Renal artery stenosis may be a cause of hypertension and a potential contributor to progressive renal insufficiency. However, the prevalence of renal artery disease in a general population is poorly defined. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of angiographically-determined renal artery narrowing in a patient population undergoing routine cardiac catheterization, and to identify the risk factors for renal artery stenosis. After left ventriculography, abdominal aortography was performed to screen for the presence of renal artery stenosis. A total of 427 patients (274 males, 153 females) were studied and the mean age was 59 years. Renal artery narrowing was identified in 10.5% of patients. Significant (> or = 50% diameter narrowing) renal artery stenosis was found in 24 patients (5.6%) and insignificant stenosis was found in 21 patients (4.9%). Significant unilateral stenosis was present in 4.2% of patients and bilateral stenosis was present in 1.4%. The stem of the renal artery was a more common site of stenosis in 62.2% of patients than in the ostium (37.8%), but the severity of stenosis was not significantly different according to the site of stenosis. By univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis, the association of clinical variables with renal artery stenosis was assessed. Multivariable predictors included age, hypertension and peripheral vascular disease (p < 0.05). The variables such as sex, smoking history, hyperlipidemia, renal insufficiency, as well as the presence of obesity, severity of coronary heart disease and D.M., were not associated. In conclusion, the prevalence of angiographically-determined renal artery narrowing in a patient population undergoing cardiac catheterization is 10.5%. Old age, hypertension and evidence of peripheral vascular disease represent the predictors of renal artery stenosis.
The functional significance of the collateral circulation was evaluated in 125 patients with total coronary occlusion. Patients were classified into two groups. Group 1:patients with angina pectoris (AP), Group 2:patients with a first transmural myocardial infarction (MI) within 3 months of the symptom onset. Clinical variables, resting and exercise electrocardiogram (EKG) were analyzed with angiographic findings. Collateral fillings were graded from 0 to 3: 0 = none; 1 = filling of side branches only; 2 = partial filling of the epicardial segment; 3 = complete filling of epicardial segment. The wall motion of each segment was scored from 1 to 5: 1 = normal; 2 = mild to moderate hypokinesia; 3 = severe hypokinesia; 4 = akinesia; 5 = dyskinesia. The scores of the 5 segments were added to yield a total LV score. There was a higher prevalence of good collaterals and multi-vessel disease in patients with AP than in those with MI (83% vs 53%, 54% vs 30%, respectively, p < 0.005). The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and segmental wall motion score were significantly better in patients with AP than in those with MI (68.9 +/- 13.4%, vs 50.5 +/- 12.6%, 15.0 +/- 7.3 mmHg vs 20.3 +/- 8.8 mmHg, 6.5 +/- 2.2 vs 9.6 +/- 2.3, respectively, p < 0.05). In spite of total coronary occlusion, 61% of AP patients had normal resting EKG but (96% of AP patients who underwent treadmill test proved positive. The proportions of well-developed collaterals in 3 groups divided according to the interval between onset of MI and angiography (within 1 day, 2 to 14 days, 15 days to 3 months) were 13%, 54% and 60%. There were no significant differences in LVEF, segmental wall motion score and LVEDP in MI patients with poorly-developed collaterals and well-developed collaterals (49.1 +/- 15.7% vs 46.4 +/- 10.1%, 11.1 +/- 2.2 vs 10.9 +/- 1.4 and 24.3 +/- 9.7 mmHg vs 20.3 +/- 7.0 mmHg, p = NS). The degree of collateral development was higher in MI with right coronary artery occlusion compared with that of left anterior descending artery occlusion (1.1 +/- 1.0 vs 2.0 +/- 1.0, p < 0.05). In conclusion, collateral circulation can prevent myocardial ischemia and preserve myocardial function in a significant number of patients with AP but do not provide protection against exercise-induced myocardial ischemia in the majority of patients with AP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Background and Objectives:Several polymorphisms of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system have been found to have pleiotropic effects on cardiovascular diseases. Polymorphism of the aldosterone synthase gene (CYP11B2, which may influence plasma aldosterone levels, has been reported to cause systemic hypertension, influence the left ventricular diameter and mass, and decrease baroreflex sensitivity of the cardiovascular syst- em. Through these mechanisms, it is thought to increase the risk of myocardial infarction (MI. Our study was designed to elucidate whether polymorphism of CYP11B2 increased the risk of MI. Subjects and Methods: We analyzed the genotypes of CYP11B2 and the classic risk factors of MI in 188 MI patients and 320 control subjects without history of MI. Results:There was no significant difference in the distribution of genotypes between the patient and control groups. Adjusting for the classical risk factors, multiple logistic regression an- alysis showed no significant effect of CYP11B2 gene polymorphism on the development of MI. However, the presence of the -344C allele is associated with a markedly increased MI risk conferred by classic risk factors including hypertension, smoking, and male sex. In particular, hypertension was not a significant risk factor as compared with non-hypertensive patients in subjects without -344C, but the relative risk was increased to 2.40 (95% CI:1.05-5.51, p<0.05 with -344C. The relative risks of smoking and male sex were also incre- ased with the presence of the -344C allele. Conclusion:CYP11B2 polymorphism is not an independent risk factor of MI, although hypertension, smoking, and male sex are more potent risk factors for MI in Koreans who possess the -344C allele. ( ( ( (Korean Circulation J 2001;31(12 :1261-1266
