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Objective: Atrial High Rate Episodes (AHRE) are subclinical atrial tachyarrhythmias detectable by cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs). AHREs have been associated with an increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF), thromboembolism, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, and mortality. Although recent studies have assessed the value of oxidative stress markers in patients with AF, the relationships between AHRE and oxidative stress markers, including nitric oxide, has not yet been elucidated. This study aims to investigate the relationship between these markers and AHRE., Method: This prospective, cross-sectional study comprised 180 patients with CIEDs. The study population was divided into two groups based on the presence (n = 78) and absense (n = 102) of AHRE to analyze its association with biomarkers., Results: The AHRE (+) group was significantly older, had a higher prevalence of hypertension, higher NT-proBNP (508.8 ± 249 pg/mL vs. 415.3 ± 292.1; P = 0.037), MDA levels (20.9 ± 4.1 μmol/L vs. 19.1 ± 3.1 μmol/L; P = 0.006), and iNOS activity (1,935.9 ± 326.1 pg/mL vs. 1,677.4 ± 363.2 pg/mL; P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis identified age, hypertension, MDA (odds ratio [OR]: 1.131, 95%CI: 1.009 - 1.268, P = 0.035), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity (OR = 1.002, 95% CI = 1.001 - 1.003, P < 0.001), and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity (OR = 0.990, 95% CI = 0.986 - 0.984, P < 0.001) as independent predictors of AHRE., Conclusion: The study findings indicated that plasma levels of NT-proBNP, MDA, nitric oxide, and the expression of iNOS and eNOS were significantly associated with AHRE. Moreover, elevated plasma MDA concentrations, increased iNOS activity, and decreased eNOS activity were identified as independent predictors of AHRE.

Background and Aims: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a common inherited disease, leading to premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) due to elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. Achieving LDL-C goals is extremely important for preventing the complications of this fatal disease. We evaluated the management of FH patients with ASCVD in cardiology practice., Methods: We analyzed patients with ASCVD from the nationwide EPHESUS registry, which was conducted in 40 cardiology outpatient clinics, and compared those with and without FH., Results: Of the 1482 consecutively enrolled patients with ASCVD, 618 (41.7%) had FH, among which 455 were categorized as 'Possible FH' and 163 as 'Probable or Definite FH'. Proposed LDL-C goals were not attained in more than 90% of the patients with FH. The proportion of those on statin therapy was 77% for possible and 91% for probable or definite FH, whereas 34.2 % and 59.4% were in use of high-intensity statins, respectively. None of the patients were on PCSK-9 inhibitors, and only 2 used ezetimibe. Adverse media coverage was the most common cause of statin discontinuation (32.5% in 'possible FH' and 45.7% in 'probable/definite FH'). The negative impact of media in the decision to stop lipid lowering therapy (LLT) was increasing with education level., Conclusions: In real life most of the FH patients with ASCVD are undertreated in cardiology practice regarding statin dosing and combined LLT. Drug discontinuation rates are notably high and are mostly media-related, and side effects very rarely cause cessation of LLT. Urgent measures are needed to increase the awareness of FH among healthcare providers and patients and to develop improved treatment strategies aimed at preventing the complications of FH., (Copyright © 2023 National Lipid Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is a complex and heterogeneous clinical syndrome, poses significant diagnostic challenges. The HFA-PEFF [Heart Failure Association of ESC diagnostic algorithm, P (Pretest Assessment), E  (Echocardiographic and Natriuretic Peptide score), F1 (Functional testing in Case of Uncertainty), F2 (Final Aetiology)] and H2FPEF [Heavy (BMI>30 kg/m2), Hypertensive (use of ≥2 antihypertensive medications), atrial Fibrillation (paroxysmal or persistent), Pulmonary hypertension (Doppler Echocardiographic estimated Pulmonary Artery Systolic Pressure >35 mm Hg), Elderly (age >60 years), Filling pressure (Doppler Echocardiographic E/e' >9)] scoring systems were developed to aid in diagnosing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. This study aimed to assess the concordance and clinical accuracy of these scoring systems in the 'A comPrehensive, ObservationaL registry of heart faiLure with mildly reduced and preserved ejection fractiON' cohort., Methods: A comPrehensive, ObservationaL registry of heart faiLure with mildly reduced and preserved ejection fractiON study was conducted as a multicenter, cross-sectional, and observational study; to evaluate a group of Heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction patients who were seen by cardiologists in 13 participating centers across 12 cities in Türkiye., Results: The study enrolled 819 patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, with high probability heart failure with preserved ejection fraction rates of 40% and 26% for HFA-PEFF and H2FPEF scorings, respectively. The concordance between the 2 scoring systems was found to be low (Kendall's taub correlation coefficient of 0.242, P < .001). The diagnostic performance of both scoring systems was evaluated, revealing differences in their approach and ability to accurately identify heart failure with preserved ejection fraction patients., Conclusion: The low concordance between the HFA-PEFF and H2FPEF scoring systems underscores the ongoing challenge of accurately diagnosing and managing patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Clinicians should be aware of the strengths and limitations of each scoring system and use them in conjunction with other clinical and laboratory findings to arrive at an accurate diagnosis. Future research should focus on identifying additional diagnostic factors, developing more accurate and comprehensive diagnostic algorithms, and investigating alternative methods of diagnosis or stratification of patients based on different clinical characteristics.

Ramadan interferes with circadian rhythms mainly by disturbing the routine patterns of feeding and smoking. The objective of this study was to investigate the circadian pattern of ST elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) during the month of Ramadan. We studied consecutive STEMI patients 1 month before and after Ramadan (non-Ramadan group-NRG) and during Ramadan (Ramadan group-RG). The RG group was also divided into two groups, based on whether they chose to fast: fasting (FG) and non-fasting group (NFG). The time of STEMI onset was compared. A total of 742 consecutive STEMI patients were classified into 4 groups by 6 h intervals according to time-of-day at symptom onset. No consistent circadian variation in the onset of STEMI was observed both between the RG ( P = .938) and NRG ( P = .766) or between the FG ( P = .232) and NFG ( P = .523). When analyzed for subgroups of the study sample, neither smoking nor diabetes showed circadian rhythm. There was a trend towards a delay from symptom onset to hospital presentation, particularly at evening hours in the RG compared with the control group. In conclusion, there was no significant difference in STEMI onset time, but the time from symptom onset to hospital admission was significantly delayed during Ramadan.

Background: The recent 2019 European Society of Cardiology/European Atherosclerosis Society practice guidelines introduced a new risk categorization for patients with diabetes. We aimed to compare the implications of the 2016 and 2019 European Society of Cardiology/European Atherosclerosis Society guidelines with regard to the lipid-lowering treatment use, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol goal attainment rates, and the estimated proportion of patients who would be at goal in an ideal setting., Methods: Patients with diabetes were classified into 4 risk categories according to 2019 European Society of Cardiology/European Atherosclerosis Society dyslipidemia guidelines from the database of EPHESUS (cross-sectional, observational, countrywide registry of cardiology outpatient clinics) study. The use of lipid-lowering treatment and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol goal attainment rates were then compared according to previous and new guidelines., Results: This analysis included a total of 873 diabetic adults. Half of the study population (53.8%) were on lipid-lowering treatment and almost one-fifth (19.1%) were on high-intensity statins. While low-density lipoprotein cholesterol goal was achieved in 19.5% and 7.5% of patients, 87.4% and 69.6% would be on target if their lipid-lowering treatment was intensified according to 2016 and 2019 European Society of Cardiology/European Atherosclerosis Society lipid guidelines, respectively. The new target <55 mg/dL could only be achieved in 2.2% and 8.1% of very high-risk primary prevention and secondary prevention patients, respectively., Conclusion: The control of dyslipidemia was extremely poor among patients with diabetes. The use of lipid-lowering treatment was not at the desired level, and high-intensity lipid-lowering treatment use was even lower. Our simulation model showed that the high-dose statin plus ezetimibe therapy would improve goal attainment; however, it would not be possible to get goals with this treatment in more than one-third of the patients.

