Gamma-glutamyltransferase and prognosis in patients with stable coronary heart disease followed over 8 years.

OBJECTIVES: Serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (gamma-GT) predicts incident cardiovascular disease and mortality. The present study examined whether gamma-GT also is associated with prognosis in patients with stable coronary heart disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study included 1152 participants (aged 30-70 years at baseline) of an in-patient rehabilitation programme after acute coronary syndrome, recruited in two rehabilitation clinics in Germany in the years 1999-2000 (KAROLA study). Until year 8 follow-up, 147 participants had experienced a non-fatal or fatal secondary cardiovascular disease event. Confounder-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models revealed an increase in risk for secondary events over ascending gamma-GT quartiles, with hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) of 1.21 (0.72-2.03), 1.32 (0.80-2.16) and 1.75 (1.08-2.83) for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th in reference to the lowest quartile (Ptrend=0.024). The association with all-cause mortality examined as a secondary outcome was slightly stronger (hazard ratio of 4th quartile: 1.97 [1.15-3.36]; Ptrend=0.017). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with stable coronary heart disease, serum gamma-GT was associated with prognosis independent of a variety of established risk markers. The association appeared similar to that reported for primary cardiovascular disease, which should motivate additional studies of its clinical utility in cardiovascular patient care.

Effect of APOE genotype on lipid levels in patients with coronary heart disease during a 3-week inpatient rehabilitation program.

It has been suggested that the apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype modifies the effect of dietary and pharmacological interventions for lowering lipid levels. We wanted to determine whether APOE genotyping information would be useful in making lipid-lowering treatment decisions in clinical practice. We included 981 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) enrolled in an inpatient 3-week standardized rehabilitation program. Of these, 555 (57%) patients received continued statin therapy and 232 (24%) patients received newly initiated statin therapy. Dietary intervention was part of the program only for 194 (20%) patients. Total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) levels decreased in all the groups of patients during rehabilitation. The decreases were less pronounced among the APOE E2 carriers. However, the observed variation among the groups with respect to reduction of lipid levels was accounted for mainly by the initial lipid levels (30-47%) and only marginally on the APOE genotype (1%) . We therefore found no evidence that APOE genotyping will be useful in guiding dietary or pharmacological lipid-lowering treatment decisions.

Long term adherence to dietary recommendations after inpatient rehabilitation: prospective follow up study of patients with coronary heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the adherence to nutritional recommendations in inpatient rehabilitation and the long term maintenance of dietary changes among patients with coronary heart disease. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Two rehabilitation clinics in Germany. PARTICIPANTS: A cohort of 1206 patients undergoing inpatient rehabilitation after an acute manifestation of coronary heart disease. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self reported dietary intake before, during, and one and three years after rehabilitation measured with a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire and summarised to a nutritional index, which was used to categorise patients as having a poor, fair, or good diet. RESULTS: During rehabilitation the proportion of patients whose dietary intake was categorised as good increased strongly from 30% to 91%. One and three years after rehabilitation a still increased proportion of 49% and 42%, respectively, in the good category was observed. The strong increase in intake of low fat and wholemeal products that was achieved during rehabilitation was followed after rehabilitation discharge by a backslide to the intake observed before rehabilitation admission. The avoidance of unfavourable food items, such as French fries or eggs, was at least partly maintained during the follow up period. CONCLUSION: During inpatient rehabilitation most patients do have to make major changes in their dietary intake to comply with recommendations. Although some proportion of patients continue to adhere to dietary recommendations in the long run, further research into strategies to improve maintenance of dietary changes is needed to enhance further the long term benefits from cardiac rehabilitation.

[Changes of risk factors in patients with coronary heart disease after in-patient rehabilitation]. / Veränderungen von Risikofaktoren nach stationärer Rehabilitation bei Patienten mit koronarer Herzkrankheit.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Rehabilitation therapy of patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) aims at reducing cardiovascular risk factors and at maintaining reduced risk factor levels. The aim of this analysis was to assess to what degree current in-patient rehabilitation and subsequent out-patient care by general practitioners (GPs) achieve these goals. PATIENTS AND METHODS: As part of the KAROLA-Study (Langzeiterfolge der KARdiOLogischen Anschlussheilbehandlung = Long-term success of cardiological rehabilitation therapy) 1206 patients between 30 and 70 years of age (mean age: male: 58.3 years, female: 60.8 years) who underwent in-patient rehabilitation due to CHD between January 1999 and May 2000 were recruited. Risk factor levels were assessed at the beginning and at the end of in-patient rehabilitation, and patients were re-examined one year after discharge using a standardised exam conducted by the GPs. RESULTS: Patients with increased risk factor levels at the time of admission showed significant improvements in the following risk factors during rehabilitation: Body mass index (-0.7 kg/m(2)), diastolic blood pressure (-10 mmHg), systolic blood pressure (-10 mmHg), total cholesterol (-73 mg/dl), LDL-cholesterol (-63 mg/dl), HDL-cholesterol (+ 3 mg/dl), triglycerides (-70 mg/dl). One year after discharge, however, all but one of the parameters (LDL-cholesterol) had re-increased significantly. The prescription of lipid lowering drugs rose from 56 % to 76 % during rehabilitation therapy and remained constant during the first year after discharge. CONCLUSIONS: During in-patient rehabilitation therapy important risk factors of CHD improved on average, but these improvements are only partly sustained in the long term. To ensure long-term success of rehabilitation measures more effective maintenance of risk factor modification in subsequent out-patient care is needed.

