Pheochromocytoma: An overlooked reversible cause of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction

Pheochromocytoma is a rare, benign tumor of adrenal medulla, and its clinical symptoms are related to catecholamine production. Clinical presentation may vary in a broad spectrum. Dilated or hypertrophied cardiomyopathies are the possible clinical outcomes of pheochromocytoma. Pheochromocytoma should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis where resistant hypertension, palpitations, headache, and sweating accompany cardiomyopathy. Excessive adrenergic stimulation causing catecholamine discharge can trigger hypertension crisis, pulmonary edema, and myocardial necrosis. Here in this report, we aimed to present the case of a patient with pheochromocytoma related cardiomyopathy who was totally recovered after surgical excision of the tumor

Normal Coronary Artery Patient Presenting with Left Ventricular Aneurysm

Left ventricular aneurysm (LVA) is one of the most important complications of myocardial infarction LVA is strictly defined as a distinct area of abnormal left ventricular diastolic contour with systolic dyskinesia or paradoxical bulging. LVA usually results from myocardial infarction. Other rare aetiologies of LVA include hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, Chagas' disease, sarcoidosis, congenital LVA, and idiopathic However, LVA formation in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy is rarely reported, and the incidence, clinical features, and pathogenesis of LVA formation in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy is not well understood. Here, we present a 45 years old, idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy patient with LVA and normal coronary arteries The pathogenesis of LVA formation in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy is not clear. One acceptable hypothesis is that coronary artery emboli originate from mural thrombi, present in some patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, which develop due to local wall infarction and fibrosis. The local myocardial perfusion differences could be seen in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and predominantly found in the anteroposterior axis of the left ventricle. Local fibrosis occurs more frequently on the anterior wall or posterior wall, and less frequently on the lateral or septal wall. In our patient, LVA existed in the septal segments.We could not define the exact mechanism of the septal aneurysm in our patient but we decided to present this abnormal case, which is different from cases thus far reported in the literature

Long-term prognosis of patients with heart failure: Follow-up results of journey HF-TR study population

Background: Despite advances in therapeutic management of patients with heart failure, there is still an increasing morbidity and mortality all over the world. In this study, we aimed to present the 3-year follow-up outcomes of patients included in the Journey HF-TR study in 2016 that has evaluated the clinical characteristics and management of patients with acute heart failure admitted to the hospital and present a national registry data. Methods: The study was designed retrospectively between November 2016 and December 2019. Patient data included in the previously published Journey HF-TR study were used. Among 1606 patients, 1484 patients were included due to dropout of 122 patients due to inhospital death and due to exclusion of 173 due to incomplete data. The study included 1311 patients. Age, gender, concomitant chronic conditions, precipitating factors, New York Heart Association, and left ventricular ejection fraction factors were adjusted in the Cox regression analysis. Results: During the 3-year follow-up period, the ratio of hospitalization and mortality was 70.5% and 52.1%, respectively. Common causes of mortality were acute decompensation of heart failure and acute coronary syndrome. Angiotensin receptor blockers, beta-blockers, statin, and sacubitril/valsartan were found to reduce mortality. Hospitalization due to acute decompensated heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, lung diseases, oncological diseases, and cerebrovascular diseases was associated with the increased risk of mortality. Implantation of cardiac devices also reduced the mortality. Conclusions: Despite advances in therapeutic management of patients with heart failure, our study demonstrated that the long-term mortality still is high. Much more efforts are needed to improve the inhospital and long-term survival of patients with chronic heart failure

Which is responsible for target organ damage in masked hypertension? Is it an increase in blood pressure or a disruption of the circadian rhythm?

Objective Masked hypertension (MH) and non-dipping pattern are conditions associated with target organ damage and cardiovascular risk, which are frequently observed together. We aimed to show the relationship between the target organ damage observed in MH and the deterioration in the dipping pattern. Methods Patients who underwent ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) and office blood pressure (BP) <140/90 mmHg were retrospectively screened. In ABPM data, those with daytime BP ≥135/85 mmHg and night BP ≥120/70 mmHg were included in the MH group, while the others were included in the normotensive group. The patients were grouped as dipper, non-dipper and reverse-dipper according to ABPM results. Left ventricular mass index (LVMI), glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and serum creatinine levels were used to determine target organ damage. Results 289 patients [mean age 46.6 ± 12.4 years, 136 (47.1%) males], 154 (53.3%) of whom had MH were included in our study. GFR value was found to be significantly lower, serum creatinine levels and LVMI were significantly higher in patients with MH compared to normotensives (p < .05, for all). When the subgroups were examined, it was found that this difference was associated with the disruption in the dipping pattern. In patients with MH, dipping pattern disruption without change in systolic BP was independently associated with an increase in LVMI (p < .05, for both). Conclusion Target organ damage seen in MH may be due to the deterioration of the dipping pattern

Determinants of reverse dipping blood pressure in normotensive, non-diabetic population with an office measurement below 130/85mmHg

Objective: The role of dipping blood pressure pattern in normotensives is unclear. The study aims to search the circadian blood pressure rhythm and the clinical determinants related to reverse dipping pattern in a strictly selected, normotensive population. Methods: The study population was divided into three groups depending on the nocturnal dipping pattern as dipping, non-dipping, and reverse dipping. Basal clinical characteristics, anthropometric measurements, and spot urine samples from the first-morning void were collected. Clinical determinants related to the presence of reverse dipping pattern were tested by the Multiple Binary Logistic Regression analysis. Results: A total of 233 participants were involved in the study population (median age 45 years [40-50]). Dipping pattern was detected in 55.4%, non-dipping pattern in 33.0%, and reverse dipping pattern in 11.6% of the study population. There was no difference between the groups in terms of basal clinical features. Albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) (p < .001) and hs-CRP levels (p = .006) were also statistically significant across the groups. ACR (HR: 1.195, 95% CI: 1.067-1.338, p = .002) and hs-CRP (HR: 2.438, 95% CI: 1.023-5.808, p = .044) were found to be related to the presence of reverse dipping blood pressure pattern. Conclusions: The absence of nocturnal physiological dipping is seen at a remarkable rate in the normotensive Turkish population. ACR and hs-CRP are the clinical determinants related to the presence of reverse dipping blood pressure pattern

