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Background: The National Chest Pain Center Program (NCPCP) is a nationwide, quality enhancement program aimed at raising the standard of care for patients experiencing acute chest pain in China. The benefits of chest pain center (CPC) accreditation on acute coronary syndrome have been demonstrated. However, there is no evidence to indicate whether CPC accreditation improves outcomes for patients with acute aortic dissection (AAD). Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study of patients with AAD from 1671 hospitals in China, using data from the NCPCP spanning the period from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2022. The patients were divided into 2 groups: pre-accreditation and post-accreditation admissions. The outcomes examined included in-hospital mortality, misdiagnosis, and Stanford type A AAD surgery. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to explore the relationship between CPC accreditation and in-hospital outcomes. Furthermore, we stratified the hospitals based on their geographical location (Eastern/Central/Western regions) or administrative status (provincial/non-provincial capital areas) to assess the impact of CPC accreditation on AAD patients across various regions. Results: The analysis encompassed a total of 40,848 patients diagnosed with AAD. The post-accreditation group exhibited significantly lower rates of in-hospital mortality and misdiagnosis (12.1% vs. 16.3%, P < 0.001 and 2.9% vs. 5.4%, P < 0.001, respectively) as well as a notably higher rate of Stanford type A AAD surgery (61.1% vs. 42.1%, P < 0.001) compared with the pre-accreditation group. After adjusting for potential covariates, CPC accreditation was associated with substantially reduced risks of in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR 0.644, 95% CI 0.599–0.693) and misdiagnosis (adjusted OR 0.554, 95% CI 0.493–0.624), along with an increase in the proportion of patients undergoing Stanford type A AAD surgery (adjusted OR 1.973, 95% CI 1.797–2.165). Following CPC accreditation, there were significant reductions in in-hospital mortality across various regions, particularly in Western regions (from 21.5 to 14.1%). Moreover, CPC accreditation demonstrated a more pronounced impact on in-hospital mortality in non-provincial cities compared to provincial cities (adjusted OR 0.607 vs. 0.713). Conclusion: CPC accreditation is correlated with improved management and in-hospital outcomes for patients with AAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Survivors of acute coronary syndromes face an elevated risk of recurrent atherosclerosis-related vascular events despite advanced medical treatments. The underlying causes remain unclear. This study aims to investigate whether myocardial infarction (MI)-induced trained immunity in monocytes could sustain proatherogenic traits and expedite atherosclerosis. Methods Apolipoprotein-E deficient (ApoE−/−) mice and adoptive bone marrow transfer chimeric mice underwent MI or myocardial ischaemia–reperfusion (IR). A subsequent 12-week high-fat diet (HFD) regimen was implemented to elucidate the mechanism behind monocyte trained immunity. In addition, classical monocytes were analysed by flow cytometry in the blood of enrolled patients. Results In MI and IR mice, blood monocytes and bone marrow-derived macrophages exhibited elevated spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK), lysine methyltransferase 5A (KMT5A), and CCHC-type zinc finger nucleic acid-binding protein (CNBP) expression upon exposure to a HFD or oxidized LDL (oxLDL) stimulation. MI-induced trained immunity was transmissible by transplantation of bone marrow to accelerate atherosclerosis in naive recipients. KMT5A specifically recruited monomethylation of Lys20 of histone H4 (H4K20me) to the gene body of SYK and synergistically transactivated SYK with CNBP. In vivo small interfering RNA (siRNA) inhibition of KMT5A or CNBP potentially slowed post-MI atherosclerosis. Sympathetic denervation with 6-hydroxydopamine reduced atherosclerosis and inflammation after MI. Classical monocytes from ST-elevation MI (STEMI) patients with advanced coronary lesions expressed higher SYK and KMT5A gene levels. Conclusions The findings underscore the crucial role of monocyte trained immunity in accelerated atherosclerosis after MI, implying that SYK in blood classical monocytes may serve as a predictive factor for the progression of atherosclerosis in STEMI patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vessels with semi-closed tanks (i.e., well docks) are widely applied in the military operation and maritime engineering. The water is bound by the semi-closed floating tank and forced by both the incident waves and ship's motions. The free surface oscillations inside the flooded well dock is thus distinctive and very complicated. So far, the natural modes of semi-closed floating tanks have not yet been studied. This paper investigates the characteristics of natural modes of a floating semi-closed tank by combining a mode-resolving model based on mild-slope equations and a hydrodynamic model based on computational fluid dynamics. Results show that the first three natural periods (i.e., 74, 23.6, and 14 s) of the tank fall into the band of swell and infragravity waves and they could be triggered under certain circumstance. Multi-period free surface oscillations are observed inside the tank, including the longest natural period (i.e., 74 s), though the incident waves are monochromatic. A possible generation mechanism for the long-period mode is explained on the basis of liquid sloshing and harbor oscillations. Moreover, a long-period component with a period close to the natural mode of well dock is observed in the ship motions, which is generated by the interaction between the waves and ship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) density is a biomarker of vessel inflammation, which is supposed to be increased in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, whether the coronary inflammation revealed by this novel index could be alleviated after evolocumab treatment in T2DM remains unknown. Methods: From January 2020 to December 2022, consecutive T2DM patients with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ≥ 70 mg/dL on maximally tolerated statin and taking evolocumab were prospectively included. In addition, patients with T2DM who were taking statin alone were recruited as control group. The eligible patients underwent baseline and follow-up coronary CT angiography with an interval of 48-week. To render patients with evolocumab as comparable to those controls, a propensity-score matching design was used to select the matched pairs with a 1:1 ratio. Obstructive lesion was defined as the extent of coronary artery stenosis ≥ 50%; the numbers inside the brackets