64层螺旋CT联合超敏C反应蛋白、D-二聚体、同型半胱氨酸检测急性冠脉综合征患者冠状动脉斑块稳定性的临床价值

目的探讨64层螺旋CT(64-MSCT)联合超敏C反应蛋白(hsCRP)、D-二聚体、同型半胱氨酸(Hcy)检测急性冠脉综合征(ACS)患者冠状动脉斑块稳定性的临床价值。方法进行冠脉造影和CT成像的96例患者分为ACS组31例,稳定型心绞痛(SAP)组35例,对照组30例。根据MSCT检测的冠状动脉斑块结果将ACS组和SAP组进一步分为易损斑块组、混合斑块组、稳定斑块组,每组22例。检测血清hsCRP、Hcy水平,血浆、D-二聚体水平,64-MSCT判断冠状动脉粥样硬化斑块的性质。结果 ACS组易损斑块、混合斑块的分布显著高于SAP组,稳定斑块的分布显著低于SAP组。SAP组、ACS组hsCRP、D-二聚体、Hcy水平明显高于对照组,SAP组和ACS组间也有显著差异。各斑块组hsCRP、D-二聚体、Hcy水平均明显高于对照组。易损斑块组、混合斑块组hsCRP、D-二聚体、Hcy水平明显高于稳定斑块组。易损斑块组hsCRP、D-二聚体水平明显高于混合斑块组。结论 64层螺旋CT联合超敏C反应蛋白、D-二聚体、同型半胱氨酸检测可作为冠状动脉斑块不稳定的预测指标。     

急性冠状动脉综合征患者血清hs-CRP与颈动脉粥样硬化的相关性研究

目的探讨急性冠状动脉综合征(ACS)患者颈动脉粥样硬化与血清超敏-C反应蛋白(hs-CRP)的相关性。方法对本院80例ACS患者和健康体检者86例均进行颈动脉超声检查,测量颈动脉内膜中层厚度(IMT),观察有无颈动脉斑块形成及斑块的性质,同时进行血清hs-CRP浓度的测定。结果两组hs-CRP浓度间差异有显著性意义(P<0.05)。ACS组中正常8例,增厚15例,生成斑块57例,3组患者hs-CRP间差异有非常显著性意义(P<0.01),且两两比较各组患者hs-CRP水平间差异亦均有非常显著性意义(P<0.01)。颈动脉斑块生成者中稳定斑块者与不稳定斑块者hs-CRP间差异亦有非常显著性意义(P<0.01)。结论血清hs-CRP与急性冠状动脉综合征患者颈动脉粥样硬化的发生有一定相关性,炎症反应可能参与了急性冠状动脉综合征颈动脉粥样硬化的形成。     

64排螺旋CT检测冠状动脉病变与同型半胱氨酸水平的相关性研究

目的 探讨64排螺旋CT(MSCT)检测冠状动脉病变与同型半胱氨酸水平的相关性.方法 入选研究对象87例,均未接受叶酸和(或)维生素B12等治疗,分为急性冠状动脉综合征(ACS)组33例、稳定型心绞痛(SAP)组29例和正常对照组25例,均行冠状动脉MSCT成像检查,根据CT值进一步将ACS和SAP患者分为易损斑块组26例,混合斑块组19例,钙化斑块组17例;对所有研究对象检测血清同型半胱氨酸(Hcy)浓度.结果 3组间血清Hcy浓度按ACS组(16.44±5.48) μmol/L、SAP组(13.06±5.80) μmol/L、正常对照组(9.94±4.23) μmol/L顺序递减(均P＜0.01);易损斑块组和混合斑块组血清Hcy浓度均高于钙化斑块组,为(16.50±5.24) μmol/L、(15.51±6.24) μmol/L vs(11.63±5.21) μmol/L(均P＜0.01);ACS组与SAP组斑块构成比不同(x2=7.628,P＜0.05);ACS组易损斑块检出率(42.4％)高于SAP组(17.2％),ACS组钙化斑块检出率(18.2％)低于SAP组(48.3％)(均P＜0.05);斑块的不同性质与血清Hcy浓度间存在相关关系(rs=0.467,P＜0.01).结论 冠状动脉MSCT联合血清Hcy化验检查可作为诊断冠心病并预测其严重程度的无创方法在临床上得以应用.     

