Limited data suggest that HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) reduce rates of kidney function loss. We performed this analysis to determine whether pravastatin reduced the rate of kidney function loss over approximately 5 years in people with or at high risk for coronary disease.

Published rates of coronary restenosis have fallen below 10% in drug-eluting stent trials. Early evaluations of new stents have used continuous end points that are presumed surrogates for restenosis, but the generalizability and power of such end points have not been examined systematically.

Epidemiological studies suggest that people with diabetes are vulnerable to cardiovascular health effects associated with exposure to particle air pollution. Endothelial and vascular function is impaired in diabetes and may be related to increased cardiovascular risk. We examined whether endothelium-dependent and -independent vascular reactivity was associated with particle exposure in individuals with and without diabetes.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been shown to improve symptoms compared with conservative medical treatment in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD); however, there is limited evidence on the effect of PCI on the risk of death, myocardial infarction, and subsequent revascularization. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis of 11 randomized trials comparing PCI to conservative treatment in patients with stable CAD.

Renal function is an important prognostic factor for patients with acutely decompensated heart failure (ADHF). We investigated the renal effects of nesiritide as treatment for ADHF.

More than 1.2 million percutaneous coronary interventions are performed annually in the United States, with only an estimated 33% performed in women, despite the established benefits of percutaneous coronary intervention and adjunctive pharmacotherapy in reducing fatal and nonfatal ischemic complications in acute myocardial infarction and high-risk acute coronary syndromes. This statement reviews sex-specific data on the safety and efficacy of contemporary interventional therapies in women.

Several studies have reported that the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) TaqIB gene polymorphism is associated with HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), but the results are inconsistent. In addition, an interaction has been implicated between this genetic variant and pravastatin treatment, but this has not been confirmed.

The importance of serum triglyceride levels as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases is uncertain.

The rate of stroke in atrial fibrillation (AF) depends on the presence of comorbid conditions and the use of antithrombotic therapy. Although adjusted-dose warfarin is superior to aspirin for reducing stroke in AF, the absolute risk reduction of warfarin depends on the stroke rate with aspirin. This prospective cohort study tested the predictive accuracy of 5 stroke risk stratification schemes.

Unfractionated heparin (UFH) is the most widely used antithrombin during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Despite significant pharmacological and mechanical advancements in PCI, uncertainty remains about the optimal activated clotting time (ACT) for prevention of ischemic or hemorrhagic complications.

Randomized trials and meta-analyses have reached conflicting conclusions about the role of thrombolytic therapy for the treatment of acute pulmonary embolism.

Results from observational studies on fish consumption and coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality are inconsistent.

Polymorphisms in the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene may influence the risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD), but data from published studies with individually low statistical power are conflicting. To evaluate the role of polymorphisms in the eNOS gene in IHD, we considered all available studies in a meta-analysis.

Restenosis and consequent adverse cardiac events are increased in diabetics undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. Use of intracoronary stents may ameliorate such risks; however, factors influencing the likelihood of restenosis after stent deployment in this high-risk patient subgroup are unknown.

Growth hormone (GH) treatment may improve morphological and functional cardiac parameters in adults with GH deficiency (GHD). However, clinical trials reported to date involved few patients and yielded variable effects.

The benefit of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) over thrombolysis has been clearly demonstrated in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, the best therapeutic strategy for a patient with AMI presenting to acute care services without catheterization facilities remains under debate. Our objective was to gather all available information from clinical trials comparing transfer of patients experiencing AMI for angioplasty versus immediate thrombolysis.

Prior studies of coronary pattern and outcome after arterial switch operation (ASO) for transposition of the great arteries (TGA) have been hindered by limited statistical power. This meta-analysis assesses the effect of coronary anatomy on post-ASO mortality, both overall and adjusted for time.

The prognosis of ventricular arrhythmias among patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes is unknown. We studied the incidence, predictors, and outcomes of sustained ventricular arrhythmias in 4 large randomized trials of such patients.

Postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common complication of cardiac surgery and has been associated with increased incidence of other complications and increased hospital length of stay (LOS). Prevention of AF is a reasonable clinical goal, and, consequently, many randomized trials have evaluated the effectiveness of pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions for prevention of AF. To better understand the role of various prophylactic therapies against postoperative AF, a systematic review of evidence from randomized trials was performed.

Many epidemiological studies have evaluated whether different alcoholic beverages protect against cardiovascular disease. We performed a meta-analysis of 26 studies on the relationship between wine or beer consumption and vascular risk. Methods and Results- General variance-based method and fitting models were applied to pooled data derived from 26 studies that gave a quantitative estimation of the vascular risk associated with either beverage consumption. From 13 studies involving 209 418 persons, the relative risk of vascular disease associated with wine intake was 0.68 (95% confidence interval, 0.59 to 0.77) relative to nondrinkers. There was strong evidence from 10 studies involving 176 042 persons to support a J-shaped relationship between different amounts of wine intake and vascular risk. A statistically significant inverse association was found up to a daily intake of 150 mL of wine. The overall relative risk of moderate beer consumption, which was measured in 15 studies involving 208 036 persons, was 0.78 (95% confidence interval, 0.70 to 0.86). However, no significant relationship between different amounts of beer intake and vascular risk was found after meta-analyzing 7 studies involving 136 382 persons.