Oben Döven

Slow coronary flow may be a sign of diffuse atherosclerosis. Contribution of FFR and IVUS.

Objective. — Slow coronary flow (SCF) is a phenomenon characterized by delayed opacification of coronary arteries in the absence of epicardial occlusive disease, in which many aetiological factors such as microvascular and endothelial dysfunction, and small vessel disease have been implicated. We aimed to investigate the epicardial resistance in relation with SCF by using fractional flow reserve (FFR) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). Both have been combined to disclose the related epicardial flow resistance and the arterial anatomy. Methods and results. — Coronary pressure and FFR measurement were performed in 19 (8 (42.1%) men, 11 (57.9%) women; age = 55.9 ± 9.4 years) patients with SCF. All patients underwent subsequent IVUS investigation at the same setting. As compared with expected normal values, FFR values were significantly lower (1.0 vs. 0.83 ± 0.13, p < 0.0001). In patients with SCF, a strong negative correlation was seen between TIMI frame count and FFR (r = –0.551, p < 0.05). Upon IVUS investigation, the common finding was longitudinally extended massive calcification throughout the epicardial arteries and increased intimal thickness (0.59 ± 0.18mm). A negative correlation between intimal thickness and FFR was determined (r = –467, p < 0.05). Conclusion. — We have demonstrated the decreased FFR in the patients with SCF. Decreased FFR levels have been attributed to increased resistance in the epicardial coronary arteries due to diffuse atherosclerotic disease which has been demonstrated by IVUS.

Preoperative and postoperative cardiac and clinical findings of patients with adenotonsillar hypertrophy.

OBJECTIVE Our aim was to determine if there was any detectable clinical and cardiac changes in hypertrophied adenotonsillary disease with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and to demonstrate the curative effect of adenotonsillectomy on these patients. METHODS Thirty-three children with adenotonsillary hypertrophy and sleep related breathing disorders were included in this study group. There were 16 female and 17 male patients and the mean age was 6.9+/-2 years. Age and sex matched control group consisted of 33 children (16 female, 17 male) with a mean age of 6.3+/-2. Complete clinical and laboratory examinations were done for each patient. The results were analysed with the SPSS (statistical package for social sciences) computer program. The significance of changes was performed by means of the independent samples of one-tailed t-test. For categorical variables, chi-square analysis was performed. RESULTS According to our snoring scale, snoring was mild in six patients (18.2%), moderate in 19 patients (57.5%) and severe in eight patients (24.3%). Severe apnea was not observed in any patients, moderate apnea in ten patients (30.3%) and mild apnea was observed in 23 patients (69.7%) preoperatively. Nine patients had Grade IV tonsils, 14 patients Grade III, seven patients Grade II, three patients Grade I. Twelve patients had 3+ (obstructive) adenoids, 21 patients had 2+ adenoids. Chest X-rays showed cardiomegaly in two patients with moderate degree of apnea. Electrocardiogram results were abnormal in four patients. When we compared echocardiographic results of study and control groups, we found several significant differences (RV: 1.6+/-0.3 vs 1.4+/-0.2; P<0.05, LVEDD: 3.6+/-0.5 cm vs 3.3+/-0.4; P<0.05, IVS: 6.8+/-1.4 mm vs 6.1+/-1.1 mm; P<0.05). Also a decreased left ventricular compliance measured by prolongation of deceleration time was found in patient group (DT: 173+/-44 vs. 126+/-22 ms; P<0.001). The echocardiographic results in postoperative group were similar to control group. CONCLUSION This study illustrated that adenotonsillary disease with obstructive sleep apnea symptoms leaded to right and/or left ventricular enlargement, hypertrophy when compared with control subjects, which were recovered postoperatively.

Exercise-induced myocardial ischemia in patients with coronary artery ectasia without obstructive coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND Aetiology, clinical significance and treatment options for coronary artery ectasia/aneurysm is not clear. OBJECTIVE We sought to determine whether exercise can induce coronary ischemia in patients with coronary artery ectasia/aneurysm without significant coronary stenosis. METHODS Coronary artery ectasia was defined as 1.5-2-fold, aneurysm as >2-fold luminal dilatation of the adjacent normal segment. The study patients could have irregularities with ectatic coronaries but they did not have stenotic lesions >50% with visual assessment of two blinded observers. Patients having coronary artery ectasia or aneurysm with prior myocardial infarction, dilated cardiomyopathy, valvular heart disease, bundle branch block, significant ST-T changes were excluded. The control group was formed from a well matched population of 32 patients with normal coronary arteries who have not performed a treadmill test before coronary angiography. The study group underwent a symptom limited treadmill test if they did not have one before coronary angiogram, all control patients underwent treadmill test. RESULTS Thirty-three patients with coronary artery ectasia/aneurysm (ranging from one to three vessels) but without significant stenosis were derived from 4470 cardiac catheterization procedures between January 1998 and July 2000. In the study group, 17 of the patients had positive treadmill tests with respect to five patients in the control group (P = 0.004). In subgroup analysis, diffuse ectasia/aneurysm (involving 2-3 vessels) was found to be strongly related with ischemia (P = 0.005) with respect to local disease. CONCLUSION Coronary artery ectasia/aneurysm may lead to exercise induced ischemia, especially in the diffuse form.

