Long-term results of conservative treatment of pacemaker pocket site infections.

Introduction: The increasing frequency of cardiac device use has led to an increase in complication rates. The standard treatment for cardiac device-related infections is removal of the entire pacemaker system and reimplantation from the contralateral side after systemic antibiotherapy. The efficacy of various conservative treatments has been established for many years, but there is conflicting information in the literature regarding long-term efficacy.

Increased serum resistin levels associated with isolated coronary artery ectasia.

Introduction: Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is localized or diffuse enlargement of the coronary artery more than 1.5 times in diameter in comparison with the adjacent normal coronary artery. The etiology and pathophysiology of CAE are not fully elucidated.

Ocular pulse amplitude and visual field changes in patients diagnosed with aortic regurgitation.

Purpose: To examine whether there is a relationship between ocular pulse amplitude (OPA), intraocular pressure (IOP), and visual field (VF) deterioration among the patients diagnosed with aortic regurgitation (AR).

Methods: Twenty-nine patients (average age of 62.06 ± 13.

The evaluation of cardiac functions according to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease groups.

We aimed to compare right and left ventricular functions by echocardiography (ECHO) according to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) groups, and to determine their associations with functional parameters. Data of patients with COPD who underwent ECHO between 2015 and 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. The results of pulmonary function tests, 6-minute-walking test (6MWT), Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC), COPD assessment test (CAT), and BODE scores were recorded together with ECHO results showing right and left ventricular functions.

Left ventricular dysfunction in relation with systemic inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

Background/aims: Most important cause of mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients is known to be cardiovascular disease (CVD). The objective of the present study was to evaluate the echocardiographic parameters in COPD patients with or without pre-diagnosed CVD and to investigate the relationship between echocardiographic parameters and systemic inflammation markers.

Methods: A total of 60 stable COPD patients (23 patients with CVD, group 1; 37 patients without CVD, group 2) and 21 healthy controls (group 3) were included in the study.

The effect of hemodialysis on the body composition and cardiovascular disease markers in recently diagnosed end stage renal disease patients.

Aim: Uremic toxins and excess fluid contributes to increased cardiovascular (CV) risk. We aimed to determine the body fluid status in patients who are just starting hemodialysis (HD) and to determine the effects of excess fluid removed by HD on the CV system.

Methods: A total of 52 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who had just started HD were included.

Arterial Stiffness in Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Anthracycline and Trastuzumab-Based Regimens.

Aims: Cardiovascular diseases are the primary cause of premature morbidity and mortality in early breast cancer patients after treatment with cardiotoxic chemotherapeutic agents. Arterial stiffness is an independent risk factor for future cardiovascular diseases and can be used as a predictive marker of subclinical cardiac damage. The aim of this study is to analyze the arterial stiffness in breast cancer patients who are in the follow-up period after receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy regimens with trastuzumab.

A new predictor of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass graft surgery: HATCH score.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between HATCH score and atrial fibrillation (AF) after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. 369 patients (103 patients with AF and 266 patients without AF) undergoing isolated CABG surgery were analyzed. Complete medical records were retrospectively collected to investigate HATCH score.

Diurnal blood pressure parameters in normal tension glaucoma, primary open angle glaucoma, and healthy subjects.

Objective: The pathophysiology of glaucoma is still undisclosed. Cardiovascular hemodynamic changes are hypothesized to contribute to glaucoma. This study aimed to determine the differences in the diurnal blood pressure (BP) of patients with normal tension glaucoma (NTG), primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), and controls without glaucoma.

Screening Fabry's disease in chronic kidney disease patients not on dialysis: a multicenter study.

Objectives: Fabry's disease is an X-linked inherited, rare, progressive, lysosomal storage disorder, affecting multiple organs due to the deficient activity of α-galactosidase A (α-Gal A) enzyme. The prevalence has been reported to be 0.15-1% in hemodialysis patients; however, the information on the prevalence in chronic kidney disease not on dialysis is lacking.

Circulating microRNAs in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression levels of cardiac-related circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) in ST-elevation myo- cardial infarction (STEMI) patients.

Methods: This study has a prospective experimental cohort design. A total of 12 consecutive patients with acute chest pain within 12 h admit- ted to emergency department (STEMI group) and 13 adult patients with normal coronary angiography during the same period were enrolled (control group) in this study.

Evaluation of arterial stiffness in children with type 1 diabetes using the oscillometric method.

Aims: Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an accepted evaluation method to assess vascular changes and determine cardiovascular disease risk in type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients. The aim of this study was to identify atherosclerosis risk by using oscillometric device in pediatric patients who had T1D but no end organ impairment and no cardiovascular disease findings.