Objective: A decrease in the left ventricular ejection fraction (≤40%) in the setting of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction is a significant predictor of mortality in the young ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction population. In this study, we aimed to investigate the predictors of left ventricular ejection fraction reduction and evaluate the long-term mortality rates in young ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients with or without decreased left ventricular ejection fraction., Methods: We enrolled retrospectively 411 consecutive ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients aged 45 years or below who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Young ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients were divided into two groups according to their left ventricular ejection fraction (≤40%, n=72 and >40%, n=339), which were compared with each other., Results: Statin use, white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, peak creatine kinase-MB, prolonged ischemia time, left anterior descending artery-related infarction, proximally/ostial located lesion, and no-reflow were independently associated with low left ventricular ejection fraction. Additionally, long-term mortality was considerably higher in the left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40% group than those in the left ventricular ejection fraction>40% group (18.1% versus 2.4%; p<0.001)., Conclusions: In young ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients, lesion properties (left anterior descending lesion, proximally located lesion), no-reflow, and prolonged ischemia time appeared to be important determinants for the left ventricular ejection fraction decline, rather than coronary disease severity or demographic and hematological parameters. Statin use may be preventive in the development of left ventricular ejection fraction decline in young ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients.

Background: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is part of the systemic atherosclerotic process that is highly associated with cardiovascular diseases. Despite successful endovascular treatment (EVT) strategies, mortality and morbidity rates still remain higher in PAD patients. C-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin are biomarkers of inflammation and malnutrition that play key roles in the progression of peripheral arterial disease. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between CRP-to-albumin ratio (CAR) and mortality and amputation-free survival in patients with PAD after successful EVT., Method: Our study enrolled 149 consecutive patients who underwent EVT on atherosclerotic obstruction of iliac, femoral, popliteal and/or below-knee arteries with the clinical features of PAD and/or chronic limb-threatening ischaemia between January 2015 and January 2020. Clinical and prognostic follow-up of patients had been done at the outpatient clinic and were collected from institution's medical records., Results: The mean follow-up period was 22 months (14-40). All-cause mortality and amputation rates of patients in the high CAR group were significantly higher than those in the low CAR group (21.3% vs. 6.8% and 18.7% vs. 5.4%, respectively). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed significantly better survival for patients in the low CAR group (log-rank p = 0.0058). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, CAR was found to be an independent predictor of amputation and all-cause mortality even after adjusting for other confounding risk factors. ROC curve analysis revealed the optimal cut-off value of CAR for predicting all-cause mortality and amputation to be >1.476 with a sensitivity of 48.5% and specificity of 94.0%., Conclusion: The inflammatory state reflected by CAR levels was strongly associated with all-cause mortality and amputation after EVT in patients with PAD. Furthermore, CAR was found to be an independent predictor of these clinical outcomes after adjusting for other clinically associated parameters.

Background and Aims: Effective treatment of high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels has been shown to improve cardiovascular outcomes of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Herein, we aimed to provide insight to the real-life management of patients with DM in terms of LDL-C goal attainment and adherence to lipid management recommendations. Our objective was also to reveal the reasons of poor LDL-C goal attainment by assessing the perceptions of both physicians and patients., Methods: We compared the diabetic and non-diabetic patients from the database of a nationwide registry conducted in cardiology outpatient clinics with regard to the demographic characteristics, educational status, comorbidities, medications, laboratory parameters and LDL-C goal attainment. Also, both the patients and attending physicians were surveyed to analyse perceptions and awareness of hypercholesterolemia., Results: Of the 1868 consecutively enrolled patients, 873 (47%) had DM. Proportion of patients on statins was significantly lower in patients with DM (67.8% vs 55.3%; P < .001). The proportion of patients who attained LDL-C targets were lower among the diabetic patients (17.8% vs 15%; P = .06). The most common causes of the discontinuation of statin therapy were negative media coverage about statins (32.1%), and recommendations of physicians to stop the lipid lowering therapy (29.6%). Analysis of the physician survey revealed that the physicians could determine the off-target patients accurately (negative predictive value 98.4%) while the positive predictive value (48.8%) was low. The reasons for not attaining the LDL-C goals in diabetic patients were not prescription of statins (38%) and inadequate (eg low-dose, non-adherent) statin (28.3%) dosages., Conclusions: In real-life clinical cardiology practice, diabetic patients are far below the recommended LDL-C treatment goals. High-intensity statin treatment in diabetic population is still avoided because of the concerns about polypharmacy and drug interactions. Also, the inertia of physicians and even cardiologists is probably a major cause of refraining of prescription of optimal statin dosages., (© 2021 Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objectives: To investigate the effects of low-flow anesthesia on hemodynamic parameters and recovery from anesthesia in obese individuals undergoing laparoscopic surgery., Methods: This randomized-controlled and prospective study included 44 obese patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy operation. The patients were randomly allocated into 2 groups as low-flow and high-flow anesthesia. Further, the groups compared in terms of hemodynamic parameters, anesthesia recovery times, operation times, and arterial blood gas parameters., Results: The groups were similar with respect to demographic data. Heart rate, peripheral oxygen saturation, arterial blood pressure measurements, end-tidal, and CO 2 , lactate levels measurements were similar in both groups during the entire procedure. There was also no statistically significant difference in terms of arterial blood gas parameters or anesthesia recovery periods., Conclusion: Low-flow anesthesia in laparoscopic obesity surgery seems to be safer compared to high-flow anesthesia in terms of the adequacy of tissue perfusion, depth of anesthesia, and postoperative recovery., (Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal.)

