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Percutaneous intervention in anomalous coronary arteries originating from the opposite sinus of Valsalva is complicated by their unusual location and course, which makes selective cannulation difficult. The GuideLiner (Vascular Solutions, Inc.) is a monorail guide extension catheter designed to advance beyond the tip of a mother guide catheter to enable deep intubation of a coronary artery, provide extra support, and improve coaxial alignment. We describe the cases of 4 patients with an anomalous coronary artery originating from the opposite sinus of Valsalva—including 2 with acute myocardial infarction—who underwent successful percutaneous coronary intervention with use of a GuideLiner catheter.

Differences in the degree and severity of Acute Coronary Syndrome, associated to differences in the electrocardiogram, together with blood tests of biomarkers classify patients for diagnosis and treatment. Cases where the electrocardiogram and/or biomarkers are not conclusive still appear, and there is a need for complementary biomarkers for routine determinations. Metabolomics approaches with blind fingerprinting could reveal differences in metabolites, which must be confirmed by means of targeted determinations. CE-MS and HILIC-MS are well suited for the determination of highly polar compounds, like those from to the intermediate metabolism, altered due to acute stress induced by myocardial infarction. Serum from patients with ST-elevated and non-ST elevated myocardial infarction was collected at intensive care and emergency units, and fingerprinted with CE-MS. Data pretreatment and analysis showed up carnitine-related compounds and amino acids differentially present in both groups. Acylcarnitines and amino acids were then quantitatively measured with HILIC-MS-QqQ. The significance of the differences and the sensitivity/specificity of each compound were individually evaluated. The ratio of free carnitine to acylcarnitines, together with the ratios of acetylcarnitine to betaine, to threonine, and to citrulline, showed high significance and area under the curve in the respective receiver operating characteristic curves. This study opens new possibilities for defining new sets of biomarkers for refining the diagnosis of the patients with difficult classification.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a high-resolution imaging technique with great versatility of applications. In cardiology, OCT has remained hitherto as a research tool for characterization of vulnerable plaques and evaluation of neointimal healing after stenting. However, OCT is now successfully applied in different clinical scenarios, and the introduction of frequency domain analysis simplified its application to the point it can be considered a potential alternative to intravascular ultrasound for clinical decision-making in some cases. This article reviews the use of OCT for assessment of lesion severity, characterization of acute coronary syndromes, guidance of intracoronary stenting, and evaluation of long-term results.

Differences in the degree and severity of Acute Coronary Syndrome, associated to differences in the electrocardiogram, together with blood tests of biomarkers classify patients for diagnosis and treatment. Cases where the electrocardiogram and/or biomarkers are not conclusive still appear, and there is a need for complementary biomarkers for routine determinations. Metabolomics approaches with blind fingerprinting could reveal differences in metabolites, which must be confirmed by means of targeted determinations. CE-MS and HILIC-MS are well suited for the determination of highly polar compounds, like those from to the intermediate metabolism, altered due to acute stress induced by myocardial infarction. Serum from patients with ST-elevated and non-ST elevated myocardial infarction was collected at intensive care and emergency units, and fingerprinted with CE-MS. Data pretreatment and analysis showed up carnitine-related compounds and amino acids differentially present in both groups. Acylcarnitines and amino acids were then quantitatively measured with HILIC-MS-QqQ. The significance of the differences and the sensitivity/specificity of each compound were individually evaluated. The ratio of free carnitine to acylcarnitines, together with the ratios of acetylcarnitine to betaine, to threonine, and to citrulline, showed high significance and area under the curve in the respective receiver operating characteristic curves. This study opens new possibilities for defining new sets of biomarkers for refining the diagnosis of the patients with difficult classification.

