Renal artery stenosis and mean platelet volume.

OBJECTIVE: Increased mean platelet volume (MPV) has been reported in various atherosclerotic diseases. The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between the atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS) and various hematological parameters including MPV. METHODS: This study was performed with a retrospective review of the angiographic images of patients who underwent renal angiography at Bülent Ecevit University catheter laboratory between January 2004 and December 2009. The patients were trichotomized into three groups based on the presence and severity of renal artery stenosis (RAS). Group 1 included patients with a critical RAS (33 patients; 18 female (F), 15 male (M); mean age 61.6 ± 11.5 years), group 2 consisted of patients with non-critical RAS (26 patients; 15 F, 11 M; mean age 58. 1 ± 11.3 years), and group 3 was composed of patients without RAS (69 patients; 38 F, 31 M; mean age 53.5 ± 11.9 years). Demographic data, complete blood count, and biochemical parameters were compared between the groups. RESULTS: Comparison of the hematological parameters revealed that MPV and platelet distribution width were significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2 and 3 (8.96 ± 0.99 fL versus 8.35 ± 0.76 fL, 8.31 ± 0.79 fL, respectively; p=0.001; 16.53 ± 0.58% versus 16.19 ± 0.56%, 16.29 ± 0.53%, respectively; p=0.04). CONCLUSION: MPV levels are higher in patients with ARAS. Considering both the effect of platelets on atherosclerosis and their close association with other risk factors, MPV level may be an important factor in pathogenesis of ARAS.

Right ventricular isovolumic acceleration in acute pulmonary embolism.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we examined the role of isovolumic acceleration (IVA) measured with right ventricle (RV) tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) to predict the presence of acute pulmonary embolism (APE) in hemodynamically stable patients with clinical suspicion of APE. MATERIALS AND METHOD: This study included 25 hemodynamically stable (systolic blood pressure >90 mmHg) patients diagnosed with APE for the first time. Twenty-five subjects with similar demographic characteristics in whom APE was excluded due to preexisting clinical suspicion were also enrolled as the control group. All control group subjects were enrolled after proved to have no evidence of APE on imaging. Both groups were compared with respect to RV-IVA measured with TDI in addition to conventional echocardiographic parameters. RESULTS: Among the echocardiography parameters, only RV-IVA was impaired in patients with hemodynamically stable APE compared to controls (2.85 [1.37-6.42] m/sec(2) vs. 3.32 [2.24-6.52] m/sec(2) , respectively; P = 0.02). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to determine the RV-IVA value to predict clinically suspected APE. A cutoff level of 3.22 m/sec(2) had a sensitivity of 64% and a specificity of 60%; a cutoff level of 3.17 m/sec(2) had a sensitivity of 64% and a specificity of 64%; and a cutoff level of 3.10 m/sec(2) had a sensitivity of 60% and specificity of 64% (ROC area under curve: 0.691, 95% CI: 0.543-0.839, P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Results of our study suggest that RV-IVA may be a useful parameter to detect subtle alterations in RV and may predict the presence of APE in hemodynamically stable patients.

[The association of eccentricity indexes with cardiac biomarkers in normotensive acute pulmonary embolism patients: an observational study]. / Normotansif akut pulmoner embolili hastalarda eksantrisite indekslerinin kardiyak biyobelirteçler ile iliskisi: Gözlemsel bir çalisma.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aims at investigating the association of systolic and diastolic eccentricity indexes with cardiac biomarkers in hemodynamically stable patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE). METHODS: Thirty hemodynamically stable (systolic blood pressure >90 mmHg) patients with APE (17M, mean age 61.67±17.6 years) were included in this cross-sectional observational study. The associations of serum troponin I, D-dimer, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and heart type fatty acid binding protein (hFABP) levels with systolic and diastolic eccentricity indices, tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), myocardial performance index (MPI), systolic pulmonary artery pressure and the index of the inferior vena cava were investigated. The relationships between parameters were evaluated by Pearson and Spearman correlation analysis according to the distribution of data. RESULTS: Correlation analysis revealed that the most significant relationship between cardiac biomarkers and echocardiographic measurements was in the BNP value. Meanwhile, systolic and diastolic eccentricity indexes were found to have significant correlation with serum troponin I (respectively r=0.470, p=0.009/r=0.310, p=0.095) and BNP (respectively r=0.402, p=0.028/r=0.384, p=0.036) values. On the other hand, elevated D-dimer levels led to statistical significance in none of the echocardiographic parameters. CONCLUSION: According to our results, hFABP was rarely positive in normotensive patients with APE. An elevated D-dimer alone was not significant in predicting RVD. Eccentricity indexes revealed significant relationship with BNP and troponin I values. The results obtained indicate that early echocardiographic evaluation is important in patients with abnormal cardiac biomarkers.

