Acute stent thrombosis is an important complication of stent implantation. The CHA2DS2-VASc (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75 years, diabetes mellitus, previous stroke, vascular disease, age between 65 and 74 years, female gender) score incorporates important cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and predicts prognosis in various CV conditions. We evaluated the value of the CHA2DS2-VASc score in predicting acute stent thrombosis (ie, thrombosis during 24 hours after stent placement) in patients undergoing primary percutaneous intervention for ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction. Patients with intraprocedural stent thrombosis and complications were excluded; 48 (2.1%) of 2732 patients had acute stent thrombosis according to our definition. Median CHA2DS2-VASc score was significantly higher in this stent thrombosis group. Cumulative acute stent thrombosis rates were 0.51% for CHA2DS2-VASc score ≤1, 1.55% for ≤2, 1.80% for ≤3, 2.00% for ≤4, 2.17% for ≤5, and 2.19% for ≤6. The CHA2DS2-VASc score (odds ratio = 1.390, 95% confidence interval = 1.118-1.728; P = .003) was an independent predictor of acute stent thrombosis. The CHA2DS2-VASc score ≤1 predicted the absence of the acute stent thrombosis with 91% specificity and 36% sensitivity. Further studies are needed to establish the value of this finding in the context of current clinical practice.

OBJECTIVE: Association of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and highly sensitive C-reactive protein in ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients was assessed in this study. METHODS: 591 consecutive patients who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of ST-elevation myocardial infarction were enrolled and assigned into tertiles according to their serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Differences in highly sensitive C-reactive protein among low-density lipoprotein cholesterol tertiles and correlations between highly sensitive C-reactive protein and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were assessed. RESULTS: Highly sensitive C-reactive protein levels differed significantly among the groups (p<0.001) and found to be highest in the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol tertile 1 and lowest in the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol tertile 3 (post-hoc p-values: tertile 1 vs. 2 <0.001; tertile 1 vs. 3 <0.001; tertile 2 vs. 3=0.019). There was a negative correlation between hs-CRP and both low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r=-0.332, p<0.001) and total cholesterol (r=-0.326, p<0.001). There was also a negative correlation between highly sensitive C-reactive protein and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, though the strength of this relationship was weak (r=-0.103, p=0.014). CONCLUSION: Lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels are associated with higher inflammatory burden in patients with acute STEMI. Further studies are required to elucidate the significance of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in ST-elevation myocardial infarction settings.

Background/aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the importance of preprocedural uric acid (UA) level in predicting fractional flow reserve (FFR) results of intermediate coronary lesions in patients with stable coronary artery disease undergoing coronary angiography. Materials and methods: We retrospectively analyzed 293 patients who underwent FFR measurement to determine the significance of intermediate coronary stenosis detected by conventional coronary angiography. Patients were divided into 2 groups: Group 1 (n = 127) included patients with FFR of 0.80 (hemodynamically nonsignificant lesions). Uric acid levels were assessed in both groups with the enzymatic colorimetric method by clinical chemistry autoanalyzer. Results: The mean UA level was significantly higher in patients whose FFR indicated hemodynamically significant coronary lesions (UA: 5.43 +/- 1.29 mg/dL in Group 1 vs. 4.51 +/- 1.34 mg/dL in Group 2, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Elevated UA levels are associated with hemodynamically significant coronary lesions measured with FFR. Uric acid may he used as a predictor of hemodynamically compromised coronary lesions before FFR procedures.