Arif Arısoy

Cardiac manifestations in Behcet's disease

Behcets disease (BD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder, with vasculitis underlying the pathophysiology of its multisystemic effects. Venous pathology and thrombotic complications are hallmarks of BD. However, it has been increasingly recognised that cardiac involvement and arterial complications are also important aspects of the course of the disease. Cardiac lesions include pericarditis, endocarditis, intracardiac thrombosis, myocardial infarction, endomyocardial fibrosis, and myocardial aneurysm. Treatment of cardiovascular involvement in BD is largely empirical, and is aimed towards suppressing the vasculitis. The most challenging aspect seems to be the treatment of arterial aneurysms and thromboses due to the associated risk of bleeding. When the prognosis of cardiac involvement in BD is not good, recovery can be achieved through oral anticoagulation, immunosuppressive therapy, and colchicine use. In this review, we summarise the cardiovascular involvement, different manifestations, and treatment of BD.

Left ventricular mechanics in Behcet’s disease: A speckle tracking echocardiographic study

Although cardiac involvement is rarely seen in Behcets disease (BD), it is essential to detect subclinical left ventricular (LV) dysfunction for prognostic purposes. Herein we aimed to show the role of two dimensional (2D) speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) in determination of subclinical LV dysfunction in patients with BD. 30 patients diagnosed as BD due to International Study Group Behcets diagnostic criteria and 25 control subjects underwent Doppler echocardiography including pulsed tissue Doppler of the mitral annulus and speckle-tracking echocardiography. LV peak longitudinal strain and strain rate (SR) was calculated in four-chamber (4C), apical long-axis (LAX), and two-chamber (2C) views, and values of the three views were averaged LV global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) and SR. LV torsion was determined as the net difference in the mean rotation between the apical and basal levels. There was not any significant difference in age and gender between groups. Patients with BD had significantly lower LV longitudinal strain and Sr measurements than the control group. Although LV basal rotation (LVR) basal values were similar in both groups, LVR-apical and LV torsion (LVTR) values were significantly higher in patient group. LVR-apical and LV-GLS were found to have a good positive corelation (r:0.44, p<0.001) (r: -0.56, r: -0.65,respectively. p<0.001). There was a weak positive correlation between LVTR and LV-GLS (r: 0.29, p<0.05). We demonstrated that combined assessment of LV-GLS, LV-GLSR, LVTR and LVR-apical values detected by STE can be useful in determination of subclinical left ventricular dysfunction in BD.

Myocardial deformation and total atrial conduction time in the prediction of cardiac involvement in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis.

In this study, we aim to evaluate the left atrial global longitudinal strain (LAGLS), total atrial conduction time (TACT) and left ventricle (LV) functions in recently diagnosed pulmonary sarcoidosis (PS) patients.

Guideline-adherent therapy for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation in different health care settings: Results from RAMSES study

OBJECTIVE No studies have been conducted in Turkey to compare the quality of stroke prevention therapies provided in different healthcare settings in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Therefore, we aimed to evaluate possible differences between secondary (SH) and tertiary hospital (TH) settings in the effectiveness of implementing AF treatment strategies. METHODS Baseline characteristics of 6273 patients with non-valvular AF enrolled in the RAMSES (ReAl-life Multicentre Survey Evaluating Stroke Prevention Strategies in Turkey) study were compared. RESULTS Of the study population, 3312 (52.8%) patients were treated in THs and 2961 (47.2%) patients were treated in SHs. Patients treated in the SH setting were older (70.8±9.8 vs. 68.7±11.4years, p<0.001), had a lower socioeconomic status, had a higher CHA2DS2VASc and HASBLED scores (3.4±1.4 vs. 3.1±1.7, p<0.001 and 1.7±1.0 vs. 1.6±1.1, p<0.001 respectively), and had more comorbidities than patients treated in THs. Inappropriate oral anticoagulant use was more prevalent in SHs than THs (31.4% vs. 25.6%, p<0.001). When over- and undertreatment rates were compared among hospital types, overtreatment was more prevalent in THs (7.6% vs. 0.9%, p<0.001) while undertreatment was more common in SHs (30.5% vs. 17.9%, p<0.001). CONCLUSION This study demonstrates the marked disparity between patient groups with AF presenting at SHs and THs. The use of guideline-recommended therapy is not adequate in either type of centre, overtreatment was more prevalent in THs and undertreatment was more prevalent in SHs.

