To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Kudiezi injection in the treatment of angina pectoris of coronary heart disease. Four Chinese databases (CNKI, VIP, WanFang, and SinoMed) and three English databases (Cochrane Library, Medline, and ClinicalTrail.gov) were systematically and comprehensively searched from the establishment of each database to March 2018. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the treatment of angina pectoris of coronary heart disease with Kudiezi injection (KDZ) were screened according to the pre-established inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria. The quality of the included studies was evaluated by using the ROB tool developed by the Cochrane Collaboration, and RevMan 5.3 software was used for Meta-analysis. A total of 712 articles were retrieved and finally 38 studies were included. The total sample size was 3 812 cases, 1 945 in the experimental group and 1 867 in the control group. The overall quality of the included studies was generally low. The results of Meta-analysis showed that: KDZ combined with conventional or western medicine was superior to conventional or western medicine alone in the effectiveness and electrocardiogram efficacy of angina pectoris and unstable angina. The descriptive analysis showed that KDZ combined with conventional treatment group was superior to conventional treatment group in agina pectoris associated indicators of angina pectoris and unstable angina. Other outcome measures were easily affected by various factors (such as too large heterogeneity of outcome indicators) and could not be concluded. Adverse reactions included in the study report were all mild adverse reactions and did not affect treatment. Based on the results of this study, it can be seen that Kudiezi injection had a certain effect on the treatment of angina pectoris of coronary heart disease, especially with significant positive effect on the improvement of the curative effect for angina pectoris and the effect of electrocardiogram. No serious adverse reactions occurred. However, due to the limited number of studies included, the generally low quality of the included studies, and the existence of published biases, the quality of the evidence in this study was low, so that caution should be taken to apply this conclusion. The effectiveness and safety of Kudiezi injection in the treatment of angina pectoris of coronary heart disease remained to be confirmed in the future with a well-designed and rigorous multi-center randomized controlled trials with standardized report, large sample, and enough follow-up time.

To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of breviscapine injection in the treatment of unstable angina pectoris (UAP). Eight electronic databases and clinical trials registries were searched to collect randomized controlled trials on breviscapine injection in the treatment of UAP. According to the evaluation standards in Cochrane Handbook 5.1, two independent reviewers screened out the literature, extracted data and assessed the quality of the studies included. RevMan 5.3 software was used for Meta quantitative analysis and corresponding description analysis. A total of 36 studies involving 3 058 patients were included, 1 552 cases in the trial group, 1 506 cases in the control group, 1 846 males and 1 212 females. All the clinical studies showed a low quality. Meta-analysis results showed that the combination of breviscapine injection and conventional therapy was superior to conventional therapy in angina pectoris efficacy (RRangina pectoris efficacy=1.29, 95%CI[1.23,1.35],P<0.000 01；RRECG1=1.25,95%CI[1.12,1.38],P<0.000 1；RRECG2=1.38,95%CI[1.27,1.49],P<0.000 01); descriptive analysis of a single study showed that the efficacy of combination of breviscapine injection and conventional therapy was superior to that of conventional therapy alone. In respect of hemorheology, the combination of breviscapine injection and conventional therapy was better than conventional therapy in lowering LBV and EAI (MDLBV=-1.27,95%CI[-1.55,-0.99],P<0.000 01；MDEAI=-0.38,95%CI[-0.60,-0.16],P=0.000 6), as well as in lowering WBV and HCT in the descriptive analysis of single study. In respect of blood lipid, the combination of breviscapine injection and conventional therapy was better than conventional therapy in lowering TC, TG and LDL-C (MDTC=-0.30,95%CI[-0.51,-0.10],P=0.003；MDTG=-0.32,95%CI[-0.77,0.13],P=0.16；MDLDL-C=-0.45,95%CI[-0.76,-0.14],P=0.004). In reducing the frequency of angina attacks, heart rate, high sensitive C-reactive protein and improving exercise tolerance, the combination of breviscapine injection and conventional therapy was also superior to the conventional therapy alone (MDFAP=-3.30,95%CI[-4.06,-2.54],P< 0.000 01；MDHR=-9.38,95%CI[-12.78,-5.98],P=0.000 2；MDhs-CRP=-0.56,95%CI[-0.85,-0.27],P=0.000 2；MDET=0.88,95%CI[0.41,1.35],P=0.000 2). The main adverse reactions in the two groups included headache, dizziness, palpitations, nausea, abdominal distension, skin pruritus, flushes and allergic reactions in the study. The safety of breviscapine injection needs to be further studied and clarified because of the combination of drugs and the incomplete information reported in the original study. The current evidence suggested that the combination of breviscapine injection and conventional therapy had certain advantages in curative effect for the treatment of UAP. Due to the low quality of the study and its own shortcomings, it is necessary to design more rigorous, high-quality, multi-center randomized double-blind controlled trials to increase the strength of the evidence.

