Journal of the American College of Cardiology
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J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. · Sep 2011
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyLeft ventricular ejection fraction assessment in older adults: an adjunct to natriuretic peptide testing to identify risk of new-onset heart failure and cardiovascular death?
The goal of this paper was to determine whether assessment of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) enhances prediction of new-onset heart failure (HF) and cardiovascular mortality over and above N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level in older adults. ⋯ Assessment of LVEF in HF-free older adults based on NT-proBNP levels should be considered on an individual basis, as such assessments do not routinely improve prognostication.
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J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. · Sep 2011
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyThe CT-STAT (Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography for Systematic Triage of Acute Chest Pain Patients to Treatment) trial.
The purpose of this study was to compare the efficiency, cost, and safety of a diagnostic strategy employing early coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) to a strategy employing rest-stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) in the evaluation of acute low-risk chest pain. ⋯ In emergency department acute, low-risk chest pain patients, the use of CCTA results in more rapid and cost-efficient safe diagnosis than rest-stress MPI. Further studies comparing CCTA to other diagnostic strategies are needed to optimize evaluation of specific patient subsets. (Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography for Systematic Triage of Acute Chest Pain Patients to Treatment [CT-STAT]; NCT00468325).