Post-discharge heart failure monitoring program in Turkey: Hit-PoinT.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and feasibility of an enhanced heart failure (HF) education with a 6-month telephone follow- up program in post-discharge ambulatory HF patients.

Methods: The Hit-Point trial was a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial of enhanced HF education with a 6-month telephone follow-up program (EHFP) vs routine care (RC) in patients with HF and reduced ejection fraction. A total of 248 patients from 10 centers in various geographical areas were randomized: 125 to EHFP and 123 to RC.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy in Turkey: Experience of three tertiary centres.

We conducted this study to determine demographic details, and clinical presentations in patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCMP) of Turkish origin. The study population consisted of 58 patients with PPCMP treated at 3 major hospitals in Turkey, retrospectively. In this study, demographic details and initial echocardiographic data were recorded and long-term clinical status was evaluated.

Left Ventricular Myocardial Deformation Parameters Are Affected by Coronary Slow Flow Phenomenon: A Study of Speckle Tracking Echocardiography.

Background: The coronary slow flow phenomenon (CSFP) is defined as a delayed distal vessel contrast opacification in the absence of obstructive epicardial coronary artery disease during coronary angiography. There is conflicting data in medical literature regarding the effects of CSFP on the left ventricular functions assessed by conventional echocardiography or tissue Doppler imaging. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate whether there is any abnormality in the myocardial deformation parameters (strain, strain rate (SR), rotation, twist) of the left ventricle obtained by speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) in patients with CSFP.

Can empirical hypertonic saline or sodium bicarbonate treatment prevent the development of cardiotoxicity during serious amitriptyline poisoning? Experimental research.

Objective: The aim of this experimental study was to investigate whether hypertonic saline or sodium bicarbonate administration prevented the development of cardiotoxicity in rats that received toxic doses of amitriptyline.

Method: Thirty-six Sprague Dawley rats were used in the study. The animals were divided into six groups.

An epidemiological study to evaluate the use of vitamin K antagonists and new oral anticoagulants among non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients in Turkey- AFTER-2 study design.

Objectives: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common causes of preventable ischemic stroke and is related to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. There is a lack of data in Turkey on the use of new oral anticoagulants (NOACs), and time in therapeutic INR range (TTR) in vitamin K antagonist users and AF management modality. In this multi-center trial, we aimed to analyze, follow and evaluate the epidemiological data in non-valvular AF patients.

The relationship between coronary slow flow phenomenon and urotensin-II: A prospective and controlled study.

Objective: The underlying mechanism of coronary slow flow (CSF) has not yet been clarified, although many studies have been conducted to understand its pathophysiology. In this study, we investigated the role of a very potent vasoconstrictor, urotensin-II (UII), in the pathophysiology of CSF. This prospective and controlled investigation aimed to evaluate the association between CSF and serum levels of UII.

The prognostic values of GDF-15 in comparison with NT-proBNP in patients with normotensive acute pulmonary embolism.

Background: An early prediction of prognosis in pulmonary embolism (PE) is a crucial clinical entity. The aim of the study is to investigate whether growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) or N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels (NT-proBNP) can better predict the 30 day overall mortality in patients with normotensive acute PE.

Methods: Patients with a high clinical probability of PE, or with low/intermediate probability and a positive D-dimer test, underwent contrast-enhanced computed tomography and ventilation/perfusion lung scan.

Abnormal nail fold capillaroscopic findings in patients with coronary slow flow phenomenon.

The coronary slow flow phenomenon (CSFP) is the delayed opacification of coronary arteries in the absence of significant stenosis. The pathogenesis of CSFP has not been completely understood yet. There are several proposed mechanisms such as the structural and functional abnormalities in coronary microcirculation.

Tissue doppler myocardial performance index in patients with heart failure and its relationship with haemodynamic parameters.

The myocardial performance index (MPI) reflects both the systolic and diastolic function of the heart, and is easily applied in practice. In this study, we aimed to determine the relationship between MPI and invasive haemodynamic parameters in heart failure patients. A total of 126 patients with heart failure were selected, all of whom were referred for diagnostic cardiac catheterisation, and were divided into two groups.

