Acute left main coronary artery thrombosis due to cocaine use

It is common knowledge that cocaine has been linked to the development of various acute and chronic cardiovascular complications including acute coronary syndromes. We present a young, male patient, drug abuser who underwent CABG due to anterolateral myocardial infarction. Our presentation is one of the very rare cases reported in literature regarding acute thrombosis of left main coronary artery related to cocaine use, in a patient with normal coronary arteries, successfully operated. Drug-abusers seem to have increased mortality and morbidity after surgery and high possibility for stent thrombosis after percoutaneous coronary interventions, because of their usually terrible medical compliance and coexistent several problems of general health. There are no specific guidelines about treatment of thrombus formation in coronary arteries, as a consequence of cocaine use. So, any decision making concerning the final treatment of these patient is a unique and individualized approach. We strongly recommend that all these patients should be treated surgically, especially patients with thrombus into the left main artery

Alteration of Endothelin 1, MCP-1 and Chromogranin A in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing pulmonary vein isolation

Background: The relation between arrhythmias and stress is known. The aim of our current study was to elucidate whether plasma levels of previously described stress parameters are altered in highly symptomatic patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) per se and in patients undergoing ablation therapy by pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). Methods: 96 patients with AF undergoing PVI were recruited. Plasma levels of Endothelin-1 (ET-1), MCP-1 and Chromogranin-A (CGA) were measured before and three months after ablation completed with clinical follow-up with respect to AF recurrence. Additionally, we examined 40 healthy age-and sex-matched volunteers as a reference. Results: Symptomatic AF patients showed increased levels of ET-1 compared to healthy controls (2.62pg/ml vs. 1.57pg/ml;p<0.01). Baseline levels of ET-1 were higher in patients presenting with AF after PVI (2.96pg/ml vs. 2.57pg/ml;p = 0.02). The temporal comparison revealed decreased ET-1 levels in patients without (2.57pg/ml vs. 2.33pg/ml;p< 0.01) and unchanged ET-1 levels in patients with AF after PVI. Baseline MCP-1 was increased in AF patients vs. controls (268pg/ml vs. 227 pg/ml;p = 0.03). Both groups, with and without AF after PVI, showed an increase of MCP-1 compared to baseline (268pg/ml vs. 349pg/ml;p< 0.01;281pg/ml vs. 355pg/ml;p = 0.03). CGA was lower in AF patients compared to healthy controls (13.8ng/ml vs. 25.6ng/ml;p< 0.01). Over time patients without AF after PVI showed an increase of CGA (14.2ng/ml vs. 20.7ng/ml;p< 0.01). No change was observed in patients with AF after PVI. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated dysregulated levels of ET-1, MCP-1 and CGA in symptomatic AF patients. We could demonstrate an association between ET-1 to presence or absence of AF. Furthermore, we could show that a decrease of ET-1 as well as an increase of CGA after PVI, representing a trend towards control cohort levels, were both associated with restoration of sinus rhythm. These results provide new insights into the role of stress-related biomarkers in AF and AF treatment by ablation therapy

Immediate Risk for Cardiovascular Events and Suicide Following a Prostate Cancer Diagnosis: Prospective Cohort Study

Katja Fall and Fang Fang and colleagues find that men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer are at increased risk of cardiovascular events and suicide

Extreme exercise enhances chromogranin A levels correlating with stress levels but not with cardiac burden

OBJECTIVE: Stress and heart failure are associated with increased systemic levels of chromogranin A (CGA). Here we analyzed the effects of marathon running on systemic CGA levels and the association with cardiac burden and stress. METHODS: We recruited 47 lean and obese runners for a 10week training program aiming at running a marathon. Heart rates, individual fitness and marathon finishing times were monitored. CGA, proBNP and troponin T levels were analyzed by ELISA. RESULTS: We found a significant increase of CGA (+51%; p&lt;0.01) in lean runners after marathon. The obese group showed the highest troponin T (0.22ng/ml; p&lt;0.01) and proBNP (176.6ng/ml; p&lt;0.01) levels. There were no correlations between proBNP, troponin T and CGA. An inverse correlation (r=-0.45; p&lt;0.01) was found between CGA and finishing times. CONCLUSION: Marathon running is associated with increased CGA levels. However, this does not seem to reflect cardiac burden but rather marathon induced stress