SummaryDue to its role in the balance between coagulation and fibrinolysis, thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) may be involved in the development of cardiovascular diseases. We studied 362 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and 134 control subjects free of CAD, both groups investigated by angiography. TAFI antigen levels were determined in venous and intracoronary plasma samples and were related to metabolic and hemostatic risk factors and extent of coronary atherosclerosis. Venous TAFI levels tended to be higher in CAD patients compared to controls, whereas this difference was significant in intracoronary samples. A subgroup of patients who had not experienced acute myocardial infarction or undergone previous cardiac interventions showed significantly higher TAFI levels in both venous and intracoronary plasma samples. TAFI levels correlated with acute phase reactants indicating a role for TAFI in inflammation. However, TAFI levels did not correlate with extent of coronary atherosclerosis and among the classical cardiovascular risk factors TAFI levels only correlated with total cholesterol and fibrinogen concentration. Our results suggest that TAFI might be a risk factor for the development of CAD.

Objective: To compare the safety and efficacy of percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) with the Amplatzer PFO occluder (Amplatzer) or the PFO STAR device (STAR) in patients with presumed paradoxical embolism. Methods: Implantation characteristics, procedural complications, residual shunt, and recurrence of thromboembolic events were recorded prospectively in 100 consecutive patients undergoing percutaneous PFO closure with the STAR (n = 50) or Amplatzer (n = 50) devices between 1998 and 2001. The study was not randomised. Device implantation was successful in all cases. Results: There were more procedural complications in the STAR than in the Amplatzer group (8/50 v 1/50, p = 0.01). More than one device placement attempt was an independent predictor of procedural complications (odds ratio (OR) 8.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3 to 55.8; p = 0.03). A residual shunt six months after PFO closure, assessed by transoesophageal contrast echocardiography, occurred more often in the STAR than the Amplatzer group (17/50 v 3/50, p = 0.004), and was predicted in the STAR group by the use of a device with a 5 mm as opposed to a 3 mm disc connector (OR 6.1, 95% CI 1.1 to 34.0; p = 0.04). The actuarial risk of recurrent thromboembolic events after 3.5 years was 16.8% (95% CI 7.6% to 34.6%) in the STAR and 2.7% (95% CI 0.4% to 17.7%) in the Amplatzer group after three years (p = 0.08). Conclusions: Percutaneous PFO closure with the Amplatzer PFO occluder had fewer procedural complications and was more likely to be complete than with the STAR device. These findings underline the importance of device design for successful percutaneous PFO closure. The association of PFO and cryptogenic stroke in young adults has been confirmed in a recent meta-analysis.10

This large clinical study of patients with CAD in whom collateral flow was quantitatively assessed reveals that two-thirds of the patients do not have enough collateral flow to prevent myocardial ischemia during coronary occlusion, and that coronary lesion severity is the only independent pathogenetic variable related to collateral flow.

Symptom-limited exercise stress testing the day after coronary stenting does not increase the risk of clinical stent thrombosis or access site complications. Further investigations on safety of early vigorous exercise after coronary stenting in a non-supervised setting are warranted.

In 50 patients undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty because of chronic angina pectoris, a collateral flow index (CFI) was determined at the start and the end of two 1-min coronary occlusions, randomly accompanied by a resting state or a 3-min dynamic handgrip exercise (DHE). CFI expressing collateral flow relative to normal antegrade flow was determined by simultaneous coronary occlusive pressure, mean aortic pressure and central venous pressure measurements. When comparing CFI without and with DHE at the start as well as at the end of balloon occlusions, a significant increase was observed with DHE (overall p < 0.0001); start: 0.18 ± 0.12 vs. 0.22 ± 0.13, respectively (p = 0.01); end of occlusion: 0.21 ± 0.14 vs. 0.25 ± 0.14, respectively (p = 0.007).