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Although biologically appealing, the concept of tissue regeneration underlying first- and second-generation cell therapies has failed to translate into consistent results in clinical trials. Several types of cells from different origins have been tested in pre-clinical models and in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have gained attention because of their potential for immune modulation and ability to promote endogenous tissue repair, mainly through their secretome. MSCs can be easily obtained from several human tissues, the umbilical cord being the most abundant source, and further expanded in culture, making them attractive as an allogeneic "of-the-shelf" cell product, suitable for the AMI setting. The available evidence concerning umbilical cord-derived MSCs in AMI is reviewed, focusing on large animal pre-clinical studies and early human trials. Molecular and cellular mechanisms as well as current limitations and possible translational solutions are also discussed., (Copyright © 2021 International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Compared to bare-metal stents (BMS), drug-eluting stents reduce stent restenosis and improve subsequent revascularization rates. The impact on patients' survival has been the subject of debate., Objective: To assess the long-term (10-year) survival of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with first-generation sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) in comparison with BMS., Methods: In a single-center registry, 600 consecutive patients who underwent successful PCI with SES between April 2002 and February 2003 were compared to 594 patients who underwent PCI with BMS between January 2002 and April 2002, just before the introduction of SES. Clinical and procedural data were collected at the time of intervention and 10-year survival status was assessed via the national life status database., Results: All baseline characteristics were similar between groups except for smaller stent diameter (2.84±0.38 vs. 3.19±0.49 mm; p<0.001), greater stent length (18.50±8.2 vs. 15.96±6.10 mm; p<0.001) and higher number of stents per patient (1.95 vs. 1.46, p<0.001) in the SES group. Overall five- and 10-year all-cause mortality was 9.6% (n=110) and 22.7% (n=272), respectively. The adjusted HR for 10-year mortality in patients undergoing PCI with SES was 0.74 (95% CI 0.58-0.94; p=0.013), corresponding to a relative risk reduction of 19.8%. Other than PCI with BMS, older age, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lower ejection fraction were independent predictors of 10-year mortality., Conclusion: To date, this is the longest follow-up study ever showing a potential survival benefit of first-generation sirolimus-eluting stents versus bare-metal stents, supporting prior observations on their sustained efficacy and safety relative to contemporary BMS., (Copyright © 2020. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U.)

Background: The benefit of complete revascularization (CR) during a primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with multivessel disease (MVD) is still not clear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of CR in a nonselected population from an all-comers prospective registry of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) over a long period of time., Methods and Results: Between 2004 and 2014, 671 noncardiogenic shock STEMI patients with MVD were included in the present study, of whom 522 were subjected to incomplete revascularization and 149 were subjected to CR. Patients in the CR group were younger [61 (SD 12) vs. 64 (SD 12.4) years old, P=0.001], more often subjected to femoral access (79.4 vs. 67.1%, P=0.002), and had a lower number of segments with lesion [2 (2.2) vs. 3 (3.4), P=0.001]. The CR group tended to have a lower 1-year major adverse cardiac event (MACE) rate (17.8 vs. 25.7%; P=0.05) that reached statistical significance at 2 years (19.4 vs. 28.5%, P=0.03). The rates of the individual endpoints were not different between groups. Independent predictors of 2-year MACE were age, femoral access, and previous PCI. Index CR was associated with lower MACE (hazard ratio 0.5, 0.36-0.79). MACE-free survival was higher in the CR group throughout the 2 years of follow-up., Conclusion: In patients with STEMI and MVD undergoing culprit lesion PCI, preventive PCI in noninfarct coronary arteries with significant stenosis was associated with a lower risk of MACE compared with incomplete revascularization in this all-comers prospective registry.

