Obesity and Dyslipidemia.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article sumarizes pathopysiological consequencies between obesity and dyslipidemia and aims to bring some practical approach. RECENT FINDINGS: Dyslipidemia is often present in individuals with obesity and simultaneusly, many obese individuals have lipid metabolism disorders. Especially the abdominal obesity increases the cardiometabolic risk because of the presence of atherogenic dyslipidemia while the total low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) may be normal. LDL-C is the primary goal in dyslipidemia treatment. Apoliprotein B (Apo B) and non - high density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) should be estimated to precise the cardiovascular risk and represents the secondary goal in treatment. Weight loss either with diet or antiobestic medication induces the decrease in triglycerides (TG) and LDL-C and the increase in HDL-C. Composition of nutrients, esp. fatty acids, influences lipid levels. Bariatric surgery is efficient in weight loss and has a significant effect on serum lipids. Dyslipidemia and obesity present common diseases that must be managed to decrease the cardiovascular risk and the risk of obesity-related complications.

New perspectives in the treatment of chronic heart failure.

The most recent guidelines on heart failure of the European Society of Cardiology were published in 2021. These guidelines devide patients according to the ejection fraction of the left ventricle into the group with reduced, mildly reduced and preserved ejection fraction. The guidelines follow the recent evidence based medicine and clinical studies in their recommendations. A novel group of drugs aiming to reduce morbidity and mortality and to improve the quality of life in patients with reduced ejection frations are SGLT2 inhibitors - gliflozins. The guidelines of the American Society of Cardiology set the treatment by gliflozins regardless of ejection fracion. The guidelines point out the treatment of comorbidities like diabetes, iron deficiency or tumors. A complex approach of patients with heart failure including heart failure clinics is presented.

Hypertension and dyslipidemia treament in stroke.

Stroke is the second most common cause of mortality worldwide and the third most common cause of disability. Arterial hypertension is the most prevalent risk factor for stroke. A precise management of arterial hypertension prevents the first episode of stroke and the recurrence. Blood pressure must be decreased carefully and not very vigorously in the acute phase of the stroke. Recommended blood pressure goals in chronic tratment are at least 140 / 90 mm Hg and lower if tolerated. ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers in combination with calcium channel blockers or indapamide are favorable antihypertensive drugs. Dyslipidemia is also a strong risk factor for ischaemic stroke and has no relatioship to the other etiologies of stroke. The cardiovascular risk in patients after a stroke is very high. An intensive hypolipidemic treatment by statins, ezetimibe and PCSK9i to LDL-cholesterol goals < 1,4 mmol/l and a 50% decrease was proved to decrease the incidence of recurrent stroke.

An effective communication between the physician and the patient in an early intervention of hypertension and dyslipidemia.

The article summarizes the cornestones of inicitating the pharmacotherapy of hypertension and dyslipidemia. The intervention of dyslipidemia should not be delayed after the intervention of hypertension. The compliance and the adhrence are far from ideal. The physicians should support their patients with an appropriate approach. Vascular age should be used for the explanation of the cardiovascular risk.

Diagnosis of heart failure: the new classification of heart failure.

Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome characterized by typical symptoms (e.g. breathlessness, ankle swelling and fatigue) that may be accompanied by signs (e.g. elevated jugular venous pressure, pulmonary crackles and periphe-ral oedema) caused by a structural and/or functional cardiac abnormality, resulting in a reduced cardiac output and/or elevated intracardiac pressures at rest or during stress. Natriuretic peptides have a significant nega-tive predictive value for excluding of heart failure. Echocardiography is the most important imaging method in heart failure. The new classification distinguishes HF by left ventricule ejection fraction (LV EF) into 3 groups: HF with preserved EF - HFpEF with LV EF ≥ 50 %, mid-range EF - HFmrEF with LV EF 40-49 % and HF with reduced EF - HFrEF with LV EF < 40 %. A quantity of examination methods is available in heart failure diagnosis and treatment. Key words: classification - diagnosis - echocardiography - heart failure - natriuretic peptides.

[Epidemiology of hypercholesterolemia]. / Epidemiologie hypercholesterolemie.

