Infectious Aortitis: Could Early Radiology Improve Patient Outcome?

Unlabelled: Aortitis is a rare condition and easily overlooked. It is defined as infectious or non-infectious inflammation of the aortic wall. This report describes two cases of aortitis, demonstrating the diagnostic difficulty and how diagnostic delay could have been reduced if early radiology had been performed.

2706 km cycling in 2 weeks: effects on cardiac function in 6 elderly male athletes.

Objectives: Physiological effects of exercise on trained and untrained individuals have been studied extensively. Typically, young or middle-aged individuals are examined before and after short periods of vigorous exertion.

Methods: We studied 6 elderly male athletes (61 ± 8 years (mean ± SD); baseline [Formula: see text]Omax 48 ± 5 ml·kg·min) with focus on cardiac function and biomarkers following 14 consecutive days of moderate intensity exercise.

Prognostic Impact of Mild Hypokalemia in Terms of Death and Stroke in the General Population-A Prospective Population Study.

Background: Potassium supplementation reduces the risk of cardiovascular mortality and stroke in population studies; however, the prognostic impact of mild hypokalemia in the general population has not been thoroughly investigated. We aimed to investigate associations between mild hypokalemia and endpoints in the general population.

Methods: Participants (aged 48-76 years) from the general population study "Copenhagen City Heart Study" (n = 5916) were studied.

Serum Potassium Is Positively Associated With Stroke and Mortality in the Large, Population-Based Malmö Preventive Project Cohort.

Background And Purpose: Low serum potassium is associated with stroke in populations with cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus but has not been studied in a mainly healthy population. We aimed to study the relation between serum potassium and incident stroke and mortality in the Malmö Preventive Project, a large cohort with screening in early mid-life and follow-up >25 years.

Methods: Serum potassium measurements and covariates were available in 21 353 individuals (79% men, mean age 44 years).

Mild Hypokalemia and Supraventricular Ectopy Increases the Risk of Stroke in Community-Dwelling Subjects.

Background And Purpose: Stroke is independently associated with the common conditions of hypokalemia and supraventricular ectopy, and we hypothesize that the combination of excessive supraventricular ectopic activity and hypokalemia has a synergistic impact on the prognosis in terms of stroke in the general population.

Methods: Subjects (55-75 years old) from the Copenhagen Holter Study cohort (N=671) with no history of atrial fibrillation or stroke were studied-including baseline values of potassium and ambulatory 48-hour Holter monitoring. Excessive supraventricular ectopic activity is defined as ≥30 premature atrial complexes per hour or any episodes of runs of ≥20.

Repeated Prolonged Exercise Decreases Maximal Fat Oxidation in Older Men.

Introduction/purpose: Fat metabolism and muscle adaptation was investigated in six older trained men (age, 61 ± 4 yr; V˙O2max, 48 ± 2 mL·kg·min) after repeated prolonged exercise).

Methods: A distance of 2706 km (1681 miles) cycling was performed over 14 d, and a blood sample and a muscle biopsy were obtained at rest after an overnight fast before and 30 h after the completion of the cycling. V˙O2max and maximal fat oxidation were measured using incremental exercise tests.

Atrial ectopy and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide as predictors of atrial fibrillation: a population-based cohort study.

Aims: The risk of incident atrial fibrillation (AF) can be estimated by clinical parameters in the Framingham AF risk model. Elevated N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and increased rate of premature atrial contractions (PACs) have been shown to be associated with AF, but the additive value of both of these biomarkers in the Framingham AF risk model has not been fully examined.

Methods And Results: A total of 646 subjects from the Copenhagen Holter Study (mean age 64.

Ambulatory cardiac arrhythmias in relation to mild hypokalaemia and prognosis in community dwelling middle-aged and elderly subjects.

Aims: Severe hypokalaemia can aggravate arrhythmia tendency and prognosis, but less is known about risk of mild hypokalaemia, which is a frequent finding. We examined the associations between mild hypokalaemia and ambulatory cardiac arrhythmias and their prognosis.

Methods And Results: Subjects from the cohort of the 'Copenhagen Holter Study' (n = 671), with no history of manifest cardiovascular (CV) disease or stroke, were studied.

Troponin T and N-terminal pro B-Type natriuretic peptide and presence of coronary artery disease.

Background: We tested the effects of exercise intensity, sampling intervals, degree of coronary artery stenosis, and demographic factors on circulating N-terminal pro B-Type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) and cardiac Troponin T (cTnT) in subjects suspected of coronary artery disease (CAD).

Materials And Methods: A total of 242 subjects referred for diagnostic evaluation of possible CAD had blood samples obtained before, 5 min after, and again 20 h after a symptom-limited exercise test.

Results: Totally 40 subjects had CAD with ≥ 50% stenosis, 115 subjects had no stenosis and 87 subjects served as controls.

Improvement of clinical quality indicators through reorganization of the acute care by establishing an emergency department-a register study based on data from national indicators.

Background: The Emergency Departments (EDs) reorganization process in Denmark began in 2007 and includes creating a single entrance for all emergency patients, establishing triage, having a specialist in the front and introducing the use of electronic overview boards and electronic patient files. The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of acute care in a re-organized ED based on national indicator project data in a pre and post reorganizational setting.

Methods: Quasi experimental design was used to examine the effect of the health care quality in relation to the reorganization of an ED.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein and exercise-induced changes in subjects suspected of coronary artery disease.

Background: Inflammation plays a major role in the development of atherosclerosis. We wanted to investigate the effects of exercise on high-sensitivity (hs) C-reactive protein (CRP) in subjects who were suspected of having coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: Blood samples were obtained before, 5 minutes after, and 20 hours after an exercise test in 155 subjects who were suspected of CAD.

[Extreme levels of hyperlipidaemia as a cause of acute pancreatitis].

Hypertriglyceridaemia is an uncommon cause of acute pancreatitis, accounting for 1-4% of cases. In the case of lipoprotein-lipase mutations, lipid levels may rise to extreme levels during acute pancreatitis. In this case a 29-year-old female was hospitalized several times due to acute pancreatitis.