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SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: Myocardial speckle-tracking echocardiography can detect subtle abnormalities in the left atrial function. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between left atrial myocardium and tissue function n assessed by two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score in patients with acute ischemic stroke. METHOD: The study was composed of 80 patients (45 men, 35 women, mean age: 67±15 years) with acute ischemic stroke. The patients were divided into two groups based on the calculated National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (group 1, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score < 16; group 2, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score ≥ 16). Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data for all patients were collected. Cardiac functions were evaluated using two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography within 48 hours from admission to the neurology care unit. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the patients’ clinical parameters. Left ventricular ejection fraction was significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2 (59.2±5.6 to 51.4±6.3, p=0.024). Left atrial longitudinal strain was significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2 (34.48±9.73 to 26.27±7.41, p=0.019). There were no significant differences between other echocardiographic parameters. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that left atrial longitudinal strain is associated with stroke severity during admission in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Left atrial longitudinal strain is an indicator of left atrial myocardial function.

Objectives: Stroke is a multifactorial disease. Oxidative stress and blood pressure were found to be closely related with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Paraoxonase-1 (PON1) has been considered as an anti-atherosclerosis factor. Increased pulse pressure (PP) may lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity and mortality. Nevertheless, there are limitations for PP as an evaluation index. In order to overcome the defects of PP, there is a novel parameter, “pulse pressure/systolic pressure” called “pulse pressure index (PPI)” for evaluation of cardiovascular outcomes. We investigated the association between Paraoxonase-1 (PON1) activities and pulse pressure index (PPI) in acute ischemic stroke patients. Methods: We evaluated and compared the PON-1 activity and PPI in 46 ischemic stroke patients and 32 control patients. PON1 activitity was measured with UV spectrophotometric method by using “Rel Assay Diagnostic” kits. Pulse pressure was calculated by subtraction of diastolic blood pressure from systolic blood pressure. PPI was calculated “pulse pressure / systolic pressure”. Results: Hypertension, age, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia signficantly higher in ischemic stroke patients than control group (p

Introduction: Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) for two-dimensional (2D) strain analysis is a new tool to assess myocardial function. The aim of this study was to assess right atrial (RA) function using STE in patients with an atrial septal defect (ASD) before and one month after percutaneous closure. Methods: We prospectively examined 32 consecutive patients (nine male, 23 female) who underwent percutaneous transcatheter closure of a secundum ASD between June 2013 and December 2015. Echocardiography was performed on admission, prior to cardiac catheterization and then one month after ASD closure. Peak global RA longitudinal strain was analyzed by 2D-STE. Results: Patients’ mean age was 34.6±8.2 years. The mean diameter of the occlusive devices was 18.5±7.5 mm. Right ventricular (RV) end-diastolic diameters were significantly increased but decreased significantly after ASD closure (43±5 vs. 38±4 mm, p

Objective: The present study was an investigation of the relationship between fragmented QRS (fQRS) and left ventricular apical thrombus (LVAT) in patients presenting with first acute anterior myocardial infarction (MI). Methods: Consecutive 148 patients (mean age: 60.1+-10.1 years; male: 75.6%) with first acute anterior MI who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were included. Study population was divided into 2 groups based on presence of LVAT. fQRS was defined as presence of various RSR' patterns, which included additional R wave or notching of R wave or S wave, and presence of more than 1 R in 2 contiguous leads corresponding to major coronary artery territory on 12-lead electrocardiogram. Patients with bundle branch block were excluded from the study. Results: Of these, 32 (21.6%) had LVAT. Patients with LVAT had higher prevalence of fQRS (53.1% vs. 22.4%; p0.05 for all). Presence of fQRS was independent predictor of LVAT (odds ratio [OR], 2.795; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.058–7.396) in multivariable logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: Presence of fQRS in leads V4-V6 is independently associated with LVAT in patients presenting with first acute anterior MI.

