Increased plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine level is associated with ascending aorta dilatation: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase. AIM: We aimed to determine plasma ADMA levels in patients with ascending aorta dilatation in comparison to those without aorta dilatation, and to evaluate the diagnostic, predictive, and prognostic value of serum ADMA level for aorta dilatation. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional case-control study. A total of 104 consecutive patients (female/male, 35/69; mean age, 62.75 ± 13.11 years) diagnosed with ascending aorta dilatation (≥ 4.5 cm) on echocardiography (case group), and 52 age-and gender-matched patients (female/male, 17/35; mean age, 63.44 ± 7.56 years) with normal aorta dimensions (≤ 3.8 cm) (control group) were included. Routine biochemical and haematological analysis in addition to measurement of serum ADMA level were performed. RESULTS: The mean diameter of ascending aorta measured on echocardiography was 4.95 ± 0.57 cm and 3.34 ± 0.36 cm in patients with aorta dilatation and those without aorta dilatation, respectively (p < 0.001). Serum ADMA level was significantly higher in patients with aorta dilatation than in the control group (1.70 ± 1.12 µmol/L vs. 0.79 ± 0.76 µmol/L, respectively, p < 0.001). There was significant positive correlation between ADMA level and aortic diameter in Spearman correlation analysis (r = 0.317, p < 0.001). In linear regression analysis, ADMA was found to be a significant independent predictor of aorta diameter (Beta = 0.26, p < 0.001). Receiver-operator characteristic curve analysis also revealed that serum ADMA cut-off level over 0.29 µmol/L predicts aorta dilatation (≥ 4.5 cm) with 94% sensitivity and 92% specificity and with high ac-curacy (area under curve: 0.786; 95% confidence interval: 0.709-0.863, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Serum ADMA level is diagnostic for ascending aorta dilatation with high sensitivity and specificity, and should be considered for use in clinical diagnosis of aorta dilatation.

Cardiac Computed Tomography versus Echocardiography in the Assessment of Stenotic Rheumatic Mitral Valve.

PURPOSE: There are different clinical cardiac applications of dual source computed tomography (DSCT). Here, we aimed to compare the DSCT with the transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) for evaluating the Wilkins score and planimetric mitral valve area (MVA) of a rheumatic stenotic mitral valve. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively evaluated mitral valvular structure and function in 31 patients with known mitral stenosis undergoing electrocardiogram-gated, second-generation DSCT, in our heart center for different indications. Mitral valve was evaluated using Wilkins score, and also, the planimetric MVA was assessed. RESULTS: We found a significant difference between MVAs determined by DSCT (average 1.42 ± 0.44 cm2) and MVAs determined by TTE (average 1.35 ± 0.43 cm2 ; difference 0.07 ± 0.16 cm2; P = 0.018). Linear regression analysis revealed a good correlation between the two techniques (r = 0.934; P < 0.0001). The limits of agreement for DSCT and TTE in the Bland-Altman analysis were ±0.31 cm2 . DSCT using TTE as the reference enabled good discrimination between mild and moderate-to-severe stenosis and had an area under the ROC curve of 0.967 (CI 0.912-1.023; P < 0.0001). Wilkins scores obtained by DSCT (7.51 ± 1.17, range 5-10) and TTE (8.16 ± 1.27, range 6-10) had a moderate correlation (r = 0.686; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: We found that planimetric MVA measurements assessed by DSCT were closely correlated with MVA calculations by TTE. The moderate correlation was observed for the Wilkins score.

Comparison of different strategies of ivabradine premedication for heart rate reduction before coronary computed tomography angiography.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness and safety of different strategies of ivabradine therapy by comparing the effects on heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and image quality of coronary CT angiography (CTA). METHODS: A total of 192 consecutive patients were randomly assigned to 3 groups of oral premedication with ivabradine 15 mg (single dose), 10 mg (single dose), and 5 mg twice daily for 5 days, prospectively. Patients using HR-lowering drugs and patients with ß-blockade contraindication were excluded. The target HR was 65 beats/min. In addition 5 to 10 mg of intravenous metoprolol was administered to the patients at the CT unit, if required. The systolic and diastolic blood BP values and the HRs were recorded. Image quality was assessed for 8 of 15 coronary segments with a 4-point grading scale. Results were compared with the Kruskal-Wallis test, one-way ANOVA, and χ2 test. RESULTS: Reductions in mean HR after the treatment were 18 ± 6, 14 ± 4, and 17 ± 7 beats/min for groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. With the total additional therapies, 81.3%, 67.2%, and 84.3% of the patients achieved HR < 65 beats/min in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The mean BP values before coronary CTA were not significantly changed except for patients in group 2. Unacceptable (score 0) image quality was obtained in only 4.5%, 10.2%, and 4.2% of all the coronary segments, in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that coronary CTA with premedication with oral ivabradine in all 3 strategies is safe and effective in reducing HR, in particular with a ß-blockade combination. All 3 ivabradine regimes may be an alternative strategy for HR lowering in patients undergoing coronary CTA. Ivabradine 15 mg (single dose) and ivabradine 5 mg twice daily for 5 days are superior to the ivabradine 10-mg single-dose regime for HR lowering without adjunctive intravenous ß-blocker usage.

Epicardial adipose tissue is associated with extensive coronary artery lesions in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting: an observational study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between the epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) volume measured by 256-slice dual source computed tomography (DSCT) and the complexity with the presence of significant coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Study subjects were enrolled as they were undergoing DSCT for coronary evaluation. Two subgroups were formed according to coronary artery bypass history: Group A (patients with significant CAD), Group B (patients with normal coronary arteries). In both groups, EAT volume was measured by DSCT with the same technique. The complexity of CAD was assessed by using Syntax score (SxS). Group A patients were subdivided into two groups according to these results (Group A1, A2). OUTCOMES: Ninety-three patients (53 male, 40 female) with a mean age of 55.1 years were enrolled in the study (48 in group A and 45 in Group B). The serum levels of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were found statistically higher in Group A. In Group A, mean EAT volume was 44.87±21.28 cm(3) while it was in normal range (32.37±17.50 cm(3)) in control group (p=0.003). Higher EAT volume was found to be related to FPG (r=0.242, p=0.015) and body surface area (BSA) (r =0.268, p=0.009) and also correlated positively with CAD. On the other hand, there was no significant difference between subgroups when considering the complexity of CAD. CONCLUSIONS: Our data shows that increased EAT volume is associated with significant CAD. EAT volume contributes to the development of coronary lesions, but it does not affect the complexity of the lesions.

Topsy-turvy heart: a very rare case of superoinferior ventricle.

This report presents computed cardiac tomographic (CT) and echocardiographic images of a 20-day-old newborn with a suspected cardiac rotation abnormality in the setting of levocardia, atrial situs solitus, atrioventricular concordance, superoinferior orientation of the ventricles, and ventriculoarterial concordance.