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Thermoelectric materials transform a thermal gradient into electricity. The efficiency of this process relies on three material-dependent parameters: the Seebeck coefficient, the electrical resistivity and the thermal conductivity, summarized in the thermoelectric figure of merit. A large figure of merit is beneficial for potential applications such as thermoelectric generators. Here we report the thermal and electronic properties of thin-film Heusler alloys based on Fe 2 V 0.8 W 0.2 Al prepared by magnetron sputtering. Density functional theory calculations suggest that the thin films are metastable states, and measurements of the power factor-the ratio of the Seebeck coefficient squared divided by the electrical resistivity-suggest a high intrinsic figure of merit for these thin films. This may arise from a large differential density of states at the Fermi level and a Weyl-like electron dispersion close to the Fermi level, which indicates a high mobility of charge carriers owing to linear crossing in the electronic bands.

Four thermally cleavable polythiophene derivatives containing carbonate and solubilizing groups were synthesized for noncovalent modification of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). A well-dispersed polythiophene/SWCNTs composite was obtained by adsorption of the polymer at the SWCNT surface. The solution-processed composite film exhibited solid-state thermal cleavage of the insulating solubilizing group through decarboxylation, producing an insoluble composite film. The thermally cleavable composite film was evaluated for potential application as a thermoelectric (TE) material. The electrical conductivity (σ) of the thermally treated composite film was up to 250 times higher than that of the as-prepared composite film. The increased σ contributed to an increase in the power factor (PF). The ethanol-processed composite film could be applicable for green processing of a TE material using the less-toxic solvent. The substrate-free polythiophene/SWCNTs composite film prepared by simple solvent evaporation yielded a figure-of-merit of 3.1 × 10 -2 with a PF of 28.8 μW m -1 K -2 at 25 °C. This solution-processed methodology is beneficial for the development of a flexible TE material.

Complications after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) remain an important issue. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of systematic postprocedural multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) to detect subclinical complications after TAVI. From October 2013 to August 2015, a total of 135 patients who underwent transfemoral TAVI (n = 116) or transapical TAVI (n = 19) with Sapien XT and MDCT preprocedure and postprocedure were enrolled. Postprocedural MDCT findings were compared with the preprocedural MDCT findings. Cardiovascular complications were observed in 25.9% of patients, including 6 cases (4.5%) with major complications. Of those, clinically apparent major complications were reported in 2 cases including rupture of the sinus of Valsalva and iliac rupture. The complications in the remaining 4 cases (3.0%) included aortic dissection, aortic intramural hematoma, and left ventricular apical pseudoaneurysm, which were totally asymptomatic and only detected by MDCT. The apical pseudoaneurysm required surgical repair. Minor complications were observed in 21.5% of patients, 50% of which were subclinical. Only 1 case with femoral pseudoaneurysm required an additional procedure. Noncardiovascular findings were detected in 27.4% of patients; the most frequent were pleural effusions and atelectasis, which were predominantly observed in those treated through a transapical approach. Contrast-induced acute kidney injury after postprocedural MDCT was reported in 1 patient whose clinical course was complicated by sepsis. In conclusion, postprocedural MDCT was useful in detecting important subclinical complications that may affect the clinical course without deterioration of renal function., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: In patients with myocardial infarction (MI), microvascular obstruction (MVO) determined by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) is associated with left ventricular (LV) remodeling and worse prognosis.Methods and Results:In 71 patients with ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI) treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) and CMR were performed early after PCI. All patients underwent CMR at 6 months after hospital discharge to assess the occurrence of LV remodeling. The values of 3-dimensional (3D)-circumferential strain (CS), area change ratio (ACR), and 2-dimensional (2D)-CS were significantly different for the transmural extent of infarct, whereas the values of 3D- and 2D- longitudinal strain (LS) were not significantly different. In transmural infarct segments, the values of 3D-CS and ACR were significantly lower in segments with MVO than in those without MVO. At 6-month follow-up, LV remodeling was observed in 22 patients. In multivariable logistic regression models, global 3D-CS and ACR were significant determinants of LV remodeling rather than the number of MVO segments., Conclusions: Regional 3D-CS and ACR reflected the transmural extent of infarct and were significantly associated with the presence of MVO. In addition, global 3D-CS and ACR were preferable to the extent of MVO in the prediction of LV remodeling.

