The effect of body weight on left atrial function determined by longitudinal strain analysis in young adults.

Purpose: Obesity is a risk factor for various cardiovascular disorders. Left atrial (LA) function is vital for predicting adverse outcomes in many diseases. LA strain was recently proposed as a noninvasive and valuable parameter for LA functional evaluation.

Congenital heart disease and air travel.

The number of individuals traveling by airplanes is increasing every year. Patients with congenital heart disease and shunts, exposure to high altitude during a flight is important since it causes pulmonary vaso- constriction leading to an increase in right-to-left shunting and a decrease in arterial oxygen saturation. Patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease and Eisenmenger syndrome should be evaluated before the flight, and necessary precautions should be taken.

Early adulthood obesity is associated with impaired left ventricular and right ventricular functions evaluated by speckle tracking and 3D echocardiography.

Objective: The prevalence of obesity is increasing globally. Obesity has been shown to be associated with adverse cardiac outcomes. Current knowledge on the impairment of cardiac function caused by obesity in young adult population is lacking.

Evaluation of left and right ventricular functions with three-dimensional speckle tracking in patients with mitral stenosis.

Background: The function of both ventricles has been suggested to be affected in patients with mitral stenosis. In this study, it was aimed to investigate deformation properties of right (RV) and left ventricle (LV) in rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS) patients with three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (3D-STE).

Methods: A total of 60 patients were included in the study (20 patients with mild MS diagnosis, 20 patients with moderate MS diagnosis, and 20 healthy volunteers).

Effects of upper extremity aerobic exercise training on oxygen consumption, exercise capacity, dyspnea and quality of life in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Background: Pulmonary and extrapulmonary impairments are prevalent in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) which is a rare, chronic and progressive disease.

Objectives: To investigate the effects of upper extremity aerobic exercise training on exercise capacity, oxygen consumption, dyspnea and quality of life in patients with PAH.

Methods: In a prospective, randomized controlled, double-blinded study, eleven patients in training group applied upper extremity aerobic exercise training (50-80% of maximal heart rate), 15-45 min/day, 3 days a week for 6 weeks and 11 patients in control group alternating active upper extremity exercises for the same period.

[Pulmonary hypertension spectrum: 16 years of experience from a single center].

Objective: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is multidisciplinary disorder that should be diagnosed and treated by specialized centers. Progress in the field of PH diagnosis has led to new classifications of the disease. The aim of this study was to determine the etiological properties of PH diagnosed at one center.

Right Coronary Artery Originating from the Left: Do Not Miss the Diagnosis!

Objective: Left circumflex (LCx) artery originating from the right coronary arterial (RCA) system has been reported as the most common form of anomalous origination of a coronary artery from the opposite sinus (ACAOS). However, some studies claim that RCA originating from the left coronary sinus (LCS) is the most frequent form. The aim of this study was to determine the most common type of ACAOS in a single center.

The effect of periodontal therapy on neopterin and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 levels in chronic periodontitis patients with and without acute myocardial infarction: a case-control study.

Unlabelled: The presence of neopterin in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) is a marker for local and acute immune activation, and the presence of vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1) in GCF is accepted as a marker for chronic vascular inflammation.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate effects of periodontal treatment on GCF levels of neopterin and VCAM-1 in patients with chronic periodontitis (CP) with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) compared with systemically healthy CP patients.

Material And Methods: Sixty subjects (20 CP patients with AMI, 20 healthy CP patients, and 20 healthy controls) were included.

Effect of dobutamine stress echocardiography on serum heart fatty acid binding protein levels.

Objective Heart fatty acid binding protein (HFABP) is a low-molecular-weight free protein that is abundant in the intracytoplasmic space of myocytes. Due to its unique features, serum HFABP levels may increase in myocardial ischaemia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of myocardial ischaemia induced by dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) on serum HFABP levels.

[As cardioprotective and angiogenic biomarker, can ghrelin predict coronary collateral development and severity of coronary atherosclerosis?].

Objective: Ghrelin exerts protective effects on cardiovascular system by inhibiting progression of atherosclerosis, supression of vascular inflammation, and stimulating angiogenesis. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of serum ghrelin on coronary collateral development and SYNTAX score in patients with severe coronary artery disease.

Methods: Total of 91 patients who had ≥90% stenosis in at least one major coronary artery were prospectively included in this cross-sectional, observational study.

The role of oxidative DNA damage and GSTM1, GSTT1, and hOGG1 gene polymorphisms in coronary artery disease risk.

