Methemoglobinemia due to local anesthesia: a rare cause of cyanosis and chest pain after placement of implantable cardioverter defibrillator.

Although methemoglobinemia is rare in adulthood, it may have fatal consequences if unnoticed. We planned to implant an implantable cardioverter defibrillator ICD in a 50-year-old male patient for primary prevention. Following sterile draping, prilocaine 5 mg/kg (400 mg) was injected subcutaneously for local anesthesia.

Endothelial dysfunction, subclinical atherosclerosis and LDL cholesterol are the independent predictors of left atrial functions in hypertension.

Left atrial function has an important role in determining optimal performance of the heart. Increase of left atrial dysfunction and volume are poor prognostic factors. In this study, we investigated independent determinants of left atrial function in non-diabetic patients with de novo hypertension.

What have we learned from Turkish familial hypercholesterolemia registries (A-HIT1 and A-HIT2)?

Background And Aims: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a common genetic disease of high-level cholesterol leading to premature atherosclerosis. One of the key aspects to overcome FH burden is the generation of large-scale reliable data in terms of registries. This manuscript underlines the important results of nation-wide Turkish FH registries (A-HIT1 and A-HIT2).

EVALUATION OF PARA- AND PERIRENAL FAT THICKNESS AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH METABOLIC DISORDERS IN POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare para- and perirenal fat (PFT) and subcutaneous abdominal fat (SFT) measurements between patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and control subjects and to assess the possible relation with metabolic disorders.

Methods: This study included 68 patients with PCOS and 40 age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched healthy controls. We evaluated anthropometric, hormonal, and metabolic parameters, and abdominal ultrasonography was performed to measure PFT and SFT.

Relationship of the angiographic extent of peripheral arterial disease with coronary artery involvement.

Objective: To determine the co-incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients investigated for peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and to establish the relationship between the risk factors in the two groups of patients.

Methods: The prospective study, done from January 2005 and April 2009, at the Cardiology Clinic of Rize Education and Research Hospital, Rize and John F. Kennedy Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey, had a cohort of 307 patients who had been diagnosed with peripheral artery disease either clinically or by ultrasonography for the arteries of the lower extremities and had undergone coronary angiography and peripheral angiography in the same or different sessions.

The importance of fragmented QRS complexes in prediction of myocardial infarction and reperfusion parameters in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Objectives: The QRS complex fragmentations (fQRS) frequently seen on admission electrocardiograms (ECGs) with narrow or wide QRS complex are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The causative relationship between fQRS and cardiac fibrosis is known, but the relation of fragmented QRS before and after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p-PCI) with myocardial infarction and reperfusion parameters has not been studied until now.

Study Design: The study included 184 consecutive patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who underwent p-PCI.

The independent relationship between systemic inflammation and fragmented QRS complexes in patients with stable angina pectoris.

Background: QRS complex fragmentations can frequently be seen on routine ECG with narrow or wide QRS complex. Fragmented QRS complexes (fQRS) are defined as various RSR' patterns (≥ 1 R' or notching of S wave or R wave) in two contiguous leads corresponding to a major coronary artery territory. In previous studies, fQRS has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality, sudden cardiac death and recurrent cardiovascular events.

Increased serum bilirubin level is related to good collateral development in patients with chronic total coronary occlusion.

Objective: Bilirubin is a bile pigment with potent anti-oxidant properties; in previous studies it has been reported to be negatively associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). Although elevated serum bilirubin concentrations may protect against endothelial dysfunction, it is not clear whether higher serum bilirubin levels (SBLs) in physiological ranges may work in favor of good collateral development in patients with chronic total coronary occlusion (CTO).

Methods: The study population consisted of patients who underwent coronary angiography with a suspicion of CAD.

Distributions of interleukin-6 (IL-6) promoter and metallothionein 2A (MT2A) core promoter region gene polymorphisms and their associations with aging in Turkish population.

Aging is determined as the product of an interaction among genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. As interleukin-6 (IL-6) and metallothioneins (MTs) are related to inflammation and oxidative stress response, their genes are appropriate candidate for aging, age related diseases and infections. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the IL-6 -174 G/C promoter region and MT2A -5 A/G core promoter region single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with longevity in Turkish population.

Heart fatty acid binding protein and myoglobin after reperfusion of acute myocardial infarction.

Objective: The aim of this study was to disclose the release kinetics of heart fatty acid binding protein (HFABP) and myoglobin in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) reperfused by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) and to determine the influence of the quality of coronary flow post PPCI on the release properties of these markers.

Methods And Results: Twenty-four patients with AMI who underwent successful PPCI and had no evidence of reocclusion within the first 120 minutes were studied. Serum myoglobin and HFABP levels at baseline and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 minutes after reperfusion were measured.

Effect of metoprolol on heart rate variability in symptomatic patients with mitral valve prolapse.

Metoprolol is widely used to eliminate symptoms in patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP), a condition associated with enhanced sympathetic tone. In this study, effects of metoprolol on heart rate variability (HRV) indices were investigated in symptomatic patients with MVP. Thirty-nine symptomatic patients with MVP (26 women, mean age 26 +/- 7 years) and 16 age- and gender-matched controls were studied.