Plasma homocysteine is associated with ischemic findings without organic stenosis in patients with slow coronary flow

AbstractAimTo investigate the plasma concentrations of homocysteine (Hcy) in slow coronary flow (SCF) patients before and at the end of the exercise test and compare with the values of healthy controls.MethodsStudy population consisted of 41 patients with SCF [68% men, aged 49±8 years], and 41 subjects with normal epicardial coronary arteries [56% men, aged 50±9 years]. Exercise test was performed in all study participants. Blood samples were drawn at rest and immediately at the end of exercise testing after 12h of overnight fasting.ResultsThe baseline Hcy value of the SCF patients was higher than that of the control subjects (p<0.0001), and this difference continued after exercise test between the groups (p<0.0001). Median post-exercise increases in Hcy levels were higher in the SCF group than in the control group, without a significant difference (p=0.088). In the SCF group after exercise, Hcy levels in 17 patients with angina and 18 patients with ST depression were higher than those without angina and ST depression (p<0.0001 and p<0.0001, respectively). In addition, Hcy values in patients with both angina and ST depression were greater than those with either angina (p<0.05) or ST depression (p<0.05).ConclusionThe results of this study show that there is an important pathophysiologic link between the increased levels of plasma Hcy, the degree of ischemic findings, and the severity of slow flow in SCF patients

Potential factors affecting the anticoagulation control in patients treated with warfarin: Results WARFARIN-TR study

Background: In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the factors that might be caused by adequate anticoagulation control in patients treated with warfarin for any reason. Methods: The WARFARIN-TR (The Awareness, Efficacy, Safety, and Time in Therapeutic Range of Warfarin in Turkish Population) study included 4987 patients using warfarin between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014. Time in therapeutic range (TTR) was calculated according to F. R. Roosendaal's algorithm with linear interpolation. The study population divided into two groups; adequate international normalized ratio (INR) control when TTR ≥70% (Group 1, n = 1068, 21.4%) and inadequate INR control when TTR <70% (Group 2, n = 3919, 78.6%). All demographic and clinic characteristics of the patients were compared to determine possible factors that might be cause adequate warfarin use. Results: The mean age of the study population was 60.7 ± 13.5 years, and there was no significant difference between groups. The mean TTR value of Group 1 was significantly higher than Group 2 (80 ± 8.5 vs. 40.9 ± 17.2; P < 0.001). The traditional cardiovascular risk factors were similar between groups except hypertension (Group 1 51.4% and Group 2 56.4%; P = 0.004) and chronic kidney disease (Group 1 8.3% and Group 2 5.5%; P = 0.001). There were no significant differences between groups regarding bleeding. The awareness of warfarin use was significantly higher in Group 1 patients than Group 2 patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age (odds ratio [OR], 1.007; P = 0.014), hypertension (OR, 0.821; P = 0.01), atrial fibrillation (OR, 1.180; P = 0.033), chronic kidney disease (OR, 1.697; P < 0.001), to know warfarin use reason (OR, 1.699; P < 0.001), and know to food-drug interaction with warfarin (OR, 1.583; P < 0.001) were independent predictors of adequate coagulation. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that a low proportion of patients taking warfarin achieve an adequate TTR in daily practice. Furthermore, the patients with adequate TTR are more aware of warfarin use

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of diabetes-39 in Turkish patients with type 2 diabetes

To translate Diabetes-39 quality of life scale (D-39) into Turkish, to accomplish a cross-cultural adaptation, to demonstrate validity and reliability of Turkish version (D-39-TR). A total of 214 patients with type 2 diabetes were included, with an average age of 52.59 ± 14.83, a female/male ratio of 51/49%. Internal consistency and test–retest reliability were assessed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), respectively. For structural validity, factor analysis was used. The SF-36 was used for convergent validity, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was used for differential validity. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was over 0.70 for all subscales of D-39-TR and it was 0.93 for whole D-39-TR. No problematic items were detected in the scale. The ICC for test–retest reliability was 0.91 (95% CI 0.91–0.94). The test–retest consistency for the total score was r = 0.94, p r=−0.48, p r = 0.31, p p  Turkish version of D-39 is a reliable and valid scale for measuring QoL in patients with type 2 diabetes.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONThe Turkish version of the Diabetes-39 (D-39) is a valid and reliable questionnaire and can be used in patients with type 2 diabetes.The Turkish version of the D-39 offers a useful tool for better identifying quality of life of patients with type 2 diabetes who are at risk for adverse outcomes.The Turkish version of the D-39 can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of attempts to increase quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes. The Turkish version of the Diabetes-39 (D-39) is a valid and reliable questionnaire and can be used in patients with type 2 diabetes. The Turkish version of the D-39 offers a useful tool for better identifying quality of life of patients with type 2 diabetes who are at risk for adverse outcomes. The Turkish version of the D-39 can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of attempts to increase quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes.</p

Níveis NT-Pro-BNP e resposta ao exercício em pacientes com fluxo lento coronariano

