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Percutaneus Coronary Disease vs Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in Severe Coronary Artery Disease

Background
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has risen world consent about it. Since cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. According to WHO data, it's estimated about 17.5 millions people die from CVD annually.

Coronary artery disese causing severe morbidity and poor quality of life since limitation of activities, pain, long-term care. There are many modalities in treatment for coronary artery disease, such as PCI and CABG. Both of them aims at improving coronary blood flow and prevention of recurrent heart attack.

Coronary-artery bypass grafting has became the standard of care for symptomatic patients with coronary artery disease since its introduction in 1968. Recent advances and innovation in coronary surgery e.g., off-pump CABG, smaller incisions, enhanced myocardial preservation, use of arterial conduits, and improved postoperative care have reduced morbidity, mortality, and rates of graft occlusion.


Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was introduced in 1977. This approach has been developed in technology, has made it possible to treat increasingly complex lesions and patients with a history of clinically significant cardiac disease, risk factors for coronary artery disease, coexisting conditions, or anatomical risk factors.
PCI procedure
adopted from http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Health/2007/7-10-04-Angioplasty.htm


Several trials has been done to compare efficacy of bare-stents PCI with CABG in patients with multivessel disease. The results showed similar survival rates but higher re-intervention rates among patients with bare-metal stents at 5 years duration. Some researchs have shown a significant long-term survival advantage with surgical approach.

New technique PCI, with drug-eluting, using anti cell-proliferation agents such as Taxus, has been developed. Randomized trials comparing drug-eluting stents with bare-metal stents have shown significant reductions in the
rate of repeat intervention, with similar rates of death and myocardial infarction. These data is used as a base line for expanding PCI usage in patients with complex coronary anatomical features, though most randomized trials such patients.
According to current guidelines, CABG remains the treatment of choice for patients with severe coronary artery disease, including those with left main coronary artery disease and those with three-vessel disease.

Since, widely used of PCI in severe case of Coronary artery disease with lack of evidence. There is needed to do systematic comparison between PCI and CABG. The results of the trials perhaps can be used as basic for choosing proper treatment for the patients. Or The Right Treatment for The Right Patients

Synergy between PCI with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) trial, researchers assessed the optimal revascularization strategy for patients with
previously untreated three-vessel or left main coronary artery disease and defined the populations of patients for whom only one revascularization
method will be effective.
CABG procedure
adopted from http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/cs/pat/cardiac/cabg.html

Summary of trials
The SYNTAX trial was designed as a noninferiority trial with the primary endpoint of death, stroke myocardial infarction (MI), or repeat evascularization at 12 months. The study planned to evaluate the outcome of the subgroup of patients with three-vessel or left main separately if the overall trial demonstrated noninferiority.

The study showed that PCI is associated with higher re-intervention procedures rates compare with CABG group. However, the rates of death and heart attack were not different between two group. While stroke is higher in CABG group compare with PCI.

Although this is not an expected result, further analysis showed that the extent of disease was an important factor, as those with the most complex coronary disease did better with CABG, while those with an intermediate or low scores showed similar outcomes between the groups.

Take Home Message
With the recent 5 year follow up study after procedures, the result showed that LM Stenting is still showing equivalent in mortality, the results may shift balance more toward to PCI. But, CABG is associated with lower re-intervention procedures compare with PCI..

By the way, in subgroup analysis PCI-with drug-eluting showed significant efficacy in patient with Left-Main Artery disease or same outcome with CABG. There will be endless debate on this issue, but PCI will be preferred and most utilized therapy for unprotected left-main lesions in the future. Meanwhile, the treatment decisions should be individualized and clinically relevant, with careful informed consent before making a choice.
Endless Debate
adopted from http://evolution.berkeley.edu

The higher stroke rate in CABG is also an important concern for patients undergoing CABG and should impact patient selection. Importantly, the two groups showed no difference in death, cardiac death, or MI. But the SYNTAX has limitation due to its only 1 year follow up, compare the others research such MAIN-COMPARE trial about 5 year follow up.
But, from this data, we can keep in our mind that patient selection and the extent of the disease, patient preference, complications of the procedures are important factor in determining treatment choice.

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Dual Inhibiton: New Strategy for Lowering Cholesterol

Intro
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has risen world consent about it. Since cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. According to WHO data, it's estimated about 17.5 millions people die from CVD annually.

The pathogenesis of CVD has been welll-known as the process that involving progressive cholesterol deposits in vessels that causing decreased in vessels lumen diameters. Disruption in developed cholesterol plaque may promotes thrombosis events that lead to distal perfused organ damaged, for example heart attack, stroke and perifer arterial disease.
Cardiology issues
adopted from http://www.gbscorp.com

The process and progressivity of atherosclerosis is depend on several risk factors, includes high level of low-density Lipoprotein cholesterol as demonstrated in many trials.

Comprehensive management of CVD involves combined intervention of lifestyle and medication therapy.
Many studies have demonstrated association between LDL-C and progression of CVD, and those findings are positive linear correlation between LDL-C and CVD. Thus, implicate in treatment of CVD patient.

