The combination of IV amiodarone and oral propranolol is safe, effective, and superior to the combination of IV amiodarone and oral metoprolol in the management of ES in ICD patients.

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether intima-media thickness (IMT) predicts the presence of the coronary artery lesions independent of other risk factors including clinic blood pressure (BP), parameters of 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring, body mass index, serum cholesterol, and glucose levels. The study population consisted of 390 consecutive subjects who had recently undergone coronary arteriography; 51 subjects with no measurable lesions in their coronary arteries (control group) and 339 subjects with coronary artery lesions (coronary artery disease [CAD] group). Mean IMT of the common carotid artery (MCCA) and internal carotid artery (MICA) were significantly higher in subjects with CAD compare control subjects (P < .0001). Carotid IMT could predict the presence of coronary artery lesions independently of clinic or ambulatory BP values, BMI, serum cholesterol, and glucose levels (P < .01). Carotid IMT predicted the presence of significant coronary artery lesions with cutoff values 0.85 and 0.80 for MICA and MCCA, respectively. The IMT could be a clinical useful test for the presence of significant coronary artery lesions.

Background: Our objective was to associate serum levels of myocardial enzymes and infl ammatory biomarkers with severity of coronary artery disease (CAD). Patients and methods: 123 patients participated in our study, including 65 cases of acute myocardial infarction (MI), 27 cases of newly diagnosed CAD -without MI -and 31 controls. In all subjects, myocardial serum enzyme levels (creatine phosphokinase, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase) and infl ammatory indices (C-reactive protein, fi brinogen, white blood cells, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate) were measured. Patients were all submitted to coronary angiography and CAD severity was evaluated by Gensini score. Results: Signifi cant differences concerning enzyme serum levels and infl ammatory indices were found to exist between the three study groups, being highest among patients with acute MI (p Ͻ 0.001). A signifi cant association was demonstrated between Gensini score and serum enzyme levels as well as infl ammatory biomarkers. Conclusions: Our fi ndings suggest that serum levels of myocardial enzymes and infl ammatory indices correlate with CAD severity in Greek patients.

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