The soluble ST2 level predicts risk of atrial fibrillation recurrences in long-term period after radiofrequency ablation.

Background And Objectives: The hypothesis of the study was the assumption that the serum levels of soluble ST2 (sST2) and growth differentiation factor (GDF-15) can be predictors of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence in long-term period after primary radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFA).

Methods: Of the 165 patients included in the prospective follow-up, the final analysis included 131 patients whose follow-up duration reached 18 months after the end of the blanking period (3 months after RFA). The median age of patients was 59.

Clinical manifestations and risk factors of coronary artery disease in patients with diabetes mellitus in western Siberia.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and clinical manifestations of coronary artery disease (CAD) between patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and CAD who lived at northern latitudes vs. those who resided at southern latitudes in the Tyumen region, western Siberia.

Study Design: This retrospective study involved 382 patients with type 2 DM selected from 8,573 patients with angiographic CAD (>50% stenosis).

Asymmetric septal hypertrophy in patients with coronary artery disease.

Aims: To assess the relationship between asymmetric septal hypertrophy (ASH) and manifestations of coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods And Results: A total of 5128 consecutive patients with proven diagnosis of CAD were examined. There were 2469 patients with left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (LVH) (48.