Materials And Methods: Pediatric patients with T1D and no determined end organ impairment and cardiovascular disease were involved in the study.

S100A1 as a Potential Diagnostic Biomarker for Assessing Cardiotoxicity and Implications for the Chemotherapy of Certain Cancers.

This study examined the value of blood marker S100A1 in detecting cardiotoxicity induced by chemotherapy agents; trastuzumab and lapatinib, in normal rat heart. The rats were divided into three groups: control (n = 8, no treatment), T (n = 8, one time ip treatment with 10 mg/kg trastuzumab) and L (n = 8, oral treatment with 100 mg/kg/day lapatinib for 7 days). The activities of oxidative stress parameters Malondialdehyde (MDA), Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT) and Glutathione (GSH) were measured from the extracted cardiac tissues.

The relation between compliance to the Mediterranean diet and the extensiveness of coronary artery disease.

Objective: There are various studies showing the cardiovascular benefits of the Mediterranean diet (MD), but, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which aimed to investigate the relation between adherence to the MD and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: The study was a single centre, cross-sectional prospective study which included 200 consecutive patients (131 men [65.5%] and 69 women [34.

Ozone preconditioning attenuates contrast-induced nephropathy in rats.

Background: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is an important complication of vascular interventions. Ozone therapy can induce tolerance to ischemic insults, a phenomenon known as ozone oxidative preconditioning (OOP). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of OOP on CIN.

Nebivolol to attenuate the effects of hyper-homocysteinaemia in rats.

Objective: This study investigated the prophylactic effect of nebivolol against hyper-homocysteinaemia (hHcy) induced oxidative stress in brain, heart, liver and kidney tissues and histomorphometric changes in the thoracic aorta.

Methods: Twenty-four adult male Wistar rats were divided into a control, nebivolol, hHcy and nebivolol+hHcy group. hHcy was induced by oral administration of L-methionine (1 g/kg/day) for 28 days.

Management of a subclavian artery thrombosis causing acute anterior wall infarction and concurrent left arm ischemia in a patient with prior coronary bypass.

We report a 57-year-old patient with acute anterior wall infarction with a history of a coronary baypass graft operation in 2007. He also had concurrent left arm cyanosis and severe pain. He had received diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma one month previously and had had his first chemotherapy in the previous week with gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil.

The usefulness of carvedilol and nebivolol in preventing contrast nephropathy in rats.

Background: Oxidative stress and vasoconstriction appear to be important components of contrast nephropathy (CN) pathogenesis, and both carvedilol and nebivolol are known to have vasodilatory and antioxidant effects.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate whether carvedilol and nebivolol play preventive roles against developing CN and to compare the effects of each.

Materials And Methods: Wistar albino rats were divided into control (C, n = 6), contrast material (CM, n = 6), carvedilol (CV, n = 7), carvedilol + contrast material (CV + CM, n = 7), nebivolol (N, n = 7), and nebivolol + contrast (N + CM, n = 7) groups.

Predictors of early death in patients with acute pulmonary embolism.

Aim: We aimed to determine the predictors of early death in the course of acute pulmonary embolism (APE).

Materials And Methods: We included 206 patients who had been admitted to our hospital between January 2011 and April 2013 with the diagnosis of APE. We derived a new model including corrected QT interval dispersion (QTcd) and P wave dispersion (Pd), echocardiographic findings, laboratory markers, and blood cell count indices to predict early death in patients with APE.

A clinical study about contrast nephropathy: risk factors and the role of beta blockers.

Objective: There is still a group of patient that have unpredictable risk for the development of contrast nephropathy (CN). There is also an effort to find more effficient strategies to prevent CN. Carvedilol, metoprolol and nebivolol seem to have theoretical potentials for the prevention of CN.

Influence of preoperative coronary collateral circulation on in-hospital mortality in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery with intra-aortic balloon pump support.

Background: Outcomes in patients requiring coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery have been improved with devices such as the intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP). Good coronary collateral circulation (CCC) has been shown to reduce mortality in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). We aimed to investigate whether poor preoperative CCC grade is a predictor of in-hospital mortality in CABG surgery requiring IABP support.

Mean platelet volume and arterial stiffness in patients with acromegaly.

Objective: There are still contradictory data in the literature whether patients with acromegaly are under risk in terms of atherosclerotic heart disease. Increased arterial stiffness develops before atherosclerosis and is evaluated to be a risk factor for atherosclerosis. Mean platelet volume (MPV) is currently gaining interest as a new independent cardiovascular risk factor.

Circumflex-to-bronchial artery fistula with saccular aneurysm.

We report a case of fistulous communication with two saccular aneurysms (9 mm and 7 mm) between the sinoatrial branch of the circumflex artery and the bronchial arteries.