Pharmacogenomics
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of mortality in the world, with more than 15 million deaths each year. With the current rise in obesity and other cardiovascular risk…
Myocardial Cell Death and Regeneration
The mature mammalian heart can be represented as a four-chamber blood-pumping organ consisting of contractile cardiomyocytes and supportive stromal cells surrounded by fibrous connective tissue. After a period of intense…
The Immune System in Acute Coronary Syndrome
Role of Immune System in Atherogenesis Atherosclerosis is a complex, chronic inflammatory disease of the arterial wall. Its underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms involve endothelial dysfunction, infiltration of atherogenic lipoproteins into the…
Molecular Mechanisms of the Acute Coronary Syndromes: The Roles of Inflammation and Immunity
Histologic observations have taught us much regarding the pathophysiology of the acute coronary syndromes. Pathoanatomic examination of atheromas that provoke fatal thrombosis reveals much about the mechanisms of this extreme…
Pathogenesis of Stable and Acute Coronary Syndromes
Vascular lesions that resemble atherosclerosis have been described in Egyptian and Renaissance mummies, , but death and disabling symptoms caused by atherosclerosis were probably rare before the late 18th century…
Acute Coronary Syndrome in North America
A large number of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are not given therapies that can save lives and prevent recurrent cardiac events. Analyses of trends over the last decade…
Historical Perspective and Lessons Learned from the Euro Heart Surveys on Acute Coronary Syndromes
The Euro Heart Survey program was launched by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) around the year 2000 to assess variations in management and treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD) across…
Results from the Reduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) Registry
The clinical manifestations of atherothrombotic disease include strokes and transient ischemic attacks, critical limb ischemia, angina, and the full spectrum of acute coronary syndromes ( Fig. 3-1 ). The benefits…
Risk Factors Predicting Nonfatal Myocardial Infarction: The INTERHEART Study
Globally, cerebrovascular disease (CVD), which includes coronary heart disease (CHD), strokes, and peripheral arterial diseases, is the leading cause of death and is a major disease burden. Although age adjusted…
The Past, the Present, the Future
The Past: Emergence of a Syndrome The clinical description of a preinfarction syndrome closely followed that of angina almost 250 years ago, when Heberden wrote the following: There is a…