Very late stent thrombosis (VLST) is a serious complication after percutaneous coronary intervention. However, the best therapy for VLST with late-acquired incomplete stent apposition and incomplete neointimal coverage remains unknown. In these cases, neointimal coverage was nearly complete and no late-acquired malapposition was detected at 18 months after Endeavor zotarolimus-eluting stent (ZES) implantation for the treatment of VLST with late-acquired incomplete stent apposition after sirolimus-eluting stent implantation. We presented that Endeavor ZES implantation may become an attractive therapeutic strategy for the treatment of VLST with late-acquired incomplete stent apposition and incomplete neointimal coverage.

Aims: This study evaluated the clinical value of myocardial contrast-delayed enhancement (DE) with multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) for detecting microvascular obstruction (MVO) and left ventricular (LV) remodelling revealed by DE magnetic resonance imaging after acute myocardial infarction (AMI)., Methods and Results: In 92 patients with first AMI, MDCT without iodine reinjection was performed immediately following successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Delayed-enhancement magnetic resonance imaging performed in the acute and chronic phases was used to detect MVO and LV remodelling (any increase in LV end-systolic volume at 6 months after infarction compared with baseline). Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence (n = 33) or absence (n = 59) of heterogeneous enhancement (HE). Heterogeneous enhancement was defined as concomitant presence of hyper- and hypoenhancement within the infarcted myocardium on MDCT. Microvascular obstruction and LV remodelling were detected in 49 (53%) and 29 (32%) patients, respectively. In a multivariable analysis, HE and a relative CT density >2.20 were significant independent predictors for MVO [odds ratio (OR) 13.5; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.15-84.9; P = 0.005 and OR 12.0; 95% CI, 2.94-49.2; P < 0.001, respectively). The presence of HE and relative CT density >2.20 showed a high positive predictive value of 93%, and the absence of these two findings yielded a high negative predictive value of 90% for the predictive value of MVO. Heterogeneous enhancement was significantly associated with LV remodelling (OR 6.75; 95% CI, 1.56-29.29; P = 0.011)., Conclusion: Heterogeneous enhancement detected by MDCT immediately after primary PCI may provide promising information for predicting MVO and LV remodelling in patients with AMI., (Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2015. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Increased levels of uric acid (UA) have been associated with cardiovascular disease. This association is generally stronger in women than men. However, gender differences in the prognostic value of UA in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are unknown. We investigated gender differences in the relationship between UA level and the prognosis in patients with ACS., Method: This was an observational analysis of patients with ACS undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention enrolled in the Ibaraki Cardiac Assessment Study (ICAS) registry. We analyzed 1380 patients (330 women, 1050 men) with ACS who had information on UA. We assessed the association between UA and the incidence of major cardiovascular adverse events (MACE), defined as all-cause death, congestive heart failure, reinfarction, and stroke. Patients were divided according to gender-specific UA quartile., Results: The mean UA level in women was significantly lower than that in men (4.9mg/dl vs 5.9mg/dl, p<0.001). After a median duration of follow-up period of 437 days (interquartile range 222-801 days), MACE had occurred in 186 (13%) patients [56 (17%) events in women; 130 (12%) events in men]. Kaplan-Meier analysis for MACE-free survival demonstrated that a higher quartile of UA was associated with MACE in both women and men (p<0.001, p=0.002, respectively). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the highest quartile of UA, as compared with the lowest quartile of UA, was an independent predictor of MACE in women [hazard ratio (HR), 2.84; 95% CI, 1.19-6.77; p=0.018] but not in men (HR, 1.32; 95% CI, 0.66-2.64; p=0.422)., Conclusions: An increased level of UA was associated with MACE more strongly in women than in men with ACS. These results suggest that there are gender differences in the association of UA level with the prognosis in patients with ACS., (Copyright © 2015 Japanese College of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

We developed an original method of in situ nanoscale characterization of thermal resistance utilizing a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). The focused electron beam of the HRTEM was used as a contact-free heat source and a piezo-movable nanothermocouple was developed as a thermal detector. This method has a high flexibility of supplying thermal-flux directions for nano/microscale thermal conductivity analysis, and is a powerful way to probe the thermal properties of complex or composite materials. Using this method we performed reproducible measurements of electron beam-induced temperature changes in pre-selected sections of a heat-sink α-Al(2)O(3)/epoxy-based resin composite. Observed linear behavior of the temperature change in a filler reveals that Fourier's law holds even at such a mesoscopic scale. In addition, we successfully determined the thermal resistance of the nanoscale interfaces between neighboring α-Al(2)O(3) fillers to be 1.16 × 10(-8) m(2)K W(-1), which is 35 times larger than that of the fillers themselves. This method that we have discovered enables evaluation of thermal resistivity of composites on the nanoscale, combined with the ultimate spatial localization and resolution sample analysis capabilities that TEM entails.