FUNDAMENTO: Os peptídeos natriuréticos são liberados pelo coração em resposta ao estresse da parede. OBJETIVO: As concentrações de NT-Pro-BNP em pacientes com Fluxo Lento Coronariano (FLC) foram avaliadas antes e depois do teste de exercício e comparados com os valores dos controles saudáveis. MÉTODOS: A população do estudo foi de 34 pacientes com FLC [22 homens (64,7%), com idade 51,0 ± 6,2 anos], e 34 indivíduos normais com artérias coronarianas normais [21 homens (61,8%), com idade 53,2 ± 6,6 anos]. As taxas de fluxo coronariano dos pacientes e controles foram determinadas pelo escore TIMI Trombólise no Infarto do Miocárdio (Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction). As amostras de sangue foram coletadas em repouso e após o teste ergométrico. RESULTADOS: As concentrações basais de NT-Pro-BNP nos pacientes com FLC foram superiores às dos indivíduos-controle (NT-Pro-BNP: 49,7 ± 14,2 pg/mL vs. 25,3 ± 4,6 pg/mL p <0,0001, respectivamente), e essa diferença entre os grupos aumentou após o teste de exercício (NT-Pro-BNP: 69,5 ± 18,6 pg/mL vs. 30,9 ± 6,4 pg/mL, p <0,0001). No grupo FLC após o exercício, a concentração de NT-Pro-BNP em 15 pacientes com angina foi maior do que aqueles sem angina (76,8 ± 17,8 pg/mL vs. 63,8 ± 17,5 pg/mL, p = 0,041).A concentração de NT-Pro-BNP em 11 pacientes com infradesnivelamento do segmento ST foi também maior do que aqueles sem infradesnivelamento do segmento ST (82,4 ± 17,3 pg/mL vs. 63,3 ± 16,1 pg/mL, p = 0,004). Os aumentos na mediana pós-exercício no NT-Pro-BNP (Δ NT-Pro-BNP) foram maiores no grupo FLC do que no grupo de controle (Δ NT-Pro-BNP: 19,8 ± 7,7 pg/mL vs. 5,7 ± 4,5 pg/mL, p < 0,0001). CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados deste estudo sugerem que pode haver uma ligação fisiopatológica importante entre a gravidade do FLC (microvascular ou disfunção da artéria coronária epicárdica) e o nível de circulação de NT-Pro-BNP em pacientes com FLC

Suboptimal use of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants: Results from the RAMSES study

WOS: 000384041400052PubMed ID: 27583892This study aimed to investigate the potential misuse of novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) and the physicians' adherence to current European guideline recommendations in real-world using a large dataset from Real-life Multicenter Survey Evaluating Stroke Prevention Strategies in Turkey (RAMSES Study).RAMSES study is a prospective, multicenter, nationwide registry (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02344901). In this subgroup analysis of RAMSES study, patients who were on NOACs were classified as appropriately treated (AT), undertreated (UT), and overtreated (OT) according to the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines. The independent predictors of UT and OT were determined by multivariate logistic regression.Of the 2086 eligible patients, 1247 (59.8%) received adequate treatment. However, off-label use was detected in 839 (40.2%) patients; 634 (30.4%) patients received UT and 205 (9.8%) received OT. Independent predictors of UT included >65 years of age, creatinine clearance 50mL/min, urban living, existing dabigatran treatment, and HAS-BLED score of <3, whereas that of OT were creatinine clearance <50mL/min, ongoing rivaroxaban treatment, and HAS-BLED score of 3.The suboptimal use of NOACs is common because of physicians' poor compliance to the guideline recommendations in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Older patients who were on dabigatran treatment with good renal functions and low risk of bleeding were at risk of UT, whereas patients who were on rivaroxaban treatment with renal impairment and high risk of bleeding were at risk of OT. Therefore, a greater emphasis should be given to prescribe the recommended dose for the specified patients

Guideline-adherent therapy for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation in different health care settings: Results from ramses study

Objective No studies have been conducted in Turkey to compare the quality of stroke prevention therapies provided in different healthcare settings in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Therefore, we aimed to evaluate possible differences between secondary (SH) and tertiary hospital (TH) settings in the effectiveness of implementing AF treatment strategies. Methods Baseline characteristics of 6273 patients with non-valvular AF enrolled in the RAMSES (ReAl-life Multicentre Survey Evaluating Stroke Prevention Strategies in Turkey) study were compared. Results Of the study population, 3312 (52.8%) patients were treated in THs and 2961 (47.2%) patients were treated in SHs. Patients treated in the SH setting were older (70.8 ± 9.8 vs. 68.7 ± 11.4 years, p &lt; 0.001), had a lower socioeconomic status, had a higher CHA2DS2VASc and HASBLED scores (3.4 ± 1.4 vs. 3.1 ± 1.7, p &lt; 0.001 and 1.7 ± 1.0 vs. 1.6 ± 1.1, p &lt; 0.001 respectively), and had more comorbidities than patients treated in THs. Inappropriate oral anticoagulant use was more prevalent in SHs than THs (31.4% vs. 25.6%, p &lt; 0.001). When over- and undertreatment rates were compared among hospital types, overtreatment was more prevalent in THs (7.6% vs. 0.9%, p &lt; 0.001) while undertreatment was more common in SHs (30.5% vs. 17.9%, p &lt; 0.001). Conclusion This study demonstrates the marked disparity between patient groups with AF presenting at SHs and THs. The use of guideline-recommended therapy is not adequate in either type of centre, overtreatment was more prevalent in THs and undertreatment was more prevalent in SHs