Objective: Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD) appears to be a multifactorial process caused by the interaction of environmental risk factors with multiple predisposing genes. Therefore, in this study we aimed to determine the role of oxidative DNA damage and some variations in glutathione S-transferase (GSTM1 and GSTT1) and DNA repair (hOGG1) genes in CAD risk.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted on 59 individuals who had undergone coronary angiographic evaluation.

Acute myocardial infarction as a finding of acute promyelocytic leukemia-related coagulation disorder.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) has one of the most favorable prognoses among other leukemia subtypes. However, the major cause of mortality in APL is disseminated intravascular coagulation at the presentation. We present a case of acute myocardial infarction (MI) at the time of APL diagnosis before treatment.

The effect of statin treatment on P-wave characteristics and atrial conduction time.

Background And Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of statin treatment on P-wave morphology, dispersion, and tissue Doppler imaging-derived atrial conduction time (PA-TDI), which are known to be predictors of atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods: A total of 132 patients with guideline-directed statin indications but no clinical atrial tachyarrhythmias were studied. P-wave duration, P-wave dispersion, and P-wave amplitude on surface 12-lead electrocardiogram and PA-TDI were evaluated before and after three months of statin (either atrovastatin 10-40 mg/d or rosuvastatin 10-20 mg/d) treatment.

Dasatinib-induced pulmonary hypertension in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: case report.

Pulmonary hypertension (PHT) is a pathological condition determined as an increase in mean pulmonary arterial pressure ≥25 mmHg. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is precapillary PHT and a life-threatening disease group which consists of different etiologies with the same pathological and clinical findings, and which is characterized by elevated pulmonary vascular resistance. Dasatinib is a dual Src/Abl kinase inhibitor associated with higher affinity for BCR/ABL kinase than imatinib, and is used in the treatment of chronic myelocytic leukemia and Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

[In the light of current knowledge right ventricle].

There are important differences between left and right ventricle. Due to anatomical location and structural features, in daily clinical practice the right ventricle cannot be assessed easily as the left ventricle. Therefore, the right ventricle has remained in the background of the left ventricle.

[The management of adult female patients with Eisenmenger syndrome and advanced pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment: single center experience and follow-up for 5 years].

Objectives: Eisenmenger syndrome (ES) occurs as the most advanced form of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients with congenital heart disease. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the management of ES patients, follow-up and specific PAH treatment applying and clinical outcomes during 5 years.

Study Design: During the period of the month between May 2008 and 2013 ES female patients were included in the study and followed an average for 5 years.

[A rare cause of pulmonary hypertension: bilateral pulmonary artery involvement and stent restenosis due to Takayasu arteritis].

A 53-year-old female patient was admitted with dyspnea and fatigue. On transthoracic echocardiography, systolic pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) was measured as 90 mmHg, and right heart catheterization revealed pulmonary arterial hypertension. Pulmonary angiography demonstrated bilateral pulmonary artery stenosis, and the diagnosis was determined as Takayasu arteritis.

Angiographic evaluation of the radial artery diameter in patients who underwent coronary angiography or coronary intervention.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the radial artery diameter of patients through angiography and evaluate the feasibility of using wider sheaths for radial interventions. In addition, any parameters that could affect the radial artery diameter were also evaluated.

Background: The radial artery is a suitable, beneficial route for coronary procedures and is considered a good alternative to transfemoral access.

Effect of transradial coronary angiography procedure on vascular diameter and vasodilator functions in the access site.

The present study aimed to investigate the long-term effects of transradial procedures on the radial artery diameter and vasodilator properties. The study included a total of 35 patients (28 males and 7 females) who underwent left transradial coronary angiography with an appropriate indication. The radial artery diameters were measured before and after flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) and nitrate-mediated vasodilation (NMD).

Assessment of right ventricular functions during cancer chemotherapy.

Aims: Although systolic and diastolic left ventricular functions after cancer chemotherapy are well studied, there are a few investigations about the right ventricular functions. We aimed to investigate the early effects of chemotherapy on right heart, if any, in addition to the association between N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and right heart echocardiographic indices.

Methods And Results: Thirty-seven consecutive patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer who were planned to receive either AC protocol [cyclophosphamide (600 mg/m(2)) + adriamycin (60 mg/m(2))] or CAF protocol [cyclophosphamide (600 mg/m(2)) + adriamycin (60 mg/m(2)) + 5-fluorouracil (600 mg/m(2))] for six cures were enrolled between February 2009 and June 2010.

Plasma osteopontin levels in prediction of prognosis in acute myocardial infarction.

Objective: We sought to explain the clinical importance of the osteopontin (OPN) in the setting of acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Methods: Eighty consecutive patients (55 = 11 years, 12 women and 68 men) and sixty healthy control subjects were included in the study. In all patients, plasma OPN levels were assessed on admission and on the third day (peak value).