Improved Exercise Capacity After Cardiac Rehabilitation Is Associated with Reduced Visceral Fat in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure.

Participation in a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program has been shown to reduce mortality and improve exercise capacity and symptoms in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Reduced exercise capacity leads to a concomitant reduction of skeletal muscle mass and accumulation of body fat. However, it is currently unknown whether CR reduces visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and/or subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAT) in patients with CHF. In addition, the body composition associated with improved exercise capacity after CR in patients with CHF has not been previously studied. Nineteen CHF patients who were categorized as NYHA functional class II or III and had received optimal medical treatment including a CR program for 5 months were enrolled in this study. The CR program significantly increased peak VO2 and reduced B-type natriuretic peptide. In addition, fat and body composition analysis showed reductions in the visceral fat tissue (VAT) area, subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAT) area, body weight, and total fat weight after CR. There were no changes in total water weight and total muscle weight. Single regression analysis revealed that the amelioration of reduced exercise capacity seen after CR is associated with reduced VAT area but not with SAT area or body weight. In conclusion, CR reduces VAT and improves exercise capacity in patients with CHF. This suggests that reducing VAT is important for CR to be most effective in the treatment of CHF.

Canagliflozin reduces epicardial fat in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: It is unknown whether canagliflozin, a selective sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor, reduces epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) thickness, which is associated with insulin resistance and is a risk factor for coronary artery disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: We administered 100 mg of canagliflozin for 6 months to 13 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. We evaluated glycemic control, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) area, and skeletal muscle mass by using impedance methods, and EAT thickness by using echocardiography. Canagliflozin treatment for 6 months decreased hemoglobin A1c level from 7.1 ± 0.5% to 6.7 ± 0.6% (P < 0.05) and decreased EAT thickness from 9.3 ± 2.5 to 7.3 ± 2.0 mm (P < 0.001), along with a trend of decreasing VAT and SAT area. No association was found between any of these changes. CONCLUSION: Canagliflozin reduced EAT thickness in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus independent of its effect on lowering blood glucose, suggesting that canagliflozin may have an effect in preventing cardiovascular events in these patients (UMIN000021327).

Pulmonary embolism due to right atrial free-floating thrombus during echocardiographic examination: a case of a pulmonary saddle thrombus.

A 69-year-old female with polymyositis was referred to our hospital with a chief complaint of dyspnea. Transthoracic echocardiography showed right ventricular overloading. In addition to two-dimensional echocardiography, observation of the abnormal free-floating string-like mass by three-dimensional echocardiography provided superior visualization of the features of the mass which protruded into the right ventricle across the tricuspid valve during diastole. These findings enabled us to confirm the diagnosis of venous thrombus. The thrombus disappeared during the echocardiographic examination. Multidetector-row computed tomography showed a string-like thrombus across the bifurcation of the main pulmonary artery. Anticoagulation therapy was initiated with heparin and warfarin, and fondaparinux was started on the fourth day. Three-dimensional echocardiography was useful in characterizing the motion and extent of the thrombus.

Tricuspid annular motion velocity as a differentiation index of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy from hypertensive heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive heart disease (HHD) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are the most frequently encountered entities presenting left ventricular hypertrophy in routine echocardiographic examination, and their differentiation is sometimes difficult. Abnormalities in right ventricular (RV) myocardium have been reported frequently in patients with HCM more than in those with HHD. We therefore hypothesized that tricuspid annular motion (TAM) velocity determined by pulsed tissue Doppler echocardiography can be used to detect RV dysfunction in HCM and discriminate these etiologies. METHODS: TAM velocities were compared among clinically stable patients with 60 HCM and 60 HHD patients as well as 60 age-matched healthy controls. Peak systolic, early diastolic (TAM-e'), and atrial systolic velocities were measured. RV myocardial performance index was measured by tissue Doppler method. To more accurately differentiate HCM from HHD, electrocardiographic findings and brain natriuretic peptide levels, which can both be examined simply and noninvasively, were investigated in addition to echocardiography. RESULTS: RV wall thickness of the HCM group was greater than the HHD group (p=0.092), while there was no significant difference in RV myocardial performance index between the HCM and HHD groups (p=0.606). TAM-e' was significantly lower in the HCM group than in HHD and control groups (p=0.001). To differentiate HCM from HHD, TAM-e' was a powerful predictor as per multivariate logistic regression analysis (hazard ratio, 0.665; p<0.001) of parameters other than those of left ventricular parameters, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.686 and the best cut-off value was ≤8.0cm/s (62% sensitivity, 65% specificity). Multivariate logistic analysis revealed that electrocardiographic ST-T changes were the next most effective marker for differentiating HCM after TAM-e'. When TAM-e' and ST-T changes were combined, the AUC increased to 0.748. CONCLUSIONS: TAM-e' is a potentially useful index to differentiate HCM from HHD.

Age- and gender-specific changes of tricuspid annular motion velocities in normal hearts.

BACKGROUND: Mitral annular motion (MAM) and tricuspid annular motion (TAM) velocities obtained by pulsed tissue Doppler echocardiography have been used to evaluate left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) functions. Although TAM velocity has been clinically applied for evaluating various cardiac diseases, the effects of age and gender remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to determine the effects of age and gender on TAM velocity in normal hearts. METHODS: We randomly selected 265 subjects (mean age, 59 years; range, 20-89 years) without abnormal clinical, electrocardiographic, and echocardiographic findings from a pool of subjects who had undergone transthoracic echocardiography. They were classified into four age groups: 20-39, 40-59, 60-79, and >80 years. Pulsed wave Doppler was applied to obtain MAM velocity of the lateral side and TAM velocity of the RV free wall side. The peak systolic (s'), early diastolic (e'), and atrial systolic (a') velocities of MAM and TAM were measured in all subjects. RESULTS: While MAM-s' (r=-0.267, p<0.001) correlated with age, TAM-s' did not (p=0.755). TAM-s' in any age groups had no significant gender differences. TAM-e' (r=-0.447, p<0.001) and MAM-e' (r=-0.724, p<0.001) correlated with age, respectively. In those aged 40-59 years, both TAM-e' (p=0.002) and MAM-e' (p=0.048) in females were significantly higher than those in males. The gender differences diminished in the ≥60 years age groups. CONCLUSIONS: There was no age-associated decline in TAM-s', while TAM-e' varied with age and gender as did MAM-e'. Although the same criteria for the TAM-s' can be used for identifying abnormal RV systolic function regardless of age and gender, age and gender differences must be considered when one utilizes the TAM-e' for the diagnosis or management of cardiovascular disease.