Yılmaz Ömür Otlu

Effect of smoking on Tp-e interval, Tp-e/QT and Tp-e/QTc ratios as indices of ventricular arrhythmogenesis.

BACKGROUND Smoking may lead to ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death via altering ventricular recovery time dispersion indices such as QT interval and QT dispersion (QTd). The Tp-e/QT and Tp-e/QTc ratios are also known as predictors of ventricular arrhythmogenesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between cigarette smoking and ventricular repolarisation dispersion using these novel electrocardiographic parameters. METHODS One hundred and twenty-one chronic smokers and 70 age- and sex-matched non-smoker controls were included in our study. The Tp-e interval and Tp-e/QT ratio were measured by 12-lead electrocardiogram, and corrected for heart rate. RESULTS QTd (34.2 ± 8.4, 27.2 ± 10.4, P<0.001) and corrected QTd (37.3 ± 8.9, 29.8 ± 11.2, P<0.001) were significantly increased in the smokers compared to the non-smoker control group. The Tp-e interval (76.5 ± 6.3, 70.3 ± 6.8, P<0.001), cTp-e interval (83.5 ± 8.0, 77.1 ± 8.7, P<0.001), Tp-e/QT (0.20 ± 0.03, 0.19 ± 0.02, P<0.001) and Tp-e/QTc ratios (0.19 ± 0.02, 0.17 ± 0.02, P<0.001) were increased in the patient group when compared to the controls. Significant positive correlations were also found between the level of smoking with the cTp-e interval (r=0.836, P<0.001), and Tp-e/QT (r=0.714, P<0.001) and Tp-e/QTc ratios (r=0.448, P<0.001). CONCLUSION We found in our study that cTp-e interval, Tp-e/QT and Tp-e/QTc ratios were increased in smokers and significantly correlated to the amount of smoking.

CHA2DS2-VASc-HS score in non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome patients: assessment of coronary artery disease severity and complexity and comparison to other scoring systems in the prediction of in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events

Objective: We recently described the CHA2DS2-VASc-HS score as a novel predictor of coronary artery disease (CAD) severity in stable CAD patients. We aimed to assess the accuracy of the CHA2DS2-VASc-HS score in the determination of CAD severity and complexity and its availability in the risk stratification of in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) patients. Methods: We prospectively analyzed the clinical and angiographic data of consecutive NSTE-ACS patients in our clinic. Patients were classified into three tertiles according to their SYNTAX score (SS): tertile 1 had an SS of 0–22; tertile 2 had an SS of 23–32; and tertile 3 had an SS of >32. There were no specific exclusion criteria except for previous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) because SS was validated for only native coronary arteries for this study. We used the following analyses: χ2 or Fisher’s exact tests, one-way analysis of variance or Kruskal–Wallis tests, Pearson’s or Spearman’s tests, the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis, the area under the curve (AUC) or C-statistic, and pairwise comparisons of the ROC curves. Results: A total of 252 patients were enrolled. There were 131 patients in tertile 1, 79 in tertile 2, and 42 in tertile 3. The number of diseased vessels was correlated with the Global Registry for Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) (p<0.001), Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) (p<0.001), and CHA2DS2-VASc-HS (p<0.001) scores. In the ROC curve analyses, the cut-off value of the CHA2DS2-VASc-HS score in the prediction of in-hospital MACE was >5 with a sensitivity of 69.6% and specificity of 90.3% (AUC: 0.804, 95%: CI 0.750–0.851, p<0.001). We also compared the diagnostic accuracy of the CHA2DS2-VASc-HS score with the TIMI and GRACE risk scores in the determination of the in-hospital MACE and found no differences. Conclusion: The CHA2DS2-VASc-HS score was positively correlated with the severity and complexity of CAD. We also found that CHA2DS2-VASc-HS was comparable with other risk scores for the risk stratification of the in-hospital MACE of NSTE-ACS patients. Therefore, it may play an important role as a predictive model of NSTE-ACS patients in clinical practice. (Anatol J Cardiol 2016; 16: 742-8)

Increased Epicardial Adipose Tissue Thickness on Transthoracic Echocardiography in Patients With Behçet Disease

Owing to the fact that the potential frequency of endothelial dysfunction and early atherosclerosis might be higher in Behçet disease, characterized by acute and chronic inflammatory attacks, it may lead to impairment in flow‐mediated dilatation and an increase in epicardial adipose tissue thickness. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate whether epicardial adipose tissue thickness and brachial artery flow‐mediated dilatation as markers of early atherosclerosis and endothelial dysfunction were associated with Behçet disease.

Mitral annular plane systolic excursion in the assessment of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in obese adults.

