Aydan Ongun Ozdemir

Elevated levels of C-reactive protein are associated with impaired coronary collateral development.

Background  In vitro studies have shown that C‐reactive protein (CRP) attenuates nitric oxide production and inhibits angiogenesis, which may result in impaired collateral development. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between high sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) levels and the extent of coronary collaterals.

Torsade de pointes associated with moxifloxacin: A rare but potentially fatal adverse event

Torsade de pointes occuring due to a long QT interval is a rare but potentially fatal arrhythmia. Acquired long QT develops most commonly because of drugs that prolong ventricular repolarization. It has been reported that fluoroquinolone antimicrobials prolong the corrected QT interval but rarely cause torsade de pointes. A patient with torsade de pointes risk factors (female sex, advanced age, extreme bradycardia and renal failure) who developed the condition on the fourth day of 400 mg/day of oral moxifloxacin treatment is presented. After the moxifloxacin was stopped, the corrected QT interval normalized and a permanent cardiac pacemaker was implanted. During 11 months of follow-up, arrhythmia did not recur.

Two-Dimensional Longitudinal Strain and Strain Rate Imaging for Assessing the Right Ventricular Function in Patients with Mitral Stenosis

Background: Longitudinal two‐dimensional strain (L2DS) deformation is a novel technique that evaluates global and regional right ventricular (RV) function. The aim of the study was to investigate the systolic function of RV by using this method in patients with pure mitral stenosis (MS). Methods: Conventional echocardiography and L2DS analysis were performed in 45 MS patients and 21 healthy controls. For strain analysis apical four‐chamber views were obtained and by using a software system, peak systolic strain and strain rates were calculated off‐line in each segment. Results: The mean global longitudinal strain (GLS) of the whole RV (−20 ± 7 vs. −24 ± 6%, P= 0.02) and mean GLS of the septum (−19 ± 7 vs. −23 ± 5%, P = 0.03) were significantly reduced in the MS patients. Compared with the control group no significant change was determined in the mean GLS of the RV free wall (RVFW). While the mean global longitudinal strain rates (GLSR) of the entire RV and RVFW were similar between the groups, a significant difference in the mean GLSR of the septum (−1.2 ± 0.4 vs. −1.5 ± 0.3 s−1, P= 0.005) was determined in the patients with MS. A regional analysis demonstrated that MS patients had significantly reduced strain and strain rates in the basal and mid‐segments of the septum, whereas only lower strain values in the basal RVFW. Conclusions: RV systolic function evaluated by L2DS analysis in patients with MS has shown decreased global and segmental systolic functions. (ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY 2010;27:525‐533)

The impact of the distance between the atrial electrode and the atrial wall on atrial undersensing in patients with VDD pacemakers: long-term follow-up.

Aim: Atrial undersensing (AUS) in single‐lead VDD pacemakers may be due to diminished P‐wave amplitude secondary to local inflammation beneath the electrodes closer to atrial wall. The aim of this study was to assess the potential effect of distance between atrial electrode and atrial wall on immediate and long‐term atrial sensing stability in VDD systems.

The relation between endothelial dependent flow mediated dilation of the brachial artery and coronary collateral development – a cross sectional study

BackgroundEndothelial dysfunction is thought to be a potential mechanism for the decreased presence of coronary collaterals. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between systemic endothelial function and the extent of coronary collaterals.MethodsWe investigated the association between endothelial function assessed via flow mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery following reactive hyperemia and the extent of coronary collaterals graded from 0 to 3 according to Rentrop classification in a cohort of 171 consecutive patients who had high grade coronary stenosis or occlusion on their angiograms.ResultsMean age was 61 years and 75% were males. Of the 171 patients 88 (51%) had well developed collaterals (grades of 2 or 3) whereas 83 (49%) had impaired collateral development (grades of 0 or 1). Patients with poor collaterals were significantly more likely to have diabetes (p = 0.001), but less likely to have used statins (p = 0.083). FMD measurements were not significantly different among good and poor collateral groups (11.5 ± 5.6 vs. 10.4 ± 6.2% respectively, p = 0.214). Nitroglycerin mediated dilation was also similar (13.4 ± 5.9 vs. 12.8 ± 6.5%, p = 0.521).ConclusionNo significant association was found between the extent of angiographically visible coronary collaterals and systemic endothelial function assessed by FMD of the brachial artery.

Changing patterns of patient characteristics in the cath lab from 1998 to 2006: a single-centre retrospective analysis

Background — There are few data on the change in the profile of cath lab patients over long time intervals. Methods — We retrospectively analysed our cath lab records, patient charts, in terms of demographic variables, clinical and laboratory characteristics in a thousand patients (499 patients in 1998 January-March, 501 patients in 2006 January-March). Results — Mean age was significantly higher in the 2006 cohort (57.5 ± 11 vs. 62.2 ± 10.8, P < 0.001). Gender was similar in both cohorts (men 68.5% vs. women 69.9%, P = 0.65). Both hypertension and diabetes mellitus were more prevalent in the 2006 cohort (613% vs. 49.3 and 30.3 vs. 17.6 respectively, P∞ < 0.001 for both). Smoking rates (past or active) did not differ between the cohorts. Rates of normal or near normal coronary angiograms were somewhat elevated in both cohorts (36.7% in 1998 and 39.1% in 2006). Rates of multivessel disease (2-3 vessel disease) tended to increase and rates of single-vessel disease tended to decrease from the 1998 cohort to the 2006 cohort (27.7% to 34.4% and 35.7% to 26.7%, P = 0.006).The number of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) performed increased with a borderline statistical significance in the 2006 cohort (32% vs. 38.5%, P = 0.053). Conclusions — Our data indicates that today interventional cardiologists face an older and more severely diseased cath lab patient population compared with a decade earlier. In comparison with 1998, more PCIs were performed.