Association of the Monocyte to HDL Cholesterol Ratio With Thrombus Burden in Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Intracoronary thrombus burden is associated with some adverse events and poor prognosis in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Identifying predictors of the intracoronary thrombus burden may contribute to the management of STEMI. In this study, we evaluated whether monocyte count to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) is a predictor of intracoronary thrombus burden in patients with STEMI. The study population consisted of 414 patients with STEMI who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Angiographic thrombus burden was classified based on thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) thrombus grades. The patients were grouped into 2 categories of low thrombus burden and high thrombus burden. The MHR was significantly higher in the high thrombus burden group compared with the low thrombus group (16.0 [9.2-22.1] vs 25.4 [13.5-44.6]; P < .001). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, MHR was an independent predictor of high thrombus burden (odds ratio: 1.067, 95% CI: 1.031-1.105; P < .001). The area under the receiver–operating characteristic curve of the MHR was 0.688 (0.641-0.733; P < .001) to predict high thrombus burden. In conclusion, MHR was independent predictor of high thrombus burden in patients with STEMI who underwent primary PCI.

Assessment of myocardial repolarisation parameters in patients with familial Mediterranean fever

Summary Background: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a chronic, recurrent auto-inflammatory disease characterised by self-terminating attacks of fever and sterile polyserositis. The main cause of death in auto-inflammatory diseasesis cardiovascular events. Additionally, auto-inflammatory diseases have potential effects on the myocardial repolarisation parameters, including the T-wave peak-to-end (Tp-Te) interval, cTp-Te interval (corrected Tp-Te) and the cTp-Te/ QT ratio. The aim of this study was to analyse the efficacy of myocardial repolarisation alterations in anticipation of cardiovascular risks in patients with FMF. Methods: This study included 66 patients with FMF and 58 healthy control subjects. Tp-Te and cTp-Te intervals and the cTp-Te/QT ratio were measured from the 12-lead electrocardiogram. Results: In electrocardiographic parameters, analysis of QT, QT dispersion, corrected QT (QTc) and QTc dispersion were similar between the groups. The Tp-Te and cTp-Te intervals and Tp-Te/QT and cTp-Te/QT ratios were significantly prolonged in FMF patients. Multivariate linear regression analyses indicated that erythrocyte sedimentation rate was an independent predictor of a prolonged cTp-Te interval. Conclusions: Our study revealed that when compared with control subjects, Tp-Te and cTp-Te intervals and cTp-Te/QT ratio were increased in FMF patients.

Efficacy of coronary fractional flow reserve using contrast medium compared to adenosine

Introduction Coronary fractional flow reserve (FFR) is recommended as the gold standard method in evaluating intermediate coronary stenoses. However, there are significant debates concerning the agents and the timing of the measurement. Aim To compare the contrast medium induced Pd/Pa ratio (CMR) with the FFR. Material and methods We enrolled 28 consecutive patients with 34 intermediate lesions who underwent coronary FFR measurement by intracoronary (i.c.) adenosine. After baseline Pd/Pa was calculated, a single contrast medium (Iomeron) injection of 6 ml (3 ml/s) was performed manually. Within 10 s after the contrast medium injection, the CMR was calculated. Bolus injection of i.c. adenosine was performed to induce maximal hyperemia (from 60 µg to 600 µg), and when it was ≤ 0.80, the intermediate lesion was considered as significant. Results After bolus i.c. adenosine, 12 lesions of 34 (35.3%) were identified as significant. The CMR value was 0.86 ±0.06 (range: 0.71–0.97). There were no significant differences between FFR and CMR values (p = 0.108). A substantial positive correlation between adenosine and contrast values was detected (0.886 and p < 0.001). Good agreement in Bland-Altman analysis was revealed (mean bias was 0.027, 95% confidence interval 0.038–0.092). Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis showed 90.9% sensitivity and 91.7% specificity for a cut-off value of 0.85 for the CMR compared to FFR (≤ 0.80). Conclusions Our study showed that measuring the CMR is a feasible method compared to FFR. The CMR may be used in situations where adenosine cannot be administered.