Background: Despite improvements in treatment, mortality associated with cardiogenic shock (CS) following acute myocardial infarction remains high., Aim: To compare two groups of patients admitted with CS over a 10-year time span., Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of two patient populations presenting with CS admitted in the periods May 1998-May 2001 (group A) and May 2008-May 2011 (group B). Clinical characteristics, diagnostic methods, treatment and outcomes were compared, and independent predictors of death at six months were analyzed., Results: The incidence of CS was 3.7% in group A (n=25) and 4.8% in group B (n=42). There were no significant differences in clinical characteristics except for age (60.2±12.3 vs. 66.5±11.3 years; p=0.043) and the proportion of patients admitted within six hours of symptom onset (29.2% vs. 54.8%, p=0.045). There was a reduction in use of pulmonary artery catheterization (52.0% vs. 19.0%, p=0.005) but an increase in dialysis (4.0% vs. 28.6%, p=0.014). There was no difference in the proportion of patients reperfused within 12 hours or revascularized, but use of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) increased (75.0% vs. 92.9%, p=0.042). There were no differences in outcomes, including mortality at 30 days (32.0 vs. 35.7%; p=0.757) and six months (36.0 vs. 42.9%; p=0.683). Diabetes was the sole baseline characteristic identified as an independent predictor of death at six months (hazard ratio [HR] 3.02; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.38-6.60; p=0.006) and mortality was lower among revascularized patients (HR 0.11; 95% CI 0.03-0.42; p=0.001)., Conclusions: Over a 10-year time span, despite earlier hospital admission and increased use of support therapies and PCI, short- and medium-term mortality remained unchanged., (Copyright © 2012 Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Nonobstructive coronary atherosclerotic lesions can lead to ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Thrombus aspiration during a primary percutaneous coronary intervention provides a setting to evaluate the degree of stenosis of culprit lesions leading to STEMI. The aim of this study was to assess the degree of culprit lesion residual stenosis after thrombus aspiration and to compare the demographic, clinical, and angiographic characteristics between patients with obstructive versus nonobstructive residual stenosis., Methods and Results: From a single-center registry of 483 consecutive patients with STEMI undergoing a primary percutaneous coronary intervention, 172 patients underwent thrombus aspiration and were eligible for our study. We defined two groups according to the residual stenosis after thrombus aspiration: group A (n=119, 69%) with residual stenosis greater than or equal to 50%, and group B (n=53, 31%) with residual stenosis less than 50%.In terms of the baseline angiographic characteristics, patients with residual stenosis less than 50% had significantly lower prevalence of multivessel disease (15.1 vs. 46.2%, P<0.001). On multivariable analysis of the preprocedural variables, absence of vascular disease (odds ratio 4.99, 95% confidence interval 1.08-23.12, P=0.040) and age less than 59 years (odds ratio 2.67, 95% confidence interval 1.25-5.73, P=0.011) were independent predictors of culprit residual stenosis less than 50%., Conclusion: In this population, a significant proportion of patients with STEMI had nonobstructive residual stenosis after thrombus aspiration. These patients were younger, had a lower prevalence of vascular disease in other vascular territories, and less multivessel disease, suggesting an earlier stage of atherosclerosis.

