The present study demonstrated for the first time that the napkin-ring sign demonstrated on coronary CTA was strongly associated with future ACS events, independent of other high-risk coronary CTA features. Detection of the napkin-ring sign could help identify coronary artery disease patients at high risk of future ACS events.

SCAD is not a rare cause for ACS, especially in females without classical coronary risk factors.

The Doppler-derived index of left ventricular filling pressure, E/E', is a powerful predictor of the clinical outcome of patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

The necrotic core component identified with VH-IVUS is related to liberation of small embolic particles during coronary stenting, which results in the poorer recovery of CFVR.

echnological advances in electronic miniaturization have resulted in the creation of small, portable transthoracic echocardiographic (pTTE) devices. The major advantage of a portable device is being able to provide immediate information both within and, for the first time, outside the hospital setting. Previous studies have reported that pTTE is superior to physical examination, and comparable with complete standard TTE (sTTE) as a diagnostic tool in clinical practice. 1-3 Physical examination is recognized as an initial screening method, but the skill set required to perform physical examinations has unfortunately deteriorated over the past 2 decades as medical technology has advanced. 4-6 Therefore, visualizing the heart as well as being able to calculate limited quantitative measurements of the cardiac chambers and their function, may result in improved patient care and/or understanding.Compared with a stethoscope, previous portable devices were too large and heavy (≈2.5 kg) for physicians to carry while making rounds. A pocket-sized imaging device has better portability and agility, enhancing the use of pTTE. 7 We investigated the feasibility and accuracy of pTTE for assessing cardiac chamber size and function. Methods Study PopulationThe study group consisted of 125 unselected patients (70 males, mean age 70±13 years) who were scheduled for sTTE to evaluate left ventricular (LV) function: 65 patients with coronary artery disease (24 with a history of myo- (Received November 18, 2008; revised manuscript received January 27, 2009; accepted January 28, 2009; released online April 16, 2009