were interquartile ranges. Results: A total of 170 T2DM patients with stable chest pain were included [(mean age 64 ± 10.6 [range 40–85] years; 131 men). Among those patients, 85 were in evolocumab group and 85 were in control group. During follow-up, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level (2.02 [1.26, 2.78] vs. 3.34 [2.53, 4.14], p < 0.001), and lipoprotein(a) (12.1 [5.6, 21.8] vs. 18.9 [13.2, 27.2], p = 0.002) were reduced after evolocumab treatment. The prevalence of obstructive lesions and high-risk plaque features were significantly decreased (p < 0.05 for all). Furthermore, the calcified plaque volume were significantly increased (188.3 [115.7, 361.0] vs. 129.3 [59.5, 238.3], p = 0.015), while the noncalcified plaque volume and necrotic volume were diminished (107.5 [40.6, 180.6] vs. 125.0 [65.3, 269.7], p = 0.038; 0 [0, 4.7] vs. 0 [0, 13.4], p < 0.001, respectively). In addition, PCAT density of right coronary artery was significantly attenuated in evolocumab group (− 85.0 [− 89.0, − 82.0] vs. − 79.0 [− 83.5, − 74.0], p < 0.001). The change in the calcified plaque volume inversely correlated with achieved LDL-C level (r = − 0.31, p < 0.001) and lipoprotein(a) level (r = − 0.33, p < 0.001). Both the changes of noncalcified plaque volume and necrotic volume were positively correlated with achieved LDL-C level and Lp(a) (p < 0.001 for all). However, the change of PCATRCA density only positively correlated with achieved lipoprotein(a) level (r = 0.51, p < 0.001). Causal mediation analysis revealed Lp(a) level mediated 69.8% (p < 0.001) for the relationship between evolocumab and changes of PCATRCA. Conclusions: In patients with T2DM, evolocumab is an effective therapy to decrease noncalcified plaque volume necrotic volume, and increase calcified plaque volume. Furthermore, evolocumab could attenuate PCAT density, at least in part, via the reduction of lipoprotein(a). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: H type hypertension is defined as homocysteine (Hcy) ≥ 10 μmol/L in combination with primary hypertension. Studies demonstrated that the existence of hyperhomocysteine (HHcy) in hypertensive exacerbates the poor outcome of cardiocerebral incidents. This study was to investigate the current epidemic situation of H type hypertension and determine the risk factors in order to find intervention targets for H type hypertensives.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using cluster sampling design in Shanghai, China from July 2019 and April 2020. 23,652 patients with primary hypertension were enrolled in this study. Their medical information was recorded, and the level of Hcy concentrations and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphisms were detected.Results: In total, 22,731 of 23,652 patients were recorded. The mean age was 68.9 ± 8.6 y and 43% were men. 80.0% of the enrolled patients had H type hypertension. The frequency of allele T was 40.9%, and the proportions of the CC, CT, and TT genotypes were 36.1%, 46.0%, and 17.9%, respectively. Compared with the TT genotype, the plasma Hcy concentration levels were lower in patients with the CC/CT genotype (18.96 ± 13.48 μmol/L vs. 13.62 ± 5.20/14.28 ± 5.36, F = 75.04, p < 0.01). The risk for H type hypertension was higher in elderly people. Men had ~ 5.55-fold odds of H type hypertension compared with women. Patients with CT genotype and TT genotype had ~ 1.36- and ~ 2.76-fold odds of H type hypertension compared with those with CC genotype, respectively. Smoking and diabetes were not significantly associated with H type hypertension.Conclusions: The prevalence of H type hypertension in patients with primary hypertension was 80.0%, which was higher than the 75% found in prior report in China. Age, gender, and MTHFR C677T polymorphisms rather than smoking and diabetes were independently associated with H type hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ischaemic preconditioning elicited by brief periods of coronary occlusion and reperfusion protects the heart from a subsequent prolonged ischaemic insult. Here, we test the hypothesis that short‐term non‐ischaemic stimulation of hypertrophy renders the heart resistant to subsequent ischaemic injury. Methods and Results: Transient transverse aortic constriction (TAC) was performed for 3 days in mice and then withdrawn for 4 days by aortic debanding, followed by subsequent exposure to myocardial ischaemia‐reperfusion (I/R) injury. Following I/R injury, myocardial infarct size and apoptosis were significantly decreased, and cardiac dysfunction was markedly improved in the TAC preconditioning group compared with the control group. Mechanistically, TAC preconditioning markedly suppressed I/R‐induced autophagy and preserved autophagic flux by deacetylating SOD2 via a SIRT3‐dependent mechanism. Moreover, treatment with an adenovirus encoding SIRT3 partially mimicked the effects of hypertrophic preconditioning, whereas genetic ablation of SIRT3 in mice blocked the cardioprotective effects of hypertrophic preconditioning. Furthermore, in vivo lentiviral‐mediated knockdown of Beclin 1 in the myocardium ameliorated the I/R‐induced impairment of autophagic flux and was associated with a reduction in cell death, whereas treatment with a lentivirus encoding Beclin 1 abolished the cardioprotective effect of TAC preconditioning. Conclusions: The present study identifies TAC preconditioning as a novel strategy for induction of an endogenous self‐defensive and cardioprotective mechanism against cardiac injury. Specifically, TAC preconditioning reduced myocardial autophagic cell death in a SIRT3/SOD2 pathway‐dependent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of our study was to develop a simple clinical pre‐procedure risk model based on clinical characteristics for the prediction of contrast‐induced nephropathy (CIN) and major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with diabetes. A total of 1113 patients with diabetes who underwent PCI with contrast exposure were randomized into a development group (n = 742) and a validation group (n = 371) in a 2:1 ratio. CIN was defined as an increase of either 25% or 0.5 mg/dL (44.2 μmol/L) in serum creatinine within 72 hours after contrast infusion. A simple CIN risk score based on independent predictors was established. Four variables were identified for our risk score model: LVEF < 40%, acute coronary syndrome (ACS), eGFR < 60, and contrast volume > 300 mL. Based on this new CIN risk score, the incidence of CIN had a significant trend with increased predicting score values of 5.9%, 32.9% and 60.0%, corresponding to low‐, moderate‐ and high‐risk groups, respectively. The novel risk assessment exhibited moderate discrimination ability for predicting CIN, with an AUC of 0.759 [95% CI 0.668‐0.852, P =.001] in the validation cohort. It also had similar prognostic values for