Objective:Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) represents a group of synthetic testosterone derivatives that play an important role in clinical treatment. These drugs are widely abused among the general public to increase lean weight and improve athletic performance. It has been reported that AAS use can produce many adverse effects, especially the occurrence of cardiovascular risk. Although there are many related studies, there has been no consensus on AAS use and cardiovascular risk. The present study was to review the effect of AAS on the cardiovascular system.Data sources:The data in this review were obtained from articles included in PubMed and the National Center for Biotechnology Information database.Study selection:Original articles, case reports, and systematic reviews about AAS were selected for the article.Results:The use/abuse of AAS is correlated with higher cardiovascular risks, and many AAS users/abusers had cardiovascular diseases. However, there are many confounding factors in the studies that explored the causality between AAS intake and disease development, and additional studies are required to determine AAS toxicity.Conclusion:AAS produces toxic effects on the cardiovascular system, and it is necessary to ensure that more people know this about AAS, including medical personnel.

This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) of Chinese patients with premature acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study was a secondary retrospective analysis involving 2114 ACS patients undergoing PCI at a single center in China. The patients were divided into two groups according to age (premature ACS group: !55 years in men, !65 years in women; nonpremature ACS group: > 55 years in men, > 65 years in women). The primary endpoint was all-cause death, and the secondary endpoint was a composite of all-cause death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, target vessel revascularization, and recurrent angina at follow-up, defined as MACEs. The incidence of all-cause death and MACEs was significantly lower in the premature than in the nonpremature ACS group (P < 0.001). Female sex, higher triglyceride levels, and higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were identified as independent risk factors that accelerated the development of ACS, whereas higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were identified as protective factors. Furthermore, in patients with premature ACS, non-ST-elevation ACS, cardiac insufficiency, multivessel disease, and left main lesion were risk factors for MACEs. Younger individuals, especially females, are advised to undergo early screening for the risk factors of premature ACS. Primary prevention of dyslipidemia should be more aggressively promoted at a young age. For premature ACS patients undergoing PCI, strengthened management and regular re-examinations are necessary to avoid adverse cardiovascular events as much as possible.

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Several epidemiological studies have shown a clear inverse relationship between serum levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), even at low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels below 70 mg/dL. There is much evidence from basic and clinical studies that higher HDL-C levels are beneficial, whereas lower HDL-C levels are detrimental. Thus, HDL is widely recognized as an essential anti-atherogenic factor that plays a protective role against the development of ASCVD. Percutaneous coronary intervention is an increasingly common treatment choice to improve myocardial perfusion in patients with ASCVD. Although drug-eluting stents have substantially overcome the limitations of conventional bare-metal stents, there are still problems with stent biocompatibility, including delayed re-endothelialization and neoatherosclerosis, which cause stent thrombosis and in-stent restenosis. According to numerous studies, HDL not only protects against the development of atherosclerosis, but also has many anti-inflammatory and vasoprotective properties. Therefore, the use of HDL as a therapeutic target has been met with great interest. Although oral medications have not shown promise, the developed HDL infusions have been tested in clinical trials and have demonstrated viability and reproducibility in increasing the cholesterol efflux capacity and decreasing plasma markers of inflammation. The aim of the present study was to review the effect of HDL on stent biocompatibility in ASCVD patients following implantation and discuss a novel therapeutic direction of HDL infusion therapy that may be a promising candidate as an adjunctive therapy to improve stent biocompatibility following percutaneous coronary intervention.

Annular rupture is a rare and dreaded complication of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and even rarer when caused by predilatation balloon aortic valvuloplasty. This complication often presents as sudden cardiac tamponade with hypotension and requires urgent intervention. The traditional rescue strategy for patients with annular rupture is emergency surgical repair. However, the mortality rate is still high, considering that most patients who undergo TAVR are not candidates for conventional cardiac surgery. Therefore, there is a need for additional emergency treatment strategies to decrease mortality. This report describes a case of predilatationinduced annular rupture during TAVR that was successfully sealed at the rupture site by valve implantation. This case suggests that continuing with valve deployment may be a successful treatment for predilatation-induced annular rupture during TAVR.