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Several Japanese cohort studies have reported that the intakes of plant foods, such as vegetables, fruits, seaweed, and soy products, are inversely associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the results of these studies have been inconsistent. We investigated the association between CAD and the intakes of plant foods in 802 Japanese patients undergoing coronary angiography. The intakes of vegetables, fruits, seaweed, and soy products were determined by 3 categories (<3, 3-4, and >4 times/wk). CAD was found in 511 patients, of whom 173 had myocardial infarction (MI). Patients with higher vegetable and fruit intakes had a significantly lower prevalence of CAD and tended to have a lower prevalence of MI. However, no significant difference was found in the prevalence of CAD or MI among the 3 groups of seaweed and soy product intakes. In the multivariate analyses, the prevalence of CAD decreased depending on the intakes of vegetables and fruits. The odds ratios (OR) for >4 times/wk intakes of vegetables and fruits relative to <3 times/wk were 0.46 (95%CI: 0.29-0.74) and 0.62 (0.40-0.95), respectively. Thus, in Japanese patients undergoing coronary angiography, the intakes of vegetables and fruits were found to be inversely associated with CAD but not with MI. However, no significant association was found between the intakes of seaweed or soy products and CAD or MI.

Several cohort studies have reported that the Japanese diet is associated with reduced cardiovascular disease mortality. However, the results were not always consistent, and most of those studies conducted dietary surveys around 1990. We investigated the association between the Japanese diet and coronary artery disease (CAD) in 802 patients undergoing coronary angiography. The Japanese diet score was defined as the sum of scores of the intakes of fish, soy products, vegetables, seaweed, fruits, and green tea. CAD was found in 511 patients, of whom 173 had myocardial infarction (MI). Intakes of fish, soy products, vegetables, seaweed, fruits, and green tea were lower in patients with CAD, especially in those with MI, than in those without CAD. As a result, the Japanese diet score was significantly lower in patients with CAD than in those without CAD ( p < 0.001). To clarify the association between the Japanese diet and CAD, the 802 study patients were divided into three tertiles by the Japanese diet score. The proportion of CAD decreased with the Japanese diet score, reaching 72% in patients at T1 (lowest score), 63% at T2, and 55% at T3 (highest) ( p < 0.05). The proportion of MI also decreased with the Japanese diet score, reaching 25% at T1, 24% at T2, and 15% at T3 ( p < 0.05). In a multivariate analysis, compared with T1, the adjusted odds ratios for CAD and MI were 0.41 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26-0.63) and 0.61 (95% CI: 0.38-0.99) for T3, respectively. Thus, the Japanese diet was found to be inversely associated with CAD in Japanese patients undergoing coronary angiography.

Background: Preprocedural dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) has been shown to improve outcomes; however, the efficacy of the procedure and its complications in Japanese patients remain largely unexplored, so we examined the risks and benefits of DAPT before PCI and its association with in-hospital outcomes., Methods and results: We analyzed data from patients who had undergone PCI at 12 centers within the metropolitan Tokyo area between September 2008 and September 2013.Our study group comprised 6,528 patients, of whom 2,079 (31.8%) were not administered preprocedural DAPT. Non-use of preprocedural DAPT was associated with death, postprocedural shock, or heart failure (odds ratio [OR]: 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10-1.96, P=0.009), and postprocedural myocardial infarction (OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.18-1.69, P<0.001) after adjusting propensity scores for known predictors of in-hospital complications. Non-use of DAPT was not associated with procedure-related bleeding complications (OR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.71-1.59, P=0.764)., Conclusions: Approximately one-third of the patients who underwent PCI did not receive preprocedural DAPT despite guideline recommendations. Our results indicate that patients undergoing PCI with DAPT have a lower risk of postprocedural cardiac events without any increased bleeding risk. Further studies are needed to implement the use of DAPT in real-world PCI.

Thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) is a prognostic score developed for managing the high risk of cardiac events immediately after unstable angina and non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (UA/NSTEMI). In Asian populations that have a higher rate of bleeding complications, data about TIMI score are lacking. Using a Japanese multicenter registry, we investigated the impact of utilizing TIMI score in UA/NSTEMI patients, focusing on bleeding complications. The TIMI score was calculated for 587 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for UA/NSTEMI (2008-2010). They were classified into low-risk (TIMI score 0-2, N = 268, 45.6 %), intermediate-risk (TIMI score 3-4, N = 264, 45.0 %) and high-risk (TIMI score 5-7, N = 55, 9.4 %) groups; patient characteristics for each group were statistically analyzed. The patients in the higher TIMI score group were older (p < 0.001), had lower GFR (p = 0.021) and hemoglobin level after PCI (p < 0.001), and severe coronary disease pattern (p = 0.014 and p = 0.023, respectively, for left main and three-vessel disease). The TIMI score was significantly associated with requirement of blood transfusion (low-risk, moderate-risk, and high-risk groups: 1.1, 4.2, and 7.3 %, respectively; p = 0.021), and the incidence of access site bleeding (1.1, 2.7, and 5.5 %, p = 0.112). The TIMI score might aid in subjectively quantifying the risk of in-hospital complication rates such as access site bleeding.

Background: Interleukin (IL)-12 is thought to play an important role in the development of atherosclerosis and recently, polymorphism of the 3'-untranslated region of the IL-12 p40 gene (A1188C) was reported to be associated with diabetes and multiple sclerosis. However, the association between this genetic polymorphism and coronary artery disease (CAD) has not been studied., Methods and Results: The frequency of this polymorphism was investigated in 555 patients undergoing coronary angiography: 395 had CAD, of whom 161 also had a myocardial infarction (MI). With regard to the IL-12 p40 polymorphism, 125 had the A/A, 268 had the A/C, and 162 had the C/C genotype. The prevalence of CAD did not differ among the groups (71%, 73%, and 69%, respectively; p= NS). The prevalence of MI was also similar among the groups (28%, 27%, and 33%, respectively; p= NS). Moreover, the number of >50% stenotic vessels, >50% stenotic segments, and < or =50% stenotic segments did not differ among the 3 groups., Conclusions: Polymorphism of IL-12 p40 gene was not found to be associated with the presence or severity of CAD, suggesting that it does not play an important role in the development of this disease.