Background: The association of Mehran risk score (MRS) with long-term prognosis in patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has not been fully reported. We investigated the association between MRS and clinical outcomes in patients who underwent PCI., Methods: Study subjects comprised 2198 patients treated with PCI from the Ibaraki Cardiovascular Assessment Study multicenter registry, excluding patients receiving hemodialysis or who died within 7 days. We categorized them into 4 groups according to MRS (low-risk: ≤5; medium-risk: 6-10; high-risk: 11-16; and very high-risk: ≥16). Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) was defined as an increase of 0.5mg/dL or 25% in pre-PCI serum creatinine within 1-week post procedure. We evaluated CI-AKI and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), and defined as all-cause death, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, or cerebrovascular disorder (stroke or transient ischemic attack)., Results: A total of 192 (8.7%) patients developed CI-AKI. At multivariate analysis, odds ratio for CI-AKI was 4.09 (95% CI: 1.72-9.17, p=0.002) in the very high-risk group, 1.49 (95% CI: 0.89-2.42, p=0.120) in the high-risk group, and 1.08 (95% CI: 0.74-1.54, p=0.693) in the medium-risk group, as compared with the low-risk group. MACCE in the very high-risk group was more than 5-fold higher [hazard ratio (HR) 5.40, 95% CI: 2.96-9.28, p<0.001] compared with the low-risk group and was also increased in the high-risk (HR 3.72, CI: 2.59-5.32, p<0.001) and medium-risk groups (HR 1.97, CI: 1.45-2.69, p<0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that increasing risk for MACCE was seen across the groups as MRS increased (p<0.001)., Conclusion: MRS might provide potentially useful information for prediction of CI-AKI and clinical outcomes after PCI., (Copyright © 2015 Japanese College of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Coronary plaques with positive remodeling (PR) and low-attenuation plaques (LAP) by computed tomography angiography (CTA) might be associated with plaque vulnerability. The purpose of this study was to assess the relation between coronary plaques with PR and LAP by CTA and fibrous cap thickness measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT)., Methods: We used CTA and OCT to assess 102 coronary plaques in patients with coronary artery disease (unstable angina pectoris, n=24; stable angina pectoris, n=78). Plaque characteristics were divided into three groups: 2-feature-positive plaques (PR and LAP; n=32), 1-feature-positive plaques (PR or LAP; n=20), and 2-feature-negative plaques (neither PR nor LAP; n=50). PR was defined as remodeling index (RI) of >1.05 and LAP was defined as CT density value <50HU., Results: There were significant differences between the three plaque groups with respect to fibrous cap thickness measured by OCT: 76±24μm in 2-feature-positive plaques, 154±51μm in 1-feature-positive plaques, and 192±49μm in 2-feature-negative plaques (P<0.001). The RI (1.21±0.06, 1.14±0.05, P=0.011) and the presence of thin cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) (<70-μm thickness) (75%, 15%, P=0.001) were significantly higher in UAP than in SAP patients with 2-feature-positive plaques, whereas fibrous cap thickness (68.9±24.1, 92.1±21.9μm, P<0.001) was lower in the UAP patients. In UAP patients, the presence of ring-like enhancement showed higher accuracy of 88% for detection of TCFA., Conclusions: Coronary PR and LAP by CTA were associated with the degree of fibrous cap thickness measured by OCT. CTA can non-invasively provide promising information on plaque vulnerability by identifying coronary plaque with PR and LAP, especially ring-like enhancement., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background and Purpose: There are a few retrospective subgroup analyses or registries of large-vessel (≥ 3.5mm) stenting. We investigated clinical outcomes of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents (DES) and bare-metal stents (BMS) in large coronary vessels., Methods and Subjects: Of 1100 STEMI patients registered in the Ibaraki Cardiovascular Assessment Study (ICAS) multicenter registry from April 2007 to June 2012 who underwent PCI, we enrolled 454 patients (65.8 ± 12.7 years old, 81% male) with ≥ 3.5-mm stents. We excluded 53 patients with cardiogenic shock or left main trunk lesions. The remaining 401 patients were divided into Group-D, PCI with DES (n = 184), and Group-B, PCI with BMS (n = 217). Propensity score analysis matched 1:1 according to treatment with DES (n = 101) or with BMS (n = 101). We evaluated major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) and incidence of stent thrombosis (ST). MACCE was defined as all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), target-vessel revascularization (TVR), or cerebrovascular accident (CVA)., Essential Results: During a mean follow-up period of 526 days, all-cause death, MI, CVA, MACCE, and ST were not significantly different in Group-D versus Group-B (all-cause death: 4.35% vs. 4.61%, p = 