Acute respiratory tract infections: a potential trigger for the acute coronary syndrome

Clinical studies suggest that acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) may be a risk factor for the acute coronary syndrome (ACS). ARTI is associated with an increased risk for ACS up to 2 weeks prior to a cardiac event. The mechanism that may underlie this association is unclear. Infections are thought to play a role in the progression and instability of atherosclerotic plaques, resulting in plaque rupture, sudden constriction, and/or blockage of coronary arteries. Inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and thrombotic activation seem to play an important role in this. Influenza vaccination may reduce the risk of ACS in patients with coronary artery disease. Future studies will provide more information about the underlying mechanisms of infection-related ACS.     

Assessment of vulnerable plaque and vulnerable patient by optical coherence tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an intravascular imaging modality, which provides high resolution images up to 10-20 microm. This feature of OCT allows the visualization of specific components of the atherosclerotic plaques in vivo, similar to the histological examinations in vitro. OCT has made a great contribution to the investigation of the pathophysiology of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in vivo. Furthermore, OCT has a potential not only to detect vulnerable plaques but also to identify vulnerable patients, and may enable us to predict and prevent ACS in the near future.     

The Potential Role of Combined Highly Sensitive Troponin and Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography in the Evaluation of Patients with Suspected Acute Coronary Syndrome in the Emergency Department

The evaluation and triage of patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains to be challenging despite available guidelines and clinical evidence. The current guidelines in the USA recommend clinical risk assessment based on cardiovascular risk factors followed by serial electrocardiograms and conventional cardiac troponin measurements, which are supplemented by advanced non-invasive cardiac testing in the majority of patients. This approach is safe, but leads to a lengthy work-up and high cost of care. There is clinical need for diagnostic strategies that will lead to rapid and reliable triage of patients with suspected ACS. In this review, we will summarize the experience and evidence for the use of highly sensitive troponin (hsTn) in the rapid and efficient evaluation of patients with suspected ACS. We will also review the available literature on the use of coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) in the rapid evaluation of patients with suspected ACS. We will discuss the opportunities for the combined use of hsTn and coronary CTA in this population. Finally, we will outline the possible implementation of combined use of hsTn and coronary CTA in the evaluation of patients with suspected ACS in the ED.     

Intracoronary Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) Imaging for Detection of Lipid Content of Coronary Plaques: Current Experience and Future Perspectives

Acute coronary syndromes are frequently caused by “vulnerable” coronary plaques with a lipid-rich core. In 1993 near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was first used to detect the lipid (cholesterol) content of atherosclerotic plaques in an experimental animal study. NIRS was then carefully validated using human atherosclerotic plaques (ex vivo), and has subsequently been developed for intracoronary imaging in humans, for which now an FDA-approved catheter-based NIRS system is available. NIRS provides a “chemogram” of the coronary artery wall and is used to detect lipid-rich plaques. Using this technology, recent studies have shown that lipid-rich plaques are very frequent in the culprit lesion of patients with an acute coronary syndrome, and are also common in non-culprit coronary lesions in these patients as compared to patients with stable coronary disease. First studies are evaluating the impact of statin therapy on coronary NIRS-detected lipid cores. Intracoronary NIRS imaging represents a highly interesting method for coronary plaque characterization in humans and may become a valuable tool for the development of novel therapies aiming to impact on the biology of human coronary artery plaques, likely in combination with other intracoronary imaging techniques, such as optical coherence tomography.     