Background: Peripheral arterial disease is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. C-reactive protein and albumin are biomarkers of inflammation and malnutrition that play key roles in the pathophysiological pathways involved in the progression of atherosclerosis and peripheral arterial disease. In this study, we aimed to assess the relationship between C-reactive protein to albumin ratio and the suprapopliteal peripheral arterial disease severity and complexity as assessed by TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus-II (TASC-II) classification., Method: Our study enrolled 224 consecutive patients referred for peripheral angiography with the clinical features of possible peripheral arterial disease at a tertiary care center between January 2016 and September 2019. Level of disease and lesion characteristics were defined with reference to angiographic findings according to the TASC-II classification., Results: C-reactive protein/albumin ratio levels were significantly higher in TASC-II class C and D than in TASC-II class B patients with a median level of 1.8 to 2.1 vs 1.4, respectively ( p  = 0.018). In multivariate regression analysis, C-reactive protein to albumin ratio remained an independent predictor of severe peripheral arterial disease. The predictive performance of C-reactive protein to albumin ratio, C-reactive protein, and albumin were compared by Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis. C-reactive protein to albumin ratio surpassed C-reactive protein and albumin in predicting peripheral arterial disease severity and complexity. A level of C-reactive protein to albumin ratio  > 0.14 predicted a higher grade of suprapopliteal TASC-II class with sensitivity and specificity of 68.2% and 56.0%, respectively., Conclusion: C-reactive protein to albumin ratio was strongly associated with peripheral arterial disease severity and complexity, as assessed by TASC-II classification. Also, C-reactive protein to albumin ratio was found to be a more accurate marker than C-reactive protein and albumin alone in predicting more severe and complex lesions in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

Objective: Many studies have examined the capability of electrocardiography (ECG) changes to predict the severity and prognosis of patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE). RS time in ECG is potentially valuable in evaluating the prognosis of APE. In our study, we aimed to assess the predictive value of RS time, which is a novel electrocardiographic parameter of one-month mortality of APE., Methods: This retrospective study included 216 patients who were diagnosed with APE by pulmonary computed tomography angiography. RS time was measured from the ECG (inferolateral leads) at the time of hospital admission using a computer program (imagej.nih.gov/ij/). The patients were divided into two groups according to the median values of RS time: the group with RS time ≤ 60 msec (n:108) and the group with RS time > 60 msec (n:108). The groups were compared in terms of mortality., Results: In our study, the one-month mortality was 15.3% (33) in the patients hospitalized with APE. In the multivariate analysis, RS time prolongation (HR: 1.037; 95%CI: 1.005-1.065; p = .02) was independently correlated with mortality. The ROC curve analysis revealed that RS time > 64.8 msec predicted the one-month mortality in APE with a sensitivity of 68.6% and a specificity of 73.9% (AUC: 0.708; 95% CI: 0.643-0.768; p < .001)., Conclusion: As a novel ECG parameter, RS time could be measured for each patient with APE. Prolongation of RS time could be a useful index for predicting the one-month mortality of patients diagnosed with APE., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None declared., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction and Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the association of serum albumin (SA) level with long-term prognosis in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE)., Materials and Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 269 patients with acute PE. The SA level was obtained within 12-24 hours following admission. The primary endpoints were the incidence of short- and long-term mortality in acute PE patients. The mean duration of the study follow-up was 21 ± 19 months., Results: During the follow-up period, short- and long-term mortality rates were higher in patients who had low SA level compared to those who did not have. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, the SA level was found to be independently associated with long-term mortality (HR: 0.47, 95%CI: 0.28-0.78, P = 0.004). In receiver operating characteristics analysis, the SA level of ≤3.17 predicted long-term mortality with a sensitivity of 77.5% and a specificity of 79.5% (area under the curve 0.82, 95%CI: 0.76-0.87, P < 0.001). In addition, when the SA plus simplified pulmonary embolism severity index (sPESI) risk score compared to the sPESI risk score alone, it produced a net reclassification improvement of 0.22 with P < 0.001, that is a 22% improved classification., Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that the low SA level is a strong and independent predictor for long-term mortality in patients with acute PE., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Because the phenomenon of no reflow has a poor prognosis in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients and the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) has been shown to be a strong predictor of coronary heart disease, we aimed to investigate the relationship between AIP and no-reflow in patients with acute STEMI who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). A total of 763 consecutive STEMI patients (648 men; mean age 58 ± 12 years) who underwent primary PCI were recruited for this study. The patients were classified into a reflow group (n = 537) and a no-reflow group (n = 226) according to the postprocedural angiographic features of thrombolysis in the myocardial infarction flow of the infarct-related artery. The AIP value was significantly higher in the no-reflow group than in the reflow group [0.50 (0.38-0.65) vs. 0.39 (0.25-0.49) p < .001], and AIP was found to be an independent predictor of no-reflow development. The best cut-off value of AIP for predicting no-reflow was 0.54, with sensitivity of 46.02 and specificity of 84,73. In addition, the predictive power of AIP was greater than that of triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol based on a receiver operator curve comparison. The AIP was independently associated with no-reflow in patients with STEMI after primary PCI. This might be a superior indicator compared to traditional lipid profiles.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the clinical characteristics of patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and atrial fibrillation (AF) and compare them with those of HFpEF patients without AF., Methods: This study was a sub-group analysis of a multicenter, observational, and cross-sectional registry conducted in Turkey (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03026114). Patients with HFpEF were divided into 2 groups: HFpEF with AF and HFpEF with sinus rhythm (SR), and the clinical characteristics of the groups were compared., Results: In a total of 819 HFpEF patients (median age: 67 years; 58% women), 313 (38.2%) had AF. Compared to the patients with SR, those with AF were older (70 years vs 66 years; p<0.001) and more symptomatic, with a higher rate of classification as New York Heart Association functional class III-IV, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, orthopnea, palpitations, fatigue, pulmonary crepitations, and peripheral edema. The hospitalization rate for heart failure was higher (28.4% vs 12.6%; p<0.001) in patients with AF, and participants with AF had higher level of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (887 pg/mL vs 394.8 pg/mL; p<0.001) and higher left atrial volume index level. Patients without AF had a higher burden of diabetes mellitus, obstructive sleep apnea, and coronary artery disease. The prescription rate of nondihydropyridine calcium blockers, digoxin, loop diuretics, and anticoagulant drugs was higher in the AF group., Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that in a large Turkish cohort with HFpEF, significant clinical differences were present between those with and without AF and. Further prospective studies are needed to clarify the prognostic implications of AF in this growing heart failure population in our country.

Objective: Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is a well-known and life-threating complication in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infraction (STEMI) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Several studies demonstrated that the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) Risk Index (TRI) is a useful risk model in predicting early mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the predictive value of admission TRI for the occurrence of CI-AKI in patients with STEMI treated with primary PCI. Methods: This retrospective study was consisted of a total of 660 consecutive STEMI patients who had undergone primary PCI from December 2015 to March 2017.The primary end-point was CI-AKI incidence after primary PCI during the in-hospital course. Results: The TRI of CI-AKI group was higher than the non-CI-AKI group (24.2 (19.3-32.2) vs. 17.5 (12.9-24.3), p  < .001, respectively). In multivariable logistic regression analysis, TRI was found to be an independent predictors of CI-AKI (OR: 1.055, 95% CI: 1.027-1.083, p  < .001). The discriminative power of TRI with regards to occurrence of CI-AKI was superior compared to its components. Conclusion: This study is the first to demonstrate that TRI can be used to predict the development of CI-AKI in patients with STEMI who undergo primary PCI. Health professionals might be able to use the TRI risk score to predict CI-AKI due to the simplicity and accessibility of this risk index.