one‐year follow‐up MACE (C‐statistic: 0.705 and 0.606 for new risk score and Mehran score, respectively). This novel risk prediction model could be effective for preventing nephropathy in diabetic patients receiving contrast media during surgical procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quite a few studies have revealed the clinical values regarding the outcome predictions in the cohort of the Synergy between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) trial and decision-making with the SYNTAX score. The Evaluation of Xience Everolimus-Eluting Stent Versus Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery for Effectiveness of Left-Main Revascularization (EXCEL) and Nordic-Baltic-British left main revascularization (NOBLE) studies are the largest international randomized studies so far, comparing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) in the treatment of left main coronary artery disease. Unfortunately, both studies failed to validate the value of the SYNTAX score in the selection of revascularization strategies for patients with coronary artery diseases (CAD).. This scenario prompted us to reconsider the inherent fallacies of the SYNTAX score in its derivation. We pointed out eight fallacies for the SYNTAX score in this paper. A recently developed Coronary Artery Tree description and Lesion EvaluaTion (CatLet) score, available at http://www.catletscore.com, a novel angiographic scoring system, could be the remedies for the SYNTAX score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quite a few studies have revealed the clinical values regarding the outcome predictions in the cohort of the Synergy between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) trial and decision-making with the SYNTAX score. The Evaluation of Xience Everolimus-Eluting Stent Versus Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery for Effectiveness of Left-Main Revascularization (EXCEL) and Nordic-Baltic-British left main revascularization (NOBLE) studies are the largest international randomized studies so far, comparing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) in the treatment of left main coronary artery disease. Unfortunately, both studies failed to validate the value of the SYNTAX score in the selection of revascularization strategies for patients with coronary artery diseases (CAD).. This scenario prompted us to reconsider the inherent fallacies of the SYNTAX score in its derivation. We pointed out eight fallacies for the SYNTAX score in this paper. A recently developed Coronary Artery Tree description and Lesion EvaluaTion (CatLet) score, available at http://www.catletscore.com, a novel angiographic scoring system, could be the remedies for the SYNTAX score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quite a few studies have revealed the clinical values regarding the outcome predictions in the cohort of the Synergy between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) trial and decision-making with the SYNTAX score. The Evaluation of Xience Everolimus-Eluting Stent Versus Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery for Effectiveness of Left-Main Revascularization (EXCEL) and Nordic-Baltic-British left main revascularization (NOBLE) studies are the largest international randomized studies so far, comparing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) in the treatment of left main coronary artery disease. Unfortunately, both studies failed to validate the value of the SYNTAX score in the selection of revascularization strategies for patients with coronary artery diseases (CAD).. This scenario prompted us to reconsider the inherent fallacies of the SYNTAX score in its derivation. We pointed out eight fallacies for the SYNTAX score in this paper. A recently developed Coronary Artery Tree description and Lesion EvaluaTion (CatLet) score, available at http://www.catletscore.com, a novel angiographic scoring system, could be the remedies for the SYNTAX score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing morbidity and mortality, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has become one of the major causes of human death, leading to heavy burdens to individuals, families and society. Previous researches have found that though large amount of resources and great effort were devoted, no significant improvements were achieved in reducing the in-hospital mortality of AMI patients. Meanwhile, extensive studies about Chinese medicine (CM) have found that CM has special advantages in treating AMI patients. However, there is no standardized and unified clinical practice guideline (CPG) of CM for AMI. Therefore, a CPG with strict standard and generally acknowledgement is urgent to be established. This guideline was developed following the methodological process established by the World Health Organization Handbook for Guideline Development. Extensive search on clinical evidences including systematic review (SR), randomized controlled trial (RCT), observational study and case reports was launched, covering evidence of CM for AMI on several aspects, such as diagnosis, CM patterns, CM interventions on AMI and complications, cardiac rehabilitation and clinical pathway management. Besides, the application of Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach enabled the evaluation of evidence and formulation of grade of recommendation (GOR) and level of evidence (LOE). With the help of GOR and LOE, this CPG recommends the integrative CM and WM treatment method in AMI patients and provides useful information on medical decision for clinical physicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: To explore the relationship between serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and the presence and severity of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).Methods: A total of 177 patients with PAH and 103 patients without pulmonary hypertension (PH) were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent right heart catheterization (RHC) for diagnosing and assessing the severity of PAH. Demographics, comorbidities, and laboratory data including serum HDL-C levels were collected.Results: Plasma HDL-C levels in patients with PAH were significantly lower compared with patients without PH (1.08 ± 0.36 vs 1.49 ± 0.36, p < 0.001). HDL-C levels positively correlated with cardiac output (r = 0.360, p < 0.001), cardiac index (r = 0.337, p < 0.001), and mixed venous oxygen saturation (r = 0.426, p < 0.001), and negatively with mean pulmonary arterial pressure (r = - 0.529, p < 0.001), right atrial pressure (r = - 0.421, p < 0.001), and pulmonary vascular resistance (r = - 0.583, p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that HDL-C was a significant independent predictor of PAH (OR 0.042, 95% CI 0.006-0.304, p = 0.002). The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the optimal cutoff value of the serum HDL-C concentration for predicting PAH was 1.32 mmol/L, with a sensitivity of 83.6% and a specificity of 72.8% (area under the curve 0.803, 95% confidence interval 0.750-0.856, p < 0.001).Conclusions: Serum HDL-C is a simple biomarker that might be used for prediction and assessment of PAH in Chinese Han ethnicity, and the mechanism underlying the association needs further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the distribution of Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) on admission and its impact on prognosis. Methods: A total of 525 AMI patients were prospectively recruited and classifified into 4 groups based on their clinical characteristics: excess-heat, excess-cold, deficiency-heat and deficiency-cold syndromes. Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) were followed up. Results: The excess syndrome was more common than deficiency syndrome (72.95% vs. 27.05%; P<0.05). Totally 495 (94.29%) of 525 AMI patients were followed up (median 277 days). There were 59 (11.92%) MACEs. After adjusted with confounding factors in Cox regression models, the hazard ratio (95% confifidence interval) of excess-heat, excess-cold, defificiency-heat and defificiency-cold syndrome groups were 1, 1.25 (0.63, 2.49; P<0.05), 2.37 (1.14, 4.94; P<0.05), 3.76 (1.71, 8.28; P<0.05), respectively. Conclusions: Excess syndrome was more common in AMI patients and had better prognosis, while defificiency-cold syndrome had the poorest prognosis. CM syndrome was of value in predicting long-term outcomes in AMI patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate whether myocardial extracellular volume fraction (ECV) measurement by cardiac MR is indicative of myocardial injury, angiographic collateral flow, and functional recovery in patients with chronic total coronary occlusion (CTO).Materials and Methods: A total of 50 CTO patients undergoing 1.5 Tesla MR were prospectively enrolled, and 28 underwent a second MR 6 months after revascularization. T1-mapping based indices, including pre- and postcontrast T1 values and ECV, were obtained from infarcted and non-infarcted myocardium, myocardial segments, and coronary territory. The severity of myocardial injury was rated by transmurality extent of infarction (TEI) and regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMA) score. Angiographic collateral flow was evaluated using Rentrop classification. Improvement in segmental wall motion at 6 months was also assessed.Results: ECV and postcontrast T1 value significantly outperformed precontrast T1 value for identifying myocardial infarction (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC]: 0.998 and 0.953 versus 0.824, all P < 0.02). Myocardial ECV was strongly correlated with TEI (P = 0.000), RWMA score (P = 0.000), and collateral classification (P = 0.007 for left anterior descending artery [LAD] territory, P = 0.001 for non-LAD territory). Furthermore, the likelihood of functional recovery was better predicted by ECV than by late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) (AUC: 0.76 versus 0.68, P < 0.02).Conclusion: Myocardial ECV may be a useful surrogate to assess myocardial injury and angiographic collateral flow in CTO, and ECV provides incremental value to LGE in assessing functional recovery after revascularization. J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2016;44:972-982. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Despite current standard of care, the overall lipid goal attainment rate for hyperlipidemia patients, especially those who have experienced acute coronary syndrome (ACS), is suboptimal, which predisposes them to a higher residual risk of atherothrombotic events. This study aimed to describe characteristics of Chinese patients who recently experienced an ACS event and were on lipid-lowering treatment, yet failing to reach targeted goal.Methods: A multicenter, cross-sectional study was conducted to recruit 2,034 Chinese patients who experienced an ACS (ST segment elevation myocardial infarction [STEMI], non-STEMI, or unstable angina) event within the past 4-40 weeks and were on statin treatment (>2 weeks) from March 2015 to December 2016. All eligible patients underwent a fasting lipid test after enrollment and data on medical history were collected.Results: The mean age of 1,994 eligible patients was 61.0±9.84 years. Among them, 1,493 (74.9%) patients received intensive statin therapy (defined as atorvastatin 40 or 80 mg, or rosuvastatin 20 mg per protocol) and 499 (25.0%) patients were on maximum tolerated dose statin. Of the 1,994 eligible subjects, 1,273 (63.8%) patients did not achieve the lipid goal at the time of enrollment. Among the not-at-goal patients, 910 (71.5%) received intensive statin therapy; the majority (73.4%) of them were male; the mean age was 61.2±10.1 years old; 699 (54.9%) patients had a history of hypertension; 25.3% had diabetes mellitus; and 29.5% were current smokers. The mean low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), non-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (non-HDL-C), and ApoB levels at enrollment of this group of patients were 2.460±0.7139 mmol/L, 3.094±0.8861 mmol/L, and 0.840±0.3015 g/L, respectively.Conclusion: The study result demonstrates that overall more than half of the patients who recently (4-40 weeks) experienced ACS who were treated did not reach the guideline-recommended LDL-C and non-HDL-C goal. These results highlight the potential necessity for a new drug beyond statins to further reduce disease burden in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Pathological cardiac hypertrophy aggravated myocardial infarction and is causally related to autophagy dysfunction and increased oxidative stress. Rapamycin is an inhibitor of serine/threonine kinase mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) involved in the regulation of autophagy as well as oxidative/nitrative stress. Here, we demonstrated that rapamycin ameliorates myocardial ischaemia reperfusion injury by rescuing the defective cytoprotective mechanisms in hypertrophic heart. Our results showed that chronic rapamycin treatment markedly reduced the phosphorylated mTOR and ribosomal protein S6 expression, but not Akt in both normal and aortic‐banded mice. Moreover, chronic rapamycin treatment significantly mitigated TAC‐induced autophagy dysfunction demonstrated by prompted Beclin‐1 activation, elevated LC3‐II/LC3‐I ratio and increased autophagosome abundance. Most importantly, we found that MI/R‐induced myocardial injury was markedly reduced by rapamycin treatment manifested by the inhibition of myocardial apoptosis, the reduction of myocardial infarct size and the improvement of cardiac function in hypertrophic heart. Mechanically, rapamycin reduced the MI/R‐induced iNOS/gp91phox protein expression and decreased