0.90; MI: 0% vs. 0%; CVA: 2.72% vs. 3.23%, p = 0.76; MACCE: 15.2% vs. 20.3%, p = 0.19; and ST: 0.0% vs. 1.38%, p = 0.11). After adjusting for age, insulin use, multivessel disease, intra-aortic balloon pump use, culprit lesions, and estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/min/1.73 m(2), MACCE was not significantly different between the groups (odds ratio: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.40-1.23; p = 0.21). However, TVR was significantly lower in Group-D than Group-B in Kaplan-Meier analysis (p = 0.048) after propensity score matching., Principal Conclusion: There was no advantage to using a DES in large vessels for preventing a hard endpoint, whereas DES use resulted in a significant reduction in TVR in the patients with STEMI in this registry., (Copyright © 2014 Japanese College of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The association between contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has not been fully reported. We evaluated the association of CI-AKI on cardiovascular events in ACS patients with CKD., Methods: A total of 1059 ACS patients who underwent emergent PCI in our multicenter registry were enrolled (69±12 years, 804 men, 604 STEMI patients). CKD was defined as at least stage 3 CKD, and CI-AKI was defined as an increase of at least 0.5 mg/dL and/or an increase of at least 25% of pre-PCI to post-PCI serum creatinine levels within 1 week after the procedure. Primary endpoints included cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and cerebrovascular disorder (stroke or transient ischemic attack)., Results: In our study, 368 (34.7%) patients had CKD. During follow-up periods (435±330 days), CI-AKI and primary endpoints occurred in 164 (15.5%) patients and 106 (10.0%) patients, respectively. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards model revealed that age, female gender, peak creatinine kinase>4000, IABP use, CI-AKI (hazard ratio [HR], 2.17; 95% confidential interval [CI], 1.52 to 4.00; P<0.001), and CKD (HR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.01 to 2.72; P=0.046) were independent predictors of primary endpoints. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that occurrence of primary endpoints increased significantly with an increase in CKD stage, and CI-AKI yielded worse long-term prognosis at every stage of CKD (P<0.001)., Conclusions: CI-AKI was revealed to be a significant incremental predictor of cardiovascular events at each stage of CKD in ACS patients., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The prophylactic benefit of statins in reducing the incidence of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) has been investigated in several studies with conflicting results. We sought to investigate whether statin pretreatment prevents CI-AKI in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)., Methods: A total of 2198 CAD patients who underwent PCI, except for those undergoing dialysis or who died within 7 days after angioplasty, were analyzed from the ICAS (Ibaraki Cardiovascular Assessment Study) multicenter registry. Analyzed subjects were divided into 2 groups according to statin pretreatment: statin pretreatment (n=839) and non-statin pretreatment (n=1359). Selection bias of statin pretreatment was adjusted by propensity score-matching method: pretreatment statin (n=565) and non-statin pretreatment (n=565). CI-AKI was defined as an increase in serum creatinine of ≥ 25% or 0.5mg/dl from baseline within 1 week of contrast medium exposure., Results: A total of 192 (8.7%) patients developed CI-AKI. No significant differences were observed in baseline patient characteristics between the statin and non-statin pretreatment groups after propensity score matching. In the propensity score-matched groups, the incidence of CI-AKI was significantly lower in patients with statin pretreatment than in those without statin pretreatment (3.5% vs.10.6%, odds ratio [OR]: 0.31, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.18-0.52, P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that statin pretreatment remained an independent negative predictor of CI-AKI (OR: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.18-0.53, P<0.001) among propensity score-matched subjects., Conclusions: Statin pretreatment was associated with a significant decrease in the risk of CI-AKI in CAD patients undergoing PCI in the ICAS Registry., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: To evaluate the incidence and clinical predictors of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), unstable angina pectoris/non-STEMI (UAP/NSTEMI), and stable AP (SAP) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)., Methods and Results: We enrolled 1,954 patients (SAP, n=1,222; UAP/NSTEMI, n=277; STEMI, n=455) who underwent PCI. Patients were categorized according to contrast media volume/estimated glomerular filtration rate ratio (CV/eGFR low: <2.0, mid: 2.0-2.9, high: ≥3.0). CI-AKI was defined as an increase in serum creatinine of 0.5mg/dl or 25% within 1 week from contrast-medium injection. The