Objective: An increased left atrial volume index (LAVI) is related to increased mortality in hemodialysis patients. In the present study, we evaluated the association between the LAVI and the P wave peak time (PWPT), a newly introduced electrocardiographic parameter, in hemodialysis patients., Methods: The study population was made up of 79 hemodialysis patients with a mean age of 53 ± 18 years (55.7% were males). These patients were divided into a normal LAVI (≤28 mL/m2) group (n = 45) and an increased LAVI (>28 mL/m2) group (n = 34). The demographic, clinical, laboratory, echocardiographic, and electrocardiographic variables of the groups were compared., Results: The P wave terminal force from lead V1, P wave dispersion and PWPTs obtained from leads V1 and D2 (PWPTD2) were significantly higher in the patients with increased LAVIs. In multivariable analysis, only the PWPTD2was an independent predictor of an increased LAVI (odds ratio = 1.117, 95% CI = 1.052-1.185, p < 0.001). The receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the best PWPTD2 cutoff value for predicting an increased LAVI was 60 ms, with a sensitivity of 76.5% and a specificity of 66.7% (area under the curve = 0.736, 95% CI = 0.625-0.829, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: This study showed that a prolonged PWPTD2 was independently associated with an increased LAVI in hemodialysis patients. Therefore, measuring the PWPTD2 duration on an electrocardiogram may help define high-risk hemodialysis patients with increased LAVIs., (© 2019 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Objective: Acute kidney injury (AKI), which is prevalent in ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients who have undergone primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), is associated with poor cardiovascular outcomes. As high pulse pressure (PP) is associated with adverse cardiovascular events, the present study's aim was to evaluate the relationship between fractional PP (PPf) and AKI in patients with STEMI who underwent primary PCI., Subjects and Methods: All laboratory findings as well as echocardiographic and angiographic data of 1,170 consecutive STEMI patients were retrospectively screened. PPf was calculated from the pressures invasively measured after sheath insertion and before performing coronary angiography., Results: From 1,170 eligible STEMI patients (mean age 56 years, 18.2% female), AKI developed in 143 (12.2%) patients. The PPf and pulsatility index were significantly higher in patients with AKI than those without (0.53 ± 0.10 vs. 0.61 ± 0.10, p < 0.001, and 0.80 ± 0.03 vs. 0.82 ± 0.03, p < 0.001, respectively). PPf was also found to be associated with AKI in univariable (OR 2.183, 95% CI 1.823-2.614, p< 0.001) and multivariable (OR 1.874, 95% CI 1.513-2.322, p < 0.001) analysis. In-hospital mortality was higher in patients with AKI than those without., Conclusion: Invasively measured PPf, which can be easily measured and has no additional cost in STEMI patients undergoing coronary intervention, is an independent predictor of AKI. In addition, PPf is superior to other blood pressure values and derivatives in AKI prediction., (© 2020 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Objective: Few studies have directly assessed suboptimal management of dyslipidemia in Turkey. This study was conducted to assess patients' understanding and perceptions of high cholesterol as well as physicians' knowledge and awareness of lipid management strategies., Methods: This was a multicenter, observational study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02608645). Consecutive patients admitted to the participating cardiology clinics who were at least 18 years of age and who had been classified in a secondary prevention (SP) group or a high-risk primary prevention (PP) group were enrolled. The study population included 1868 patients from 40 sites in Turkey. Two-thirds (67.5%) of the patients in the SP group had been prescribed a statin, whereas only 30.1% of the PP group patients received statin therapy (p<0.001)., Results: It was determined that 18% of the SP patients and 10.6% of the PP patients had a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level at the recommended level (p<0.001). A patient survey revealed that almost half of the patients in the PP and in the SP groups were aware that their cholesterol levels were high. Negative information about statin treatment disseminated by media programs was the most common reason (9.4%) given for treatment discontinuation., Conclusion: Perceptions, knowledge and compliance with the guidelines for PP and SP patients in real-life practice have increased, but it remains far below the desired level. Patients and physicians should have more information about the treatment of hyperlipidemia. More accurate media programming could help to prevent the dissemination of misinformation.

Objective: There are lack of studies considering the suboptimal management of dyslipidemia especially in cardiology outpatient clinics. This study was conducted to assess the patient adherence to cholesterol treatment recommendations and attainment of low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goals., Methods: EPHESUS (NCT02608645) is a national, observational and multicenter registry which has been designed as a cross-sectional study to allow inclusion of all consecutive patients with hypercholesterolemia in cardiology outpatient clinics. The present subgroup analyses of the EPHESUS trial included patients with known peripheral artery disease or atherosclerotic cerebrovascular disease, and coronary heart disease namely secondary prevention., Results: The present analysis of the EPHESUS study included 1482 patients (62.79 ± 10.4 years, 38.2% female) with secondary prevention from 40 sites in Turkey. Regarding recommended lipid targets for LDL-C, only 267 patients (18%) were below the target of 70 mg/dL. Females were significantly more off-target when compared with male patients (396, 85.5% vs 67, 14.5%; P = 0.017). Moreover, the achievement of LDL-C goal was significantly decreased with illiteracy (233, 19.2% vs 35, 13.1%; P = 0.02). Patients who think that the cholesterol treatment should be terminated when the cholesterol level of a patient has normalised were higher in the off-target group (34.0% vs 24.7%, P < 0.001). Besides, physician perceptions about LDL-C goal for secondary prevention were significantly related with LDL-C target attainment., Conclusions: EPHESUS is an important study with large population in terms of representing real-life practice of the adherence to dyslipidemia guidelines in secondary prevention patients in Turkey. Perceptions, knowledge, and compliance with the guidelines for secondary prevention have increased, but it is far below from the desired levels even in cardiology outpatient clinics. There is a need for patients' and physicians' education regarding the treatment of hyperlipidemia., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: The recent reclassification of heart failure (HF) patients in the 2016 European Society of Cardiology HF guidelines according to the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) has created a 'grey area' consisting of midrange ejection fraction (mrEF) HF patients with LVEFs of 40-49%. Additionally, there is limited data regarding the in-hospital and long-term prognoses of patients with an mrEF after an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the baseline characteristics, in-hospital and long-term mortalities, clinical events in mrEF, preserved ejection fraction (pEF), and reduced ejection fraction (rEF) patients during their hospital stays in a cohort of consecutive STEMI patients who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: One thousand two hundred sixty patients were enrolled in the study. The incidences of all the clinical events were recorded during the hospital stays and the mean follow-up duration was 34.4 ± 15.4 months. Results : The incidence of HF signs and symptoms was statistically significant in the mrEF patients when compared to the pEF patients during their hospital stays (3vs. 0.8%, p = 0.05). The overall survival rate in the mrEF patients was between those of the rEF and pEF patients. However, the rate of rehospitalisation due to HF was significantly higher in the mrEF patients when compared to the pEF patients [ p (log-rank) < 0.001]. Conclusion: Although the mrEF patients with primary PCI-treated STEMIs exhibited similar baseline clinical characteristics, their in-hospital, long term mortality rates and rate of rehospitalisation due to HF were different from those of the rEF and mrEF patients.