the generation of NO and superoxide, as well as the cytotoxic peroxynitrite. Moreover, rapamycin significantly mitigated MI/R‐induced endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrial impairment demonstrated by reduced Caspase‐12 activity, inhibited CHOP activation, decreased cytoplasmic Cyto‐C release and preserved intact mitochondria. In addition, inhibition of mTOR also enhanced the phosphorylated ERK and eNOS, and inactivated GSK3β, a pivotal downstream target of Akt and ERK signallings. Taken together, these results suggest that mTOR signalling protects against MI/R injury through autophagy induction and ERK‐mediated antioxidative and anti‐nitrative stress in mice with hypertrophic myocardium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgrounds: Periprocedural myocardial injury (PMI) after elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) significantly influences the prognosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). However, it was unclear whether the occurrence of PMI was associated with a series of controllable factors, such as PCI strategy or severity of CAD.Methods: A total of 544 consecutive stable CAD patients underwent elective PCI were enrolled. The main outcome is PMI, defined as troponin T after PCI was at least one value above the 99th percentile upper reference limit. Major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including all-cause death, repeat myocardial infarction and target vessel revascularization were record in the period of follow-up. Univariate and multivariate analysis was applied to assess predictors for the occurrence of PMI.Results: The incidence of PMI was 38.8% in the study. Compared with non-PMI patients (n = 333), PMI patients (n = 211) had more diseased vessels, higher Gensini and Syntax score. Meanwhile, there were higher incidence of MACE in PMI groups (9.5% vs. 3.2%, P < 0.01). We found that PMI patients underwent higher proportion of multi-vessel PCI simultaneously (32.2% vs. 10.5%, P < 0.01) and had more stents implanted (1.8 ± 0.8 vs. 1.4 ± 0.6, P < 0.01). Importantly, after simultaneously adjusted by other factors (such as age, diabetes, total cholesterol, number of diseased vessels, Gensini score and stent length), the risk of PMI was still increased 84% by multi-vessel PCI independently (OR = 1.654, 95% CI = 1.004-2.720, P < 0.05).Conclusions: The phenomenon of PMI occurred more commonly in stable CAD patients underwent multi-vessel PCI. Multi-vessel international therapy could increase the risk of PMI in elective PCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgrounds: Reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), which implies the occurrence of cardiac dysfunction, impacts cardiac prognosis, even after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study was designed to clarify the difference of clinical and angiographic predictors for reduced LVEF in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients with left anterior descending artery (LAD) or non-LAD vessel as culprit artery.Methods: This was a retrospective study to review a total of 553 patients of STEMI underwent primary PCI in our hospital. All patients underwent echocardiography. Univariate analysis, multivariate analysis and classification and regression tree (CART) were performed between LAD related AMI and non-LAD related STEMI. The primary outcome was the occurrence of reduced LVEF 4-6 days after PCI.Results: In this study, culprit arteries of STEMI were 315 in LAD system (6 in left main artery, 309 in LAD) and 238 in non-LAD system (63 in left circumflex and 175 in right coronary artery). Compared with non-LAD group, post-MI LVEF was significantly reduced in LAD related STEMI group (52.4 ± 9.3% vs. 57.1 ± 7.8%, P < 0.01). Multivariate analysis indicated that elder (>65 years), time to hospital and proximal occlusion were associated with reduced LVEF (<55%) in LAD related STEMI patients. However, in non-LAD patients, time to hospital, multivessel stenosis and post-PCI blood pressure predicted the occurrence of reduced LVEF. Furthermore, CART analysis also obtained similar findings.Conclusions: Patients with LAD or non-LAD related STEMI could suffer reduced LVEF, while the clinical and angiographic predictors for the occurrence were different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Aortic valve calcification (AVC) is a common progressive condition that involves several inflammatory and atherosclerotic mediators. However, it is unclear whether the occurrence of periprocedural myocardial injury (PMI) after elective coronary intervention is associated with AVC in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Methods: A total of 530 stable CAD patients who underwent elective coronary intervention were enrolled in this clinical study. High sensitive cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) was detected before and after the procedure. PMI was defined as hs-cTnT after coronary intervention higher than 99th percentile upper reference limit (URL). All patients underwent echocardiography to detect the occurrence of AVC. Univariate and multivariate analyses were applied to analyze risk factors of PMI. Results: A total of 210 patients (39.6 %) were diagnosed with PMI after elective coronary intervention. Compared with non-AVC patients ( n = 386), AVC patients ( n = 144) had higher rate of PMI (64.6 vs. 30.3 %, P < 0.01). CAD patients with AVC had higher Gensini score (39.9 ± 26.6 vs. 34.2 ± 22.1, P < 0.05) and more number of implanted stents (1.7 ± 0.8 vs. 1.5 ± 0.7, P < 0.05). After stratification by classic risk factors of CAD (such as age, male gender and diabetes) in subgroup analyses, we found that AVC patients had increased risk of PMI compared with non-AVC patients. Importantly, even after being adjusted by multivariate analysis, AVC still independently increased the risk of PMI (OR = 3.329, 95 % CI = 2.087-5.308, P < 0.01). Conclusion: AVC significantly increased the risk of PMI after elective coronary intervention. It could be one of the independent predictors for PMI in stable CAD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roles of Q (q) Wave in Lead I and QRS Axis for Diagnosing Loss of LV Capture During CRT Introduction Loss of left ventricular (LV) capture may lead to deterioration of heart failure in patients with cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Recognition of loss of LV capture in time is important in clinical practice. Methods and Results A total of 422 electrocardiograms were acquired and analyzed from 53 CRT patients at 8 different pacing settings (LV only, right ventricle [RV] only, biventricular [BV] pacing with LV preactivation of 60, 40, 20, and 0 milliseconds and RV preactivation of 20 and 40 milliseconds). A modified Ammann algorithm by adding a third step-presence of Q (q, or QS) wave-to the original 2-step Ammann