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Even with increasing awareness of sex-related differences in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), it remains unclear whether the progression of coronary atherosclerosis differs between women and men. We sought to compare coronary artery calcium (CAC) progression between women and men. From a retrospective, multicentre registry of consecutive asymptomatic individuals who underwent CAC scoring, we identified 9,675 men and 1,709 women with follow-up CAC scoring. At baseline, men were more likely to have a CAC score >0 than were women (47.8% vs. 28.6%). The probability of CAC progression at 5 years, defined as [√CAC score (follow-up)—√CAC score (baseline)] ≥2.5, was 47.4% in men and 29.7% in women (pppp = 0.090). Multivariable analysis demonstrated that male sex was independently associated with CAC progression rate among the entire group (p

Background Anemia correlates with the risk of ischemic and bleeding event in coronary artery disease (CAD) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods We defined anemia by World Health Organization criteria (hemoglobin Results Among the 5,809 patients who underwent the PCI, 32.1% of the baseline anemia and 33.5% of the 30-day anemia were identified. With a median follow-up of 26.8 [15.9–42.3] months, and the MACE rate was 11.6% and the major bleeding event rate was 2.2%. 30-day anemia rather than baseline anemia showed a significant risk of MACE and major bleeding event (MACE, adjusted HR 1.28, p=0.036 vs. adjusted HR 1.09, p=0.389; major bleeding event, adjusted HR 2.72, p Conclusion Anemia during the first 30-day was strongly associated with higher rate of long-term MACE and major bleeding event. These findings could have a clinical relevance in making a pharmacologic strategies to avoid the future ischemic and bleeding event following PCI. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) have shown the increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. This study sought to evaluate the impact of clot strength on prevalence and major adverse CV events (MACE) of PAD in high-risk patients. We enrolled patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (n = 1667) with available platelet–fibrin clot strength [thrombin-induced maximal amplitude (MAthrombin) measured by thromboelastography] and inflammation [high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)]. PAD was defined with abnormal ankle-brachial index (≤ 0.9 or > 1.4). MACE was defined as a composite of CV death, myocardial infarction or stroke. PAD was observed in 201 patients (12.1%). In the multivariate analysis, high clot strength [MAthrombin ≥ 68 mm: odds ratio (OR) 1.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20 to 2.41, p = 0.003] and enhanced inflammation (hs-CRP ≥ 3.0 mg/L: OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.56 to 3.41, p

295 Copyright c 2015 The Korean Association of Internal Medicine This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Received: 2015. 4. 6 Revised: 2015. 5. 15 Accepted: 2015. 6. 18

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia is a rare disease that is characterized by sharp pain in the posterior pharynx, tonsils, and larynx, triggered by swallowing. Glossopharyngeal neuralgia can trigger bradycardia or asystole, which can induce life-threatening cardiac syncope. A 55-year-old male was admitted with severe paroxysmal pain in his left jaw and ear, followed by asystole and syncope. We report a patient with cardiac syncope associated with glossopharyngeal neuralgia treated with a permanent pacemaker. (Korean J Med 2012;82:217-220)

Background/Aims: The prognostic impact of empirical anti-tuberculous management according to adenosine deaminase (ADA) levels in patients exhibiting pericardial effusion (PE) has not been established. We evaluated the appropriateness of ADA-guided anti-tuberculous medication for patients with PE. Methods: From 2001 to 2010, 47 patients with PE and who were diagnosed with either tuberculous pericarditis (TbP) or idiopathic pericarditis (IP) were enrolled. The diagnosis of definite TbP was made by the presence of Tb bacilli or caseous granuloma in pericardial tissue or effusion. The diagnosis of probable TbP was made by the presence of one or more of the following: (1) elevated ADA (≥ 40 IU/L) in pericardial fluid, (2) positive Tb interferon test, or (3) extracardiac presence of Tb. All clinical information was collected by medical record review and telephone contact. Results: Among the 47 patients with PE, 12 were diagnosed with definite TbP; 17, with probable TbP; and 18, with IP. The mean ADA level was significantly higher in patients with definite TbP than in patients with IP (74.97 ± 36.79 vs. 20.14 ± 7.39 IU/L; p < 0.001). The optimal ADA cutoff value for diagnosis of definite TbP was 64 IU/L. The median follow-up time was 12.1 months (range, 0.17-100 months). In patients with low levels of ADA (< 40 IU/L), the incidence of death or recurrence did not different between patients who were prescribed anti-tuberculous medication and those who were not. Conclusions: The ADA level in pericardial fluid was useful for making a rapid diagnosis of tuberculous pericarditis. Even in tuberculosis-endemic areas, patients with ADA < 40 IU/L may have a good prognosis without empirical anti-tuberculous treatment. (Korean J Med 2012;82:441-448)