incidence of CI-AKI was highest among the STEMI patients (SAP, 4.24%; UAP/NSTEMI, 10.7%; STEMI, 16.1%, P<0.01). Significant predictors of CI-AKI were emergency PCI (odds ratio [OR] 3.70; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.55-5.37; P<0.001), ejection fraction <40% (OR 2.04; 95% CI 1.24-3.36; P=0.005), and hemoglobin <10g/dl (OR 0.02; 95% CI 1.17-4.55; P=0.02) after multivariate logistic regression analysis. In the SAP group, a CV/eGFR ratio ≥3.0 was a significant predictor of CI-AKI (P=0.048), but not in UAP/NSTEMI and STEMI patients., Conclusions: UAP/NSTEMI and STEMI patients undergoing emergency PCI were at high risk for CI-AKI regardless of CV/eGFR ratio. Minimizing the dose of contrast medium based on eGFR might be valuable in reducing the risk of CI-AKI in SAP patients.

Background: Triple antithrombotic therapy increases the risk of bleeding events in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. However, it remains unclear whether good control of percent time in therapeutic range is associated with reduced occurrence of bleeding complications in patients undergoing triple antithrombotic therapy., Methods and Results: This study included 2648 patients (70 ± 11 years; 2037 men) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with stent in the Ibaraki Cardiovascular Assessment Study registry and received dual antiplatelet therapy with or without warfarin. Clinical end points were defined as the occurrence of major bleeding complications (MBC), major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event, and all-cause death. Among these 2648 patients, 182 (7%) patients received warfarin. After a median follow-up period of 25 months (interquartile range, 15-35 months), MBC had occurred in 48 (2%) patients, major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event in 484 (18%) patients, and all-cause death in 206 (8%) patients. Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that triple antithrombotic therapy was the independent predictor for the occurrence of MBC (hazard ratio, 7.25; 95% confidence interval, 3.05-17.21; P<0.001). The time in therapeutic range value did not differ between the patients with and without MBC occurrence (83% [interquartile range, 50%-90%] versus 75% [interquartile range, 58%-87%]; P=0.7). However, the mean international normalized ratio of prothrombin time at the time of MBC occurrence was 3.3 ± 2.1. Triple antithrombotic therapy did not have a predictive value for the occurrence of all-cause death (P=0.1) and stroke (P=0.2)., Conclusions: Triple antithrombotic therapy predisposes patients to an increased risk of MBC regardless of the time in therapeutic range.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate acute hemodynamic effects and safety of landiolol in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)., Background: Beta-blockers have been proven to be effective for the treatment of ischemic heart disease in both the acute and chronic phases. Landiolol, an ultra-short-acting and highly cardioselective beta-1 blocker, has become available in Japan. In the clinical setting, the hemodynamic response to landiolol administration remains unclear in patients presenting with ACS., Methods: From August 2007 to April 2008, landiolol was administered intravenously immediately before reperfusion procedure in 22 consecutive ACS patients (mean age, 63±9 years; 15 men) with a heart rate (HR) of ≥70 beats/min. The initial intravenous administration dose of landiolol was 20 μg/kg/min in all patients. The maintenance dose was titrated with the aim of reducing HR by 15%. Acute hemodynamic data including HR and systolic and diastolic blood pressure were serially evaluated., Results: HR dropped significantly (from 87±11 to 72±8beats/min, p<0.001) 20 min after landiolol initiation. However, systolic and diastolic pressure remained unchanged during administration of landiolol. Although landiolol was discontinued in 2 patients because of sinus bradycardia, no serious complications such as advanced degree atrioventricular block, requiring temporary cardiac pacing, severe hypotension, cardiogenic shock, or deterioration of heart failure were observed in the patients receiving landiolol., Conclusions: Landiolol was safe and effective in reducing oxygen demand of the ischemic heart by reducing only HR without lowering blood pressure in patients with ACS undergoing PCI., (Copyright © 2012 Japanese College of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether combination therapy of clopidogrel and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) causes higher numbers of cardiovascular events than clopidogrel alone in Japanese patients., Background: PPIs are often prescribed in combination with clopidogrel following coronary stenting. PPIs are reported to diminish the effect of clopidogrel because both are metabolized by CYP2C19. However, no reports address the effects of PPIs on cardiovascular events following coronary stenting in the Japanese population., Methods: A total of 1,887 patients treated with clopidogrel following coronary stenting were