"Increasing number of age is impossible to avoid, but perhaps we can slow or retard the degenerative process." This has become major treatment goals and motivation for scientists to look any other possibilities in treatment.

Cholesterol lowering therapy
Cholesterol control, especially LDL-C control has become popular in medical field. And becoming one of treatment modalities for CVD.
Lowering serum cholesterol levels reduces the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD)-related events.
Cholesterol Cartoon
adopted from http://www.glasbergen.com

National and international guideline for the prevention of CHD recommend the modification of lipid profiles and particularly LDL-C. Several clinical trials indicated an added benefit from aggressive lipid lowering LDL-C levels. Based on these findings NCEP ATP III revised the LDL-C target from <100 mg/dl to 70 mg/dl for very high risk patients. Unfortunately, result from REALITY-Asia study. for across all cardiovascular risk categories, only 48% of patients attained ATP III targets for LDL-C.

Statins are commonly prescribed as first line treatment but many patients at high-risk for CHD still fail to reach their cholesterol or low density lipoprotein (LDL-C) goals with statin monotherapy.

For patients who fail to achieve their LDL-C target, inhibiting two main sources of cholesterol synthesis and uptake -- can produce more effective lipid lowering, allowing more patients to reach their LDL-C goal. Ezetimibe is a highly-selective inhibitor of cholesterol absorption and simvastatin is an evidence based inhibitor of cholesterol synthesis.

The 23% additional reduction in LDL-cholesterol seen with ezetimibe added to ongoing statin monotherapy compares favorably with the 6% to 8% reduction usually seen when the dose of the original statin is doubled, Dr. Pearson commented. The results of EASE study suggest that the addition of ezetimibe to statin therapy should be considered in patients who have not achieved their NCEP ATP III goal on statin therapy alone.
Degenerative process in vessels
adopted from http://www.diabetesmonitor.com

Recently, SEAS trial has reported that the combination of ezetimibe/simvastatin was associated with a significantly increased risk of cancer compare to placebo, causing widespread public concern. But based on post marketing analysis by dr. Alawi et al, that adverse event in SEAS trial doesn't support that ezetimibe alone or in combination with simvastatin increase the risk of cancer.

I think based on those trials, dual therapy on cholesterol lowering should be applicated in medical practice. Ezetimibe (absorption inhibitor) and Statin (production inhibitor) are promising combination in cholesterol control.
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Stem Cells May Improve Heart Bypass Results

Is That True?
On Nov 17th 2008, German Researchers publish their result of their studies.
They said that Patients who received bone marrow stem cell transplants during coronary bypass surgery (CABG) experienced "excellent long-term safety and survival,"

The study included 35 patients who get stem cell transplantation during CABG, 20 patients who received only CABG surgery.

Long-term survival among patients in the stem cell transplant/CAGB group was up to five years.
Heart Animated

Stem Cell Transplant as a new hope
Stem Cell is a novel technology that being developed recently to overcome the problem in therapy in some disease.

Stem Cell itself is a multipotent cell that arise from genetic engineering from our body's tissue. It behave just like an embryo, proliferate and differentiate.
But, for our purpose the differentiation of the stem cell can be set up to one kind of tissue such as: nerve tissue, vessels, etc.

But, in this article i will discuss about stem cell in heart disease.

Cell transplantation has the potential to become but one of the new and exciting therapies for the treatment of patients with chronic heart failure.

One explanation may be that although many kinds of heart disease can be successfully treated, they are not truly cured. A good example is the patient who has an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack, MI) with significant myocardial (heart muscle injury). While reperfusion therapy, such as angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting, will prolong survival,

The permanent myocardial damage cause by infarction will have such a remodelling that gonna lead to changes in the heart's left ventricle not only the shape but also the function, resulting in heart failure. Thus will give an additional impact on morbidity.

Our body has an amazing ability to repair itself. When injury occurs, the body sends special cells (natural stem cells, produced by the bone marrow) to the site that calls for healing. These cells, help remove dead cells and repair the injured tissue. For some reason, the heart does not have the same process for healing itself.

In the past decade, researchers have been testing the ability to utilize cells to rebuild the heart after injury. Early research looked at transplantation of fetal or embryonic stem cells, as well as myoblasts (immature muscle cells). While fetal stem cells have promise, the widespread clinical application of this approach is limited due to the ethical dilemma of the use of embryonic and fetal tissue as well as the issue of chronic rejection.
Stem Cell Myocard

The skeletal muscle cells, an autogenic source, recovered from the recipient's own body, have the advantage of being a readily available and unlimited source without the risk of rejection. The myoblasts are harvested from the patient's thigh, processed in the lab, and injected into the heart. Prior studies showed that processed myoblasts demonstrate the ability to become functioning heart muscle cells, as well as proliferate and send signals to attract additional stem cells to repair damaged heart muscle.

Is This Technology can be used?

Hmm, actually i don't know how to answer this.
because in my country this technology is very expensive, and also the experts are rare.
I think this technology is a promising one.
To implant a stem cell to someone body isn't a simple procedure. It may through several steps before it done. And mostly done in laboratory.
Stem Cell Pro and Contra


But for more information, you can consult your cardiologist.
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