The Relationship between Plasma Endothelin-1, Nitric Oxide Levels, and Heart Rate Variability in Patients with Coronary Slow Flow

Background: Coronary slow flow (CSF) is characterized by delayed opacification of coronary arteries in the absence of epicardial occlusive disease. In this study, we aimed to determine endothelin‐1 (ET‐1), nitric oxide (NOx) levels and time domain heart rate variability (HRV) parameters in patients with CSF and relationship among these parameters.

A comparison of 1-month and 6-month clopidogrel therapy on clinical and angiographic outcome after stent implantation

In this study, we aimed to disclose the net effect of long-term (6-month) clopidogrel treatment as compared to that of short-term (1-month) treatment in the poststenting period. A total of 278 patients with successful stent implantation were involved in the study. After preloading with 300 mg of clopidogrel orally (p.o.) 24 h prior to the procedure, randomly selected patients were given either 75 mg p.o. for 1 month (group A) or 75 mg p.o. for 6 months (group B). The patients were followed up clinically and underwent control angiography at 6 months regardless of their clinical status to delineate the coronary anatomy and assess quantitative computer-assisted (QCA) analysis. In 140 (50.4%) patients (group A), 244 (50.6%) stents were used to treat 237 coronary lesions, and in 138 patients (group B), 238 (49.4%) stents were used to treat 238 coronary lesions. There was no difference between the groups with respect to any of the clinical characteristics, intracoronary thrombus, antiaggregant therapy, the type of lesion, vessel score index, and baseline QCA parameters. In 62 patients binary in-stent restenosis (ISR) was determined with no statistical difference between the groups (group A: 20.7% vs group B: 23.9%, P = not significance). There was also no difference between the two groups at 6 months regarding QCA parameters. Thirty-seven of the 62 patients with restenosis have developed major adverse coronary events such as death, myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization (group A: 12.9% vs group B: 13.8%, P = not significant). In patients with chronic coronary syndrome, in the poststenting period, 6-month clopidogrel use as an adjunct to aspirin has shown no benefit over 1 month use with respect to clinical outcome and angiographic outcome, such as restenosis rate, follow-up, minimal luminal diameter, late loss, lost index, and net gain.

The relationship between paraoxonase-1 activity and coronary artery disease in patients with metabolic syndrome.

OBJECTIVES We investigated the correlation of serum paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) activity with coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS). STUDY DESIGN The study included 21 patients (mean age 55 ± 9 years) with MetS, stable angina pectoris, and angiographically shown CAD, 24 patients (mean age 51 ± 10 years) with MetS and angiographically normal coroner arteries, and 28 healthy controls (mean age 49 ± 12 years). Demographic and clinical characteristics, insulin levels, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index, and PON-1 activity were assessed in all the groups. Severity of CAD was assessed using the Gensini score. RESULTS Paraoxonase-1 activity was significantly lower in patients with MetS compared to the control group (p=0.02). The two MetS groups with and without CAD exhibited similar characteristics in all the parameters including PON-1 activity (p>0.05). Univariate correlation analysis performed in MetS-CAD patients showed a significant negative correlation between the Gensini score and PON-1 activity (r=-0.48, p=0.02). The overall PON-1 activity of all the subjects showed no correlation with the parameters examined. CONCLUSION Decreased PON-1 activity in patients with MetS compared to the control group suggests increased oxidative stress in MetS. Detection of similar PON-1 activity levels in MetS groups with and without CAD suggests that disturbance of oxidative-antioxidative balance occurs before the development of CAD. The negative correlation between the Gensini score and PON-1 activity implies that decreased PON-1 activity may be one of the etiologic causes of atherosclerotic progress in MetS.

Does atorvastatin affect androgen levels in men in the era of very-low LDL targeting therapy?