Background and Objectives：Insulin resistance has been suggested to be an important risk factor in the development of arteriosclerosis. The correlation between insulin sensitivity and the degree of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with angina pectoris was investigated. Subjects and Methods：The study population consisted of 74 subjects with angina (54 men, 20 women, aged from 31 to 73 years. Coronary angiograms were evaluated by 3 semiquantitative scoring systems (vessel score, stenosis score and extent score to estimate the extent of focal and diffuse coronary artery disease (CAD. Insulin sensitivity (KITT was determined by an insulin tolerance test. Results：There were significant correlations between KITT and all 3 coronary scores. Multivariate analysis revealed significant and independent correlations between all 3 coronary scores and KITT, even in patients without diabetes mellitus. Both HDL cholesterol level and KITT were sign-ificantly lower in patients with CAD than in those without. Conclusion：Decreased insulin sensitivity was significantly associated with the presence and extent of CAD. These results suggest the potential benefits of insulin-sensitizing treatment strategies for patients with decreased insulin sensitivity. (Korean Circulation J 2002;32(7 :566-572
Of the congenital coronary artery fistulae, the multiple coronary artery microfistulae, arising from the left and right coronary artery emptying into the left ventricle, are very rare. Little is known about their anatomic and clinical features, especially in apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The clinical findings are heterogeneous, but include, in most cases, a history of typical or atypical angina pectoris. A 67 year old woman was referred for evaluation of chest pain on exertion, and a shortness of breath. The electrocardiographic and echocardiographic findings were typical of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Coronary arteriography showed normal epicardial coronary arteries, but multiple coronary artery-left ventricular microfistulae arising from the left and right coronary arteries. Transthoracic Doppler echocardiography, using a high frequency transducer, with a low Nyquist limit, demonstrated multiple coronary artery-left ventricular microfistulae just beneath the apical impulse window. (Korean Circulation J 2003;33 (4):338-342)
To determine whether dietary modification improves insulin resistance and coronary atherosclerosis, we randomly assigned 14 Korean patients to an experimental group (low-fat, low-cholesterol diet, high polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio, and calorie restriction) or to a control group (no dietary change). Coronary artery lesions were analyzed by quantitative coronary angiography, and postglucose insulin responses were measured. At baseline, there were no significant differences in body weight, BMI, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and plasma lipid and insulin levels between the two groups. After completion of the 1-year diet program, the experimental group showed significant reductions in body weight (66.0 +/- 3.2 to 61.6 +/- 3.8 kg [means +/- SE], P < 0.01) and WHR (O.96 +/- 0.01 to 0.93 +/- 0.01, P < 0.05). Total cholesterol (5.45 +/- 0.45 to 4.50 +/- 0.44 mmol/l, P < 0.05), LDL cholesterol (3.71 +/- 0.36 to 2.98 +/- 0.37 mmol/l, P < 0.05), and triglyceride (1.91 +/- 0.28 to 1.29 +/- 0.17 mmol/l, P < 0.05) were also significantly reduced in the experimental group. The mean insulin response during an oral glucose tolerance test was also significantly decreased (258.6 +/- 26.4 to 181.8 +/- 6.6 pmol/l, P < 0.05). In contrast, there were no significant changes in these parameters in the control group. When only coronary artery lesions > 50% stenosed were analyzed, the average percentage diameter stenosis regressed from 63.2 to 56.8% in the experimental group. However, there were no significant changes in the control group. Our trial suggests that decreases in body weight and WHR and an improvement in insulin resistance with a low-fat, low cholesterol diet and caloric restriction may reduce risk factors and reverse coronary atherosclerotic lesions in 1 year.
This study examined the relationship between anger expression or alexithymia and coronary artery stenosis in patients with coronary artery diseases. 143 patients with coronary artery diseases (104 males and 39 females) were enrolled in this study. The severity of their coronary artery stenosis was measured by angiography. The Anger Expression Scale and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale were used to assess the level of anger expression and alexithymia. The more stenotic group (occluded by 75% or more) exhibited a significantly higher level of alexithymia than the less stenotic group (occluded by less than 25%). Multiple regression analysis on the extent of stenosis also revealed that regardless of gender and age, the coronary artery disease patients with higher alexithymia were likely to show a greater level of stenosis. However, no significant differences were found on either the anger-in or anger-out subscale scores between the two groups. These results suggest that alexithymia is associated with the severity of coronary artery stenosis in patients with coronary artery disease. However, both anger expression and anger suppression were not shown to be associated with the severity of coronary artery stenosis.
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