冠心病患者冠状动脉重构效应初步探讨

目的使用血管内超声(IVUS)初步探讨冠心病患者的冠状动脉重构效应。方法28例行IVUS检查的冠心病患者随机分为急性冠脉综合征(ACS)组(18例)和稳定性心绞痛组(对照组,10例),分别测定两组患者的斑块面积、血管外弹力膜(EEM)面积、斑块负荷、重构指数(RI)等指标,同时采用酶联免疫吸附法测定患者血浆高敏C反应蛋白(hs-CRP)、金属基质蛋白酶(MMP,包括MMP-2、MMP-9)、CD40配体(CD40L)和妊娠相关蛋白A(PAPP-A)水平。结果ACS组患者的"罪犯"病变斑块面积(P=0.000)、EEM面积(P=0.003)和斑块负荷(P=0.037)均大于对照组,高危斑块发生率(P=0.028)和RI(P=0.015)也升高。正重构多见于ACS组(P=0.040),负重构多见于对照组(P=0.039)。高危斑块组患者的血浆MMP-2(P=0.011)、MMP-9(P=0.001)和CD40L(P=0.034)水平高于非高危斑块组。与负重构组和无重构组比较,正重构组血浆hs-CRP(P=0.190)、MMP-2(P=0.255)、MMP-9(P=0.574)、CD40L(P=0.342)和PAPP-A(P=0.403)水平,以及高危斑块发生率(P=0.566)等均无显著性差异。以RI为因变量、以分组和炎症介质水平等为自变量的回归方程为RI=0.179-0.131group(group代表分组),其中分组变量的回归系数具有显著性意义(P<0.05)。结论冠心病的表现类型可能是预测冠状动脉重构的独立变量。     

磁共振评估冠状动脉粥样硬化斑块的研究进展

冠状动脉粥样硬化性心脏病(coronary atherosclerosis heart disease,CHD)是人类主要死亡原因之一,其中急性冠脉综合征(acute coronary syndromes,ACS)是导致患者预后不良和发生猝死的主要原因。尸检病理结果发现,ACS发病的主要原因为动脉粥样硬化易损斑块破裂或内皮表面糜烂导致冠脉内血栓形成。磁共振成像(magnetic resonance imaging,MRI)作为一种无创、可重复性强、组织分辨率高的检查方法,多对比成像序列经过20余年的研发在颈动脉粥样硬化斑块中的应用已得到广泛证实,并在临床上及病理对照上得到进一步的验证。但冠状动脉管壁成像由于成像技术复杂,目前尚处于研究阶段。本文就磁共振成像评估冠状动脉粥样硬化斑块的研究进展进行综述。     

Time course of systemic markers of inflammation in patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes.

Inflammation within coronary plaques may cause an acute coronary syndrome by promoting rupture and erosion. It was the aim of this study to examine whether markers of inflammation derive from a cardiac or extracardiac source and how their levels develop over time. Blood samples were taken from patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) with proven atherosclerotic lesion(s) of the left coronary artery (n=13) and from control patients without coronary artery disease (n=13). Blood was taken from the femoral vein and the coronary sinus vein before and after coronary angioplasty (day 0) and on days 1 and 120. Levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1-receptor antagonist (IL-1 ra) and soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) were higher in ACS patients as compared to controls and remained elevated up to day 120. In the long-term time course these markers of inflammation and plaque remodeling slightly decreased in ACS patients. There were no statistically significant differences detectable in the levels of TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-1 beta, IL-10, IL-1 ra, sCD40L and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in the blood of ACS patients taken from a cardiac source as compared to an extracardiac source (coronary sinus vs. femoral vein). This study demonstrates the importance of a systemic inflammatory condition in patients with ACS, in whom markers of inflammation are increased as compared to controls. During long-term follow-up the pro-inflammatory activity remains elevated in ACS patients, supporting the concept of a systemic rather than a local vascular inflammation contributing to the development of atherosclerosis.     

A Case of Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection: It is Not Always Plaque Rupture

Background

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an extremely rare cause of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Patients may present with a broad spectrum of clinical scenarios, ranging from angina pectoris to myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock, and sudden death. Standard therapy has not been established; current treatments range from conservative management to percutaneous revascularization or coronary artery bypass surgery.

Objective

SCAD greatly mimics ACS, and this diagnosis should be considered when evaluating young patients who present with ACS with or without classical risk factors for coronary artery disease.

Case Report

We report a case of a 45-year old man who presented with chest pain typical of ACS. He had no risk factors except for a smoking history of 2.5 pack-years. Once the clinical findings suggested acute inferolateral myocardial infarction, the patient underwent emergent cardiac catheterization, which revealed left anterior descending coronary artery dissection. This in itself is not a common cause of inferolateral ST elevation changes on electrocardiogram.

Conclusion

This case highlights the fact that although SCAD is a rare entity, it is increasingly being recognized as a significant cause of ACS. Urgent angiography should be considered if SCAD is suspected, because early diagnosis and appropriate management significantly improve the outcome in these patients.     