Increase in number and decrease in size of mitochondrial profiles in myocytes of the right ventricle of dogs with experimental emphysema.

An ultrastructural study of the myocardium in control dogs and in dogs with papain-induced emphysema of 6 months duration without signs of right ventricular hypertrophy was undertaken to determine the number, size, and relative volume of the mitochondria. In the right ventricle of the emphysematous dogs, the number of mitochondrial profiles was greater per unit area of tissue (46.18 +/- 1.28/100 micron 2 versus 41.20 +/- 1.60/100 micron 2, p less than 0.05), but the mitochondria were smaller in size (mean mitochondrial profile area: 0.39 +/- 0.01 micron 2 versus 0.46 +/- 0.02 micron 2, p less than 0.05; mean mitochondrial "diameter": 0.65 +/- 0.01 micron versus 0.71 +/- 0.02 micron, p less than 0.05) than in control dogs. A highly significant negative correlation was found in the right ventricle of control and emphysematous dogs between the number per unit area and the size (area) of the mitochondrial profiles (r = -0.92; p less than 0.001). The increase in number but decrease in size of the mitochondrial profiles resulted in an unchanged relative volume of mitochondria in the right ventricle of the emphysematous dogs. In the subendocardium and in the subepicardium of the left ventricle of the papain-treated dogs, these changes were smaller and did not reach significance. These ultrastructural changes in the myocardium of the emphysematous animals are considered to be a response to a situation of prolonged increase in work of the right ventricle and may represent an early stage of a developing right ventricular hypertrophy.

Myocardial protection by collateral vessels during experimental coronary ligation: a prospective study in a canine two-infarction model.

Previous work of this laboratory has shown that collateral flow can be increased over six weeks by a subcritical external constriction of the circumflex artery causing a 50 +/- 10% reduction of postocclusive reactive hyperemia. To investigate collateral function in acute myocardial infarction, the model was used to ligate two distant coronary branches on the ventricle simultaneously in order to compare in 8 dogs infarct size and perfusion area of the ligated vessels in control and collateralized sections. The acute collateral flow measured 7.2 +/- 2.5 ml/100 g/min-1 and increased to 17.3 +/- 6.7 (p less than 0.001) over 6 weeks. Separate analysis revealed a predominant increase of collateral flow in the epicardial layers 23.1 +/- 7.5 (p less than 0.01) versus 6.9 +/- 2.8 (p less than 0.01) in the subendocardium. Infarct size in the control area was 52.0 +/- 14.7% of the perfusion area, in the collateralized zone 19.0 +/- 14.2% (p less than 0.001). Infarct size expressed as per cent of perfusion area and collateral flow in the area at risk expressed as per cent of flow of normal sections correlated: (r = 0.76; p less than 0.05). Therefore, infarct size after a 6 hour coronary occlusion can be considered a function of the collateral flow over normal perfusion ratio. Localized induction of collaterals in this model caused a significant reduction of infarct size in relation to the perfusion area at risk.

Increased myocardial capillary density in dogs with experimental emphysema.

In the hearts of control beagle dogs, capillary density in the right ventricle was found to be similar to that of the subendocardium of the left ventricle but lower than that of the subepicardium of the left ventricle. In emphysematous animals, 6 months after the exposure to papain (the emphysema-inducing agent), capillary density in the right ventricle and in the subendocardium of the left ventricle increased significantly, reaching values similar to that of the subepicardium of the left ventricle, which remained constant. These morphologic changes are considered to be an adaptation to a prolonged condition of increased myocardial oxygen demand and/or may represent an early stage of a developing cardiac hypertrophy.

Development of collaterals. Application of external subcritical fixed constrictors in a canine model.

