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Additional file 1. Supplementary materials.

AIMS: Despite troponin assay being a part of the diagnostic work up in many conditions with acute chest pain, little is known about its frequency and clinical implications in acute aortic syndromes (AASs). In our study we assessed frequency, impact on diagnostic delay, inappropriate treatments, and prognosis of troponin elevation in AAS.METHODS AND RESULTS: Data were collected from a prospective metropolitan AAS registry (398 patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2013). Cardiac troponin test, using either standard or high sensitivity assay, was performed according to standard protocol used in chest pain units. Troponin T values were available in 248 patients (60%) of the registry population; the overall frequency of troponin positivity was 28% (ranging from 16% to 54%, using standard or high sensitivity assay respectively, p = 0.001). Troponin positivity was frequently associated with acute coronary syndromes (ACS)-like electrocardiogram findings, and with a twofold increased risk of long in-hospital diagnostic time (odds ratio (OR) 1.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05-3.52, p = 0.03). The combination of positive troponin and ACS-like electrocardiogram abnormalities resulted in a significantly increased risk of in-hospital delay/coronary angiography/antithrombotic therapy due to a misdiagnosis of ACS (OR 2.48, 95% CI 1.12-5.54, p = 0.02). However, troponin positivity was not associated with in-hospital mortality (OR 1.63, 95% CI 0.86-3.10, p = 0.131).CONCLUSIONS: Troponin positivity was a frequent finding in AAS patients, particularly when a high sensitivity assay was employed. Abnormal troponin values were strongly associated with ACS-like electrocardiogram findings and with in-hospital diagnostic delay but apparently they did not influence in-hospital mortality.

To assess the accuracy of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) for the diagnosis of angiographic stenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of left main coronary artery (LMCA). Patients undergone in the last year PCI of unprotected LMCA and scheduled for conventional X-ray coronary angiography (CXA) were evaluated with stress perfusion CMR within 2 weeks before CXA. Main contraindications to CMR were exclusion criteria. Stress perfusion CMR was performed to follow a bolus of contrast Gadobutrol after 3 min of adenosine infusion. Between the 50 patients enrolled, only 1 did not finish the CMR protocol and 49 patients with median age 71 (65–75) years (38 male, 11 female) were analyzed. Between 784 coronary angiographic segments evaluated we found 75 stenosis or occlusions (prevalence 9.5%), but only 13 stenosis or occlusions in proximal segments (prevalence 6.6%). Patients with coronary stenosis (n = 12, 24%) showed a significantly (p = 0.002) higher prevalence of diabetes (7 of 12, 58%). At CMR examination, late gadolinium enhancement was present in 25 (51%), reversible perfusion defects in 12 (24%), and fixed perfusion defects in 6 subjects (12%). The only patient with LMCA restenosis resulted positive at perfusion CMR. The accuracy of stress perfusion CMR in diagnosis of coronary stenosis was higher when the analysis was performed only in proximal coronary arteries (95%, CI 86–99) compared to overall vessels (84%, CI 70–92). Stress perfusion CMR could strongly reduce the need for elective CXA in follow up of LMCA PCI and should be validated in further multicenter prospective studies.

Background In acute coronary syndromes (ACS), the influence of cerebro-vascular disease (CVD) and/or peripheral artery disease (PAD) on short-midterm outcome has been well established. Data on long-term outcome however, are limited. Our study aimed to explore the effect of CVD and PAD on long-term outcome in a cohort of unselected ACS patients, including ST-elevation (STE-ACS) and non-ST-elevation (NSTE-ACS). Methods and results The population consisted of 2046 consecutive patients with a confirmed final diagnosis of ACS; 896 (44%) had STE-ACS and 1150 (66%) NSTE-ACS. CVD alone was present in 98 patients (5%), 282 (14%) had PAD alone, and 30 (1.5%) had both. All cause mortality at 5 years was lowest in patients without CVD/PAD (33%), intermediate in patients with either CVD or PAD (62% and 63%, respectively) reaching 80% in those with both CVD and PAD. These findings were confirmed in the STE-ACS and NSTE-ACS subgroups. CVD and PAD remained independent predictors of mortality after multivariable analysis, the combined presence of both carrying the highest risk within each ACS type (HR 4.15, 95% CI 1.83–9.44 for STE-ACS; HR 2.14, 1.29–3.54 for NSTE-ACS). Patients with CVD and/or PAD were less likely to be treated invasively and received less evidence-based treatment at discharge. Conclusions Across the spectrum of ACS, extracardiac vascular disease harbors a negative long-term prognosis that worsens progressively with the number of affected arterial beds.

Aim To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of electrocardiographic inferior Q waves persistence during inspiration and echocardiographic segmental wall motion abnormalities for the detection of previously unsuspected silent myocardial infarction, by using cardiac magnetic resonance as the gold standard. Methods We prospectively enrolled 50 apparently healthy subjects with inferior Q waves on routine electrocardiogram and high atherosclerotic risk profile. Patients underwent electrocardiogram during deep inspiration, standard transthoracic echocardiography, and cardiac magnetic resonance. Results Inferior Q waves during deep inspiration persisted in 10 subjects (20%) and cardiac magnetic resonance was positive in 10 (20%). Between the 10 positive cardiac magnetic resonance subjects 8 showed persistence of inferior Q waves, giving a sensitivity of 80% (95%;CI 44.4–97.5%) and a specificity of 95% (95%;CI 83.1–99.4%). Segmental wall motion abnormalities were present overall in 10 subjects (20%), but only in 5 of the 10 positive cardiac magnetic resonance subjects, giving a sensitivity of 87.5% (95% CI 73.2–95.8) and specificity of 50% (95% CI 18.7–81.3). Conclusions Electrocardiographic inferior Q waves persistence during deep inspiration is a simple test with a high accuracy for diagnosis of silent myocardial infarction. Standard echocardiography resulted less accurate.

We sought to evaluate the rates, time course, and causes of death in the long-term follow-up of unselected patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). We enrolled 2046 consecutive patients hospitalized from January 2004 to December 2005 with an audited final diagnosis of ACS. The primary study end point was 5-year all-cause mortality. In our series, 896 patients had ST-segment elevation (STE) and 1,150 non-ST-segment elevation (NSTE). Mean age of the study population was 71.6 years. Primary percutaneous coronary intervention was performed in 86% of STE-ACS, and 70% of NSTE-ACS was managed invasively. The 5-year all-cause mortality was 36.4% for STE-ACS and 42.0% for NSTE-ACS, with patients with STE-ACS showing a trend boarding statistical significance toward a lower risk of mortality (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.76 to 1.02, p = 0.08). Landmark analysis demonstrated that patients with STE-ACS had a higher risk of 30-day mortality (STE-ACS vs NSTE-ACS HR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.06, p = 0.003) whereas the risk of NSTE-ACS increased markedly after 1 year (STE-ACS vs NSTE-ACS HR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.84, p = 0.001). The contribution of noncardiovascular (CV) causes to overall mortality increased from 3% at 30 days to 34% at 5 years, with cancer and infections being the most common causes of non-CV death both in STE-ACS and NSTE-ACS. In conclusion, long-term mortality after ACS is still too high both for STE-ACS and NSTE-ACS. Although patients with STE-ACS have a higher mortality during the first year, the mortality of patients with NSTE-ACS increases later, when non-CV co-morbidities gain greater importance.