enrolled in the Ibaraki Cardiac Assessment Study (ICAS) registry. All subjects were classified into two groups according to treatment without (n = 819) or with (n = 1,068) PPI. Propensity score analysis matched 1:1 according to treatment without PPI (n = 500) or with PPI (n = 500). Primary endpoint was the composite of all-cause death or myocardial infarction., Results: No significant difference was observed in the primary endpoint between the group without PPI and the group with PPI (4.6% vs. 4.6%, P = 0.77). In contrast, a significant difference was found between the group without PPI and with PPI in regard to the incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding at the end of the follow-up period and the specific PPI prescribed (2.4% vs. 0.8%, adjusted HR = 0.30, 95% Confidence interval 0.08-0.87, P = 0.026) after propensity score matching., Conclusions: No significant association between PPI use and primary endpoint was observed in the Japanese population, whereas PPI use resulted in a significant reduction in the rate of gastrointestinal bleeding., (Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objectives: The authors used multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) to study the relation between culprit plaque characteristics and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) elevation after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)., Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention is often complicated by post-procedural myocardial necrosis manifested by elevated cardiac biomarkers., Methods: Stable angina patients (n = 107) with normal pre-PCI cTnT levels underwent 64-slice MDCT before PCI to evaluate plaque characteristics of culprit lesions. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to presence (group I, n = 36) or absence (group II, n = 71) of post-PCI cTnT elevation ≥3 times the upper limit of normal (0.010 ng/ml) at 24 h after PCI., Results: Computed tomography attenuation values were significantly lower in group I than in group II (43.0 [26.5 to 75.7] HU vs. 94.0 [65.0 to 109.0] HU, p < 0.001). Remodeling index was significantly greater in group I than in group II (1.20 ± 0.18 vs. 1.04 ± 0.15, p < 0.001). Spotty calcification was observed significantly more frequently in group I than in group II (50% vs. 11%, p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed presence of positive remodeling (remodeling index >1.05; odds ratio: 4.54; 95% confidence interval: 1.36 to 15.9; p = 0.014) and spotty calcification (odds ratio: 4.27; 95% confidence interval: 1.30 to 14.8; p = 0.016) were statistically significant independent predictors for cTnT elevation. For prediction of cTnT elevation, the presence of all 3 variables (CT attenuation value <55 HU; remodeling index >1.05, and spotty calcification) showed a high positive predictive value of 94%, and their absence showed a high negative predictive value of 90%., Conclusions: MDCT may be useful in detecting which lesions are at high risk for myocardial necrosis after PCI., (Copyright © 2012 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: This study evaluated the clinical value of myocardial contrast delayed enhancement (DE) with multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) for predicting clinical outcome after acute myocardial infarction (AMI)., Background: Although some studies have described the use of MDCT for assessment of myocardial viability after AMI, clinical experience remains limited., Methods: In 102 patients with first AMI, 64-slice MDCT without iodine reinjection was performed immediately following successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We measured the size of myocardial contrast DE on MDCT and compared it with clinical outcome. Primary composite cardiac events were cardiac death or hospitalization for worsening heart failure., Results: Among the 102 patients (24 ± 10 months follow-up), 19 patients experienced primary composite cardiac events (cardiac death, n = 7; heart failure, n = 12). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed higher risk of cardiac events for patients in the third tertile of myocardial contrast DE size (≥ 36 g) than for those in the other 2 tertiles (p < 0.0001). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis indicated that myocardial contrast DE size (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] for tertile 3 vs. 1: 16.1, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.45 to 72.4, p = 0.022; HR for tertile 3 vs. 2: 5.06, 95% CI: 1.25 to 22.7, p = 0.039) was a significant independent predictor for cardiac events after adjustment for Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction risk score, left ventricular ejection fraction, total defect score on single-photon emission CT with technetium tetrofosmin, and transmural extent of myocardial contrast DE on MDCT., Conclusions: Myocardial contrast DE size on MDCT immediately after primary PCI may provide promising information for predicting clinical outcome in patients with AMI., (© 2012 American College of Cardiology Foundation.)