Introduction: According to the current guidelines for treatment of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) should be performed within 90 min of first medical contact and total ischemic time should not exceed 120 min. The aim of this study was to analyze compliance with STEMI guidelines in a tertiary PCI center., Methods: This was a prospective single-center registry of 223 consecutive STEMI patients referred for primary PCI between 2003 and 2007., Results: In this population (mean age 60±12 years, 76% male), median total ischemic time was 4h 30 min (<120 min in 4% of patients). The interval with the best performance was first medical contact to first ECG (median 8 min, <10 min in 59% of patients). The worst intervals were symptom onset to first medical contact (median 104 min, <30 min in 6%) and first ECG to PCI (median 140 min, <90 min in 16%). Shorter total ischemic time was associated with better post-PCI TIMI flow, TIMI frame count and ST-segment resolution (p<0.03). The three most common patient origins were two nearby hospitals (A and B) and the pre-hospital emergency system. The pre-hospital group had shorter total ischemic time than patients from hospitals A or B (2h 45 min vs. 4h 44 min and 6h 40 min, respectively, p<0.05), with shorter door-to-balloon time (89 min vs. 147 min and 146 min, respectively, p<0.05)., Conclusions: In this population, only a small proportion of patients with acute myocardial infarction underwent primary PCI within the recommended time. Patients referred through the pre-hospital emergency system, although a minority, had the best results in terms of early treatment. Compliance with the guidelines translates into better myocardial perfusion achieved through primary PCI., (Copyright © 2011 Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Although half of saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) present obstructive atherosclerotic disease 10 years after implantation, controversy remains concerning the ideal treatment. Our aim was to compare percutaneous revascularization (PCI) options in SVG lesions, according to intervention strategy and type of stent., Methods: A retrospective single-center analysis selected 618 consecutive patients with previous bypass surgery who underwent PCI between 2003 and 2008. Clinical and angiographic parameters were analyzed according to intervention strategy - PCI in SVG vs. native vessel vs. combined approach - and type of stent implanted - drug-eluting (DES) vs. bare-metal (BMS) vs. both. A Cox regressive analysis of event-free survival was performed with regard to the primary outcomes of death, myocardial infarction (MI) and target vessel failure (TVF)., Results: During a mean follow-up of 796±548 days the rates of death, MI and TVF were 10.9%, 10.5% and 29.5%, respectively. With regard to intervention strategy (74.4% of PCI performed in native vessels, 17.2% in SVGs and 8.4% combined), no significant differences were seen between groups (death p=0.22, MI p=0.20, TVF p=0.80). The type of stents implanted (DES 83.2%, BMS 10.2%, both 3.2%) also did not influence long-term prognosis (death p=0.09, MI p=0.11, TVF p=0.64). The implantation of DES had a favorable impact on survival (p<0.001) in the subgroup of patients treated in native vessels but not in SVG., Conclusions: Among patients with SVG lesions, long-term mortality, MI and TVF were not affected by intervention options, except for the favorable impact on survival of DES in patients treated in native vessels., (Copyright © 2011 Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) has become the treatment of choice in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Drug-eluting stents (DES) reduce restenosis compared to bare-metal stents (BMS) but there is conflicting data concerning their use in the setting of STEMI. We aimed to evaluate the influence of the type of stent on the outcomes of PPCI., Methods: This was a single-center longitudinal study including 213 consecutive patients (76% men, mean age 60 +/- 12 years) with STEMI undergoing PPCI between 2003 and 2007, divided into two groups: BMS (43.7%) and DES (56.3%). We assessed clinical and demographic features as well as angiographic and electrocardiographic signs of myocardial reperfusion. The composite outcome of death, myocardial infarction (MI) or target-lesion revascularization (TLR) was evaluated., Results: At a median follow-up of 26 months there were no differences in the composite outcome of death/MI/TLR (BMS 18.3% vs DES 15.8%) or in the incidence of stent thrombosis. Angiographic results of the procedure were also similar. Independent predictors of the composite outcome were age (HR = 1.06, 95% CI [1 .02-1.11], left anterior descending artery as infarct-related vessel (HR = 2.69, 95% CI [1.17-6.19]) and use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors (HR = 0.33, 95% CI [0.13-0.83])., Conclusions: There was no benefit in angiographic outcomes or major cardiac events after treatment with drug-eluting stents compared to bare-metal stents in this group of patients with STEMI.

Left ventricular free wall rupture (LVFWR) is a fearful complication of acute myocardial infarction in which a swift diagnosis and emergency surgery can be crucial for successful treatment. Because a significant number of cases occur subacutely, clinicians should be aware of the risk factors, clinical features and diagnostic criteria of this complication. We report the case of a 69 year-old man in whom a subacute left ventricular free wall rupture (LVFWR) was diagnosed 7 days after an inferior myocardial infarction with late reperfusion therapy. An asymptomatic 3 to 5 mm saddle-shaped ST-segment elevation in anterior and lateral leads, detected on a routine ECG, led to an urgent bedside echocardiogram which showed basal inferior-wall akinesis, a small echodense pericardial effusion and a canalicular tract from endo to pericardium, along the interface between the necrotic and normal contracting myocardium, trough which power-Doppler examination suggested blood crossing the myocardial wall. A cardiac MRI further reinforced the possibility of contained LVFWR and a surgical procedure was undertaken, confirming the diagnosis and allowing the successful repair of the myocardial tear. This case illustrates that subacute LVFWR provides an opportunity for intervention. Recognition of the diversity of presentation and prompt use of echocardiography may be life-saving.

