Coronary Ectasia Is Associated with Impaired Left Ventricular Myocardial Performance in Patients without Significant Coronary Artery Stenosis

Objectives: To determine both ventricular functions and tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE)-derived myocardial performance index (MPI) in patients with coronary artery ectasia (CAE). Subjects and Methods: Twenty-five patients with CAE (13 men; mean age 57 +/- 9 years) and 25 age- and sex-matched controls without CAE (8 men; mean age 54 +/- 10 years) were enrolled in the study. Left and right ventricular functions were detected using conventional echocardiography and TDE. Results: Left ventricle-lateral wall (0.61 +/- 0.17; 0.50 +/- 0.10, p = 0.02), interventricular septum (0.66 +/- 0.17; 0.52 +/- 0.10, p = 0.007) and mean MPI (0.63 +/- 0.15; 0.51 +/- 0.09, p = 0.004) were increased in the CAE group compared to the control group. Right ventricular MPI was similar in both the CAE and control groups (0.58 +/- 0.18; 0.52 +/- 0.19, p > 0.05). Conclusion: The findings show that left ventricular MPI is different in CAE patients without obstructive coronary artery disease compared to the normal control group. Also in these patients, right ventricular MPI was similar to the control group. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

Is evaluation of placenta with real-time sonoelastography during the second trimester of pregnancy an effective method for the assessment of spontaneous preterm birth risk?

WOS: 000383305400020PubMed ID: 27183142Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of placental strain ratio (SR) values measured by real-time sonoelastography (SE) in the second trimester in the prediction of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB). Methods: This study included 70 pregnant women who applied to our clinic for routine second-trimester screening. Placental SR measurements were performed with the SE method. Two different SR measurements were performed by taking two different tissues as references. The SR value measured when taking the rectus abdominis muscle as a reference was termed the muscle-to-placenta strain ratio (MPSR), while the SR value measured when taking subcutaneous tissue as a reference was termed the fat-to-placenta strain ratio (FPSR). Women whose gestational age at birth was less than 37 weeks 0 days were accepted as sPTB. The association between gestational age at birth and MPSR and FPSR was investigated. Receiver operating characteristics analysis was used to calculate the sensitivity and specificity of the elastographic outcomes. Results: There was a low-level negative correlation between MPSR and gestational age at birth (r = 0.300, P=.012) and there was a moderate-level negative correlation between FPSR and gestational age at birth (r=-0.513, P<.001). The multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the FPSR (beta=0.609, P=.002) was the significant predictor for the sPTB. Conclusions: Our data indicate that the FPSR value measured with real-time SE in the second trimester of pregnancy may be effective in the prediction of sPTB. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Sodium Bicarbonate Versus Isotonic Saline for the Prevention of Contrast-Induced Nephropathy in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus Undergoing Coronary Angiography and/or Intervention: A Multicenter Prospective Randomized Study

Introduction: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a leading cause of acute renal failure and affects mortality and morbidity. Although the incidence of CIN is quite low in the general population, CIN incidence is significantly increased in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Introduction: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a leading cause of acute renal failure and affects mortality and morbidity. Although the incidence of CIN is quite low in the general population, CIN incidence is significantly increased in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Objectives: We compared the efficacy of prophylactic use consisting of a saline infusion or a sodium bicarbonate infusion for the prevention of CIN in patients with DM. Materials and Methods: A total of 195 DM patients who had unselected renal function were randomized into 2 groups: 101 patients were assigned to saline infusion, and 94 patients were assigned to bicarbonate infusion. The primary end point was the maximum increase in the serum creatinine (SCr) level, whereas the secondary end point was the development of CIN after the procedure. Results: The maximum increase in SCr levels was significantly lower in the saline group than in the bicarbonate group: j0.03 mg/dL (IQR, j0.09 to 0.10 mg/dL) versus 0.02 mg/dL (IQR, j0.09 to 0.13 mg/dL) (P = 0.014). The rate of CIN was significantly lower in the saline group than in the bicarbonate group (5.9% vs 16%, P = 0.024). In the subset of study participants with a baseline creatinine clearance of less than 60 mL/min, the maximum increase in SCr levels was significantly lower, j0.08 mg/dL (IQR, j0.13 to j0.04 mg/dL), in the saline group than in the bicarbonate group, 0.03 mg/dL (IQR, j0.13 to 0.12 mg/dL) (P = 0.004). Conclusions: The use of prophylactic hydration with isotonic saline before coronary procedures may decrease SCr levels and reduce the incidence of CIN in patients with DM with unselected renal functions to a greater extent than sodium bicarbonate can.</p

Antioxidant status and levels of antioxidant vitamins in coronary artery ectasia

Background Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is a rare coronary artery anomaly. In this study, we investigated superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activities, and antioxidant vitamin levels (vitamins A and E) in patients with CAE

Assessment of myocardial repolarisation parameters in patients with familial Mediterranean fever

Background: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a chronic, recurrent auto-inflammatory disease characterised by self-terminating attacks of fever and sterile polyserositis. The main cause of death in auto-inflammatory diseases is cardiovascular events. Additionally, auto-inflammatory diseases have potential effects on the myocardial repolarisation parameters, including the T-wave peak-to-end (Tp-Te) interval, cTp-Te interval (corrected Tp-Te) and the cTp-Te/QT ratio. The aim of this study was to analyse the efficacy of myocardial repolarisation alterations in anticipation of cardiovascular risks in patients with FMF