The influence of circadian variations on echocardiographic parameters in healthy people.

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to investigate whether diastolic functions, myocardial velocities and pulmonary vein flow show diurnal variation within a 24-hour day. METHOD AND RESULTS: Fourty-four healthy subjects with no history of cardiovascular or systemic diseases (32 males, 12 females; mean age 34.7 ± 8.7 years, mean BMI: 25.5 ± 3.5 kg/m(2)) were enrolled in this study. None of the subjects had a history, symptoms or signs of cardiovascular or systemic diseases or were taking drugs of any kind. All underwent echocardiographic examination at 7 a.m., 1 p.m., 7 p.m., and 1 a.m. M-mode systolic, diastolic velocities and pulmonary vein flow measurements were obtained. There were no differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressures and heart rate. The left atrial diameter was greater at 1 p.m. (3.80 ± 0.44; P = 0.031). The isovolumic contraction time (ICT) was found to be the shortest (41 ± 12 msn; P = 0.050), and ejection time (ET) the longest (290 ± 31 msn; P = 0.017) at the 1 am measurements. The mitral myocardial performance index (MPI) was lowest during the 1 a.m. measurements (0.42 ± 0.11; P = 0.001). The systolic myocardial velocities (Sm) obtained from the septum and inferior region were significantly higher at 1 p.m. and lower at 7 a.m. (9.17 ± 1.79, 10.25 ± 2.29; 8.11 ± 1.06, 8.63 ± 1.49; P < 0.05). The late diastolic velocities obtained from the lateral, inferior and anterior regions were higher at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. CONCLUSION: The left ventricular diameter and ejection fraction did not exhibit circadian variations. However, our data indicate that some parameters reflecting diastolic function, systolic myocardial velocities and MPI, as well as left atrial diameter change at different times of the day, independent of blood pressure and heart rate.

Prolonged P wave dispersion in pre-diabetic patients.

BACKGROUND: It is known that overt diabetes as well as chronic hyperglycaemia can lead to atrial fibrillation. A P wave dispersion (PWD) represents heterogeneity in atrial refractoriness. AIM: To investigate PWDs in patients with pre-diabetes. METHOD: Based on the results of examinations, 84 pre-diabetic patients (the pre-DM group; 50 female, 34 male; mean age 54 ± 8.6 years) who had no overt diabetes, coronary artery disease or hypertension, whose fasting blood glucose was higher than 100 mg/dL and/or whose 2 h glucose concentrations on an oral glucose tolerance test was in the range of 140 to 199 mg/dL, and 48 healthy volunteers (the non-DM group, 30 female, 18 male; mean age 51.7 ± 7.3 years) with no illnesses, were enrolled in this study. Standard 12-lead electrocardiograms of all patients were taken at 50 mm/s and 20 mm/mV standardisation. Maximum (P(max)) and minimum (P(min)) P-wave durations were measured. The PWD was defined as the difference between P(max) and P(min). RESULTS: The P(max) and PWD values were significantly higher in pre-DM compared to non-DM (104 ± 13 ms vs 98 ± 12 ms; p < 0.05, 42 ± 13 ms vs 34 ± 11 ms; p <0.01 respectively). A positive correlation was found between PWD and fasting blood glucose (r = 0.32; p < 0.01). There was no correlation between PWD and HbA(1c) levels (r = 19; p > 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis showed no relationship between PWD and age, left atrial diameter, E, A, E/A or HbA(1c). However, there was a relationship between PWD and fasting blood glucose. CONCLUSIONS: The P(max) and PWD are increased in pre-diabetic patients who have no coronary artery disease, hypertension or left ventricular hypertrophy

[Percutaneous approaches in valvular heart diseases]. / Kalp kapak hastaliklarinda perkütan yaklasimlar.

Valvular heart diseases still continue to be an important health problem. Surgical replacement of cardiac valves keeps a widely used treatment method for the present. However, the efficiency of minimal invasive and percutaneous methods targeted to repair and replacement of the diseased valves has been searched for nowadays. The first clinical experiences and early stage outcomes on the applicability of these methods are encouraging. Nevertheless, it should be kept in mind that percutaneous valvular interventions are at their development stages. Long term confidence and efficiency studies of these treatment modalities are needed. The present review emphasizes the studies on percutaneous techniques initiated in the treatment of valvular heart diseases.