A 81-year-old woman was admitted for exertional angina. Coronary angiogram revealed a severely calcific proximal circumflex lesion. Rotational atherectomy was performed with 1.5 and 1.75 burrs, obtaining a good angiographic result. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) assessment revealed a large dissection parallel to the true lumen. We implanted a 3.0 mm × 38 mm Xience Prime® stent and postdilated it with a 3.0-mm non-compliant balloon. Final OCT pullback showed mild malapposed struts with large lumen area. 3D-OCT reconstruction confirmed a large lumen after stent implantation.© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Abstract] Introduction and objectives. Atrial fibrillation is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality and both its incidence and prevalence are high. Nevertheless, comprehensive data on this condition in Spain are lacking. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of atrial fibrillation in Spain. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the general Spanish population older than 40 years. Two-stage random sampling was used, in which first-stage units were primary care physicians randomly selected in every Spanish province and second-stage units were 20 randomly selected persons drawn from each participating physician's assigned population. The reported prevalence was standardized for the age and sex distribution of the Spanish population. The electrocardiogram recordings were read centrally. Results. Overall, 8343 individuals were evaluated. The mean age was 59.2 years (95% confidence interval, 58.6-59.8 years), and 52.4% of the participants were female. The overall age-adjusted prevalence of atrial fibrillation was 4.4% (95% confidence interval, 3.8-5.1). Prevalence was similar in both sexes, men 4.4% (3.6-5.2) and women 4.5% (3.6-5.3), rising with increasing age older than 60 years. In patients older than 80 years, the prevalence was 17.7% (14.1-21.3). In 10% of patients an unknown atrial fibrillation was diagnosed. Conclusions. The prevalence of atrial fibrillation in the general Spanish population older than 40 years is high, at 4.4%. The prevalence is similar in both sexes and rises steeply above 60 years of age. It is estimated that there are over 1 million patients with atrial fibrillation in the Spanish population, of whom over 90 000 are undiagnosed. [Resumen] Introducción y objetivos. La fibrilación auricular se asocia con elevadas morbilidad y mortalidad, y tanto su incidencia como su prevalencia son altas. No obstante, hay escasos datos poblacionales sobre su epidemiología en España. El objetivo de este estudio es estimar la prevalencia de fibrilación auricular en España. Métodos. Estudio transversal en población española de 40 o más años. Se realizó un muestreo en dos etapas, una primera selección aleatoria de médicos de atención primaria de cada provincia española y, en segundo lugar, se seleccionó aleatoriamente a 20 individuos de la población asignada a cada médico participante. La prevalencia se ponderó por edad, sexo y área geográfica. Se realizó una lectura centralizada de los registros electrocardiográficos. Resultados. Se evaluó a 8.343 personas (media de edad, 59,2 [intervalo de confianza del 95%, 58,6-59,8] años; el 52,4% mujeres). La prevalencia total de fibrilación auricular fue del 4,4% (intervalo de confianza del 95%, 3,8-5,1). La prevalencia fue similar en varones (4,4% [3,6-5,2]) y mujeres (4,5% [3,6-5,3]) y se incrementa progresivamente a partir de los 60 años de edad. En los mayores de 80 años, la prevalencia fue del 17,7% (14,1-21,3). En un 10% de pacientes se diagnosticó una fibrilación auricular no conocida. Conclusiones. La prevalencia de fibrilación auricular en la población general española mayor de 40 años es elevada, del 4,4%. La prevalencia es similar en varones y mujeres y se incrementa escalonadamente a partir de los 60 años. Se estima en más de 1 millón de pacientes con fibrilación auricular en la población española, de los que más de 90.000 están sin diagnosticar.

A 81-year-old woman was admitted for exertional angina. Coronary angiogram revealed a severely calcific proximal circumflex lesion. Rotational atherectomy was performed with 1.5 and 1.75 burrs, obtaining a good angiographic result. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) assessment revealed a large dissection parallel to the true lumen. We implanted a 3.0 mm × 38 mm Xience Prime(®) stent and postdilated it with a 3.0-mm non-compliant balloon. Final OCT pullback showed mild malapposed struts with large lumen area. 3D-OCT reconstruction confirmed a large lumen after stent implantation.

A49year-oldwomanwasreferredforincreasingdyspnoeaonexer-tion.Shehadsevereobesityanduncontrolledtype-2diabetesandwasacurrent smoker. Transthoracic echocardiogram was performed, show-ingseveresystolicdysfunction(EF0.30),moderatemitralregurgitation,elevated left ventricular filling pressures and moderate pulmonaryhypertension.Thus,coronaryangiogramwasindicated.Rightdominantcoronary artery showed no significant lesions and filled retrogradelyboth left anterior descending and circumflex arteries up to the leftmain. Several diagnostic catheters failed to intubate left main artery.Aortography revealed total left main occlusion.The patient was referred for surgery and a left internal mammaryartery (LIMA) bypass graft to left anterior descending artery (LAD)was performed. Patient experienced severe heart failure requiringhigh doses of inotrope and loop diuretics and was discharged 3 weeksafter admission. Unfortunately, 5-days after discharge the patient wasadmitted with severe biventricular failure. A second coronary angio-gram confirmed LIMA occlusion. We considered in a multidisciplinarymeeting to attempt the LM occlusion percutaneously with retrogradeinjections via right coronary artery.We faced the first problem of the absence of both radial pulses (longIntensiveCareadmission)andtheabsenceofleftfemoralpulse(severeperipheral disease). Thus, we made a “blind” antegrade approach via 6Fright femoral approach. A Judkins-left 4 6-Fr guiding catheter was placedin the left aortic sinus and we patiently advanced a Fielder XT guidewire(Ashahi Intecc Co., Japan) where we “guessed” the LM might be.