Clinical characteristics and in-hospital outcomes of acute decompensated heart failure patients with and without atrial fibrillation

Objective: Atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) are common cardiovascular diseases. the impact of AF on in-hospital outcomes in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is controversial. the aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of AF among hospitalized patients with ADHF and describe the clinical characteristics and in-hospital outcomes of these patients with and without AF. Methods: We examined the multicenter, observational data from the real-life data of hospitalized patients with HF: Journey HF-TR study in Turkey that studied the clinical characteristics and in-hospital outcomes of hospitalized patients with ADHF between September 2015 and September 2016. Results: of the 1,606 patients hospitalized with ADHF, 626 (39%) had a history of AF or developed new-onset AF during hospitalization. the patients with AF were older (71±12 vs. 65±13 years; p<0.001 and more likely to have a history of hypertension, valvular heart disease, and stroke. the AF patients were less likely to have coronary artery disease and diabetes. In-hospital adverse event rates and length of in-hospital stay were similar in ADHF patients, both with and without AF. In-hospital all-cause mortality rate was higher in patients with AF than in patients without AF, although the difference was not statistically significant (8.9% vs. 6.8%; p=0.121). Conclusion: AF has been found in more than one-third of the patients hospitalized with ADHF, and it has varied clinical features and comorbidities. the presence of AF is not associated with increased adverse events or all-cause mortality during the hospitalization time

MINOCA ile başvuran kadın hastaların demografik ve klinik özelliklerinin değerlendirilmesi ve erkek hastalarla farklılıkları: MINOCA-TR çalışmasının grup analizi

Objective: Although the prevalence and rate of myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) are higher in women than in men in previous cohorts, potential demographic and clinical differences between women who are diagnosed with MINOCA versus myocardial infarction with obstructive coronary arteries (MIOCA) have not been studied till date. In this study, we aimed to document these characteristics and to compare them between female patients with MINOCA and MIOCA. Methods: The study was a subgroup analysis of the MINO-CA-TR study. The study was a multi-center, observational cohort study that was conducted in Turkey between March 2018 and October 2018. In this study, 477 (29.3%) female patients who had been diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction were evaluated. Results: Of these women, 49 (10.3%) were diagnosed with MINOCA (mean age 58.9 +/- 12.9 years) and 428 (89.7%) had a final diagnosis of MIOCA (mean age 67.4 +/- 11.8 years). The prevalence of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus was significantly lower in the MINOCA group than in the MIOCA group. In addition, the MINOCA group had higher rates of recent flu history and non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) presentation than the MIOCA group. There were significant clinical differences in patients with MINOCA in terms of sex. The female patients were older, had higher systolic blood pressures, and lower hemoglobin levels than male patients. Conclusion: The study revealed that the prevalence of traditional coronary artery disease risk factors was lower in female patients with MINOCA than in those who had final diagnosis of MIOCA.Amaç: Daha önceki kohortlarda kadın hastalarda obstrüktif olmayan koroner arterlerle miyokart enfarktüsü (MINOCA) erkeklere göre daha yüksek oranda olmasına rağmen, MINOCA ve obstrüktif koroner arterli miyokart enfarktüsü (MIOCA) tanısı alan kadın hastalar arasındaki potansiyel demografik ve klinik farklılıklar bugüne kadar çalışılmamıştır. Bu çalışma, bu özellikleri araştırmayı ve kadın MINOCA ve MIOCA hastaları arasında karşılaştırmayı amaçladı. Yöntemler: Çalışma, Türk popülasyonu (MINOCA-TR) kayıtlarının subgrup analizidir. Kayıt, Türkiye’de Mart 2018- Ekim 2018 tarihleri arasında yürütülen çok merkezli, gözlemsel bir kohort çalışmasıydı. Bu çalışmada 477 (%29.3) akut miyokart enfarktüsü tanısı alan kadın hasta değerlendirildi. Bulgular: Kadınlardan 49’u (%10.3) MINOCA (ortalama yaş: 58.9±12.9 yıl) ve 428’i (%89.7) MIOCA (ortalama yaş: 67.4±11.8 yıl) tanısı almıştı. MINOCA grubunda hipertansiyon, hiperlipidemi ve diabetes mellitus prevalansları MIOCA grubuna göre anlamlı olarak daha düşüktü. Ek olarak, MINOCA grubunda MIOCA grubuna kıyasla daha yüksek oranlarda yakın zamanlı grip öyküsü ve ST yükselmesiz miyokart enfarktüsü (NSTEMI) prezentasyonu vardı. MINOCA hastalarında cinsiyet açısından önemli klinik farklılıklar vardı. Erkek vakalarla karşılaştırıldığında, kadın hastalar daha yaşlıydı, daha yüksek sistolik kan basıncına ve daha düşük hemoglobin seviyelerine sahipti. Sonuç: Çalışma, MIOCA kesin tanısı almış kadın hastalara göre, kadın MINOCA hastalarında geleneksel koroner arter hastalığı risk faktörünün daha düşük prevalansta olduğunu ortaya koymuştur.Cardiovascular Academy Societ