Objective: Mitral annular plane systolic excursion (MAPSE) is a simple way to assess left ventricle (LV) function. MAPSE is also correlated to parameters, illustrating the close relation between systolic and diastolic function of LV. In this study, we evaluated whether MAPSE could help us in the determination the LV diastolic dysfunction (DD) in obese adults. Methods: Our study was a prospective cross-sectional study. Obese patients who were referred from the endocrinology clinic were enrolled into this study. The participants included 40 obese patients with early-stage DD (grade I and II) and 40 obese patients with normal diastolic function, with an equal number of males and females. The patients with DD were further divided into Obese DD+I, who had grade I DD, and Obese DD+II, who had grade II DD. Student t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, one-way analysis of variance, ROC curve analysis, and pairwise comparisons of the ROC curves were used for statistical analysis. Results: MAPSE was different in all groups, with the lowest value in the Obese DD+II group (p<0.001). E/Em ratio was also different among all groups and was highest in the Obese DD+II group (p<0.001). Furthermore, MAPSE was negatively correlated with E/Em ratio (r=-0.368, p=0.020). The optimal threshold point of MAPSE in the diagnosis of left ventricle diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) was ≥1.45 cm, with 92.5% sensitivity (95% CI 79.6-98.4) and 77.5% specificity (95% CI 61.5-89.2) in the ROC curve analysis. There was no difference in the pairwise comparisons of the ROC curves of MAPSE and E/Em ratio in the diagnosis of DD [area under the ROC curve 0.902 (0.033) vs. 0.927 (0.027); p=0.54]. Conclusion: Consequently, we found significantly a close relationship between MAPSE with conventional echocardiographic parameters, especially with E/Em, in the detection of left ventricle diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) in obese adults with normal LV ejection fraction. We think that MAPSE is a simple, easily acquired and less time consuming measurement and may help us in the stratification of LVDD in obese adults.

Large thrombus formation from right atrial incision site after closure of atrial septal defect.

Atrial septal defect (ASD) is the common congenital anomaly which requires surgical interventions. Right atrial thrombus formations after primary suture repairs of the ASD and evidences of thromboembolic complications are extremely rare. Specifically, the cases of thromboembolic complications have high mortality and morbidity risks. Two cases of giant intra-atrial thrombus formation detected in the late stage after primary repairs of ASDs are being discussed.

Protective and therapeutic effects of dexpanthenol on isoproterenol-induced cardiac damage in rats

The purpose of the study was to explore the protective and therapeutic effects of dexpanthenol (DEX) on isoproterenol (ISO)‐induced cardiac damage. Forty rats were distributed into four groups: group I (Control); group II (ISO); ISO (150 mg/kg/day) was given to rats once a day for 2 consecutive days with an interval of 24 h; group III (DEX+ISO): DEX (250 mg/kg) was applied 30 min before the first ISO administration and continued in the next two days after second ISO administration; group IV (ISO+DEX): After the ISO treatment at 1st and 2nd days, DEX was given at 3rd and 4th days. Rats were monitored for mean arterial blood pressure (BP), heart rate, oxygen saturation (%SO2), and electrocardiography (ECG). Heart tissue levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), reduced glutathione (GSH), total oxidant status (TOS); total antioxidant capacity (TAC), oxidative stress index (OSI), and caspase‐3 were determined. BP and SO2 values indicated a significant decrease in the ISO group. Also, T wave negativity was observed in 6 of 10 rats, SOD, CAT, and GPX levels were significantly lower in ISO group than control group. ISO administration increased TOS and OSI levels, whereas DEX treatment significantly reduced these parameters. Also, ISO‐induced morphological alterations such as disorganization of cardiomyocytes, loss of myofibrils and cytoplasmic vacuolization whereas these histological damages were significantly decreased in ISO+DEX and DEX+ISO groups when compared to the ISO group. This study implies the cardioprotective effects of DEX on ISO‐induced cardiotoxicity.

Coexistence of Single Coronary Artery Anomaly and Aortic Arch Anomaly

A 74-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital for evaluation of recent onset atypical chest pain. His medical history included hypertension, dislipidemia and smoking. Physical examination was unremarkable. The resting electrocardiogram was demonstrated biphasic T waves on lateral derivations. Transthoracic echocardiography showed normal left and right ventricular dimensions and functions. Coronary angiography was planned for the patient. First, right transradial approach tried; but guidewire could not be advanced to ascendig aorta. Coronary angiography was performed through the right femoral artery. Multiple attempts to cannulate the left coronary ostium were unsuccessful. The right coronary artery cannulated from its normal ostium in the right sinus of Valsalva. After a very short common main stem, the artery divided into a right coronary artery, and separate left anterior descending artery and circumflex artery (Figure A). The coronary arteries were normal without any significant stenosis and any extrinsic compression. An aortic root injection confirmed the absence of left coronary ostium. Also, a retroesophageal right subclavian artery originating from the left aortic arch (arteria lusoria) was detected as the last branch of aortic arch on contrast enhanced computerized tomography (Figure B-C). The patient discharged with medical teraphy.