Is There any Relationship Between Myocardial Repolarization Parameters and the Frequency of Ventricular Premature Contractions

Background Ventricular premature contractions (VPCs) may trigger lethal ventricular arrhythmias in patients with structural heart disease. However, this role of VPCs in healthy people remains controversial once that not enough clinical trials are available. Recently, some myocardial repolarization markers, such as Tp-e interval, Tp-e/QT, and Tp-e/QTc ratios, have been reported to be useful for predicting lethal ventricular arrhythmias in various clinical disorders without structural heart disease. Objective In this study, we aimed to investigate the relation between VPC frequent and myocardial repolarization markers in individuals without structural heart disease. Methods This study included 100 patients who had complaints of dizziness and palpitations. Twelve-lead electrocardiography and 24-hour ambulatory Holter recordings were obtained from all patients. VPC burden was calculated as the total number of VPCs divided by the number of all QRS complexes in the total recording time. P-values < 0.05 were considered significant. Results Tp-e interval and Tp-e/QTc ratio were significantly higher in patients with higher VPC burden than in patients with lower VPC burden, and a positive correlation was found between these markers and VPC burden. Tp-e (β = 1.318, p = 0.043) and Tp-e/QTc (β = -405.136, p = 0.024) in the lead V5 were identified as independent predictors of increased VPC burden. Conclusions Tp-e interval and Tp-e/QTc ratio increased in patients with high VPC number. Our study showed that VPCs may have a negative effect on myocardial repolarization. This interaction may lead to an increased risk of malignant arrhythmias.

Aortic Flow Propagation Velocity in Patients with Familial Mediterranean Fever: an Observational Study

Background and Objectives Systemic inflammation has an important role in the initiation of atherosclerosis, which is associated with arterial stiffness (AS). Aortic flow propagation velocity (APV) is a new echocardiographic parameter of aortic stiffness. The relationship between systemic inflammation and AS has not yet been described in patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). We aimed to investigate the early markers of AS in patients with FMF by measuring APV and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT). Subjects and Methods Sixty-one FMF patients (43 women; mean age 27.3±6.7 years) in an attack-free period and 57 healthy individuals (36 women; mean age 28.8±7.1 years) were included in this study. The individuals with atherosclerotic risk factors were excluded from the study. The flow propagation velocity of the descending aorta and CIMT were measured to assess AS. Results APV was significantly lower (60.2±16.5 vs. 89.5±11.6 cm/sec, p<0.001) and CIMT was significantly higher (0.49±0.09 vs. 0.40±0.10 mm, p<0.001) in the FMF group compared to the control group. There were significant correlations between APV and mean CIMT (r=-0.424, p<0.001), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (r=-0.198, p=0.032), and left ventricle ejection fraction (r=0.201, p=0.029). APV and the ESR were independent predictors of FMF in logistic regression analysis (OR=-0.900, 95% CI=0.865-0.936, p<0.001 and OR=-1.078, 95% CI=1.024-1.135, p=0.004, respectively). Mean CIMT and LVEF were independent factors associated with APV in linear regression analysis (β=-0.423, p<0.001 and β=0.199, p=0.017, respectively). Conclusion We demonstrated that APV was lower in FMF patients and is related to CIMT. According to our results, APV may be an independent predictor of FMF.

Red cell distribution width is correlated with extensive coronary artery disease in patients with diabetes mellitus

Summary Introduction: Previous studies have predicted an independent relationship between red cell distribution width (RDW) and the risk of death and cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between RDW and extensiveness of CAD in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: Two hundred and thirty-three diabetic patients who underwent coronary angiographies at our centre in 2010 were included in the study. All of the angiograms were re-evaluated and Gensini scores were calculated. Triple-vessel disease wasdiagnosed in the presence of stenosis > 50% in all three coronary artery systems. Result: RDW was significantly higher in diabetic CAD patients (p < 0.001). Patients with CAD who had a RDW value above the cut-off point also had higher Gensini scores, higher percentages of obstructive CAD and triple-vessel disease (p ≤ 0.001 for all). According to the cut-off values calculated using ROC analysis, RDW > 13.25% had a high diagnostic accuracy for predicting CAD. RDW was also positively correlated with Gensini score, obstructive CAD and triple-vessel disease (r < 0.468 and p < 0.001 for all). Conclusion: RDW values were found to be increased in the diabetic CAD population. Higher RDW values were related to more extensive and complex coronary lesions in patients with DM.