Background: Atherothrombotic coronary artery disease is increasingly recognized as part of a systemic metabolic disorder. However, little is known about the significance of metabolic dysfunction in the setting of acute coronary syndrome., Objective: Our aim was to assess the prognostic implications of markers of metabolic dysfunction at hospital admission obesity (BMI > 30), previous history of hypertension, admission glucose > 128 mg/dl, triglycerides > 150 mg/dl, and HDL cholesterol < 40 mg/dl for men, or < 50 mg for women--in patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes (ACS)., Methods: A total of 303 consecutive patients admitted to the CCU with ACS were included in the study. Mean age was 63 +/- 10 years, and 86% were male. The primary end-point was a composite of death or non-fatal acute myocardial infarction (MI) at one-year follow-up. Each marker was assigned one point, and a metabolic score (MetScore) was calculated for each individual patient by adding together the number of markers present at hospital admission. Three groups were considered: group 1 (MetScore 0) with 0 markers (n = 30); group 2 (MetScore 1 to 3) with 1 to 3 markers (n = 222); and group 3 (MetScore 4 to 5) with 4 to 5 markers (n = 51)., Results: The cumulative incidence of death or MI was 14.5%. We found a statistically significant relation between MetScore and outcome at one-year follow-up. The event rate was 3.3% in the MetScore 0 group, 13.9% in the MetScore 1 to 3 group and 23.5% in the MetScore 4 to 5 group (p = 0.0114). MetScore was an independent predictor of death or MI at one year, with a 2.3-fold risk increase (95% CI: 1.32-4.01; p = 0.003) from one group to the next. Other variables identified as independent predictors of outcome were advanced age, Killip class, ST-segment depression and previous CABG. The incidence of the primary end-point in diabetic patients without significant metabolic dysfunction and non-diabetic patients with SMD was similar (21.2% vs. 22.7%; p = NS)., Conclusion: Assessment of markers of metabolic dysfunction on admission in patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes, adds important prognostic information to conventional clinical, ECG and risk stratification markers and could prove useful in establishing secondary prevention strategies.

Background: There is disagreement concerning the prognostic value of a prior history of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (ACS). This study characterizes these patients and investigates the impact of prior PCI on their prognosis., Methods: 448 consecutive patients admitted due to ACS between 1998 and 2000 were evaluated. Patients with prior PCI were compared to the others with regard to baseline demographic and clinical features. The study endpoint was death or myocardial infarction at one-year follow-up. The impact of prior PCI on the outcome was analyzed. In patients with prior PCI, the prognostic value of the time interval between PCI and current admission was assessed. In those patients who underwent coronary angiography during the index hospitalization, the culprit lesion features were evaluated., Results: 134 patients (30%) with prior PCI were identified. Overall ACS patients had an event rate of 19% at one year. A history of prior PCI was not an independent predictor of outcome, but in the 44 patients with PCI performed during the 117 days before the index hospitalization, the event rate was significantly higher (30% versus 13%). Prior PCI in the previous 117 days was an independent risk predictor (adjusted OR 4.81; 95% CI, 1.57-14.71; p = 0.006). In these patients restenosis was the most frequent culprit lesion (60% versus 30%; p = 0.003)., Conclusions: In ACS patients, a history of PCI in the previous four months is an independent predictor of adverse outcome at one-year follow-up.

Coronary subclavian steal syndrome is a rare ischemic cause in patients after myocardial revascularization surgery. Subclavian artery stenosis or compression proximal to the internal mammary artery graft is the underlying cause.Theauthors present a clinical case of a patient with previous history of non-ST elevationmyocardial infarction, triple coronary bypass, and effort angina since the surgery, with a positive ischemic test. Coronary angiography revealed a significant stenosis of the left subclavian artery, proximal to the internal mammary graft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]