Background: Clinical characteristics of patients with heart failure may vary geographically. However, limited data are available regarding the geographical differences of patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction., Aims: The present subgroup analysis aims to investigate the geographical differences in clinical characteristics, management, and primary etiology of patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction in Turkey., Study Design: A cross-sectional study., Methods: A comPrehensive, ObservationaL registry of heart faiLure with mid-range and preserved ejection fractiON (APOLLON) is a multicenter and observational study conducted in seven regions of Turkey (NCT03026114). The present study is a post-hoc analysis of the APOLLON registry. In this substudy, we compared the clinical characteristics of 819 consecutive patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (mean age, 67 years; 57.8% women) admitted to cardiology outpatient units in different geographical regions., Results: Based on the geographical distribution of the entire Turkish population, the highest number of patients enrolled were from Marmara (271 patients, 33.1%). All demographical characteristics, clinical and laboratory findings, comorbidities, primary etiology, and medications prescribed were significantly different between the regions. Furthermore, inter-regional gender differences were identified. Comparatively, the Aegean and Mediterranean regions had older patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (p<0.001), and the Black Sea, Southeast, and East Anatolia regions had predominantly male patients (51.2, 54.5, and 56.9%, respectively; p=0.002). Notably, the Mediterranean and Southeast Anatolia had more symptomatic patients, and history of hospitalization for heart failure was more prevalent in Southeast Anatolia (33.3%, p<0.001). Prevalence of atrial fibrillation was higher in the Mediterranean and Southeast Anatolia regions (51 and 48.5%, p<0.001), and patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction had a higher prevalence of hypertension in the Mediterranean, Southeast Anatolia, and Black Sea regions (p=0.002). Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors were more frequently prescribed in East Anatolia (52.3%, p=0.001), and the prevalence of patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction using loop diuretics (48.8%, p=0.003) was higher in the Black Sea region., Conclusion: This study was the first to show geographical differences in clinical characteristics of patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction in Turkey. Determination of the clinical characteristics of the heart failure and preserved ejection fraction population based on the geographical region may enables physicians to adopt a region-specific clinical approach toward heart failure and preserved ejection fraction.

Background: Multi-vessel coronary artery disease (CAD) is associated with worse outcome in non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients. Depending on the severity of CAD, there may be prolongation of atrial depolarization time as a result of left ventricular dysfunction and atrial ischemia. Therefore, we aimed to study whether the severity of CAD can be predicted with the P wave peak time (PWPT) in the electrocardiography (ECG) obtained during the diagnosis in NSTEMI patients., Method: A total of 162 patients were included. The coronary angiography records of all patients were analyzed and SYNTAX scores were calculated. Patients were divided into two groups, according to CAD severity. In addition to well-known P wave parameters, PWPT, defined as the time from the beginning of the P wave to its peak, was measured in the leads D II and V 1 ., Results: The PWPTs in the leads D II and V 1 were significantly longer in the group with severe CAD (71 ± 13 vs. 61 ± 12, p < 0.001, 63 ± 24 vs. 53 ± 18, p = 0.024, respectively). PWPT was found to be an independent predictor of severe CAD and the best cut-off value of PWPT in the lead D II was 69.6 ms with sensitivity of 58.3% and specificity of 78.9%., Conclusion: Our findings show that prolonged PWPT, which is a parameter easily obtainable from the ECG, is associated with severe CAD. Recognition of NSTEMI patients with severe CAD at the time of diagnosis before performing coronary angiography may be important for the planning of treatment., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Given that parameters used in the calculation of the PRECISE-DAPT risk score are important contributors to contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) development, we hypothesized that the PRECISE-DAPT risk score would show good accuracy for predicting CIN in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Therefore, in this study, we aimed to determine the predictive value of the admission PRECISE-DAPT score for the occurrence of CIN in patients with STEMI treated with primary PCI. After evaluation regarding with exclusion criteria, 1280 patients were, respectively, enrolled in the study. The primary end-point was the incidence of CIN. The PRECISE-DAPT score of CIN group was higher than the non-CIN group [31 (24-41) vs. 14 (9-23), p < 0.001, respectively]. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, PRECISE-DAPT score was independently associated with the development of CIN [odds ratio (OR) 1.090, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.066-1.114, p < 0.001]. A receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was drawn to show the best cut-off value of the PRECISE-DAPT score to predict CIN was ≥ 21 with 81.3% sensitivity and 72.7% specificity [area under curve (AUC): 0.834; 95% CI 0.812-0.854; p = 0.017]. The PRECISE-DAPT score may be a significant independent predictor of CIN in patients with STEMI treated with primary PCI. Therefore, follow-up of patients with higher PRECISE-DAPT score should be performed more cautiously, and it should be noted that the development of CIN risk of these patients group is high.

Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) is commonly seen in hypertensive patients, and it is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Hence, the detection of LVDD with a simple, inexpensive, and easy-to-obtain method can contribute to improving patient prognosis. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate whether there was any association between the electrocardiographic P wave peak time (PWPT) and invasively measured left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) in hypertensive patients who had undergone coronary angiography following preliminary diagnosis of coronary artery disease. A total of 78 patients were included in this cross-sectional study. The PWPT was defined as the time from the beginning of the P wave to its peak, and it was calculated from the leads D II and V I . In all patients, LVEDP was measured in steady state. The PWPT in lead D II was significantly longer in patients with high LVEDP; however, there was no significant difference between groups in terms of PWPT in the lead V I . In multivariable analysis, PWPT in lead D II was found to be independent predictor of increased LVEDP (OR: 1.257, 95% CI: 1.094-1.445; P = 0.001). In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the optimal cut-off value of PWPT in the lead D II for prediction of elevated LVEDP was 64.8 ms, with a sensitivity of 68.7% and a specificity of 91.3% (area under curve: 0.882, 95% CI: 0.789-0.944, P < 0.001). In conclusion, this study result suggested that prolonged PWPT in the lead D II may be an independent predictor of increased LVEDP among hypertensive patients., (©2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objectives: To compare real-world characteristics and management of individuals aged 80 and older with heart failure (HF) and mid-range ejection fraction (HFmrEF) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) derived from a large cohort of survey and to compare them with those younger than 80 from the same survey., Methods: This is an observational, multicentre and cross-sectional study conducted in Turkey (NCT03026114). Consecutive 1065 (mean age of 67.1 ± 10.6 years) patients admitted to the cardiology outpatient units with HFmrEF and HFpEF were included., Results: Participants aged 80 and older (n = 123, 11.5%) were more likely to be female (66.7% vs 52.5%, P = 0.003), had a higher prevalence of atrial fibrillation (49.6% vs 34%, P = 0.001), and anaemia (46.3% vs 33.4%, P = 0.005) than those who were younger than 80. N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide levels were higher in those aged 80 and older than in those younger than 80 (1037 vs 550 pg/ml, P < 0.001). The prescription rates of HF medications (including in ACE-Is/ARBs, β-blockers, MRAs, digoxin, ivabradine and diuretics) were similar (P > 0.05) in both groups. Octogenarians did not significantly differ from younger patients in the prevalence of HFmrEF (24.4% vs 22.9%) and HFpEF (75.6% vs 77.1%). Coronary artery disease was associated with HFmrEF (P < 0.05), whereas atrial fibrillation was associated with HFpEF (P < 0.05) in octogenarians., Conclusions: This study revealed that nearly 12% of the individuals with HFmrEF and HFpEF in this real-world sample were aged 80 and older. Participants aged 80 and older are more likely to be female and have more comorbidities than those who were younger than 80. However, HF medication profiles were similar in both groups. This study also showed that associated factors with HFmrEF and HFpEF were differ in octogenarians., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objective: This study aimed to examine gender-based differences in epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and management of consecutive patients with heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction (HFmrEF) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)., Methods: The APOLLON trial (A comPrehensive, ObservationaL registry of heart faiLure with mid-range and preserved ejection fractiON) is a multicenter, cross-sectional, and observational study. Consecutive patients with HFmrEF or HFpEF who were admitted to the cardiology clinics were included (NCT03026114). Herein, we performed a post-hoc analysis of data from the APOLLON trial., Results: The study population included 1065 (mean age of 67.1+-10.6 years, 54% women) patients from 11 sites in Turkey. Compared with men, women were older (68 years vs. 67 years, p<0.001), had higher body mass index (29 kg/m2 vs. 27 kg/m2, p<0.001), and had higher heart rate (80 bpm vs. 77.5 bpm, p<0.001). Women were more likely to have HFpEF (82% vs. 70.9%, p<0.001), and they differ from men having a higher prevalence of hypertension (78.7% vs. 73.2%, p=0.035) and atrial fibrillation (40.7% vs. 29.9%, p<0.001) but lower prevalence of coronary artery disease (29.5% vs. 54.9%, p<0.001). Women had higher N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (691 pg/mL vs. 541 pg/mL, p=0.004), lower hemoglobin (12.7 g/dL vs. 13.8 g/dL, p<0.001), and serum ferritin (51 ng/mL vs. 64 ng/mL, p=0.001) levels, and they had worse diastolic function (E/e'=10 vs. 9, p<0.001). The main cause of heart failure (HF) in women was atrial fibrillation, while it was ischemic heart disease in men., Conclusion: Clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, and etiological factors are significantly different in female and male patients with HFmrEF and HFpEF. This study offers a broad perspective for increased awareness about this patient profile in Turkey.