Objective: Acute stroke is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Myocardial injury is an important complication of acute cerebrovascular events. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between myocardial function assessed by myocardial performance index (MPI) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Method: The study comprised 97 patients (males, 42; females, 55; 65 ± 16 years) diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke. 17 patients were excluded. Patients were divided into two groups based on the calculated NIHSS score (Group 1, NIHSS score < 16; Group 2, NIHSS score ≥ 16). Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data for all patients were collected. Cardiac function was evaluated by transthorasic echocardiography within 48 hours of admission to the neurology care unit. Results: There were no significant differences among demographic parameters of patients. MPI was significantly higher in Group 2 patients than in Group 1 patients (0.59±0.25 vs 0.48±0.20, p=0.004). Conclusion: Our results suggest that MPI is associated with stroke severity on admission in patients with acute ischemic stroke. MPI is an indicator of global myocardial dysfunction with a different from LVEF. MPI, which includes both systolic and diastolic time intervals is an option to assess the global cardiac dysfunction. Amaç: Akut inme morbidite ve mortalitenin önemli nedenlerinden biridir. Miyokardiyal hasarlanma, akut serebrovasküler olayların önemli bir komplikasyonudur. Yapmış olduğumuz bu çalışmanın amacı, akut iskemik inmeli hastalarda Ulusal Sağlık İnme Enstitüleri Ölçeği (NIHSS) ve miyokard performans indeksi (MPİ) ile değerlendirilen miyokard fonksiyonları arasındaki ilişkiyi araştırmaktır. Yöntemler: Çalışmaya akut iskemik inme tanılı 97 hasta (erkek,42; kadın,55; yaş, 65 ± 16) alındı. 17 hasta çalışmadan çıkarıldı. NIHSS skoruna göre hastalar iki gruba ayrıldı (Grup 1, NIHSS skor

Background: Dietary saturated fat and cholesterol are the cause of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Objectives: This study aimed to assess diet quality after diagnosis of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). Patients and Methods: This descriptive study was performed on 242 patients with diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome admitted to a coronary care unit in a cardiology clinic between December 2005 and December 2006. The study questionnaire, including questions about personal information such as age, sex, and education level, was completed by face-to-face interview. Additionally, Diet Quality Index (DQI) was used to assess the subjects’ nutritonal status. Then, one-way ANOVA and chi-square tests were used where appropriated to compare the study groups. Besides, linear regression models were used to assess the associations between DQI score and the patients’ sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle factors. P value ≤ 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The patients’ ages ranged from 26 to 85 years and 68.5% of the patients were male. Considering DQI scoring, 22.7%, 75.2%, and 2.1% of the patients got “inadequate/low”, “average”, and “acceptable/high” DQI, respectively. In addition, 28% of the patients consumed 40% of calories from total fat, while 55% consumed 30 - 40% of calories from total fat. Also, nearly 30% of the patients consumed greater than 13% of calories from saturated fat, while 64% consumed 10 - 13% of calories from saturated fat. Conclusions: In this study, most of the CHD patients got low DQI scores. In general, CHD can be prevented. However, if precautions regarding lifestyle modification are not followed, CHD is expected to progress.

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of ticagrelor as compared to clopidogrel based dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) during post-discharge management on the incidence of left ventricular (LV) thrombus in patients with first acute anterior ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).641 patients who met the inclusion criteria were divided into two groups based on the receipt of either ticagrelor or clopidogrel based DAPT.Left ventricular thrombus was detected in 73 (11.4%) patients at the first month echocardiographic examination. Ticagrelor based DAPT was associated with significantly less incidence of LV thrombus when compared to clopidogrel [20 (7.4%) vs 53 (14.0%) OR: 0.50 (0.29-0.86)]. Penalized maximum likelihood estimation (PMLE) logistic regression analyses were performed to fourteen candidate variables for identifying the independent predictors of LV thrombus, ticagrelor (compared with clopidogrel) [OR: 0.53 (0.28-0.96), p = 0.039], body mass index (BMI) [OR: 0.58 (0.44-0.77), p 0.001], KILLIP class (I vs II-IV) [OR: 0.35 (0.14-0.83), p = 0.017], age [OR: 1.22 (1.08-1.40), p 0.001], poor postprocedural myocardial blush grade (MBG) [OR: 3.35 (1.32-8.15), p = 0.012] and LVEF predischarge [OR: 0.79 (0.72-0.86), p 0.001] were found to be associated with LV thrombus.Our study demonstrated that the incidence of LV trombus was significantly lower with ticagrelor than clopidogrel-based DAPT during postdischarge treatment for anterior STEMI patients.

A 43-year-old male patient was admitted to coronary intensive care unit with the diagnosis of acute inferolateral myocardial infarction and with a picture of cardiogenic shock. In physical examination, systolic blood pressure was 50 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure could not be taken. The patient was diagnosed with cardiogenic shock and was started on saline, dopamine and dobutamine infusion. His blood pressure did not increase although the dosage of positive inotropic agents was increased. A cardiac tamponade revealed with urgent echocardiographic evaluation and pericardiocentesis was carried out. Blood pressure returned to normal range within hours after pericardiosentesis. Echocardiographic examination performed on the second day of AMI on the asymptomatic patient revealed thrombosed myocardial rupture. The patient was referred to emergency surgery with the diagnosis of three-vessel disease and myocardial rupture according to urgent angiography. In the operation, the ruptured region in the ventricle free wall was primarily repaired. By-pass surgery was performed with saphenous vein graft to the LAD and CV-OM1 coronary arteries. Key words: Free wall rupture, acute myocardial infarction, treatment.

