Microalbuminuria, considered a marker for systemic vascular disease, is a significant predictor of increased risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the general population. The relationship between microalbuminuria and cardiovascular disease is unknown. The aim of this study is to examine the association between microalbuminuria and coronary collateral vessel (CCV) development in nondiabetic and nonhypertensive patients with unstable coronary artery disease (USCAD). One hundred and six patients that had USCAD without hypertension and diabetes participated in the study. Microalbuminuria was assessed by radioimmunoassay in 24-h urine collections performed on the first day, and coronary angiography was performed 2-4 days after admissions. In total, 26 patients (mean age 56+/-14 years) had the criteria of the microalbuminuria group and 80 patients with normoalbuminuria (mean age 59+/-11 years), who had one or more diseased vessels with 80% or more stenosis, were included in the control group. The CCVs are graded according to the Rentrop scoring system and a Rentrop grade >or=1 was accepted as CCV development. CCV development was detected in eight (23%) of 26 patients in the microalbuminuria group and in 53 (74%) of 80 patients in the normoalbuminuria group. CCV development in the patients in the normoalbuminuria group was significantly different from that of the patients in the microalbuminuria group (r = -0.15, P = 0.006). In conclusion, these findings suggest that CCV development is poorer in the microalbuminuria group than the normoalbuminuria group. This study shows that in patients with USCAD, microalbuminuria, which is related to systemic vascular disease, affects CCV development negatively.
A 32-year-old man with Behcet’s disease presented with typical chest pain of 36-hour onset. His physical examination was normal. Levels of cardiac enzymes and troponin I were increased. Electrocardiography showed ST-segment depression in precordial leads. An emergency invasive intervention was initiated with the diagnosis of subacute anterior myocardial infarction. Coronary angiography showed a large aneurysm in the proximal segment of the left anterior descending artery with TIMI 0 flow (Fig. A). The large aneurysm was also demonstrated by multislice computed tomography (Fig. B, C). The patient underwent an emergency surgical intervention for repair of the coronary aneurysm. Behcet syndrome is a vasculitis that can affect all the arteries and veins. Coronary artery aneurysms are uncommon in Behcet’s disease. Ali Dogan Ahmet Celik† Serap Dogan# Ibrahim Ozdogru
Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), which develops as a result of the immunologic response that donor T-lymphocytes generate against host tissue following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in these patients. The aim of this study is the investigate relation between aortic wall stiffness and duration of the disease in patients with chronic GVHD.The study population included 32 patients (18 men; mean age, 36.9±12.5 years, and mean disease duration=14.7±2.9 months) who received HSCT and was diagnosed with GVHD and 44 patients (23 men; mean age, 35.2±9.6 years, and mean disease duration=13.5±2.4 months) who did not develop GVHD following HSCT. All patients underwent baseline echocardiography before HSCT and were followed. After approximately 10-14 months following HSCT, these patients were divided into two groups based on whether they had developed chronic GVHD, and were compared to aortic stiffness parameters and cardiac functions.There was no change in basal characteristics, laboratory and echocardiographic findings, and aortic stiffness parameters in both groups before HSCT (P>0.05). After HSCT, the mean aortic strain and distensibility values of the chronic GVHD patients were significantly lower, compared with the non-GVHD patients (9.8±3.2% vs. 12.9±5.0%, P=0.002 and 4.1±1.5×10(-6) cm2/dyn vs. 5.3±2.1×10(-6) cm2/dyn; P=0.005, respectively). In addition, aortic stiffness index was increased in the chronic GVHD group compared with non-GVHD group (2.7±1.7 vs. 2.0±0.8, P=0.03).Aortic stiffness measurements were significantly different in chronic GVHD group compared to non-GVHD group and these findings suggested useful explanation for the potential mechanism about the development of disease.
We investigated whether the systemic immune inflammation index (SII) on admission is an independent risk factor that predicts the development of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in patients with non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). A total of 429 patients with NSTEMI were enrolled in the study. Contrast-induced nephropathy was defined as an increase in serum creatinine level of ≥0.5 mg/dL or ≥25% above baseline within 72 hour after the procedure. Patients were divided into 2 groups: with and without CIN. Demographics, clinical risk factors, angiographic and laboratory parameters, CIN incidence, and SII score were compared between the 2 groups. Non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction patients, who developed CIN, had higher glucose levels ( P = .009), neutrophil counts ( P < .001), platelet counts ( P < .001), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratios ( P < .001), high sensitivity C-reactive protein levels ( P = .009), and SII levels ( P < .001) than those who did not develop CIN. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that at a cutoff of 933.2, the value of SII exhibited 77.6% sensitivity and 69.2% specificity for detecting CIN. Our study showed that the SII levels on admission were independently associated with CIN development after PCI in patients with NSTEMI.
ABSTRACT Objective The purpose of this study was to examine arterial stiffness in elite basketball and soccer athletes by pulse wave velocity. Methods The cohort comprised 35 healthy male volunteers aged 17 to 26 years. All the subjects were either basketball players (n=9), soccer players (n=12) or sedentary controls (n=14). Arterial stiffness was measured by the Pulse Trace System (Micro Medical Ltd., Rochester, UK) and echocardiographic images were taken using a commercially available machine (Vivid 7 GE-Vingmed, Horten, Norway) with a 2.5 MHz transducer. Results The basketball players had significantly higher heights and body weights as compared to both the soccer players and the controls. The aortic elastic properties derived from the echocardiographic measurements did not differ between the groups. The peripheral pulse wave velocity measurements showed significantly lower values both in the basketball and soccer players compared to the controls, whereas the central pulse wave velocity measurement was significantly lower only in the basketball players as compared to the controls. No significant difference was seen between the basketball and soccer players. Conclusions The results of this study show that football and basketball exercises comprised of aerobic, anaerobic, endurance balance-coordination and sport-specific training play a role in reducing arterial stiffness. Level of evidence I; type of study: prognostic study.
In this study our aim was to evaluate the relationship between degree of fluid status and arterial stiffness measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV) in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Fluid status was determined by different methods including fluid overload measured by bioimpedance (Body Composition Monitor, BCM), calf normalized resistivity (CNR), plasma N-terminal fragment of B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and extracellular to intracellular water ratio (ECW/ICW).Sixty PD patients were evaluated. They were stratified into normo- and hypervolemic groups according to their fluid overload (FO). CNR was calculated from resistance at 5 kHz using calf bioimpedance spectroscopy. Arterial stiffness was assessed by PWV. Additionally, all patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography and had levels of NT-proBNP measured.PWV was higher in the hypervolemic compared to normovolemic patients (9.99 ± 2.4 m/sec vs 7.48 ± 2.3 m/sec, p < 0.001). Hypervolemic patients had higher NT-proBNP levels (3065 ± 981 pg/mL vs 1095 ± 502 pg/mL, p < 0.001), a higher ratio of ECW/ICW; (0.93 ± 0.11 vs 0.81 ± 0.08, p < 0.001) and lower CNR (13.7 ± 2.4 vs 16.0 ± 3.3 W m(3)/kg(*)10(-2), p = 0.005). NT-pro BNP level, ECW/ICW ratio, relative FO, and left ventricular (LV) mass index were positively and CNR negatively correlated with PWV. Relative FO and CNR independently predicted PWV in multivariate analysis adjusted for age, duration of PD, body mass index and mean arterial pressure.Arterial stiffness is increased in fluid-overloaded PD patients. Our results indicated that fluid status is an independent predictor of PWV.
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