High-amplitude left ventricular pacing in cardiac resynchronization therapy: an alternative way to increase response rate in non-responders.

Purpose: This study compared patients who underwent cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) by high-amplitude left ventricular (LV) pacing with those who underwent CRT by standard LV pacing.

Methods: We included 32 CRT patients with ejection fraction (EF) ≤35%, QRS time ≥120 ms, and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III/IV symptoms of heart failure despite optimal medical treatment. These patients were evaluated clinically and echocardiographically before, three and six months after CRT.

The primary anomalies of coronary artery origin and course: A coronary angiographic analysis of 16,573 patients.

Background/objectives: Coronary artery anomalies are present at birth, but relatively few are symptomatic. The majority are discovered incidentally. In the present study, coronary angiograms performed in the authors' centre (Ondokuz Mayis University Hospital, Samsun, Turkey) were analyzed to determine the prevalence and types of coronary artery origin and course anomalies.

The relationship of coronary flow to neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Purpose: It has been known that inflammatory mechanisms play an important role in the coronary artery disease. Our aim in this study was to investigate the relationship between the neutrophil/lymphocyte (N/L) ratio and coronary flow velocity after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients presenting with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Methods: Two hundred and ten patients who had undergone primary PCI were included.

Evaluation of the relationship between arterial blood pressure, aortic stiffness and serum endothelin-1 levels in patients with essential hypertension.

This study has attempted to evaluate the relationship between aortic stiffness, blood pressure (BP) and serum endothelin-1 (ET-1) levels in patients with essential HT. Totally 152 subjects, consisting of 103 patients diagnosed with HT at least 1 year previously and 49 healthy individuals, were enrolled in this study. They were subdivided, on the basis of BP measurements made at home, into three groups as the hypertensives with dysregulated BP (n = 56), the hypertensives with regulated BP (n = 47) and the normotensive controls (n = 49).

Mean platelet volume and its relation with arterial stiffness in patients with normotensive polycystic kidney disease.

Background: Autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) demonstrates cardiovascular manifestations, such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, and increased carotid intimae-media thickness. These complications are the main cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with ADPKD. Platelet activation and arterial stiffness are important manifestations that independently predict cardiovascular events.

Serum urotensin II levels in patients with non-dipper hypertension.

Hypertension terms "dipper" and "non-dipper" are propounded by the change that occurs during ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring. The purpose of this study is to present whether the serum urotensin II levels are different in patients with dipper and non-dipper hypertension and to put forward the effects causing this difference, if there are any. Patients recently diagnosed with hypertension were included in the study.

Woven right coronary artery.

Woven coronary artery is characterized by the twisting course of multiple thin channels along the vessel in any coronary artery with a TIMI-III blood flow. It is an extremely rare coronary anomaly, which is generally considered to be benign. We present a 48-year-old male patient with a woven coronary artery anomaly with a right woven who presented with a myocardial infarction and review the literature on this coronary anomaly.

Impairment of heart rate recovery index in autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease patients without hypertension.

Background: We aimed to determine the status of the autonomic nervous system in patients with autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) who were normotensive and had normal renal function.

Methods: A total of 28 normotensive ADPKD patients with normal renal function and 30 healthy control subjects consented to participate in the study. Heart rate recovery (HRR) indices were defined as the reduction in heart rate from the rate at peak exercise to the rate at the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th minutes after the cessation of the exercise stress test; these results were indicated HRR(1), HRR(2), HRR(3) and HRR(5), respectively.

Effect of prenatal exposure to diclofenac sodium on the male rat arteries: a stereological and histopathological study.

In this study, we investigated the morphometric and histological alterations of the aorta, brachial, and femoral arteries in 4- and 20-week-old rats that were prenatally exposed to diclofenac sodium (DS). For this purpose, pregnant rats were divided into three groups: control, saline injected, and drug treated. Beginning from day 5 after mating through day 15 of pregnancy, saline or DS (1 mg/kg daily) was intraperitoneally injected into groups 2 and 3.