Intracoronary thermography: Utility to detect vulnerable and culprit plaques in patients with coronary artery disease

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory process, and vulnerable plaques are characterized by an increased inflammatory infiltrate that generates heat. Intracoronary thermography (ICT) is a catheter-based technique for the functional imaging of atherosclerotic plaques, with the ability to identify potential vulnerable and culprit plaques in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). ICT is able to detect thermal heterogeneity, which has been shown to be present more often in unstable coronary plaques, and positively correlated to vulnerable plaque morphology characteristics and serum markers of systemic inflammation. ICT has also been shown to have a good predictive value for clinical events after percutaneous coronary intervention and has been used to assess response to statin therapy in patients with CAD. ICT has several important limitations and is yet to be validated in large prospective trials, but may be used in the future to detect vulnerable or culprit plaques and thus used to direct local and/or systemic therapy in patients with CAD.     

Coronary angioscopy: From tissue imaging to molecular imaging

Angioscopy enables macroscopic pathological diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases from the inside. This imaging modality has been mainly directed to observation of coronary artery diseases. This method is now clinically used for classifying coronary plaques and thrombi, understanding mechanisms of acute coronary syndromes, evaluating percutaneous coronary interventions, evaluating plaque-stabilizing effects of drugs, and recently, for characterizing vulnerable plaques and vulnerable patients and accordingly for prediction of acute coronary syndromes. Fluorescence angioscopy was recently established and is now clinically used for molecular imaging of coronary plaques. Molecular and cellular imaging by this new imaging technology will contribute to more objective evaluation of coronary artery diseases.     

Imaging of the vulnerable plaque: new modalities

Atherosclerosis is currently considered to be an inflammatory and thus a systemic disease affecting multiple arterial beds. Recent advances in intravascular imaging have shown multiple sites of atherosclerotic changes in coronary arterial wall. Traditionally, angiography has been used to detect and characterize atherosclerotic plaque in coronary arteries, but recently it has been found that plaques that are not significantly stenotic on angiography cause acute myocardial infarction. As a result, newer imaging and diagnostic modalities are required to predict which of the atherosclerotic plaque are prone to rupture and hence distinguish "stable" and "vulnerable" plaques. Intravascular ultrasound can identify multiple plaques that are not seen on coronary angiography. Thermography has shown much promise and is based on the concept that the inflammatory plaques are associated with increased temperature and can also identify "vulnerable patients." Of all these newer modalities, magnetic resonance imaging has shown the most promise in identification and characterization of vulnerable plaques. In this article, we review the newer coronary artery imaging modalities and discuss the limitations of traditional coronary angiography.     

胱抑素C诊断急性冠脉综合征的价值评价

目的采用循证检验医学方法评价血清CysC水平变化是否可作为急性冠脉综合征诊断指标。方法检测ACS患者、ACS疑似患者、健康对照者血清中CysC的水平,同步检测ACS患者组、疑似组患者的CK-MB、hs-CRP,绘制此三种标志物用于诊断ACS的受试者特征曲线（ROC）曲线,并对标志物诊断准确度进行比较。结果ACS病人组的CysC浓度较对照组和疑似病人组低,其差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。绘制ROC曲线得出AUC（CysC）为0．659（95％CI：0．522—0．795）,AUC（hs-CRP）为0．622（95％CI：0．478—0．765）,AUC（CK-MB）为0．674（95％CI：0．544—0．804）,三者AUC差异无统计学意义。结论ACS患者存在CysC水平下降,但不适合作为ACS的诊断指标。     

急性冠状动脉综合征患者血浆脂联素的变化

目的 通过观察急性冠状动脉综合征（ACS）患者血浆脂联素（APN）水平的变化,推测APN与斑块稳定性的关系.方法 选取经冠状动脉造影证实的冠心病患者75例,包括ACS患者（ACS组,36例）、稳定性心绞痛患者（SAP组,39例）,并选取冠状动脉造影结果正常者为对照组（20例）.同时,根据造影结果对所有研究对象进行Gensini积分,分为0分组（20例）、1～30分组（45例）、≥30分组（30例）.ELISA检测所有研究对象血浆中APN水平变化.结果 （1）ACS组、SAP组血浆APN水平显著低于对照组,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）;（2） ACS组血浆APN水平显著低于SAP组,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）;（3） Gensini积分≥30分组APN水平显著低于＜30分组,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）.结论 随着冠状动脉病变程度和不稳定性的加剧,APN在研究对象血浆中的水平逐渐降低,APN的降低可能加剧了病变处斑块的不稳定性,促进了动脉粥样硬化斑块的进程进展.     

