Quantitative assessment of left atrial functions by speckle tracking echocardiography in hypertensive patients with and without retinopathy

Purpose:The association between hypertensive retinopathy and left atrial(LA) impairment is unknown. Accordingly, it was aimed to investigate the possiblerelationship between hypertensive retinopathy and LA phasic functions by means oftwo-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE).Methods:A total of 124 hypertensive patients and 27 control subjects were includedin the study. LA reservoir strain (LAS-S), LA conduit strain (LAS-E), and LA boosterstrain (LAS-A) parameters were used to evaluate LA myocardial functions.Results:Hypertensive patients (with and without retinopathy) displayed an obviousreduction in the LA reservoir strain (LAS-S),and LA conduit strain (LAS-E). Moreover,further impairment in LA reservoir and conduit strain was found in patients withhypertensive retinopathy than in the isolated hypertensive patients. There were nosignificant differences in LA booster strain (LAS-A) among the three groups. ImpairedLAS-S(OR: 0.764, CI: 0.657–0.888, andp< 0.001), LAS-E(OR: 0.754, CI: 0.634–0.897,andp=0.001), and hypertension (HT) duration (OR: 2.345, CI: 1.568–3.507, andp< 0.001) were shown to be independent predictors of hypertensive retinopathy.Conclusion:Impaired LA reservoir and conduit strain may be used to predict hyper-tensive patients at higher risk of developing hypertensive retinopathy, and to deter-mine which patients should be followed more closely for hypertensive retinopath

Atherogenic index of plasma and triglyceride- glucose index to predict more advanced coronary artery diseases in patients with the first diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome

OBJECTIVE: Coronary heart dis-ease (CHD) is the most common cause of mor-tality and morbidity. Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is the most advanced form of the CHD spectrum. The triglyceride-glucose index (TGI) and atherogenic plasma index (AIP) are asso-ciated with future cardiovascular events. This study investigated the association of these pa-rameters with the severity of CAD and prognosis in the first-diagnosed ACS patients.PATIENTS AND METHODS: Our study was designed retrospectively, including 558 patients. Patients were divided into four subgroups: high and low TGI and high and low AIP. SYNTAX scores, in-hospital mortality, major adverse car-diac events (MACE), and survival were com-pared at 12-month follow-up.RESULTS: More three-vessel disease and high-er SYNTAX scores have been detected in the high AIP and TGI groups. More MACEs have been ob-served in high AIP and TGI groups than low groups. AIP and TGI were found to be independent predic-tors for SYNTAX = 23. While AIP has been found to be an independent risk factor for MACE, TGI has not been detected as an independent risk factor. In addition to AIP, age, three-vessel disease, and low-er EF were the independent risk factors for MACE. Survival was lower in high TGP and AIP groups.CONCLUSIONS: AIP and TGI are costless bedside parameters that can be easily calculat-ed. These parameters can predict the severity of CAD in first-diagnosed ACS patients. Besides, AIP is an independent risk factor for MACE. AIP and TGI parameters can guide our treatment in this patient population