A canine model for a standardized induction of collaterals is presented with a fixed external constrictor that is not designed to induce an occlusion of the coronary artery and at least over the timespan of 6 weeks does not impair perfusion under resting conditions in the myocardium-at-risk. The coronary constriction was standardized by a reduction of the postocclusive reactive hyperemia of 50%. Flow measurements were performed by flowmeter and by radioactive microspheres acutely and after an interval of 6 weeks of constriction. The results showed an increase of the collateral flow from 21.2 +/- 11.8 ml/100 g/min-1 to 42.8 +/- 16.2 ml/100 g/min-1 (p less than 0.05). The regional perfusion exhibited a transmyocardial gradient in favour of the subepicardial layers with 49.3 +/- 25 ml/100 g/min-1 as compared to 33.1 +/- 17.3 ml/100 g/min-1 (p less than 0.05) of the endocardial layers. Reactive hyperemia, as determined by flowmeter, was decreased by 21% after 6 weeks on account of slow progression of the coronary constriction due to intimal reactions, whereas reactive hyperemia, as determined by the microsphere method, increased by 9% due to additional collateral channels.

A six-month study of the evolution of papain-induced emphysema in the dog.

The development of papain-induced emphysema and the effect of structural changes of the lung on pulmonary hemodynamics were investigated in the dog in a 6-month study. Papain was administered as an aerosol at the beginning of the study and at Day 21; control animals received saline. At 3 or at 6 months, hemodynamic investigations were carried out in the awake animal (sedated with piritramide). The dogs were then killed and the lungs processed for morphometric evaluation. Arterial blood gases were analyzed at regular intervals for the duration of the study. In the papain-treated dogs, mean linear intercept (Lm) and internal surface area of the lungs corrected to an arbitrary lung volume of 2L (ISA2) were significantly different from control dogs both at 3 and at 6 months. No progression of the structural changes of the lung occurred between these two time intervals. Arterial blood oxygenation was normal throughout the study. In the papain-treated group at 6, but not at 3, months, mean pulmonary arterial blood pressure (PAPm) and pulmonary arteriolar resistance (PAR) were significantly augmented when compared with the control group. A significant correlation was found at 6 months between the Lm and ISA2 on one side, and PAPm and PAR on the other side, suggesting that the structural changes of the lung were responsible for pulmonary hemodynamic alterations.

Experimental myocardial infarction in a closed-chest canine model. Observations of temporal and spatial evolution over 24 hours.

Myocardial infarction was induced in 7 mongrel dogs by transfemoral intraluminal occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Perfusion area at risk was determined by post-mortem coronarography and infarct size by macrohistological staining with para-nitrophenoltetrazolium. Regional flow was determined by injection of radioactive microspheres 0.2 hours, 12 hours, and 24 hours post occlusion. Infarct size as determined by planimetry of post-mortem angiograms and macrohistological stains at identical magnification revealed 74.5 +/- 12.1% infarcted tissue of the perfusion area at risk. The flow of the necrotic tissue was below 13 Ml/100 g min without exception, indicating a threshold perfusion for maintenance of myocardial viability. Accordingly, a flow of less than or equal to 10 ml/100 g min identified 93% of the entire infarcted myocardium, resulting in 71 +/0 20% as compared to the perfusion area at risk. Based on the good agreement of macrohistological and flow data, the evolution of myocardial injury was determined by flow measurements. The results indicated a different progression of the borders of critical flow in the subendocardial and subepicardial layers, whereas in the subendocardium 85% of the tissue at risk was identified by the critical flow at 0.2 hours and 97% at 12 hours, the subepicardial flow changed at a different pace: only 53% showed subcritical perfusion at 0.2 hours, 61% at 12 hours with a final increase of 39% from 12 to 24 hours.

Dilatory capacity of the coronary circulation and its correlation to the arterial vasculature in the canine left ventricle.

The functional capacity of flow limiting myocardial conductance vessels was evaluated in canine hearts. In an isolated heart preparation transmural coronary flow distribution during maximal vasodilation was measured in the unloaded diastolic arrested left ventricle with tracer microspheres. The ratio of subendocardial versus subepicardial (ENDO/EPI) flow in the left ventricular free wall was 1.6. Measurements in 8 different wall layers showed a successive increase in maximal coronary flow from the subepicardium towards the deeper layers. A decreased subendocardial vascular resistance due to a better vascularization is forwarded as a mechanism to compensate for the extravascular compression during cardiac contraction. This statement contradicts the commonly accepted hypothesis that a diminished vascular tone with a reduction of the dilatory reserve in the subendocardium accounts for a homogeneous flow distribution in the normal beating heart. An augmentation of subendocardial supplying vessel capacity could be established from the angiographic determination of the coronary arterial volume of intramural small arteries and arterioles. From a strict parallelity in maximal coronary flow and coronary arterial volume within the wall, it becomes probable that these vascular structures are the flow-limiting factors which determine regional coronary flow reserve in the absence of extravascular compressive forces.

