Correlation between overweightness and the extent of coronary atherosclerosis among the South Caspian population.

BACKGROUND: Reported effects of obesity on the extent of angiographic coronary artery disease(CAD) have been inconsistent. The present study aimed to investigate the relationships between the indices of obesity and other anthropometric markers with the extent of CAD. METHODS: This study was conducted on 1008 consecutive patients who underwent coronary angiography. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were separately calculated for each patient. Extent, severity, and complexity of CAD were determined by the Gensini and SYNTAX scores. RESULTS: According to the results, there was a significant inverse correlation between the SYNTAX score with BMI (r = - 0.110; P < 0.001), WC (r = - 0.074; P = 0.018), and WHtR (r = - 0.089; P = 0.005). Furthermore, a significant inverse correlation was observed between the Gensini score with BMI (r = - 0.090; P = 0.004) and WHtR (r = - 0.065; P = 0.041). However, the results of multivariate linear regression analysis did not show any association between the SYNTAX and Gensini scores with the indices of obesity and overweight. On the other hand, the patients with an unhealthy WC had a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) (P = 0.004) and hypertension (HTN) (P < 0.001), compared to the patients with healthy values. Coexistence of HTN and DM was more prevalent in subjects with an unhealthy WC and WHR, compared to that in those with healthy values (P = 0.002 and P = 0.032, respectively). CONCLUSION: It seems that the anthropometric indices of obesity are not the predictors of the angiographic severity of CAD. However, they are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular risk factors and higher risk profile.

A Comparison of Selenium Concentrations between Congestive Heart Failure Patients and Healthy Volunteers.

BACKGROUND: Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element mainly obtained from seafood, meat, and cereals. Se deficiency has been identified as a major contributing factor in the pathogenesis of certain congestive heart failure (CHF) syndromes. Since there is controversy over the prevalence of Se deficiency among patient with CHF, the aim of this study was to assess the serum Se concentrations in patients with CHF and compared them with the Se status of healthy controls. METHODS: The study included 77 patients (age, 68.4 ± 10.4 years old; 40.3% female) and 73 healthy volunteers (64.9 ± 4.7 years old; 35.6% female). A complete medical/drug history and physical examination were performed for all patients and healthy volunteers. All patients had symptoms and signs of CHF and had a left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) of < 40% obtained by echocardiography. The Se concentration was assessed by atomic absorption spectrometer with the Graphite Tube Atomizer. The limit of measurement was 5 µg/L. RESULTS: The Se concentrations in CHF patients did not show a significant difference from those of healthy controls (185.9 ± 781.2 µg/L vs. 123.3 ± 115.5 µg/L, respectively; p value = 0.499). There was no correlation between serum Se concentrations and EF in both the normal group and the patients with heart failure (p value = 0.96 and 0.99; r = 0.006 and 0.002 for patients and healthy volunteers, respectively). CONCLUSION: In this study, serum Se levels in CHF patients were similar to those of controls and the Se concentrations did not correlate with the degree of left ventricular dysfunction.

Zinc and copper levels in severe heart failure and the effects of atrial fibrillation on the zinc and copper status.

Oxidative stress is involved in the pathogenesis of congestive heart failure (CHF). Some trace elements serve as antioxidant defenses. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of atrial fibrillation (AF) on zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) levels in patients with advanced CHF. In this prospective study, serum Zn and Cu levels in 78 patients with clinically advanced CHF, i.e., New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III or IV (40 patients with AF and 38 in sinus rhythm) were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. All patients also had a left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) of <35%. We recruited 40 volunteers with nearly the same age and weight as control. They had normal EF. There was no significant difference between patients with AF and those with sinus rhythm regarding serum Zn and Cu levels. However, both groups showed significant hypozincemia (p < 0.000) and a decreased Zn/Cu ratio (p < 0.03) compared with control group. Serum Cu levels were similar in the two groups and did not differ significantly from the control group. In patients with advanced CHF, irrespective of the rhythm, profound hypozincemia, and a decreased Zn/Cu ratio were present, which could be secondary to the activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and CHF medications. The results suggest the need for more studies focusing on possible benefits with Zn nutriceutical replacement in patients with advanced CHF.