Search

Objective: Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy predisposes the myocardium to ischemia through several mechanisms. The LV mass index (LVMI) is used as a readily available and reliable measurement of LV hypertrophy. The LVMI can also be used to evaluate LV remodeling. The hypothesis of this study was that LV hypertrophy might augment coronary collateralization in patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO) and the aim was to research any association between LVMI and collateral formation in CTO. As a secondary goal, specific LV geometric types that might be associated with collateral presence were also investigated. Methods: A total of 305 patients with CTO were included and categorized into 4 groups based on Rentrop grade. Results: The LVMI demonstrated an incremental linear trend as the Rentrop grade increased. In the receiver operating characteristic curve, the likelihood that a cut-off value of 100.1 g/m2 would accurately differentiate patients with collaterals from those without collaterals was 75.8%, with 68.5% sensitivity and 68.6% specificity. A 1 gram/m2 increase in LVMI was associated with a 7.5% greater likelihood of collateral development. In addition, compared with normal geometry, the presence of eccentric hypertrophy was associated with 6.7 times higher odds of the presence of coronary collaterals. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that a greater LVMI predicted coronary collateral presence. Furthermore, having an eccentric geometric type of hypertrophy increased the likelihood of coronary collaterals more than other geometries. This finding signified that in addition to LV wall thickness, the type of hypertrophy was also decisive in predicting collateral presence.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the myocardial energy expenditure (MEE) in patients with cardiac syndrome X (CSX) and to examine its association with exercise electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters. Methods: A total of 99 patients who underwent coronary angiography and who were diagnosed as having normal coronary arteries were included. The patients were divided into 2 groups based on symptoms and exercise ECG parameters: 56 CSX patients and 43 control patients with a negative stress test. MEE was calculated using transthoracic echocardiography-derived parameters: circumferential end-systolic stress, left ventricular ejection time, and stroke volume. Results: In patients with CSX, the MEE at rest was 28% higher in than the control group (89.2+-36.3 vs. 69.8+-17.2 cal/minute). Correlation analysis revealed a moderately negative correlation between MEE and the Duke treadmill score (DTS) (β: -0.456; p

Objective: As an indicator of variability in circulating erythrocyte size, red cell distribution width (RDW) is linked to chronic inflammation. The association of rheumatic heart valve stenosis and inflammation is also well-known. This study aimed to assess the relationship between RDW and presence and severity of rheumatic mitral valve stenosis (RMVS). Methods: A total of 417 consecutive patients with RMVS, and 81 age- and -gender matched healthy control subjects were included in the study between February 2009 and April 2014. Transthoracic echocardiography and demographic characteristics were recorded for all participants. Results: Baseline characteristics were similar in the two groups. However, median RDW was significantly higher in patients with RMVS compared to control group (14.4% [11.3- 19.6] vs. 13.6% [11.6-18.1], p

Objectives: Increased epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) thickness is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Previous studies have demonstrated that EAT thickness is increased in patients with hypertension compared with normotensive individuals. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate whether echocardiographically measured EAT thickness differs among patients with normotension, prehypertension, hypertension, and the relation between EAT thickness and blood pressure levels in prehypertensives. Study design: Patients with prehypertension (n=50) and hypertension (n=50) and normotensive healthy subjects (n=50) according to the American Hypertension Guidelines (Joint National Committee 7) were enrolled in the study. All participants underwent transthoracic echocardiographic examination. EAT thickness was measured from the parasternal long-axis view at end-systole. Results: Compared with normotensives, EAT thickness was significantly increased in subjects with prehypertension and hypertension (4.1+-1.1 mm, 5.4+-1.3 mm and 6.6+-1.5 mm, respectively, p