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Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the severe diseases that may cause significant moral and financial burden on society today. There are many studies in the literature on whether psychiatric disorders may cause CAD or an increase in prevalence after CAD. Although many studies have emphasized the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of depression in CAD patients, clinicians do not attach much attention to depression in daily practice. Several scales have been developed that are comfortable to use to describe anxiety and depression in CAD patients. High depression and anxiety scores predicted by psychological symptom scales following CAD treatment are closely related to treatment success and prognosis of the CAD. We believe that patients with CAD should be followed carefully for the diagnosis of depression and anxiety disorders; since the treatment of them may improve the prognosis of CAD.

Background Although the pathophysiology of coronary slow flow (CSF) has not been fully elucidated, emerging data increasingly support potential role for subclinical diffuse atherosclerosis in the etiology of CSF. We aimed to investigate relationship between atherogenic indices and CSF. Methods 130 patients with CSF diagnosed according to Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI)-frame count (TFC) method and 130 controls who had normal coronary flow (NCF) were included in this retrospective study. Atherogenic indices (atherogenic index of plasma [AIP], Castelli risk indices I and II [CRI-I and II]) were calculated using conventional lipid parameters Results The logistic regression analyses demonstrated that AIP (OR, 5.463; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.357–21.991; p = 0.017) and CRI-II (OR, 1.624; 95% CI, 1.138–2.319; p = 0.008) were independent predictors of CSF. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that the optimal cutoff value to predict the occurrence of CSF was 0.66 for AIP (sensitivity, 59%; specificity, 73%; area under curve [AUC], 0.695; p < 0.001) and 3.27 for CRI-II (sensitivity, 60%; specificity, 79%; AUC, 0.726; p

Recently, muscular function/dysfunction has gained importance in the maintenance of metabolic homeostasis in cardiovascular diseases. Skeletal muscle plays a vital role in coordinating the activity and metabolism of endocrine organs by secreting many myokines, especially irisin. Irisin is a polypeptide hormone consisting of 112 amino acids secreted into the blood from muscle and adipose tissues. Serum irisin levels are associated with cardiometabolic risk factors such as obesity and insulin resistance as defined by homeostatic model assessment. Irisin reduces endothelial damage by inhibiting inflammation and oxidative stress, thus playing a key role in maintaining endothelial cell function. Unsurprisingly, low irisin levels cause endothelial dysfunction and increase the incidence of atherosclerosis. We aimed to summarize the studies on this issue since we have not found any review in the literature on the role of serum irisin levels in the process of atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular events in cardiovascular diseases.

Background Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Chronic total occlusions (CTO) are frequently observed among patients undergoing coronary angiography. Methods A total of 128 CTO patients were included. Mehran score, lesion characteristics, interventional procedure, serological specimens and devices were recorded. The first group was administered with 1 ml · kg−1 · h−1 saline (0.9% NaCl) infusion that started 12 h before the procedure and continued 12 h post procedure as recommended by the guidelines. The second group was administered with saline infusion of 12 ml · kg−1 · h−1 only during CTO-PCI procedure, which is called as intensive infusion. Results CIN development was similar in two groups (four patients in standard hydration group and five patients in intensive hydration group). The amount of saline was significantly higher in the standard group (1,767 ± 192.2 vs. 1,043.6 ± 375; p Conclusion Intensive hydration administration appears to be an effective and cost-effective method in CTO-PCI patients, especially in patients without left ventricular function failure.

BACKGROUND Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a systemic inflammatory disease, and cardiac dysfunction has not been clearly described clinically. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) is a noninvasive marker for subclinical myocardial injury. OBJECTIVE In this study, we aimed to investigate any relationship between hs-cTnT and left ventricular (LV) function evaluated via tissue Doppler imaging in AS patients with no known cardiac risk factor. METHODS Our study used a cross-sectional case protocol design and was conducted between January 2016 and June 2016. In total, 40 AS patients (17 females and 23 males) were age and sex matched with healthy volunteers (20 females and 20 males) and enlisted for this study. Detailed transthoracic echocardiography was performed, and tissue Doppler imaging was used to assess systolic and diastolic functions. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels were measured and compared between 2 groups. RESULTS Compared with control subjects, AS patients had lower early (Em)/late (Am) diastolic myocardial velocities, mitral annular plane systolic excursion, and end-diastolic distance from the mitral annulus to the LV apex. Conversely, they had greater systolic myocardial velocity (Sm), isovolumetric relaxation time, and displacement index (p < 0.001, for all). Higher hs-cTnT levels were measured in AS patients (0.45 ± 0.22 vs. 1.11 ± 0.27, p < 0.001), and multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that hs-cTnT was an independent predictor of LV diastolic dysfunction in AS patients. CONCLUSIONS These data show that AS patients had impaired LV functions and increased hs-cTnT levels. Tissue Doppler imaging may be a useful tool for detection of early functional LV abnormalities, and hs-cTnT may be valuable biomarker of diastolic LV dysfunction in AS patients.