Venous leg symptoms, ecchymosis, and coldness in patients with peripheral varicose vein: A multicenter assessment and validation study (VEIN-VIOLET study).

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate peripheral varicose vein symptoms including ecchymosis and coldness by using the Venous Insufficiency Epidemiological and Economic Study-Quality of Life/Symptoms (VEINES-QoL/Sym) questionnaire.

Methods: A total of 1120 patients were enrolled to the analysis after the exclusion of 199 patients who did not match the inclusion criteria. Patients were asked to answer the VEINES-Sym questionnaire and questions about ecchymosis and coldness.

Echocardiographic Findings in Patients with Atrial Septal Aneurysm: A Prospective Case-Control Study.

Background: Atrial septal aneurysm (ASA) is a congenital deformity of the interatrial septum with a prevalence of 1-2% in the adult population. Although ASA has been supposed to be an incidental finding in echocardiographic examination, its structural and clinical associations have gained an increasing interest.

Aim: To investigate and compare the clinical features and echocardiographic parameters between ASA patients and age- and gender-matched control group patients.

Side-wire technique for percutaneous pulmonary balloon valvuloplasty.

On occasion during percutaneous pulmonary balloon valvuloplasty, a small balloon may slip into the pulmonary artery when dilating a stenotic pulmonary valve. In order to stabilize the balloon should a larger balloon size not be available, a side wire can be used without changing the original balloon.

[An effective and safe alternative to epicardial pacemaker placement for permanent pacemaker implantation in a patient with mechanical tricuspid valve: stimulation of the left ventricle through the coronary sinus].

Implantation of a transvenous endocardial pacemaker is contraindicated in patients with a mechanical tricuspid valve. An epicardial left ventricular pacemaker lead was placed by a transvenous route through the coronary sinus into the lateral cardiac vein in a 58-year-old woman with mechanical aortic, mitral, and tricuspid valves, for permanent pacing due to chronic atrial fibrillation with a slow ventricular rate accompanied by syncope. This lead was then connected to a single-chamber pacemaker.

Heart rate profile during exercise in patients with early repolarization.

Background: Both early repolarization and altered heart rate profile are associated with sudden death. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate an association between early repolarization and heart rate profile during exercise.

Methods: A total of 84 subjects were included in the study.

Long-term follow-up data of coronary sinus stenting for the stabilization of the left ventricular leads.

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy has been increasingly used for patients with heart failure. However, unstable and dislocated coronary sinus leads reduce the effectiveness of this important intervention.

Aim: To examine the long-term effects of coronary sinus side branch stenting on sensing and pacing parameters of the left ventricular leads.

Risk factors for in-hospital mortality in infective endocarditis: five years' experience at a tertiary care hospital in Turkey.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Despite recent improvements in diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, infective endocarditis (IE) is still associated with high in-hospital mortality rates. The study aim was to determine the clinical, laboratory and echocardiographic features of IE, and to evaluate the risk factors for in-hospital mortality.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study design was employed, with a main outcome measure of in-hospital mortality.

Ascending aortic pressure-derived indices are associated with the presence and severity of aortic stenosis.

Background: Almost the same pathophysiological mechanism has been suggested for both atherosclerosis and calcific aortic stenosis (AS). In this study, we examined any association between ascending aortic pressure-derived indices and hemodynamic characteristics of calcific AS.

Methods: A total of 90 patients were studied (26 males, 64 females; mean age: 64.

Serum gamma-glutamyl transferase activity increased in patients with coronary artery ectasia.

Background: Serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity, an enzyme responsible for the extracellular catabolism of antioxidant glutathione, may directly take part in atherogenesis and evolve as a potential biochemical risk indicator of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. An important characteristic of coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is the fact that in 85% of the cases, atherosclerotic coronary disease accompanies it. The relation between CAE and serum GGT activity has not been studied so far.

Effect of aortic pulse and fractional pulse pressures on early patency of sapheneous vein grafts.

Background: Coronary artery bypass grafting has a mortality benefit compared to medical therapy in some patient groups, such as those with left main or left anterior descending coronary artery disease, and those with left ventricular dysfunction. Therefore, patency of grafts, especially sapheneous grafts, is an important issue. Aortic pulse and fractional pulse pressures are strong and independent indicators of the risk of atherosclerosis.

Association of aortic pressures with fasting plasma glucose in patients with and without impaired fasting glucose.

Background: Diabetes mellitus and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) are associated with future cardiovascular disorders. Aortic pulse pressure (PP) and fractional pulse pressures (FPPs) are strong and independent indicators of the risk of coronary heart disease. These conditions have been reported to be associated with endothelial dysfunction.

Imaging of coronary artery anomalies: the role of multidetector computed tomography.

Background: Coronary artery anomalies are evaluated by using catheter-based angiography. Multidetector row-computed tomography (MDCT) is a new noninvasive imaging technique that has excellent spatial resolution for detecting the origin and course of a coronary anomalous vessel.

Objective: To determine the sensitivity of multidetector computed tomography in patients who had coronary artery anomaly demonstrated by conventional coronary angiography.