Extensive search for methods of overcoming morphine-related delay of the absorption and onset of action of oral P2Y12 inhibitors in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome is on-going. The aim of the trial was to investigate whether metoclopramide co-administration could reduce this delay and improve the pharmacokinetics (PKs) and pharmacodynamics (PDs) of ticagrelor and its active metabolite AR-C124900XX. Plasma concentration of both compounds and platelet reactivity were evaluated in nine pre-defined time points within 6 hours after administration of ticagrelor loading dose. The results of our study show that mean platelet activity within the first hour was noticeably higher in metoclopramide-naive patients. Moreover, ticagrelor mean plasma concentration was significantly higher within the initial four time points (15, 30, 45, 60 minutes) in patients receiving metoclopramide (p = 0.039; p = 0.009; p = 0.005; p = 0.008, respectively). To conclude, the co-administration of metoclopramide in patients presenting with unstable angina and treated with morphine, has a beneficial effect on the PK/PD profile of ticagrelor and its metabolite; however, its impact on ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients requires further investigation.

With an expanding and aging heart transplant population, the incidence of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is expected to increase. Our study aims to report current trends in in-hospital management and outcomes in heart transplant recipients presenting with ACS. We conducted an analysis of the National Inpatient Sample (2007 to 2014) to study the trends in hospitalization, in-hospital management, and outcomes in heart transplant recipients with a primary diagnosis of ACS. We included patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non-STEMI (NSTEMI) and those with unstable angina pectoris (UAP). A total of 1,621 ACS (NSTEMI/UAP-76% vs STEMI-24%) hospitalizations were identified. Despite 1,327 (81%) of patients who underwent left heart catheterization, coronary revascularization was performed in only 576 patients (36%). Mortality was significantly higher in patients presenting with STEMI versus NSTEMI/UAP (28% vs 11%, respectively; p <0.05) and those who did not undergo revascularization (19% vs 7%; p <0.05). Cardiogenic shock (CS) was diagnosed in 14.5% patients. Mechanical circulatory support utilization was higher in CS group compared with non-CS group (69% vs 2.8%; p <0.05), as was in-hospital mortality (39% vs 10%; p <0.05). Repeat transplantation during the index hospitalization was done in 4.5% of ACS patients. In conclusion, in heart transplant recipients, ACS is associated with a high incidence of CS and in-hospital mortality. Aggressive treatment strategy that includes revascularization, mechanical circulatory support use (in those developing CS), and urgent retransplantation in suitable candidates seems to lead to better results than a more conservative strategy.

This study aimed to detect the circulating oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) levels of controls and patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP), unstable angina pectoris (UAP), and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and also to investigate the correlation with the severity of coronary heart disease (CHD). Plasma levels of circulating ox-LDL-4E6, malondialdehyde (MDA), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, apoprotein A, apoprotein B, and lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) were measured in 99 participants who underwent coronary angiography. The plasma ox-LDL level was significantly higher in patients with CHD than in controls (P = 0.000). However, it was lower in the UAP and AMI groups than in the SAP group (P = 0.000). The lipid peroxide level (MDA) showed a significant difference among all groups (P = 0.000). It increased significantly in patients with CHD. The Lp(a) and hs-CRP levels were significantly higher in patients with CHD (P = 0.000 and 0.000, respectively). No difference in Lp(a) was found among the SAP, UAP, and AMI groups (P = 0.296). In patients with CHD, the plasma ox-LDL correlated negatively with hs-CRP (P = 0.011), and serum MDA correlated positively with hs-CRP (P = 0.004). The plasma ox-LDL could be used as a strong risk factor for the early stage but not the advanced stage of CHD. Hs-CRP may bound and transfer ox-LDL to macrophages. © 2018 IUBMB Life, 2018.

Cardiac cephalalgia is a migraine-like headache that occurs during episodes of myocardial ischaemia. Clinical characteristics of the headache vary widely but are often severe in intensity, worsen with reduced myocardial perfusion and resolve with reperfusion. It can present along with typical symptoms of angina pectoris, although not always. We present a 64-year-old man with a 6-month history of severe, non-exertional headaches occurring with increasing frequency. A resting ECG showed ST elevation in the inferior leads. His serum troponin I was not elevated. Coronary angiography showed severe stenosis of his right coronary artery, which was successfully stented by percutaneous coronary intervention. He remains headache free at 2-year follow-up.

Statin nonadherence or discontinuation is associated with increased cardiovascular events. Many factors related to the physicians or the patients are influential in this. We aimed to compare the compliance with statin therapy between the patients who first presented with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and unstable angina pectoris (UA) based on the target achievement according to the current dyslipidemia guidelines.We retrospectively acquired all the information about demographic characteristics, in-hospital revascularization procedures, prescribed treatments, and index and up to 6-month follow-up laboratory results of the first acute coronary syndrome patients. Acute coronary syndrome patients were divided into 3 groups as STEMI, NSTEMI, and UA.The STEMI group consisted of 260 patients, NSTEMI group consisted of 560 patients, and UA group consisted of 206 patients. Seventy-six percent of patients underwent percutaneous coronary interventions, 18.3% were managed medically, and 5.7% were referred for coronary artery bypass grafting. There was a significant decrease in low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) values with the statin treatment at the follow-up in all 3 groups (for all P < .001). In the STEMI group, the percentage of those achieving the target LDL-C level was significantly higher than those who did not achieve the target according to both The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) and European Society of Cardiology dyslipidemia guidelines. The LDL-C target achievement rates were also higher in the STEMI group than in the NSTEMI and UA groups.Our study concluded that statin treatment goals were more attained in STEMI patients than NSTEMI and UA. All physicians should encourage lifelong intensive statin treatment in UA and NSTEMI patients such as STEMI patients.