BACKGROUND An adequate pool of free intracellular cholesterol is essential for steroidogenesis in gonads and LDL is the major source of cholesterol used in this pathway. Effect of peripheral LDL on the synthesis of steroids is dose dependent and although LDL levels around 100 mg/dl is demonstrated to be safe in terms of steroidogenesis, effect of LDL levels <70 mg/dl with higher doses of statins on steroidogenesis remains controversial. MATERIAL AND METHODS Androgen and gonadotropin levels are prospectively evaluated at baseline and after 12 weeks of treatment in 77 male coronary heart disease patients receiving high doses of atorvastatin (40-80 mg daily) targeting serum LDL levels <70 mg/dl and in 83 male coronary heart disease patients receiving regular doses of atorvastatin (10-20 mg daily) targeting serum LDL levels <100 mg/dl. RESULTS At the end of the study, mean LDL levels of the high and regular dose atorvastatin groups were 77+/-9 mg/dl and 98+/-10 mg/dl respectively. After twelve weeks of treatment, there were no significant alterations in serum total testosterone, free testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin, luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone levels between two groups. CONCLUSION High dose atorvastatin in order to reach serum LDL levels around 70 mg/dl seems to be as safe as regular doses in order to reach serum LDL levels around 100 mg/dl, in terms of gonadal steroidogenesis in men with coronary heart disease.

Familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy complicated by complete atrioventricular block.

We described a patient with familial non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and complete atrioventricular block.A 27-year-old male was admitted to our institution with syncope. Electrocardiography demonstrated complete atrioventricular block.Two-dimensional echocardiography revealed non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.A temporary transvenous ventricular pacemaker was inserted urgently, and subsequently replaced by a permanent dual-chamber pacemaker. Meanwhile, non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was diagnosed in the mother, the aunt and one of the brothers of the patient in the screening of the family, but atrioventricular conduction block was not detected in them. In the electrophysiological study of the mother, inducible ventricular tachycardia was detected. The reason for diversity of the arrhythmias in the members of the same family with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may be explained by penetrance.The phenotype of the familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is influenced by factors varying the penetrance, such as age and gender

NT-Pro-BNP levels and their response to exercise in patients with slow coronary flow.

BACKGROUND Natriuretic peptides are released by the heart in response to wall stress. OBJECTIVE The NT-Pro-BNP concentrations in slow coronary flow (SCF) patients were assessed before and after the exercise test and compared with the values of healthy controls. METHODS The study population was 34 patients with SCF [22 males (64.7%), aged 51.0 ± 6.2 years], and 34 normal subjects with normal coronary arteries [21 males (61.8%), aged 53.2 ± 6.6 years]. Coronary flow rates of all patients and control subjects were documented as Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) frame count. Blood samples were drawn at rest and after the exercise testing. RESULTS The baseline NT-Pro-BNP concentrations of the SCF patients were higher than those of the control subjects (NT-Pro-BNP: 49.7 ± 14.2 pg/mL vs. 25.3 ± 4.6 pg/mL p<0.0001, respectively), and this difference increased after exercise test between the groups (NT-Pro-BNP: 69.5 ± 18.6 pg/mL vs. 30.9 ± 6.4 pg/mL p<0.0001). In SCF group after exercise, NT-Pro-BNP concentration in 15 patients with angina was higher than those without angina (76.8 ± 17.8 pg/mL vs. 63.8 ± 17.5 pg/mL p=0.041). NT-Pro-BNP concentration in 11 patients with ST depression was also higher than those without ST depression (82.4 ± 17.3 pg/mL vs. 63.3 ± 16.1 pg/mL p=0.004). Median post-exercise increases in NT-Pro-BNP (Δ NT-Pro-BNP) were higher in the SCF group than in the control group (Δ NT-Pro-BNP: 19.8 ± 7.7 pg/mL vs. 5.7 ± 4.5 pg/mL p<0.0001). CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that there may be an important pathophysiologic link between the severity of SCF (microvascular or epicardial coronary artery dysfunction) and the level of circulating NT-Pro-BNP in SCF patients.

Impact of invasive strategy for the management of patients with cardiogenic shock after acute myocardial infarction

ObjectiveThis study evaluates the influence of early revascularization (with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) and coronary surgery) on short- and long-term survival in patients with cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods and resultsIn-hospital and 6-month survival were retrospectively determined on day 193 (65–270, median ±25th and 75th percentiles) in 87 patients who either underwent early invasive reperfusion (group A, n=60) or those who were treated conservatively (group B, n=27). In-hospital mortality was 37% in group A and 56% in group B (P=0.192). Six-month mortality was statistically lower in group A than in group B (30 patients (50%) compared with 25 patients (93%), P=0.005). Being a woman and older age were found to be factors increasing mortality. Lower mortality in the long term was strongly associated with revascularization (odds ratio=0.08, 95% confidence interval=1.54–109). PTCA was found to be an independent predictor of long-term survival (odds ratio= 0.22, 95% confidence interval=0.049–1.00, P=0.050), by multiple logistic regression. ConclusionsIn conclusion, this study suggests that early revascularization improves long-term survival of patients with cardiogenic shock complicating AMI, even after adjustment for baseline differences between patients who underwent early revascularization and those who did not.