Orthostatic hypotension and age-related sarcopenia.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to determine the association of sarcopenia with orthostatic hypotension (OH) which is a significant precursor to falls and related injuries in elderly patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 91 outpatients (18 males, 73 females; mean age 79.3±4.0 years; range, 75 to 91 years) were prospectively enrolled and those who were eligible underwent comprehensive sarcopenia assessment including measurement of muscle mass, strength, physical performance, anthropometric measurements along with frailty tests. Patients classified as sarcopenic or non-sarcopenic based on these measurements underwent supine and standing blood pressure (BP) measurements. The frequency of OH was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Of the 91 patients, 29 (31.9%) had sarcopenia. There was no statistical difference in measurements of functional tests which consisted of gait speed, timed up-and-go test and handgrip strength. However, timed sit-to-stand test values were higher in sarcopenic patients (18.2±7.9 vs. 15.0±5.1, p=0.04). Patients with sarcopenia developed OA and intolerance more often compared to the non-sarcopenic patients (n=15 [50.0%] vs. n=14 [23.0%], p<0.01 and n=13 [44.8%] vs. n=9 [15.3%], p<0.01, respectively). The adjusted odds ratio for sarcopenia was 7.80 (95% confidence interval 1.77-34.45), p=0.007. CONCLUSION: Age-related sarcopenia increases the risk of OA in the elderly. This may in part explain the increased incidence of falls and also help identification of risky elderly patients for orthostatic BP drops.

Treatment of Simultaneous Thromboembolism of the Right and Left Coronary Arteries with Thrombus Aspiration in a Patient with a Prosthetic Mitral Valve.

Prosthetic heart valve thrombosis is a rare, difficult-to-treat condition that increases morbidity and mortality by leading to systemic embolism. Clinically, it presents mainly in the form of stroke, though an embolism be observed in many systems. Acute coronary syndrome, which is rarely observed in patients with a prosthetic heart valve, mostly occurs as non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (MI). There is no specific recommendation for the treatment of this condition. Revascularization success rates have been shown to be variable in cases wherein thrombolytic therapy, balloon angioplasty, stent implantation, and a combination of all of these techniques are used. Herein are presented details of the successful revascularization of a patient with ST segment elevation MI presenting with simultaneous right and left coronary system embolism, and without embolism in any other system. In cases of acute coronary syndrome in patients with a prosthetic heart valve with no known coronary artery disease, starting the procedure with thrombus aspiration may prevent unnecessary stent and balloon angioplasty procedures being required, by accelerating the revascularization process.

Evaluation of Subtle Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction by Longitudinal Systolic Strain in Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

BACKGROUND: Although left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) is a major cause of morbidity in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, there is limited data on cardiac functions of these patients. Compared to the conventional echocardiography, the global longitudinal strain (GLS) can detect subclinical myocardial dysfunction at an earlier stage. OBJECTIVES: In our study, we aimed to evaluate left ventricular systolic functions using the GLS in HIV-infected patients and to investigate the effect of cluster of differentiation 4 T-cell values on LVSD. METHODS: This prospective, case-control study included a total of 65 HIV-infected patients and 48 healthy volunteers. Conventional and strain echocardiography were performed on all participants. In HIV-infected patients, CD4 T-cell counts and HIV-ribonucleic acid (HIV-RNA) values were measured. RESULTS: The median CD4 T-cell count was 529.65 cells/mm3 in the HIV-infected patients and median duration of living with HIV was 16.25 (range: 2 to 120) months. Baseline characteristics and left ventricular ejection fraction values were similar in both groups. However, there was a significant difference in the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, interventricular septum, left ventricular posterior wall, and GLS between the groups (p = 0.013, p = 0.005, 0.041, p = 0.013, and p = 0.003, respectively). There was a positive correlation between GLS and CD4 levels (r = 0.463, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study results suggest that reduced CD4 T-cell counts in HIV-infected patients may cause myocardial dysfunction and GLS can be useful to show subtle LVSD asymptomatic cases.

Persistent smoking rate after coronary revascularization and factors related to smoking cessation in Turkey.

Background: Although smoking is an established risk factor for coronary artery disease, smoking cessation efforts, as part of a lifestyle change, have been disappointing so far. Therefore, assessing current smoking trends and identifying patients who are at risk of smoking continuation is of paramount importance. In this study, our aim was to assess current smoking rates after coronary revascularization as of 2017, and to define factors that potentially affect smoking cessation. Methods: Overall, 350 patients who had undergone coronary revascularization, either by percutaneous coronary intervention or bypass surgery were included in this cross-sectional, observational study. Patients were queried for various sociodemographic characteristics and smoking habits. Disease related data were obtained from the hospital archives. Results: The overall smoking rate was 57% after coronary revascularization. Age, bypass surgery and the occurrence of in-hospital adverse events were found to be independent predictors of smoking cessation in multivariate analysis. Conclusions: Despite efforts, smoking rates after coronary intervention remain substantially high. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach to smoking cessation that incorporates cardiac rehabilitation programs and medications should be implemented in clinical practice.

The Value of CHA2DS2VASC Score in Predicting All-Cause Mortality in Patients with ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Who Have Undergone Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

BACKGROUND: Acute coronary syndrome is the most common cause of cardiac morbidity and death. Various scoring systems have been developed in order to identify patients who are at risk for adverse outcome and may benefit from more aggressive and effective therapies. OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to evaluate the CHA2DS2VASC score as a predictor of mortality inpatients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p-PCI). METHODS: We evaluated 300 patients diagnosed with ST-elevation myocardial infarction who underwent p-PCI and calculated their CHA2DS2VASC scores. According to their CHA2DS2VASC scores, patients were divided into three groups. Group 1: 0-1 points (n = 101), Group 2: 2-3 points (n = 129), and Group 3: 4-9 points (n = 70). The mean, median and minimum duration of follow-up were 21.7 ± 9.4, 21, and 12 months, respectively. All-cause mortality was defined as the primary endpoint of the study. RESULTS: All-cause mortality was 4% in Group 1, 8.5% in Group 2 and 27.1% in Group 3 respectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that Group 3 (CHA2DS2VASC ≥ 4) had a significantly higher incidence of death [p (log-rank) < 0.001]. In ROC analysis, AUC values for in hospital, 12-month and long-term mortality were 0.88 (0.77-0.99 95% CI), 0.82 (0.73-0.92 95% CI) and 0.79 (0.69-0.88 95% CI), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: CHA2DS2VASC score can be used for predicting both in-hospital, 12-month and long-term mortality in patients with STEMI who have undergone p-PCI.