Association of the 894G>T polymorphism in the endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene with risk of acute myocardial infarction

Background: This study was designed to investigate the association of the 894G>T polymorphism in the eNOS gene with risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) on coronary angiography, and in-hospital mortality after AMI. Methods: We studied 1602 consecutive patients who were enrolled in the GEMIG study. The control group was comprised by 727 individuals, who were randomly selected from the general adult population. Results: The prevalence of the Asp298 variant of eNOS was not found to be significantly and independently associated with risk of AMI (RR = 1.08, 95%CI = 0.77–1.51, P = 0.663), extent of CAD on angiography (OR = 1.18, 95%CI = 0.63–2.23, P = 0.605) and in-hospital mortality (RR = 1.08, 95%CI = 0.29–4.04, P = 0.908). Conclusion: In contrast to previous reports, homozygosity for the Asp298 variant of the 894G>T polymorphism in the eNOS gene was not found to be associated with risk of AMI, extent of CAD and in-hospital mortality after AM

The additional value of patient-reported health status in predicting 1-year mortality after invasive coronary procedures: A report from the Euro Heart Survey on Coronary Revascularisation

Objective: Self-perceived health status may be helpful in identifying patients at high risk for adverse outcomes. The Euro Heart Survey on Coronary Revascularization (EHS-CR) provided an opportunity to explore whether impaired health status was a predictor of 1-year mortality in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing angiographic procedures. Methods: Data from the EHS-CR that included 5619 patients from 31 member countries of the European Society of Cardiology were used. Inclusion criteria for the current study were completion of a self-report measure of health status, the EuroQol Questionnaire (EQ-5D) at discharge and information on 1-year follow-up, resulting in a study population of 3786 patients. Results: The 1-year mortality was 3.2% (n = 120). Survivors reported fewer problems on the five dimensions of the EQ-5D as compared with non-survivors. A broad range of potential confounders were adjusted for, which reached a p<0.10 in the unadjusted analyses. In the adjusted analyses, problems with self-care (OR 3.45; 95% CI 2.14 to 5.59) and a low rating (≤ 60) on health status (OR 2.41; 95% CI 1.47 to 3.94) were the most powerful independent predictors of mortality, among the 22 clinical variables included in the analysis. Furthermore, patients who reported no problems on all five dimensions had significantly lower 1-year mortality rates (OR 0.47; 95% CI 0.28 to 0.81). Conclusions: This analysis shows that impaired health status is associated with a 2-3-fold increased risk of all-cause mortality in patients with CAD, independent of other conventional risk factors. These results highlight the importance of including patients' subjective experience of their own health status in the evaluation strategy to optimise risk stratification and management in clinical practice

Comparison of coronary collateral circulation in diabetic and nondiabetic patients suffering from coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS: Although it is well established that diabetes mellitus (DM) induces more severe coronary artery disease (CAD), it is not known whether it contributes to the development of coronary collateral circulation. The present study examines coronary collateral circulation in diabetic and nondiabetic patients with angiographically verified CAD. METHODS: The study group consisted of 463 diabetic patients (382 men, 81 women) with a mean age of 60.3 +/- 8.8 years, and 227 nondiabetic subjects (159 men, 68 women) with a mean age of 59.2 +/- 9 years. The extension and functional capacity of coronary collateral circulation was assessed according to the Cohen and Rentrop grading system of 0 to III. RESULTS: We found that diabetic patients had grade III collateral circulation more frequently than nondiabetic subjects (13.2 vs. 8.5%, p < 0.01). This finding was even more pronounced in diabetic men aged < 55 years compared with both nondiabetic men (20 vs. 3.4%, p < 0.001) and diabetic women (20 vs. 2.2%, p < 0.001). Grade III collateral circulation was found to develop mainly at the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery and the right coronary artery (RCA), where complete occlusions of coronary arteries usually occur. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetic patients with CAD develop more extensive coronary collateral circulation than nondiabetic subjects, especially men aged < 55 years. The collateral circulation mainly develops at the LAD and RCA.Clin Cardio