algorithm and a QRS axis shift method were devised to identify the loss of LV capture. The accuracy of modified Ammann algorithm was significantly higher than that of Ammann algorithm (78.9% vs. 69.1%, P < 0.001). The accuracy of the axis shift method was 66.4%, which was significantly lower than the modified Ammann algorithm (P < 0.001) and similar to the original one (P = 0.412). However, in the ECGs with QRS axis shift, 96.8% were correctly classified. LV preactivation or simultaneous BV activation and LV lead positioned in nonposterior or noninferior wall could elevate the accuracies of the modified Ammann algorithm and the QRS axis shift method. Conclusions The accuracy of the modified Ammann algorithm is greatly improved. The QRS axis shift method can help diagnose LV capture. The LV preactivation, or simultaneous BV activation and LV lead positioned in nonposterior or noninferior wall can increase the diagnostic power of the modified Ammann algorithm and QRS axis shift method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experimental study was designed to clarify the relationship between cardiomyocyte apoptosis and tumour necrosis factor-alpha ( TNF-α) expression, and confirm the effect of TNF-α on cardiac dysfunction after coronary microembolization ( CME) in mini-pigs. Nineteen mini-pigs were divided into three groups: sham-operation group ( n = 5), CME group ( n = 7) and adalimumab pre-treatment group ( n = 7; TNF-α antibody, 2 mg/kg intracoronary injection before CME). Magnetic resonance imaging (3.0-T) was performed at baseline, 6th hour and 1 week after procedure. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis was detected by cardiac- TUNEL staining, and caspase-3 and caspase-8 were detected by RT- PCR and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, serum TNF-α, IL-6 and troponin T were analysed, while myocardial expressions of TNF-α and IL-6 were detected. Both TNF-α expression (serum level and myocardial expression) and average number of apoptotic cardiomyocyte nuclei were significantly increased in CME group compared with the sham-operation group. Six hours after CME, left ventricular end-systolic volume ( LVESV) was increased and the left ventricular ejection fraction ( LVEF) was decreased in CME group. Pre-treatment with adalimumab not only significantly improved LVEF after CME (6th hour: 54.9 ± 2.3% versus 50.4 ± 3.9%, P = 0.036; 1 week: 56.7 ± 4.2% versus 52.7 ± 2.9%, P = 0.041), but also suppressed cardiomyocyte apoptosis and the expression of caspase-3 and caspase-8. Meanwhile, the average number of apoptotic cardiomyocytes nuclei was inversely correlated with LVEF ( r = −0.535, P = 0.022). TNF-α-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis is likely involved in cardiac dysfunction after CME. TNF-α antibody therapy suppresses cardiomyocyte apoptosis and improves early cardiac function after CME. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim:Aliskiren (ALK) is a renin inhibitor that has been used in the treatment of hypertension. The aim of this study was to determine whether ALK could ameliorate pressure overload-induced heart hypertrophy and fibrosis, and to elucidate the mechanisms of action.Methods:Transverse aortic constriction (TAC) was performed in mice to induce heart pressure overload. ALK (150 mg·kg−1·d−1, po), the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (10 mg·kg−1 per week, ip) or the PKCβI inhibitor LY333531 (1 mg·kg−1·d-1, po) was administered to the mice for 4 weeks. Heart hypertrophy, fibrosis and function were evaluated based on echocardiography, histological and biochemical measurements. Mechanically stretched cardiomyocytes of rats were used for in vitro experiments. The levels of signaling proteins were measured using Western blotting, while the expression of the relevant genes was analyzed using real-time QRT-PCR.Results:TAC induced marked heart hypertrophy and fibrosis, accompanied by high levels of Ang II in plasma and heart, and by PKCβI/α and ERK1/2 phosphorylation in heart. Meanwhile, TAC induced autophagic responses in heart, i.e. increases in autophagic structures, expression of Atg5 and Atg16 L1 mRNAs and LC3-II and Beclin-1 proteins. These pathological alterations in TAC-mice were significantly ameliorated or blocked by ALK administration. In TAC-mice, 3-methyladenine administration also ameliorated heart hypertrophy, fibrosis and dysfunction, while LY333531 administration inhibited ERK phosphorylation and autophagy in heart. In mechanically stretched cardiomyocytes, CGP53353 (a PKCβI inhibitor) prevented ERK phosphorylation and autophagic responses, while U0126 (an ERK inhibitor) blocked autophagic responses.Conclusion:ALK ameliorates heart hypertrophy, fibrosis and dysfunction in the mouse model in setting of chronic pressure overload, via suppressing Ang II-PKCβI-ERK1/2-regulated autophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim:To investigate the roles of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), the key enzyme of ethanol metabolism, in chronic low to moderate alcohol consumption-induced heart protective effects in mice.Methods:Twenty-one male wild-type (WT) or ALDH2-knockout (KO) mice were used in this study. In each genotype, 14 animals received alcohol (2.5%, 5% and 10% in week 1-3, respectively, and 18% in week 4-7), and 7 received water for 7 weeks. After the treatments, survival rate and general characteristics of the animals were evaluated. Serum ethanol and acetaldehyde levels and blood lipids were measured. Metabolomics was used to characterize the heart and serum metabolism profiles.Results:Chronic alcohol intake decreased the survival rate of KO mice by 50%, and significantly decreased their body weight, but did not affect those of WT mice. Chronic alcohol intake significantly increased the serum ethanol levels in both WT and KO mice, but KO mice had significantly higher serum acetaldehyde levels than WT mice. Chronic alcohol intake significantly increased the serum HDL cholesterol levels in WT mice, and did not change the serum HDL cholesterol levels in KO mice. After chronic alcohol intake, WT and KO mice showed differential heart and serum metabolism profiles, including the 3 main energy substrate types (lipids, glucose and amino acids) and three carboxylic acid cycles.Conclusion:Low to moderate alcohol consumption increases HDL cholesterol levels and improves heart energy metabolism profile in WT mice but not in ALDH2-KO mice. Thus, preserved ALDH2 function is essential for the protective effect of low to moderate alcohol on the cardiovascular system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Coronary artery disease (CAD) severity is associated with patient prognosis. However, few efficient scoring systems have been developed to screen severe CAD in patients with stable angina and suspected CAD before coronary angiography. Here, we