Objective: Although the prognostic efficacy of C-reactive protein (mg/L) and albumin levels (g/L) has been previously associated with poor prognosis in ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), to the best of our knowledge, the prognostic efficacy of C-reactive protein/Albumin ratio (CAR) (mg/g) has not been investigated yet. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the potential efficacy of the CAR in predicting prognosis in STEMI patients., Method: We conducted a detailed investigation of 2437 patients with first STEMI treated with a primary percutaneous coronary intervention. After evaluation regarding to exclusion criteria, 2243 patients were found to be eligible for analysis. The mean follow-up of the study was 34 ± 15 months., Results: The median CAR value of the study population was 2.70 (range: 1.44-4.76), and the patients were divided into three tertiles according to their CAR values. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed significantly lower in-hospital and long-term survival rates for the patients in a high CAR tertile. In addition, the CAR was found to be an independent predictor of all-cause mortality (Hazards ratio: 1.033, 95% Confidence Interval: 1.007-1.061, p = .033), and the prognostic performance of the CAR was superior to that of C-reactive protein, albumin, and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio in the receiver operating characteristic curve comparison., Conclusion: The CAR, a newly introduced inflammation-based risk index, was found to be a potentially useful prognostic tool for predicting a poor prognosis in STEMI patients. However, this finding needs to be validated in the future prospective studies.

Objective: To evaluate left atrial (LA) deformation parameters strain (S)/strain rate (SR) and time to peak S/SR obtained by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) in patients with hypertension for three LA mechanical phases and to compare them with the same indices in the control subjects., Methods: Fifty-five patients with hypertension (HT) and 29 healthy controls were included in the study. All patients had normal LA poster-anterior diameter, LA and left ventricular ejection fractions (LVEF >50%) in two-dimensional echocardiography (2-DE). The peak S/SR values (PS/PSR), the time to peak S/SR (TPS/TPSR) were measured using the 12-segment model for the left atrium during contractile (CP) reservoir (RP) and conduit period (COP) of the LA cycle., Results: For two periods (RP and COP), all of the PS and PSR values were significantly lower in hypertensive patients with preserved LAEF and LVEF compared to those in the controls, except for the CP. Similarly, hypertensive patients had significantly higher TPS and TPSR than those in the controls for the RP and COP in the LA wall, except for the CP., Conclusion: LA mechanical function was impaired in hypertensive patients with preserved LA and LV ejection fraction compared to the controls. Although the PS and PSR were decreased for the RP and COP of LA mechanical phases, the TPS/TPSR were prolonged in the HT patients compared to the controls. This might be additional diagnosis criteria to detect the LA myocardial dysfunction and might be a predisposing factor for atrial arrhythmia formation in the hypertensive patients.

Background: To determine and compare the demographic characteristics, clinical profile and management of patients with heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction (HFmrEF) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) in a Turkish cohort., Methods: The APOLLON trial (A comPrehensive, ObservationaL registry of heart faiLure with mid-range and preserved ejection fractiON) is an observational and multicenter study conducted in Turkey. Consecutive patients admitted to the cardiology clinics who were at least 18 years of age and had HFmrEF or HFpEF were included (NCT03026114)., Results: The study population included 1065 (mean age of 67.1 ± 10.6 years, 54% women) patients from 12 sites in Turkey. Among participants, 246 (23.1%) had HFmrEF and 819 (76.9%) had HFpEF. Compared to patients with HFpEF, those with HFmrEF were more likely to be male (57.7 vs 42.2%; p < 0.001), had higher N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels (853 vs 528 pg/ml, p < 0.001), were more likely to have ECG abnormalities (72.4 vs 53.5%, p < 0.001) and hospitalization history for heart failure (28 vs 18.6%; p = 0.002). HFmrEF patients were more likely to use β-blockers (69.9 vs 55.2%, p < 0.001), aldosterone receptor antagonists (24 vs 14.7%, p = 0.001), statins (37 vs 23%, p < .001), and loop diuretics (39.8 vs 30.5%, p = 0.006) compared to patients with HFpEF., Conclusions: The results of APOLLON study support that the basic characteristics and etiology of HFmrEF are significantly different from HFpEF. This registry also showed that the patients with HFmrEF and HFpEF were younger but undertreated in Turkey compared to patients in western countries., (Copyright © 2018 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Renal artery stenosis (RAS) is a leading cause of hypertension, renal failure, pulmonary edema, and loss of renal mass. Atherothrombotic renal disease is a well-described entity, known primarily for its high mortality rate., Case: Here, we present a case of acute unrecognized atherothrombosis of RAS due to catheter-induced dissection in a patient with a limited functioning renal artery and solitary kidney. A fifty-two-year-old patient recently diagnosed with hypertension was admitted to our cardiology clinic showing symptoms of uncontrolled hypertension. A renal angiography revealed 90% stenosis in the proximal segment of the right renal artery and totally occluded left renal artery. We decided to perform a percutaneous revascularization. However, the patient did not accept it. During follow-up, the patient's clinical condition deteriorated abruptly due to acute iatrogenic atherothrombosis. A percutaneous transluminal angioplasty was performed, and the patency of the renal artery was secured., Conclusion: Renal angiography may cause acute iatrogenic atherothrombosis due to catheter-induced dissection in patients with solitary functioning kidneys. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty may secure the patency of the renal artery., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The present study aimed to evaluate the potential utility of thrombosis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) risk index (TRI) for the prediction of stent thrombosis (ST) in ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients who were treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention ( pPCI ). Methods: This retrospective study was related to the clinical data of 1275 consecutive STEMI patients who underwent pPCI from January 2013 to January 2018. The TRI was calculated for each patient, and the following equation was used; TRI = heart rate x [age/10]2/systolic blood pressure. For the definition of ST, the criteria as proposed by the Academic Research Consortium were applied. Results: The incidence of ST was 3.2% (n=42 patients) in the study. The median value of the TRI was significantly elevated in patients with ST compared to those without ST (22 [17-32] vs. 16 [11-21], P <0.001, respectively). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, the TRI was an independent predictor of ST (odds ratio [OR]: 1.061; 95% CI: 1.038-1.085; P <0.001). In a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the optimal value of the TRI for the prediction of ST was 25.8 with a sensitivity of 45.2% and a specificity of 86.4%. Conclusion: The present study finding has demonstrated that the TRI may be an independent predictor of ST in STEMI patients who were treated with pPCI . To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in the literature in which the TRI and its relationship with ST was evaluated in STEMI patients treated with pPCI ., (© 2019 The Author(s).)

