Increased mean platelet volume associated with extent of slow coronary flow

Background: Slow coronary flow (SCF) is characterized by delayed opacification of epicardial coronary vessels. SCF can cause ischemia and sudden cardiac death. We investigated the association between presence and extent of SCF, and cardiovascular risk factors and hematologic indices. Methods: In this study, 2467 patients who received coronary angiography for suspected or known ischemic heart disease were retrospectively evaluated between April 2009 and November 2010. Following the application of exclusion criteria, our study population consisted of 57 SCF patients (experimental group) and 90 patients with age- and gender-matched subjects who proved to have normal coronary angiograms (control group). Baseline hematologic indices were measured by the automated complete blood count (CBC) analysis. The groups were evaluated for cardiovascular risk factors and medications. Patients were categorized based on the angiographic findings of vessels with or without SCF. Moreover, patients with SCF were divided into subgroups relative to the extent of SCF. Results: Among the 147 patients (mean age 52.7 ± 10.0, 53.7% male), mean platelet volume (MPV) ranged from 6.5 fL to 11.7 fL (median 7.9 fL, mean 8.1 ± 0.8 fL). Diabetes (OR = 3.64, 95% CI 1.15–10.43, p = 0.03), hypercholesterolemia (OR = 4.94, 95% CI 1.99–12.21, p = 0.001), smoking (OR = 3.54, 95% CI 1.43–8.72, p = 0.006), hemoglobin (OR = 1.69, 95% CI 1.22–2.36, p = 0.002), and MPV (OR = 2.52, 95% CI 1.43–4.44, p = 0.001) were found to be the independent correlates of SCF presence. Only MPV (OR = 2.13, 95% CI 1.05–4.33, p = 0.03) was identified as an independent correlate of extent of SCF. Conclusions: Elevated baseline MPV value was found to be an independent predictor of the presence and extent of SCF

Coronary Artery Disease Risk Factors, Coronary Artery Calcification and Coronary Bypass Surgery

WOS: 000409678000042PubMed ID: 26155507Introduction: Atherosclerosis is an intimal disease which affects large and medium size arteries including aorta and carotid, coronary, cerebral and radial arteries. Calcium accumulated in the coronary arterial plaques have substantial contribution to the plaque volume. The aim of our study is to investigate the relationship between coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors and coronary arterial calcification, and to delineate the importance of CACS in coronary artery bypass surgery. Materials and Methods: The current study is retrospective and 410 patients admitted to our clinic with atypical chest pain and without known CAD were included. These individuals were evaluated by 16 slice electron beam computed tomography with suspicion of CAD and their calcium scores were calculated. Detailed demographic and medical history were obtained from all of the patients. Results: In our study, we employed five different analyses using different coronary arterial calcification score (CACS) thresold levels reported in previous studies. All of the analyses, performed according to the previously defined thresold levels, showed that risk factors had strong positive relationship with CACS as mentioned in previous studies. Conclusion: Coronary arterial calcification is part of the atherosclerotic process and although it can be detected in atherosclerotic vessel, it is absent in a normal vessel. It can be concluded that the clinical scores, even they are helpful, have some limitations in a significant part of the population for cardiovascular risk determination. It is important for an anastomosis region to be noncalcified in coronary bypass surgery. In a coronary artery, it will be helpness for showing of calcific field and anostomosis spot

Evaluation of the relationship between coronary slow flow phenomenon and serum magnesium levels

Aim: Coronary slow flow phenomenon (CSFP) is a microvascular circulation disorder. It is known that serum magnesium has positive effects on anti-inflammation, vasodilatation and endothelial functions. This observational study investigated the association of serum magnesium levels with CSFP.Materials and Methods: Patients who had undergone coronary angiography (CAG) after noninvasive testing were included in the study. CAG records were reassessed for CSFP and 100 patients were diagnosed as having CSFP. Control subjects (n = 80) had normal coronary flow. Serum Mg levels and other biochemical parameters such as glucose, creatinine, cholesterol levels and hemoglobin samples were collected before CAG. Serum Mg values were categorized into two groups: Mg levels equal/under and above 1.9 mg/dL.Results: The mean patient age was 56.1±9.7 years; 68.9% of patients were men. Patient’s hypertension, diabetes mellitus history and smoking habits rate were similar between groups. Biochemical tests revealed lower serum magnesium levels (1.87 vs 1.95mg/dL, p=0.02) for CSFP patients and controls, respectively. In multivariate regression analysis, a serum magnesium level under 1.9 mg/dL (OR:3.33, 95% CI:1.75-6.37, p<0.001) and male gender (OR:2.08, 95% CI: 1.016-4.34, p=0.04) were found to be independent predictors of CSFP.Conclusion: Low serum magnesium levels were associated with CSFP. However, these results are not sufficient to fully determine the role of Mg levels in the mechanism of CSFP-related chest pain