present a novel scoring system for CAD severity before elective coronary angiography. Methods: Five hundred fifty-one patients with stable angina who were admitted for coronary angiography were enrolled in this study. Patients were divided into training (n = 347) and validation (n = 204) cohorts. Severe CAD was defined as having a Gensini score of 20 or more. All patients underwent echocardiography (ECG) to detect ejection fraction and aortic valve calcification (AVC). Multivariable analysis was applied to determine independent risk factors and develop the scoring system. Results: In the training cohort, age, male sex, AVC, abnormal ECG, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were identified as independent factors for severe CAD by multivariable analysis, and the Severe Prediction Scoring (SPS) system was developed. C-indices of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for severe CAD were 0.744 and 0.710 in the training and validation groups, respectively. The SPS system also performed well during calibration, as demonstrated by Hosmer-Lemeshow analysis in the validation group. Compared with the Diamond-Forrester score, the SPS system performed better for severe CAD prediction before elective coronary angiography. Conclusions: Severe CAD prediction was achieved by analyzing age, sex, AVC, ECG, diabetes status, and lipid levels. Angina patients who achieve high scores using this predicting system should undergo early coronary angiography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The relationship between focal pulmonary vein potential and atrial fibrillation (AF) has been confirmed. Pulmonary vein (PV) isolation and circumferential pulmonary vein ablation have been the most commonly used procedures of radiofrequency ablation. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between anatomical characteristics of PV and AF recurrences after radiofrequency ablation. Methodology: For 267 AF patients treated by radiofrequency catheter ablation, the anatomic structure characteristics of pulmonary veins were assessed by multi-slice spiral computed tomography while the values of left atrial diameter (LAD) were measured with transesophageal ultrasonic cardiogram. After radiofrequency catheter ablation, postoperative recurrence was evaluated during a 10-month term follow-up. Principal Findings: During follow-up, postoperative recurrence occurred in 44 patients. The mean diameters of LAD, left superior PV, right superior PV, all left PV, and all superior PV were significantly larger in patients with postoperative recurrence (Recurrence vs. Non-recurrence group; 43.9 ± 6.4 mm vs. 40.7 ± 5.6 mm; 18.4 ± 2.1 mm vs. 17.1 ± 3.1 mm; 18.2 ± 2.8 mm vs. 17.2 mm ± 3.9 mm; 16.4 ± 1.5 mm vs. 15.6 ± 2.5 mm; 18.3 ± 2.1 mm vs. 17.1 ± 3.0 mm; respectively; all P < 0.05). Multivariable survival analysis showed that the type and the course of AF, LAD, and the diameters of all superior PV were the independent risk factors for the postoperative recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation. Conclusions: The enlargements of all superior PV and LAD, long course of diseases, and persistent AF were the independent risk factors for the postoperative recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: High body mass index (BMI) is considered as the most important risk factor for elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) concentration. This study examined an array of factors, including waist circumference (WC) and folate deficiency, which may mediate the association of BMI with serum ALT concentration in Chinese hypertensive adults without known hepatic diseases. Methods: A multicenter, cross-sectional study was carried out. A total of 378 patients with mild or moderate hypertension and without known hepatic diseases were recruited from five hospitals in Harbin, Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, and Nanjing. Results: Of the 360 hypertensive patients with complete data in our final analysis, 13.6% had high ALT concentrations (>40 IU/L). Factors including BMI, WC, triglyceride level, and folate concentration were associated with ALT concentration in univariate analysis. Consistently higher prevalence rates of elevated ALT were observed in subjects with lower folate concentrations (≥12 vs. <12 nmol/L, 9.9% vs. 17.8%, P=0.03), with higher BMI (≥28 vs. <28 kg/m, 21.5% vs. 11.4%, P=0.02) or higher WC (≥90 vs. <90 cm, 18.5% vs. 10.0%, P=0.02). However, in multivariate analysis, the association between BMI and ALT concentration disappeared ( P=0.802 in males and 0.369 in females), while WC in females ( P<0.001) and folate concentration ( P=0.036 in males and 0.044 in females) remained as significant predictors for ALT concentration. Conclusions: This multicenter study demonstrated that WC and low folate concentration were important factors underlying the association between BMI and ALT concentrations in Chinese hypertensive adults without known hepatic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim:High mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1) and receptor for the advanced glycation end product (RAGE) play pivotal roles in vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether the HMGB1-RAGE axis was involved in the actions of simvastatin on vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis in ApoE−/− mice.Methods:Five-week old ApoE−/− mice and wild-type C57BL/6 mice were fed a Western diet. At 8 weeks of age, ApoE−/− mice were administered simvastatin (50 mg·kg−1·d−1) or vehicle by gavage, and the wild-type mice were treated with vehicle. The mice were sacrificed at 11 weeks of age, and the atherosclerotic lesions in aortic sinus were assessed with Oil Red O staining. Macrophage migration was determined with scanning EM and immunohistochemistry. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were used for in vitro study. Western blots were used to quantify the protein expression of HMGB1, RAGE, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1).Results:Vehicle-treated ApoE−/− mice exhibited significant increases in aortic inflammation and atherosclerosis as well as enhanced expression of HMGB1, RAGE, VCAM-1, and MCP-1 in aortic tissues as compared to the wild-type mice. Furthermore, serum total cholesterol, triglyceride and LDL levels were markedly increased, while serum HDL level was decreased in vehicle-treated ApoE−/− mice. Administration with simvastatin in ApoE−/− mice markedly attenuated the vascular inflammation and atherosclerotic lesion area, and decreased the aortic expression of HMGB1, RAGE, VCAM-1, and MCP-1. However, simvastatin did not affect the abnormal levels of serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL and HDL in ApoE−/− mice. Exposure of HUVECs to HMGB1 (100 ng/mL) markedly increased the expression of HMGB1, RAGE and VCAM-1, whereas pretreatment