Background: This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of QRS and S wave variation in patients admitted to the emergency department with suspicion of acute pulmonary embolism (APE)., Method: Computerized tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) was performed in 118 consecutive patients to evaluate patients with suspected APE, and 106 subjects with appropriate electrocardiogram and CT images constituted the study population., Results: Using CTPA, APE was diagnosed in 48.1% (n:51) of the study population. The comparison of patients with APE and those without APE revealed that increased heart rate, right axis deviation of QRS axis, complete or incomplete right bundle branch block, prominent S wave in lead D1, increased QRS duration, percentage of QRS (9,8[4,8-19,0] vs 3,8[2,7-71]; p<0,001), S wave variation (22,3[9,6-31,9] vs 4,8 [2-8]; p<0,001) and ΔS wave amplitude (1.1[0.5-1.5] vs 0.2[0.1-0.5]; p<0.001) were significantly associated with APE, but no relationship was detected with respect to the presence of atrial arrhythmias, clockwise rotation of the horizontal axis, fragmentation, ST segment deviation, T wave inversion, and S1Q3T3 and S1S2S3 patterns. The percentage of S wave variation (OR: 1072 per 1% increase, 95% CI:1011-1137) was found to be an independent predictor of APE. ΔS wave amplitude>0.5mm predicted APE with a sensitivity of 72.6% and a specificity of 74.6% (AUC:0.805, 95% CI: 0.717-0.876; p<0.001)., Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that QRS and S wave variation could be useful electrocardiographic signs for the diagnosis of APE., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Even though the relationship between syntax score (SS) and fragmented QRS (fQRS) has been studied, the relation between syntax score II (SS II) and fQRS in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is undefined. We aimed to define the relationship between fQRS and SS II for the evaluation of extension and complexity of coronary artery disease., Material and Methods: This study enrolled 167 patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) for STEMI. The standard 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) were obtained from all patients before and after PCI. SS and SS II were calculated in all patients. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed to all patients., Results: Thirty-nine patients (23.4%) had fQRS on their ECGs. The median SS II was 27 (22.9-33.9). SS II values in the fQRS(+) group were statistically significantly higher than that of the fQRS(-) group (35.2 (26.4-47.2) vs. 25.7 (22.1-30.7), p < 0.001). Also, in patients with higher SS II, there was significantly higher number of ECG derivations with fQRS., Conclusions: The presence of fQRS and high number of derivations with fQRS on ECG may be associated with high SS II in patients undergoing pPCI for STEMI., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Although almost half of chronic heart failure (HF) patients have mid-range (HFmrEF) and preserved left-ventricular ejection fraction (HFpEF), no studies have been carried out with these patients in our country. This study aims to determine the demographic characteristics and current status of the clinical background of HFmrEF and HFpEF patients in a multicenter trial., Methods: A comPrehensive, ObservationaL registry of heart faiLure with mid range and preserved ejectiON fraction (APOLLON) trial will be an observational, multicenter, and noninterventional study conducted in Turkey. The study population will include 1065 patients from 12 sites in Turkey. All data will be collected at one point in time and the current clinical practice will be evaluated (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT03026114)., Results: We will enroll all consecutive patients admitted to the cardiology clinics who were at least 18 years of age and had New York Heart Association class II, III, or IV HF, elevated brain natriuretic peptide levels within the last 30 days, and an left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of at least 40%. Patients fulfilling the exclusion criteria will not be included in the study. Patients will be stratified into two categories according to LVEF: mid-range EF (HFmrEF, LVEF 40%-49%) and preserved EF (HFpEF, LVEF ≥50%). Regional quota sampling will be performed to ensure that the sample was representative of the Turkish population. Demographic, lifestyle, medical, and therapeutic data will be collected by this specific survey., Conclusion: The APOLLON trial will be the largest and most comprehensive study in Turkey evaluating HF patients with a LVEF ≥40% and will also be the first study to specifically analyze the recently designated HFmrEF category.

Background: We aimed to evaluate possible association between QRS duration (QRSD), R wave peak time (RWPT), and coronary artery disease severity identified using the SYNTAX score (SS) in patients with unstable angina pectoris (USAP) or non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI)., Method: A total of 176 USAP/NSTEMI patients were enrolled in the study., Results: The high SS group (>22, n:45) patients had a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM); presence of ST segment depression ≥0.5 mm and 1 mm; ST segment elevation in the AVR lead (AVRSTE); longer QRSD and RWPT; and lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) than the low SS group (≤22, n: 131). The LVEF, AVRSTE, and RWPT (OR: 1.035, 95% CI: 1.003-1.067; p = 0.030) were independent predictors of high SS., Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that RWPT and AVRSTE could be used as predictors of high SS., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: A wide gap exists between dyslipidemia guidelines and their implementation in the real world, which is primarily attributed to physician and patient compliance. The aim of this study is to determine physician and patient adherence to dyslipidemia guidelines and various influential factors., Methods: The Evaluation of Perceptions, Knowledge, and Compliance with the Guidelines in Real Life Practice: A Survey on the Under-treatment of Hypercholesterolemia (EPHESUS) trial (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT02608645) will be an observational, multicenter, non-interventional study. The study targets enrollment of 2000 patients from 50 locations across Turkey. All of the data will be collected in a single visit and current clinical practice will be evaluated. A cross-sectional survey of public perception and knowledge of cholesterol treatment among Turkish adults will be performed. All consecutive patients admitted to cardiology clinics who are in the secondary prevention group (coronary heart disease, peripheral artery disease, atherosclerotic cerebrovascular disease) and who are in the high-risk primary prevention group (type 2 diabetes mellitus with no prior known coronary heart disease; patients who had markedly elevated single risk factors, in particular, cholesterol >8 mmol/L [>310 mg/dL], blood pressure ≥180/110 mmHg, a calculated Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation [SCORE] ≥5%, or <10% 10-year risk of fatal cardiovascular disease) will be included. Demographic, lifestyle, medical, and therapeutic data will be collected with a survey designed for the study., Conclusion: The EPHESUS registry will be the largest study conducted in Turkey evaluating the adherence to dyslipidemia guidelines both in secondary and high-risk primary prevention patients.

