68 bpm e a pressao arterial 130x80 mmHg. O eletrocardiograma (ECG) (26/06/03) revelou ritmo sinusal, frequencia de 83 bpm, SÂP=+50° para frente, SÂQRS=+30 paralelo; sobrecarga ventricular esquerda; ondas Q patologicas em dIII e aVF e discreto supradesnivelamento em aVL e V6, V7 e V8, compativel com infarto agudo do miocardio infero-latero-dorsal (fig. 1). O pico de CKMB foi de 32,8 ng/ml (27/06/03), com volta aos valores normais em 29/06/03 e o pico de troponina foi 67,2 ng/ml. A creatinina era de 1 mg/dl, hemoglobina 12 g/dl, hematocrito 35%, leucocitos 11.400/mm3, sem desvio a esquerda, plaquetas de 405.000/mm3, colesterol=139 mg/dl (HDL-colesterol de 23 mg/dl, LDL-colesterol de 97 mg/dl), triglicerides de 96 mg/dl. Foi feito o diagnostico de infarto do miocardio em evolucao e indicada cineangiocoronariografia (27/06/03), a qual revelou lesao de 95% em segmento proximal da coronaria direita, lesao de 90% no terco medio da descendente anterior, lesoes de 90% na 1a e 2a diagonais, circunflexa com 40%, 1° ramo marginal com lesao de 80% e oclusao de 2° ramo marginal esquerdo (fig. 2A, B, C). Foi realizada angioplastia com cateter-balao no 2° ramo marginal esquerdo, sem interposicao de stent, com baixo fluxo posprocedimento (TIMI 2) (fig. 2D). O ecocardiograma (30/06/03) revelou espessuras de septo e parede posterior normais (10 mm), diâmetro diastolico de ventriculo esquerdo normal (50 mm), fracao de ejecao de ventriculo esquerdo com diminuicao moderada (40%) por acinesia latero-posterior e hipocinesia inferior. O paciente evoluiu em Killip I, sem complicacoes, e permaneceu internado aguardando cirurgia de revascularizacao miocardica. No 20° dia da internacao, apos execucao de enema de rotina no preparo pre-operatorio, apresentou mal-estar geral e parada cardiorespiratoria com atividade eletrica sem pulso, nao havendo resposta as manobras de ressuscitacao, tendo falecido (15/07/03). Aspectos clinicos

OBJETIVO: Observar a distribuição das drogas em pacientes com doença arterial coronária (DAC) estável, em centros de atendimento (CA) primário e terciário. MÉTODOS: Foram analisados, 300 pacientes, consecutivos, no ambulatório do Grupo de Coronariopatias do INCOR com diagnóstico de DAC, idades entre 31 a 80 (58,5±8,0) anos, sendo 205 (68%) do sexo masculino e 95 (32%) do feminino e estudadas as características clínicas e hemodinâmicas. Avaliaram-se as drogas utilizadas, inicialmente, nos CA primários (comunitários) e, posteriormente, no CA terciário. RESULTADOS: As drogas mais utilizadas nos CA primários foram os b-bloqueadores (50% dos pacientes), nitratos (48%), bloqueadores dos canais de cálcio (46%), ácido acetil-salicílico (44%), diuréticos (30%) e os inibidores da enzima de conversão de angiotensina (ECA), em 11% dos pacientes. No CA terciário as drogas mais utilizadas foram o ácido acetil-salicílico (76% dos casos), nitratos (55%), diuréticos (49%), inibidores da ECA (42%), os antagonistas dos canais de cálcio (37%) e os betabloqueadores (35% dos pacientes). Os b-bloqueadores foram mais prescritos em CA primário, p= 0,02, já os inibidores da ECA, p