Hypercholesterolemia is one of the most important risk factors of cardiovascular (CV) disease. Epidemiology follows the prevalence, the incidence and the possibilities of risk factors or diseases intervention. A review of observation epidemiologic studies, pharmacotherapy and treatment perspectives is presented. The first epidemiologic studies, e.g. the Framingham Heart Study or MRFIT showed hyperlipidemia is associated with the incidence of CV disease. The North Karelia Project showed the intervention of CV risk factors is useful on population-based principles. Interventional studies with statins showed the usefulness of LDL cholesterol lowering to decrease CV morbidity and mortality and also total mortality. Anyway, the control of CV risk factors is unsatisfactory.Key words: epidemiology - hypercholesterolemia - intervention.

[Residual cardiovascular risk markers]. / Markery reziduálního kardiovaskulárního rizika.

The European definition of biomarker is presented; it is a measurable factor, which reflects a physiological or pathological process in human body. There are also mentioned transferred meanings of the term marker used in different fields of medicine. The importance, categorization and calculation of global cardiovascular (CV) risk are explained in patients in primary prevention of CV disease (SCORE risk chart). Residual CV risk persists in patients in primary or secondary prevention of CV diseases treated according to current guidelines, even if their risk factors (blood pressure, LDL-cholesterol, glucose level) have achieved the recommended values. This residual risk was done by non-LDL dyslipidemia especially, so called atherogenic dyslipidemia (Residual Risk Reduction Initiative definition). Investigators of preventive EUROASPIRE studies assessed, that 5-year mortality from CV diseases was in a positive association with glucose level, smoking and total cholesterol. In our recent analysis, we have described among the Czech samples of EUROASPIRE studies I-IV, that BMI and prevalence of diabetes increase during the last 16 years very steeply. Patients with stable coronary heart diseases in combination with diabetes have had higher prevalence of residual risk markers (atherogenic dyslipidemia, atherogenic index of plasma described by M. Dobiasova and hypertriglyceridemic waist) than patients without diabetes. Except of prescription of statins, ACE inhibitors, antiaggregative or anticoagulative drugs was increasing, the residual CV risk was not changing during the followed period of 16 years.

Chromium Supplementation Reduces Resting Heart Rate in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome and Impaired Glucose Tolerance.

Chromium (Cr) is considered as an important mineral, involved in biochemical reactions in human metabolic pathways. Organically bound Cr supplementation has been suggested to improve glycemia especially in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, but there are conflicting reports on efficacy. Effect of Cr is not clear in prediabetes status. Seventy patients with metabolic syndrome and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), who are observed and treated in the Center of Preventive Cardiology of the University Hospital in Pilsen, were included in the prospective, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical study. Effect of Cr-enriched yeast (200 µg of elementary Cr in the morning and 100 µg in the evening) on glucose, lipid metabolism, fat tissue hormones, oxidative stress, and DNA damage markers was analyzed. There were no significant changes in glucose and lipid parameters, oxidative stress, or other laboratory markers. Only resting heart rate was significantly reduced in patients treated by Cr yeast, reflecting reduced sympathetic activity. This could represent an important cardiovascular risk reduction in patients with high cardiometabolic risk.

Cardio-metabolic risk prediction should be superior to cardiovascular risk assessment in primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Cardiovascular atherosclerotic diseases represent the main cause of death in the developed and developing populations. Although major progress has been made in the management of the classical modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, unhealthy lifestyle conduces to an increasing prevalence of overweight, obesity, metabolic disorders, type 2 diabetes mellitus, premature atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. That is why cardio-metabolic risk prediction should be superior in the primary prevention of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. Up-to-date primary preventive strategies according to the European Guidelines, especially the high risk strategy approach, are being implemented. Individual cardiovascular and better cardio-metabolic risk assessment represents the basic approach in the individualized primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Cardio-metabolic biomarkers, especially high sensitivity C-reactive protein, albuminuria, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, and imaging procedures (carotid intima-media thickness measured by ultrasound) could improve the prediction of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes beyond that using traditional risk factors.