Background The genetic influence on the myocardial performance index is uncertain, so the aim of the present study was to determine the effects of polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene on the right ventricular myocardial performance index (RVMPI) after a first acute anterior myocardial infarction (MI). Methods and Results The subjects were 116 patients with a first acute anterior MI. Based on the polymorphism of the ACE gene, they were classified into 3 groups: deletion/deletion (DD) genotype (group 1, n=45), insertion/deletion (ID) genotype (group 2, n=58), insertion/insertion (II) genotype (group 3, n=13). Echocardiograms were used to determine the RVMPI, left ventricular myocardial performance index (LVMPI), tricuspid E/A, tricuspid deceleration time and the left ventricular diameter diastolic and diameter systolic (LVDd and LVDs). RVMPI and LVMPI were significantly higher in the ACE DD group. Tricuspid E/A, DT, LVDd and LVDs showed no differences among the 3 groups. Conclusion The ID polymorphism of the ACE gene may affect RVMPI and LVMPI after a first acute anterior MI. (Circ J 2005; 69: 211 - 215)

Although the damage in myocardial infarction has been demonstrated to be related with the magnitude and number of ST elevation, its relation with terminal distortion of QRS is unclear. The relationship between terminal QRS distortion in ECGs on admission and the results of early low dose dobutamine stress echocardiography (LDSE) performed 6 +/- 2 days later was investigated. Patients admitted to our clinic within the first six hours of their chest pain and without a prior infarction diagnosis were divided into two groups based on the admission electrocardiogram as the absence (QRS-, n = 33) or presence (QRS+, n = 29) of distortion of the terminal portion of the QRS in > or = 2 leads (QRS+; J point at > 50% of the R wave amplitude in lateral leads or presence of ST elevation without S wave in leads V1-V3). There were no significant differences between the groups with respect to thrombolytic therapy or reperfusion criteria. During LDSE, the infarct zone wall motion score index (WMSI) in the QRS- group was significantly decreased relative to baseline (from 2.93 +/- 0.65 to 2.37 +/- 0.84, P = 0.02), and it was significantly different compared with WMSI in the QRS+ group (P = 0.005). Improvement of akinetic regions to hypokinetic regions in the infarct zone (IZ) was found to be 33.5% (44/131) in the QRS- group and 17.8% (27/151 P = 0.004) in the QRS+ group. Furthermore, 55.1% (10/29) of the patients in the QRS+ group and only 18.1% (6/33) of those in the QRS- group did not respond to LDSE (P < 0.05). In multiple logistic regression analysis, while there was no relationship between good left ventricular functions (WMSI < 2) and terminal QRS distortion under basal conditions (P = 0.07), an independent relation was observed to exist between them after LDSE (P = 0.03, OR 4.48, 95% CI, 1.13-17.7). Moreover, plasma CK levels were higher in the QRS+ group (P = 0.03), whereas the ejection fraction was worse (P = 0.01). In both groups, there was no correlation between the Selvester score and left ventricle WMSI at baseline, but this correlation was significantly improved with LDSE (QRS-; r = 0.39 P = 0.02 and QRS+; r = 0.44 P = 0.01) The viability in the IZ is relatively less in those patients with terminal QRS distortion observed in their ECG on admission. This simple classification would be useful in predicting left ventricular function at the time of discharge.

BACKGROUND The development of left ventricular remodeling after acute myocardial infarction is a predictor of heart failure and mortality. The genetic influence on cardiac remodeling in the early period after acute myocardial infarction, is however, unclear. The aim ofthis study was to investigate the relationship between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism and left ventricular remodeling in the early period in patients with anterior myocardial infarction. METHOD The study population consisted of 142 patients with their first attack of acute anterior myocardial infarction. Echocardiographic examinations were performed within 24 h of the first attack (first evaluation) and on the fifth day of acute myocardial infarction (second evaluation). Left ventricular end systolic and diastolic diameters, left ventricular end systolic and diastolic volumes, ejection fraction, mitral flow velocities (E, A, E/A), deceleration time, isovolumic relaxation time and myocardial performance index were calculated. ACE I/D polymorphism was determined using polymerase chain reaction amplification. RESULTS On the basis of polymorphism of the ACE gene, the patients were classified into the three groups: group 1, deletion/deletion (n=59) genotype, group 2 insertion/deletion (n=69), and group 3 insertion/insertion (n=14) genotype. When the first and second sets of echocardiographic results of the groups were compared, all parameters were not different among three groups. In group analysis, Left ventricular systolic diameters, left ventricular diastolic diameters, left ventricular end diastolic diameters, left ventricular ejection fraction and myocardial performance index between first and second echocardiographic results were significantly different in deletion/deletion group and only myocardial performance index and left ventricular ejection fraction in insertion/deletion group (P

