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Gender-related differences in outcome after myocardial infarction may relate to biased treatment allocation. To address this concern we analyzed 573 patients presenting with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and treated within 6 hours with reperfusion therapy. Two-hundred eighty patients (49%) received direct coronary angioplasty, whereas 293 (51%) received thrombolytics followed by angioplasty (p = NS). Seventy-four percent were men and 26% were women (p = NS for differences in sex distribution between the 2 treatment groups). Women were older in both groups (p < 0.01). Inferior AMI was seen more often in women (64% of direct angioplasty, 71% of lytic first) than in men (51% and 59%, respectively; p < 0.03). There was no gender-related differences in presence of multivessel coronary artery disease, prior AMI, prior bypass surgery, baseline ejection fraction, percentage of patients with ejection fraction < or = 40%, number of narrowings dilated, or angioplasty success. Patients who underwent direct angioplasty had more multivessel disease (p < 0.001) and prior coronary artery bypass surgery (p = 0.002). After a mean follow-up of 129 +/- 113 weeks, no gender-related differences were seen in the need for cardiac catheterization, documented restenosis, AMI, coronary artery bypass surgery, clinical ischemia, or death. Patients treated with direct angioplasty were more likely to undergo coronary artery bypass surgery (p < 0.05) or to die (p < 0.01). Thus, women undergoing reperfusion therapy for ST-segment elevation were older than men, with a higher frequency of inferior wall AMI. No specific gender-related bias in treatment allocation was evident.

We retrospectively studied the outcomes of patients with acute myocardial infarction who were treated with either direct angioplasty or thrombolytics followed by angioplasty. Two patient cohorts were analyzed: a previously reported (in regard to short-term follow-up) group of 371 patients who now have long-term follow-up (mean, 3.4 years) of survival and event-free survival and a second group of 202 patients who have been treated since publication of our initial data. Both 1-year and 2-year survival were significantly better (p = 0.01 and 0.02, respectively) in the group that was treated with thrombolytics first. Event-free survival (i.e., no myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass graft surgery, repeat angioplasty) was better overall (p < 0.01) for the group that was treated with thrombolytics first. The more recently treated group of patients also showed benefit in regard to both survival (p = 0.002) and event-free survival (p < 0.01) over a short-term follow-up period (mean, 39 weeks) for patients who were treated initially with thrombolytics as compared with those who were treated with direct angioplasty. Although the initial cohort was very similar to the treatment groups except for age (mean age for the direct angioplasty group was 62 +/- 12 years vs 57 +/- 11 years for thrombolytics first group, (p = 0.0002), several differences existed in the more recent treatment groups. The patients who were more recently treated with direct angioplasty were older, had lower mean ejection fraction, had more extensive coronary artery disease, and were more likely to have had prior coronary artery bypass grafting.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

We evaluated exercise echocardiography as a screening test for coronary artery disease in 228 patients, all of whom underwent subsequent coronary angiography. After an echocardiogram at rest was obtained, each patient performed maximal, symptom-limited, upright treadmill exercise, immediately after which repeat imaging was performed. The exercise echocardiogram was abnormal if any segment failed to become hypercontractile with exercise, and these regional wall motion abnormalities were used to predict the extent and distribution of coronary disease. At subsequent angiography, coronary stenosis was defined as significant if luminal diameter was reduced greater than or equal to 50%. Compared with electrocardiography, exercise echocardiography was more sensitive (97 vs 51%) and specific (64 vs 62%), and had higher positive (90 vs 82%) and negative (87 vs 28%) predictive accuracies. Exercise echocardiography was also highly predictive of the extent (no, 1-, 2- or 3-vessel disease) and distribution (which vessel) of coronary stenoses. It is concluded that exercise echocardiography is an excellent screening test for the presence, extent and distribution of coronary artery disease.

Important sex-related differences have been recognized in several coronary artery disease presentation and treatment subsets. Little data exist describing the relative findings and outcome in women versus men who received direct percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction. We studied 670 such patients of whom 464 (89%) were men and 206 were women. The women were significantly older (67 ± 11 years vs 61 ± 11, p < 0.001) but had undergone less prior coronary artery bypass graft surgery (6% vs 12%, p = 0.02), whereas prior myocardial infarction (17% women vs 22% men) and coronary artery disease distribution were not significantly different. Forty-one percent of women and 43% of men had single-vessel disease (p = NS). Both women and men had 1.5 lesions/patient dilated acutely, with similar success rates (95% women, 91% men; p = 0.08). Mean ejection fractions were similar (48% in both groups), and a similar percentage in each group had an ejection fraction