Imaging of coronary artery fistulas by multidetector computed tomography: is multidetector computed tomography sensitive?

Background: Coronary angiography is the gold standard for diagnosing coronary artery fistulas (CAFs). Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is a recently developed imaging technique for detecting coronary artery stenosis, coronary artery anomalies, and coronary artery fistulas and their courses.

Objective: We aimed to determine accuracy or sensitivity of MDCT in patients having CAF.

Relationship of admission haematological indices with infarct-related artery patency in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary angioplasty.

Objective: Mean platelet volume (MPV), a marker for platelet reactivity, and white blood cell count (WBC-C), a marker for inflammation, have been shown to be predictive of unfavourable outcomes among survivors of ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The relationship of admission MPV and WBC-C with infarct-related artery (IRA) patency is not clear. We aimed to evaluate the value of admission MPV and WBC-C for the prediction of IRA patency, in patients with acute STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Relation of admission QRS duration with development of angiographic no-reflow in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous interventions.

Background: Although QRS-complex changes during ischemia have been described previously, their relation with no-reflow is not clear.

Purpose: To evaluate relation of admission QRS duration with angiographic no-reflow, we studied 162 patients who underwent primary angioplasty.

Methods: Twelve-lead electrocardiogram with a paper speed of 50 mm/s was recorded on admission and repeated after angioplasty.

Acute pericarditis as a complication of percutaneous mitral balloon valvulotomy.

During the past two decades, percutaneous mitral balloon valvulotomy (PMBV) has been frequently used, with high success and low complication rates, in the treatment of patients with moderate to severe rheumatic mitral stenosis. The case is reported of a patient with severe rheumatic mitral stenosis who developed acute pericarditis two days after successful PMBV. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first such case to be reported.

A pericardial hydatid cyst masquerading as acute inferolateral myocardial infarction--a case report.

A case of pericardial hydatid cyst adjacent to the inferoposterial wall of the left ventricle is reported. Significant ST segment elevations in leads D2, D3, aVF, V5, and V6 on surface electrocardiography and sudden onset of severe chest pain mimicked acute inferolateral myocardial infarction. However, cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography showed normal coronary arteries and normal left ventricular cavity.

Increased levels of soluble adhesion molecules E-selectin and P-selectin in patients with cardiac syndrome X.

The role of endothelial dysfunction and platelet activation in patients with cardiac syndrome X is controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the plasma levels of circulating E- and P-selectin molecules in patients with syndrome X. The study included 21 patients with cardiac syndrome X (11 men and 10 women, mean age = 56 +/- 5 years) and 20 patients with significant coronary artery disease who had stable angina pectoris (11 men and 9 women, mean age = 60 +/- 8 years).

Documentation of slow coronary flow by the thrombolysis in myocardial infarction frame count in habitual smokers with angiographically normal coronary arteries.

The thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) frame count is a simple clinical tool for assessing quantitative indexes of coronary blood flow. In this study we aimed to evaluate the effects of long-term cigarette smoking on the TIMI frame count in patients with angiographically proven normal coronary arteries. Between May 2001 and January 2002, 41 habitual smokers and 41 sex-matched nonsmokers with angiographically proven normal coronary arteries were included in the study.

The role of valvular and thoracic aortic calcifications in distinction between ischemic and nonischemic cardiomyopathy.

Determination of underlying etiology in patients with dilated and globally hypokinetic left ventricles may sometimes be difficult even after detailed history and complete clinical evaluation. Cardiac valvular and thoracic aortic calcifications have previously been reported to be used as a window to diffuse atherosclerosis of the vascular system. The authors prospectively examined the predictive value of mitral annular calcification (MAC), aortic valve calcification (AVC), and thoracic aortic calcification (TAC) in diagnosis of coronary artery disease as the underlying cause of diffuse left ventricular dilatation and systolic dysfunction.

Double left anterior descending coronary artery arising from the left and right coronary arteries: a rare congenital coronary artery anomaly.

Double left anterior descending coronary artery arising from the left and right coronary arteries is a very rare congenital coronary artery anomaly. In this report, we describe a patient with double left anterior descending coronary artery originating from the left and right coronary arteries. To the best of our knowledge, dual connection of the left anterior descending coronary artery to the left and right coronary arteries has been described in only five patients.

Permanent myocardial dysfunction caused by high-voltage electrical injury--a case report.

Electrical injury, particularly alternating current, may lead to disease of conducting tissue or to myocardial damage, or even may cause sudden death. In the present case, the authors report a 22-year-old man who sustained extensive upper extremity trauma from a high-voltage electrical injury and manifested clinical signs of left ventricular heart failure.

Relationship between control of ventricular rate in atrial fibrillation and systemic coagulation activation in patients with mitral stenosis.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Systemic thromboembolism is a major complication in patients with mitral stenosis (MS), especially in those who have atrial fibrillation (AF). It has been suggested that systemic coagulation activity may be increased in these patients. The study aim was to investigate the relationship between control of ventricular rate and systemic coagulation factors in patients with MS and AF by measuring plasma levels of prothrombin fragment (PF) 1+2, thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1.