International journal of cardiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Vernakalant: conversion of atrial fibrillation in patients with ischemic heart disease.
Vernakalant is a novel, relatively atrial-selective antiarrhythmic drug. This analysis assessed the efficacy and safety of intravenous vernakalant for the rapid conversion of atrial fibrillation (AF) to sinus rhythm in patients with a history of ischemic heart disease (IHD). ⋯ Vernakalant was safe and well tolerated in AF/AFL patients with a history of IHD, and was significantly more effective than placebo for the acute conversion of AF regardless of IHD status.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Sinus rhythm versus atrial fibrillation in elderly patients with chronic heart failure--insight from the Cardiac Insufficiency Bisoprolol Study in Elderly.
It has been suggested that patients with chronic HF and atrial fibrillation (AF) may respond differently to beta-blockers than those in sinus rhythm (SR). ⋯ Elderly patients with chronic HF and AF derive comparable clinical benefits from beta-blocker titration as those in SR. Patients with AF tolerate higher beta-blocker doses than those in SR, which appears to be related to higher baseline HR.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Antiplatelet effect of 600- and 300-mg loading doses of clopidogrel in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: an analysis of the ARMYDA-6 MI (Antiplatelet therapy for Reduction of MYocardial Damage during Angioplasty-Myocardial Infarction) Study.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
MR-pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP) predicts short- and long-term outcomes in respiratory tract infections: a prospective validation study.
Previous research found precursor levels of the atrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP) to be promising prognostic markers. This study aims to validate these findings and describe patterns of MR-proANP in a large cohort of patients with lower respiratory tract infections. ⋯ This study confirms the high prognostic performance of MR-proANP for short- and long-term mortality, particularly its high negative predictive value, in lower respiratory tract infections and community-acquired pneumonia, thereby complementing clinical risk assessment with the pneumonia severity index.
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Multicenter Study
Effect of an invasive strategy on in-hospital outcome and one-year mortality in women with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction.
Subgroup analyses from randomized studies show inconsistent results regarding an early invasive approach in women with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). We sought to investigate the impact of an invasive strategy in clinical practice, analyzing data from the German Acute Coronary Syndromes registry (ACOS). ⋯ In clinical practice women presenting with NSTEMI have a long-term benefit from an invasive therapeutic strategy with a significant reduction in mortality as well as the composite endpoint of death/MI.