Atherosclerosis and Liver Function Tests in Coronary Angiography Patients.

OBJECTIVE: Elevated aminotransferase levels indicating liver function, even in the normal range, have attracted great concern as potential novel markers of cardiovascular risk assessment. We hypothesized the possibility that liver function test variations in the normal range might be meaningfully associated to coronary artery disease (CAD). METHOD: Eighty-eight patients were randomly selected from those who underwent coronary angiography from June 2010 to June 2011 after applying to the outpatient cardiology clinic in Gulhane Military Medical Academy. According to the results of angiographies, patients were classified into three groups as normal, non-critical (< 50% involvement in coronaries), and critical (≥ 50% involvement in coronaries). In addition to angiographic intervention, measurements of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) concentrations, albumin and the other serum parameters were performed in all patients. RESULTS: The patient groups of CAD were balanced (28 critical cases, 30 non-critical cases and 30 normal cases). Mean age was 51.93 ± 9.3 (range 32-65) years and 19.3 per cent (n = 17) were females. Multiple linear regression analysis of all three liver function tests explained a significant portion of the variance, but adjusted r-squares were small (AST = 0.174, ALT = 0.242, albumin = 0.124). Albumin was significantly higher for patients with critical CAD than for patients with no CAD (beta = 3.205, p = 0.002). Non-critical CAD was not significantly different from no CAD for any of the dependent variables. Mean AST was significantly higher for patients taking aspirin (beta = 0.218, p = 0.049), as was mean ALT (beta = 0.264, p = 0.015). CONCLUSION: Alanine aminotransferase and AST may not be associated with angiographically determined coronary atherosclerosis. Albumin may be more sensitive to demonstrate the burden of atherosclerosis. These results indicate that the association between the liver function tests and coronary atherosclerosis may be more complex than generally appreciated.

Higher red cell distribution width values are associated with impaired exercise capacity during exercise treadmill testing in patients without obstructive coronary disease: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: Red cell distribution width (RDW) is associated with poor cardiovascular outcomes. We aimed to find out if this association could be explained by impaired exercise capacity in patients without obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The patients who underwent exercise treadmill test (ETT) who have non-obstructive CAD and were free of heart failure symptoms were evaluated. Total of 132 patients were enrolled, and patients were divided into three groups according to their Metabolic Equivalent Task (MET) level measured by exercise treadmill test (ETT): Less than 7 METs (group 1), 7-10 METs (group 2) and greater than 10 METs (group 3). RESULTS: The patients in Group 1 had significantly higher RDW levels (16.46 ± 2.79) compared to Group 2 (15.05 ± 2.03) and Group 3 (14.52 ± 1.37), independent of hemoglobin and hematocrit values. Significant differences for age, gender, duration of ETT and Duke Treadmill Score were also found in proportion to the reduced exercise capacity. In multivariate analysis, only duration of ETT (ß = 1.017, p = < 0.001) and RDW (ß = 0.040, p = 0.026) were found as independent variables, which had statistically significant effects on METs. CONCLUSIONS: We found an independent association between RDW and exercise capacity in patients free of obstructive coronary disease suggesting that patients with elevated RDW values are expected to have impaired exercise capacity.

Increased sympathetic activation in patients with vasovagal syncope is associated with higher mean platelet volume levels.

OBJECTIVES: Vasovagal syncope (VVS) is supposed to be modulated by increased sympathetic tone following an orthostatic maneuver. Increased sympathetic activity may have an important role in mean platelet volume (MPV), either by peripheral activation or by effects on thrombocytopoiesis. We aimed to show the effects of increased sympathetic activity on platelet size in patients with VVS in the present study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-seven patients with VVS were compared with age- and sex-matched 33 patients without VVS. All patients have undergone 24 hour holter monitoring for heart rate variability (HRV) and time-domain HRV analysis. Blood samples for MPV measurements were taken before 24 hour holter monitoring. RESULTS: Group 1 was consisted of 37 patients with VVS and group 2 was consisted of 33 patients without VVS. We observed that SDNN, SDNN index, SDSD, RMSDD, PNN50 count were significantly lower and MPV was found significantly higher in patients with VVS (p < 0.05 for all). Pearson's correlation analysis showed that MPV was moderately negatively correlated with SDNN (r = -0.421), SDSD (r = -0.396), NN50 count (r = -0.395) and RMSDD (r = -0.393). Multivariate regression analysis showed that SDNN was the only independent variable, which had a significant effect on increased MPV level (ß = -0.295 , p = 0.016). CONCLUSIONS: We found that MPV was closely associated with increased sympathetic activity in patients with VVS. Our analysis supports the hypothesis that alterations in autonomic status might play a role in the development of platelet size.

Metabolic syndrome and the effect of testosterone treatment in young men with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.

OBJECTIVE: The relationship between metabolic syndrome (MS) and hypogonadism has always been investigated in study groups confounded with aging, obesity or chronic metabolic disorders. So far, there has been no data about the presence of MS in young hypogonadal patients. Also, there is controversial data about the metabolic effects of testosterone replacement therapy. We investigated the frequency of MS in treatment-naïve, young men with congenital hypogonadal hypogonadism (CHH). We also searched for the effect of testosterone replacement on the metabolic profiles of this specific patient group. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. METHODS: A total of 332 patients (age 21.68 ± 2.09 years) were enrolled. The control group included 395 age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched healthy young men (age 21.39 ± 1.49 years). Standard regimen of testosterone esters (250 mg/3 weeks) was given to 208 patients. RESULTS: MS was more prevalent in CHH (P<0.001) according to healthy controls. The patients had higher arterial blood pressure, waist circumference (WC), triglyceride (P<0.001 for all), fasting glucose (P=0.02), fasting insulin (P=0.004), homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (P=0.002) and lower high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (P<0.001) levels. After 5.63±2.6 months of testosterone treatment, the BMI, WC (P<0.001 for both), systolic blood pressure (P=0.002) and triglyceride level (P=0.04) were increased and the total and HDL cholesterol levels were decreased (P=0.02 and P<0.001 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows increased prevalence of MS and unfavorable effects of testosterone replacement in young patients with CHH. Long-term follow-up studies are warranted to investigate the cardiovascular safety of testosterone treatment in this specific population.

Papillary fibroelastoma of the mitral valve with systemic embolization.

Primary tumors of the heart are rare disorders. In autopsy studies, their incidence was reported to be 0.01-0.5%. We present the case of a papillary fibroelastoma of the mitral valve with systemic embolization in a young man.