of the cells with simvastatin (10 μmol/L) blocked the HMGB1-caused changes.Conclusion:Simvastatin inhibits vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis in ApoE−/− mice, which may be mediated through downregulation of the HMGB1-RAGE axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the current status of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for totally occluded coronary arteries. Chronic total occlusion is associated with 10%-20% of all PCI procedures. Results show that opening an occluded vessel, especially one supplying a considerable area of myocardium, may be beneficial for a patient's angina relief and heart function. We describe the devices used currently in re-canalization such as new wires, microcatheters (including Tonus and Cosair) and intravascular ultrasound guidance. Different techniques to improve the success rate and reduce complications are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the effects of Chinese herbs for supplementing qi, nourishing yin and activating blood circulation on heart function of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) after successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: One hundred patients with ACS after successful PCI were randomly assigned to a Western medicine (WM) treatment group (WMG) and a combined treatment group (CMG) treated by Chinese herbs for supplementing qi, nourishing yin and activating blood circulation, besides Western medicine treatment, with 50 cases in each group. Both treatment courses were 6 months. The followup was scheduled at baseline, 6 months and 1 year after PCI, and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, Chinese medicine (CM) symptom scores, blood stasis syndrome scores, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were observed, serum levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and hyper-sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP) were measured, an echocardiogram was conducted to examine left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV), inter-ventricular septal thickness (IVST), left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWT), and ventricular wall motion index (VWMI). Results: Compared with the baseline, LVEF significantly increased ( P<0.01), and CM symptom scores, blood stasis syndrome scores, VWMI, LVEDV, LVESV, NT-proBNP, and Hs-CRP all decreased ( P<0.01) in both groups at 6 months and at 1 year after PCI. There were no significant differences in all the above parameters at 1 year vs those at 6 months after PCI ( P>0.05). VWMI, LVEDV, LVESV, NT-proBNP, Hs-CRP, LVEF, and CM symptom and blood stasis syndrome scores were all improved obviously in CMG than those in WMG ( P<0.05 or P<0.01) at 6 months and at 1 year after PCI. There were no significant differences in NYHA functional class between CMG and WMG at different follow-up timepoints; it was notable that value was 0.054 when comparing the cases of NYHA functional class between the two groups at 1-year follow-up. During the 1-year follow-up, 3 MACE and 11 MACE occurred in CMG and WMG, respectively; the MACE rate in CMG was lower than that in WMG (6% vs 22%, P<0.05). Conclusion: Chinese herbs for supplementing qi, nourishing yin and activating blood circulation could improve heart function, reduce the CM symptom scores and blood stasis syndrome scores, and decrease the incidence of MACE in patients with ACS after successful PCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The effects of intensive glucose control over conventional glucose control on cardiovascular outcomes of patients with type 2 diabetes remain uncertain. Methods. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane database to identify randomized controlled trials that compared the effects of intensive glucose control and conventional glucose control, on cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes. Results. Seven trials involving 34,144 participants with type 2 diabetes were included. Intensive glucose control significantly reduced major cardiovascular events by 10% (relative risk (RR) 0.90, 95% CI 0.85–0.96; P = 0.0006), and non-fatal myocardial infarction by 16% (0.84, 95% CI 0.76–0.93; P = 0.0006) at the expense of increased incidence of severe hypoglycemia (2.30, 95% CI 1.74–3.03; P < 0.00001), while all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death, non-fatal stroke, and heart failure were similar between the two groups. Subgroup analyses showed that patients with longer follow-up duration, shorter diabetic duration, less glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) reduction, higher HbA1c concentration at follow-up, and lower base-line HbA1c benefited more from intensive glucose control. Conclusion. An intensive glucose control strategy can effectively reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events but at the expense of a significantly increased risk of severe hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effect of anti-platelet regimens and it's combination with Shuxinyin (SXY,) on in-stent restenosis after stent implantation. Methods: Forty-four patients with successful stent implantation in a coronary artery were randomly assigned to the treated group (n = 20) and the control group (n = 24). The treated group received SXY and anti-platelet therapy. The control group were treated with anti-platelet regimens only. Platelet activation was assessed before and immediately after the stenting by flow cy-tometry, the expression of P-selectin (CDP) and glycoprotein(GP) П b/Ш a receptor. It was reassessed on the 30th day after stenting. Plasma fibrinogen (Fg) and C-reaction protein (CRP) were measured by biuret and laser scattering turbidimetry respectively at the same time. Observation was made on the scoring of the symptoms of Qi deficiency syndrome, Qi-Yin deficiency syndrome and blood stasis syndrome in the two groups. Differences between groups were compared. Results: Compared with the control group, combination with SXY and anti-platelet therapy was remarkable in reducing plasma CRP ( P < 0.05), and also with the tendency to decrease plasma Fg, GP П b/Шa and CDP. It could also evidently decrease the scoring of Qi-Yin deficiency syndrome, Qi deficiency syndrome and blood stasis syndrome after stenting ( P <0.05, 0.01, 0.01) respectively. Followup survey found 40 % relapse of angina pectoris with 4 cases of in-stent restenosis proved by angiography in the treated group. But the relapse of angina pectoris in the control group was 67% with 2 cases of mypcardial infarction (MI), 7 cases of in-stent restenosis proved by angiography and one death. Conclusions: Combination with SXY and anti-platelet regimens can prevent stent thrombosis and in-stent restenosis after stent implantation, and it seems superior to anti-platelet therapy only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]