Role of cardiac contractility in hypertrophy from chronic volume loading.

In an experimental model of chronic cardiac volume overloading, ie chronic A-V block, evaluations of cardiac function were performed during the phase of the development of hypertrophy (one and two weeks of A-V block) and at stable hypertrophy (ten weeks of A-V block). During a time period of ten weeks of volume overload left ventricular muscle mass increased to 1.41 of normal hearts. Cardiac performance measured from cardiac index, stroke volume, and left ventricular ejection fraction was not depressed at any evaluated state of hypertrophy. Normal cardiac performance was also demonstrated when the heart was stressed by high ventricular pacing rates. The contractile state of the intact heart was expressed as the velocity of the isometric left ventricular pressure rise (dP/dt) at comparable loading conditions. Increased dP/dtmax at a stage before stable hypertrophy was reached, even when preload is normalised by ventricular pacing (70/min) implies that the volume overloaded heart during the development of hypertrophy mobilises part of its contractile reserve. It is assumed that increased contractility is a functional cause of an increase in oxygen demand; and that an adequate energy availability is covered by the enlargement of the mitochondrial mass. At stable hypertrophy when the contractile material has also increased, a new steady state is reached and an again normal contractility indicates an also stable dynamic situation.

Cardiac function in the chronically volume-overloaded canine heart.

In the chronically volume-overloaded canine heart due to AV-block evaluations of cardiac function were performed during the development of hypertrophy and at stable hypertrophy. In an early stage (1 and 2 weeks of AV-block) when no or only a slight increase of cardiac muscle occurred, contractility measured from dP/dtmax at comparable load is elevated, while later (10 weeks of AV-block) when stable hypertrophy is present, contractility becomes again normal, In the hypertrophied heart a non-depressed cardiac performance and contractility and functional reserve was established from insitu experiments and from evaluations in the isolated heart.

Quantification of collateral resistance in acute and chronic experimental coronary occlusion in the dog.

The resistance to coronary blood flow in various parts of the myocardium was studied with the tracer microspheres technique before and immediately after an acute coronary occlusion and several weeks after a more slowly occurring coronary occlusion by Ameroid constrictor. All experiments were carried out in the isolated, metabolically supported, empty, beating dog heart at maximal coronary vasodilation induced with adenosine. Coronary resistance of the normal empty beating heart at maximal coronary vasodilation was 0.20 mm mm Hg/(ml/min) per 100 g of tissue (subepicardium) and 0.16 mm Hg/(ml/min) per 100 g of tissue (subendocardium). After acute coronary occlusion the perfusion of the subtended myocardium was maintained at a much lower level by way of collateral vessels, which showed a resistance to flow of 3.52 mm Hg/(ml/min) per 100 g. If coronary artery occlusion proceeded more slowly the collateral vessels became more functional and myocardial infarction was avoided. During collateral enlargement collateral resistance fell from 3.52 to 0.22 mm Hg/(ml/min) per 100 g within a period of 8 weeks after implantation of the constricting device. The degree of compensation by collaterals for the loss of the occluded native coronary artery was 33% of its former conductance.

Influence of tachycardia on regional myocardial flow in chronic experimental coronary occlusion.

The influences of tachycardia on regional myocardial flow was studied in normal dogs and in dogs with chronic coronary artery occlusions. Coronary vasodilation was induced by coronary occlusion and subsequent release, i.e. by reactive hyperemia. Local myocardial blood flow was determined with the tracer microspheres technique. In normal hearts atrial pacing produced a slight but significant increase in coronary resistance in the subendocardial layers of the left ventricle. The coronary resistance of the subepicardium remained unaffected. In the right ventricle atrial pacing had no influence on the resistance to flow. In hearts with multiple coronary occlusions tachycardia-induced changes of coronary resistance were more pronounced. In the collateral dependent subendocardium coronary resistance increased from 0.4-2.2 resistance units when the heart rate was raised to 200 beats/min. Perfusion of the right ventricular myocardium became also rate-dependent when the right coronary artery was chronically occluded. We conclude that regional perfusion dependes upon the relationship between the effective perfusion pressure, which is reduced in chronic coronary occlusion, and the integral of effective tissue pressure, which is increased with tachycardia. The results cannot be explained by assuming excessive O2-demand but rather by a rate-induced lowered O2-supply.