Exercise echocardiography was used to assess the adequacy of regional myocardial perfusion in 125 patients who had undergone coronary artery bypass grafting. There were 108 men and 17 women (mean age 65 years) evaluated from 6 weeks to 16 years (mean 7 years) after surgery. Resting parasternal long- and short-axis and apical 4- and 2-chamber echocardiograms were recorded, digitized and stored. Maximal, symptom-limited upright treadmill exercise was then performed with continuous electrocardiographic monitoring. Repeat echocardiographic imaging and digitization were repeated within 1 minute of exercise termination. Resting and postexercise digitized echocardiograms were compared. A normal regional wall motion response to exercise consisted of improved segmental contraction and was used to predict uncompromised regional vascular supply. Unimproved or worsened segmental contraction after exercise was abnormal and was used as a predictor of regional vascular insufficiency. All patients underwent cardiac catheterization within 1 month after exercise testing. Regional coronary insufficiency was considered to exist when a segment's major vascular conduit exhibited greater than or equal to 50% luminal diameter reduction. Compared with the simultaneously acquired stress electrocardiogram, exercise echocardiography had superior sensitivity (98 vs 41%), specificity (92 vs 67%), positive predictive value (99 vs 91%), and negative predictive value (86 vs 12%) (p less than 0.001, 0.1, 0.01 and less than 0.001, respectively). In addition, exercise echocardiography correlated closely with the extent and regional distribution of compromised vascular supply. Exercise echocardiography is a highly sensitive, specific and accurate screening test for abnormal global and regional myocardial vascular supply in patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass grafting.

We studied 417 patients undergoing single vessel culprit lesion percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) for acute myocardial infarction to determine the impact of disease in other vessels. Group A (189 patients, 45%) had coronary artery disease (>70% stenosis) in at least 1 additional vessel while Group B (228 patients, 55%) did not. The groups were similar in sex distribution (A = 75% male, B = 76%), number of lesions in the single culprit vessel dilated (1 lesion in 83% A, 80% B), and PTCA success (A = 92%, B = 94%) (all p = NS). Group A patients were older (63 ± 10 vs. 56 ± 11 years) and had more prior myocardial infarctions (27% vs. 7%), and more prior coronary artery bypass grafting (15% vs. 0.4%) (all p < .01). Group A patients were more likely to have repeat catheterization (48% vs. 32%, p < .005) although restenosis of the infarct-related vessel was similar (A = 24%, B = 16%) (p = NS). Group A was more likely to need angioplasty in a 2nd vessel (23% vs. 8%) and to need coronary artery bypass grafting (20% vs. 8%) (both p < .001). Cumulative mortality was higher in Group A at 1 month (10% vs. 5%), 1 year (11% vs. 6%), and long-term (13% vs. 7%). This difference appeared to be due to the impact of lower mean ejection fraction in Group A. Conclusion: Treatment of acute myocardial infarction by direct PTCA of the culprit lesion can be performed with a high likelihood of success in patients with or without multivessel coronary artery disease. Patients with multivessel disease are identified as a high risk group for whom subsequent interventional therapy may be required after the acute event. Mortality, however, is affected more by left ventricular function than by the presence of multivessel disease.

Rapid measurement of an anticoagulant effect due to heparin is desirable in a variety of settings. Patients with cardiovascular diseases undergo heparinization for many reasons including management of unstable angina, in conjunction with thrombolytic therapy for myocardial infarction, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, extracorporeal bypass, atrial fibrillation with perceived embolic risk, prosthetic heart valves and several variants of cerebral vascular disease. 1–9 Standard clinical laboratory measurements of partial thromboplastin time (PTT) are cumbersome and slow, and prone to multiple potential sources of error. 2–4,10–13 To provide a rapid, simple, accurate bedside means of PTT measurement, the Hemochron system was used to assess a means of automated immediate analysis. We assessed the utility of this system in the cardiac catheterization laboratory by comparing PTT measurements derived from this technique with activated clotting times (ACT) in patients undergoing cardiac catheterization and angioplasty both before and after the procedure.

The timing and mechanisms of early (30 day) mortality in 330 consecutive patients (pts) treated with direct angioplasty less than 12 hours after onset of myocardial infarction (MI) without antecedent thrombolysis were studied. There were 38 deaths (11,5% of pts). with a majority being due to cardiogenic shock (76%). Other causes included acute closure (11%). death after emergency bypass surgery (5%), ventricular arrhythmias (5%), and respiratory failure (3%1. Therefore 37 of 38 deaths (97%) were cardiac. No deaths from stroke or cardiac rupture were seen, in contrast to trials of thrombolytic agents, Most deaths were seen early, with 47% occurring within 1 day, 35% from days 2–7, and 18% from days 8–30, Deaths from cardiogenic shock was the most common cause of death throughout this period: 83% of deaths in days 0–3, 88% of deaths in days 4–6, and 43% of deaths in days 8–30. The pts who died were significantly older (69 ± 11 vs. 61 ± 11 years, p l 0,0001), had more frequent direct angioplasty failure 124% vs 7%, P l 0.05), reduced ejection fraction (31 ± 17% vs 44 ± 14%, P l 0.0001), more multivessel disease (74% vs 54%, p l 0.05), and more anterior infarcts (74% vs 42%, p l 0.0005) than survivors, Gender, prior MI, and prior bypass surgery did not effect mortality. Conclusions Cardiogenic shock is the most common cause of early death after direct angioplasty for MI. Pts with one or more risk factors for early death may benefit from additional myocardial salvage or revascularization efforts in the early post-infarct period. Causes of death after direct angioplasty appear to be different than those described after lytic therapy for MI. Specifically, myocardial rupture and intracranial hemorrhage were not causes of death in this study population.