Rationale: Coronary chest pain is usually ischemic in etiology and has various electrocardiographic presentations. Lately, it has been recognized that myocardial bridging (MB) with severe externally mechanical compression of an epicardial coronary artery during systole may result in myocardial ischemia. Such a phenomenon can be associated with chronic angina pectoris, acute coronary syndromes (ACS), coronary spasm, ventricular septal rupture, arrhythmias, exercise-induced atrioventricular conduction blocks, transient ventricular dysfunction, and sudden death. Patient concerns: We report the case of a 58-year-old woman presenting with recurrent episodes of constrictive chest pain during exercise within the last 2 weeks. Except for obesity, general and cardiovascular clinical examination on admission were normal. Diagnoses: The resting 12 lead electrocardiogram (ECG) revealed changes typically for Wellens syndrome. High-sensitive cardiac troponin I was normal. We established the diagnosis of low-risk non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome with a Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events risk score of 92 points. Interventions: The patient underwent coronary angiography, who showed subocclusive dynamic obstruction of the left anterior descending artery due to MB. Outcomes: The patient was managed conservatively. Her hospital course was uneventful and she was discharged on pharmacological therapy (clopidogrel, bisoprolol, amlodipine, atorvastatin, and metformin) with well-controlled symptoms on followup. Lessons: MB is an unusual cause of myocardial ischemia. Wellens syndrome is an unusual presentation of ACS. We present herein a rare case of Wellens syndrome caused by MB. This case highlights the importance of subtle and frequently overseen ECG findings when assessing patients with chest pain and second, the importance of considering nonatherosclerotic causes for ACS.

Background and aimsFew studies discuss the prevalence of oral anticoagulation therapy (OAT) in clinical practice, despite their increasing use worldwide. In America, studies established that 20% to 80% of the patients with indication benefit from OAT. In Romania, there is no data regarding the utilization of oral anticoagulants. Thus, this study aims to determine the trends of OAT.MethodsWe designed a cross-sectional study of the patients admitted to the Cardiology Department of the “Bagdasar-Arseni” Clinical Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, from the 1st of November 2016 until the 31st of January 2017. We considered OAT indications to be: atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF), pulmonary embolisms (PE), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), intramural or intracavitary thrombi and left ventricle aneurysms. Statistical analysis was performed with EpiInfo.ResultsThere were 783 patients admitted, 253 of these having an OAT indication (mean age 73.25 years, 53.75% female). Only 162 patients (64.03%) received it, either Vitamin K Antagonists (VKA) (78 patients, 48.14%), or Novel Oral Anticoagulants (NOAC) (84 patients, 51.85%). Reasons for not indicating such therapy included the hemorrhage risk (43.27%), the lack of adherence to the treatment (18.56%), the impossibility of INR monitoring (21.84%), the economic status (10.21%) and others (6.12%). 221 patients had AF (87.35%), 141 (63.8%) receiving OAT, VKA (67 patients, 47.51%), or NOAC (74 patients, 52.48%). 17 patients (6.71%) had a PE and/or DVT. 15 (88.23%) received OAT, AVK (11 patients, 73.33%), or NOAC (4 patients, 26.67%). 15 patients (5.92%) had other OAT indications (excepting AF or PE/DVT), 11 receiving OAT (73.33%), AVK (8 patients, 72.72%), or NOAC (3 patients, 27.27%).ConclusionsOur study determined that 64.03% of those with indication received OAT. Similar data is reported in the USA, suggesting an underuse of anticoagulants. The risk of hemorrhage, lack of adherence, the impossibility of INR monitoring or the economic status were some of the reasons for not recommending OAT.

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Objectives: Objectives: Wellens syndrome has been described as a clinical and electrocardiographic complex that identifies a subset of patients with unstable angina (UA) at an impending risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and death in studies published almost four decades ago, before the wide use of cardiac biomarkers such as troponins. The clinical implications of Wellens sign in a contemporary cohort of patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTEACS) is yet to be defined.Materials and methods: We performed a prospective analysis of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and Wellens sign who underwent coronary angiography between January 2018 and December 2019. Patients follow-up visits were at one month and at six months. Clinical, electrocardiographic, biological and echocardiographic data were recorded at both follow-up visits.Results: A total of 79 patients were included in the statistical analysis, of whom 16 (20.25%) had pure Wellens syndrome (normal myocardial necrosis biomarkers). The prevalence of type A Wellens sign was higher than previously reported (45.6%). The culprit coronary artery was most frequently LAD (49 pts, 62.03%), followed by LM (10 patients, 12.66%), right coronary artery (RCA) (eight pts, 10.13%), instent restenosis (three pts, 3.8%), left circumflex artery (LCX) (two pts, 2.53%) and bypass graft (one pt, 1.27%). Ischaemic reccurence rate within six months was 18,99%. The rate of reccurent percutaneous revascularization procedures was 11.54% and the rate of repeat target vessel revascularization (TVR) was 5.77% at six months. All-cause mortality rate at six months was 7.59%, with 5.06% cardiovascular deaths.Conclusions: Early recognition of subtle ECG changes resembling Wellens sign in patients with chest pain is crucial as it reflects a large area of myocardium at risk. In our study, the culprit coronary artery was most frequently LAD (62.03%), with 36.7% proximal LAD culprit lesion, followed by LM (12.66%). Wellens syndrome should be considered a high risk condition that makes the conventional methods for risk assesment using risk scores unnecessary, useless and potentially deleterious. In our study, according to GRACE 1.0 risk score, 70.89% of patients were in the low risk group (1-108 points, estimated in-hospital death risk < 1%). No patient died during the initial hospitalization. All-cause mortality rate at six months was 7.59%, with 5.06% cardiovascular deaths.