Objective: T-peak-T-end (TPE) interval, which represents the dispersion of repolarization, is defined as the interval between the peak and end of the T-wave, and is associated with increased malignant ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Although prolonged TPE interval is associated with poor short- and long-term outcomes, even in patients with STEMI treated with successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI), clinical, angiographic, and laboratory parameters that affect TPE remain to be elucidated. The aim of our study was to evaluate the potential relationship between prolonged TPE interval and reperfusion success using ST segment resolution (STR) in patients with STEMI undergoing pPCI., Methods: In the current study, 218 consecutive patients with STEMI who underwent pPCI were enrolled; after exclusion, 164 patients were included in the study population., Results: Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of complete (STR%≥70) or incomplete (STR%<70) STR. Preprocedural corrected TPE (cTPEPRE;116±21 ms vs. 108±21 ms; p=0.027), postprocedural TPE (TPEPOST; 107±16 ms vs. 92±21 ms; p<0.001), and postprocedural cTPE (cTPEPOST; 119±19 ms vs. 102±17 ms; p<0.001) intervals were significantly longer in patients with incomplete STR than in patients with complete STR, whereas there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of pre- and postprocedural and corrected QT intervals. cTPEPRE and cTPEPOST were found to be independent predictors for incomplete STR., Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study that evaluated the relationship between TPE interval and no-reflow defined by STR in patients with STEMI who were treated with pPCI.

Background: Monocyte to high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) simply reflects proatherogenic and antiatherogenic balance and high level of this ratio is associated with severity of coronary atherosclerosis and cardiac events. We investigated the association between MHR and coronary artery disease severity using SYNTAX score and SYNTAX score II (SSII) in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI)., Methods: A total of 315 consecutive patients with STEMI who underwent pPCI from January 2014 to January 2016 were enrolled. After exclusion 264 patients remained in the study population. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to median SSII [SSII ≤ 34.2 as low group (n = 132) and > 34.2 as high group (n = 132)]., Results: Median value of MHR was 10.5 in SSII low group and 16.1 in SSII high group (p < 0.001). There was a strong correlation between MHR and SSII (r = 0.580, p < 0.001). Diabetes mellitus [odds ratio (OR): 8.604; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.469-29.978], glomerular filtration rate (OR: 0.961; 95% CI: 0.939-0.983), infarct related artery of left anterior descending (LAD) (OR: 7.325; 95% CI: 2.262-23.723), SYNTAX score (OR: 1.422; 95% CI: 1.275-1.585), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (OR: 1.156; 95% CI: 1.058-1.264) and MHR (OR: 1.027; 95% CI: 1.013-1.041) were independent predictors of SSII > 34.2 in multivariate analysis., Conclusions: MHR could be a better parameter than NLR and C-reactive protein at predicting severity of coronary artery disease in STEMI patients treated with pPCI.

Background: Fragmented QRS (fQRS) has been shown to be a marker of local myocardial conduction abnormalities, cardiac fibrosis in previous studies. It was also reported to be a predictor of sudden cardiac death and increased morbidity and mortality in selected populations. However, there is no study investigating the role of fQRS in the development of atrial fibrillation in patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). In this study we aimed to investigate the relationship between the presence of fQRS after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) and in-hospital development of new-onset atrial fibrilation (AF) in patients with STEMI., Material and Methods: This study enrolled 171 patients undergoing pPCI for STEMI. Among these patients 24 patients developed AF and the remaining 147 patients were designated as the controls. All clinical, demographical and laboratory parameters were entered into a dataset and compared between AF group and the controls., Results: The presence of fQRS was higher in the AF group than in the controls (P=0.001). Diabetes mellitus and fQRS was significantly more common in the AF group (P=0.003 and P=0.001 respectively) Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the presence of fQRS was the independent determinant of AF (OR: 3.243, 95% CI 1.016-10.251, P=0.042)., Conclusions: Increased atrial fibrillation was observed more frequently in STEMI patients with fQRS than in patients without fQRS. fQRS is an important determinant of AF in STEMI after pPCI., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Even though the relationship between syntax score (SS) and coronary no-reflow phenomenon has been studied, the relation between SS and syntax score II (SS II) in patients with no-reflow phenomenon is unknown. We aimed to define the relationship between coronary no-reflow phenomenon and SS II as compared with SS. This study enrolled 193 patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST elevation myocardial infarction in whom 42 patients developed the no-reflow phenomenon. SS and SS II were calculated in all patients. Bland Altman analysis was used to compare receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis results. SS and SS II values were significantly higher in the no-reflow group than the reflow group (28.3 ± 5.5 vs. 18.8 ± 10.1; p < 0.001 and 42.5 (22.1-58.5) vs. 26.1 (13-49.8); p < 0.001 respectively). SS II value >32.3 yielded an area under the curve value of 0.881 (95% CI 0.820-0.942; p < 0.001) and independently predicted no-reflow with a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 80% (OR 1.150, 95% CI 1.047-1.263, p = 0.003). Comparison of ROC curve results with Bland Altman analysis showed that area under curve of SS II was larger than that of SS (0.881 vs. 0.785, p = 0.01). SS II may be a more useful tool than SS for prediction no-reflow phenomenon after primary percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction.

Objectives: Coronary no-reflow (NR) following primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) is associated with worsened prognosis in patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Despite rapid developments in cardiovascular area; there are limited data regarding prediction of NR before pPCI. P wave duration and dispersion (PWD, PW DIS, respectively) have been studied in STEMI patients and found to be associated with reperfusion success; however none of them has been found to predict NR before PCI. In our study we aimed to evaluate whether PWD, PW DIS and a novel parameter P wave peak time (PWPT) could predict NR development in STEMI patients., Method: Fifty six patients who were admitted with anterior STEMI constituted study populations. The diagnosis and treatment of STEMI was made on the basis of current guidelines. P wave parameters including PWD, PW DIS and PWPT were calculated from electrocardiograms that were obtained on admission and 60 min after pPCI., Results: Patients were divided into two groups according to the development of NR. We observed that PWPT that were obtained from D2 (PWPT D2 ) and V1 (PWPT V1 ) leads were longer in NR group than reflow group. There were significant correlations between PWPT and reperfusion parameters regarding percent of ST segment resolution, peak CKMB level and TIMI frame count of infarct related artery. Preprocedural PWPT D2 was found to be an independent predictor of NR development., Conclusion: In our study we observed that PWPT could be a useful parameter in the assessment of reperfusion success and prediction of NR development., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

SYNTAX score II (SS II) uses 2 anatomical and 6 clinical variables for the prediction of mortality after coronary artery bypass graft and percutaneous coronary intervention. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting blood glucose (FBG), postprandial glucose (PPG), and SYNTAX Score (SS) and SS II in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease (CAD). We enrolled 215 consecutive diabetic patients with stable angina pectoris who underwent coronary angiography. The SS II was calculated using a nomogram that was based on the findings of a previous study. There was a moderate correlation between HbA1c and SS (r = .396, P < .001), but there was a good correlation between HbA1c and SS II (r = .535, P < .001). There was also a weak correlation between FBG (r = .270, P = .001), PPG (r = .177, P = .027), and SS, but there was a weak-moderate correlation between FBG (r = .341, P < .001), PPG (r = .256, P = .001), and SS II. A better correlation has been detected between HbA1c and SS II compared to the correlation between HbA1c and SS., (© The Author(s) 2015.)