The authors investigated the relationship between the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism and the blood flow characteristics of common carotid (CCA) and brachial arteries (BA) by color Doppler ultrasound (CDUS) in patients with acute anterior myocardial infarction (AAMI). Sixty four patients (11 women and 53 men), aged 25 to 77 years, with AAMI were studied. The ACE genotypes were established. Peak-systolic (PSV) and end-diastolic velocity (EDV) of right and left CCA, PSV of right BA, and intimal-medial thickness (IMT) of both CCAs were measured by CDUS. All results were evaluated statistically. The ACE genotypes were distributed as follows: 43.8% DD, 43.8% ID, and 12.5% II. PSVs of BA and both CCAs were lower in patients with DD and ID than with II (p0.05). IMTs of both CCAs did not differ among patients with various ACE genotypes (p>0.05). These results suggest that ACE I/D polymorphism influences Doppler blood flow parameters of both BA and CCA, but does not affect IMT of CCA.

PP-067 T R A C Assesment of Right Ventricular Diastolic Function in Patients Who Underwent Percutaneous ASD Closure Devices. Onder Ozturk, Unal Ozturk. Department of Cardiology, Diyarbakir Gazi Yasargil Education and Research Hospital, Diyarbakir, Turkey; Department of Neurology, Dicle University Medicine Faculty, Diyarbakir, Turkey. T S Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate right ventricular (RV) diastolic function and its changes after transcatheter closure in patients with ASD using tissue Doppler imaging (TDI). Methods: We prospectively examined 22 consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous transcatheter closure of secundum ASD from

A B S T R A C T S Results: The study population consisted of heart failure patients(64.0 12.7 years). We found statistically significant correlation between LVM, LVMI, RWT and EPSS(p

Background: Genetic influence on Doppler blood flow parameters of carotid and brachial arteries (BA) is uncertain. We investigated the relationship between the angiotensin II type-1 receptor (AT1R) gene polymorphism and the blood flow characteristics of common carotid arteries (CCA) and BA by color Doppler ultrasound (CDUS) in patients with a first anterior acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods and Results: Sixty-seven patients (15 women and 52 men), aged 25–77 years, with anterior AMI were studied. The AT1R genotypes were established. Based on the polymorphism of the AT1R, they were classified into three groups: AT1R AA genotype (Group1, n = 42 patients), AT1R AC genotype (Group 2, n = 17 patients), and AT1R CC genotype (Group 3, n = 8 patients). Peak-systolic velocity (PSV) and end-diastolic velocity (EDV) of right and left CCA, PSV of right BA, and intimal-medial thickness (IMT) of both CCA were measured by CDUS. All results evaluated statistically. The AT1R genotypes were distributed as follows: 63% AA, 25% AC, and 12% CC. PSV of BA and both CCA were higher in patients with CC and AC than AA (P < 0.05). Also, IMT of both CCA were also higher in the same groups (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our results suggest that AT1R gene polymorphism influences Doppler blood flow parameters of both BA and CCA, and IMT of CCA. Although further studies are required.

WOS: 000240908400007, PubMed: 16998258, Background Although there have been several association studies of angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R, A/C1166) gene polymorphism in clinical endpoints such as myocardial infarction (MI), hypertension, aortic stiffness, and left ventricular mass, the relationship between AT1R polymorphism and biventricular function in acute anterior MI has not been studied before. Methods and Results The study group comprised 132 consecutive patients who were admitted to the coronary care unit with their first acute anterior MI. Systolic and diastolic diameters, volumes, inflow properties, ejection fraction and myocardial performance index of both ventricles were measured. AT1R polymorphism was determined using polymerase chain reaction amplification. Based on A/C1166 polymorphism of ATIR, the patients were classified into 3 groups: group 1, A/A (n=91) genotype, group 2 A/C (n=28), and group 3 C/C (n=13) genotype. When the left ventricular and right ventricular echocardiographic functions were compared, all parameters of the 3 groups were found to be similar. No difference was detected in either the genotype distribution or allele frequencies between the patients and the controls for AT1R. Conclusions The results suggest that A/C1166 polymorphism of AT1R did not influence the risk of either acute MI or biventricular function after anterior MI.