心肌型脂肪酸结合蛋白对早期诊断心肌损伤的意义探讨

目的 探讨血清心肌型脂肪酸结合蛋白(H-FABP)在早期急性冠脉综合征(ACS)中的临床诊断价值.方法 应用全自动化学发光、生化分析仪检测46例ACS患者入院3～6h及6～12h两个时间段的血清中的H-FABP、肌钙蛋白I(cTnI)、肌红蛋白(MYO)、肌酸激酶同工酶(CK-MB).结果 H-FABP表现出了很好的检测早期(3～6 h)ACS的效果,比MYO、cTnI和CK-MB效果均要好(P＜0.05),单独检测的灵敏度达到了82.61％,而MYO、肌钙蛋白和CK-MB的诊断效果在6～12h段有明显提高.结论 H-FABP具有很好的早期诊断ACS价值,可以将H-FABP作为更早期诊断ACS的心肌损伤标志物应用于临床检测中.     

Lp-PLA2: a new kid on the block

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis is a systemic disease with focal rupture of vulnerable plaque responsible for major clinical events. Several population-based studies indicate an association between lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) and cardiovascular events. Lp-PLA2 is emerging as a biomarker that may be a potential link between oxidized LDL cholesterol and multifocal plaque vulnerability. CONTENT: Lp-PLA2 is produced by inflammatory cells of myeloid origin, is associated with circulating atherogenic lipoproteins (e.g., LDL), and is highly expressed in vulnerable plaques (de novo expression). Specificity of Lp-PLA2 toward polar phospholipids in oxidized LDL may contribute to the formation of downstream products (e.g., lysophosphatidylcholine and nonesterified fatty acids) that mediate processes intimately involved in plaque vulnerability in situ, including proinflammatory cell phenotype and macrophage death. Recent studies in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) demonstrate that Lp-PLA2 and LDL measurements are not useful to assess the long-term cardiovascular risk shortly after the acute event, most likely because of the acute drop in LDL values that is commonly observed in ACS. However, when measured at later time points, Lp-PLA2 emerges as an independent predictor of the long-term cardiovascular risk, according to multivariate analysis. SUMMARY: Lp-PLA2 is an intriguing marker of cardiovascular risk and may also be a marker of plaque activity/vulnerability. Despite these findings, unanswered questions still exist with respect to this enzyme and its biologic role in atherosclerosis. Addressing these questions will help clarify the clinical utility of measuring Lp-PLA2 in routine clinical practice in the context of other approaches for identifying high-risk patients.     

Coronary CT Angiography in the Emergency Department: Current Status

In the United States alone, nearly 7 million patients present annually to emergency departments (ED) with complaints of chest pain suspicious for acute coronary ischemia. Acute chest pain represents a clinical as well as economic challenge, resulting in elaborate, time-consuming, and expensive work-ups to avoid litigation related to missed diagnoses of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Coronary CT angiography (CTA) is an attractive noninvasive technique with promising data for use in the ED due to its high accuracy and negative predictive value. Recent studies have demonstrated that coronary CTA can aid in safe, rapid, and cost-efficient triage of patients with acute chest pain. Additional applications of plaque characterization, fractional flow analysis, and CT perfusion imaging hold promise in providing incremental data in patients with suspected ACS.     

Coronary arteriography for diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome

The acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is an acute ischemic attack resulted from disruption of coronary atheroma followed by thrombus formation. Because current guidelines recommend an early invasive strategy for patients who have ACS with and without ST-segment elevation and with an elevated cardiac troponin T level, early coronary angiography is indicated in almost all patients with ACS. Coronary angiography of ischemia related artery reveals total occlusion or severe stenosis associated with thrombus. In a patient with multivessel disease, a careful interpretation of coronary angiography is needed to identify the ischemia related artery.