The short-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of warfarin therapy.

Aim    The aim of this study was to investigate the short-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of warfarin therapy used for atrial fibrillation (AF) and prosthetic valve disease.Material and methods    The study included 139 Atrial fibrillation (AF) patients and 173 prosthetic valve patients (PVP) who were using warfarin. The time in therapeutic range (TTR), International Normalized Ratio (INR) averages, the numbers of INR tests, and the non-adherence to INR monitoring (NIM) were compared for the pre-covid period (PCP) and the COVID-19 period (CP).

Left atrial mechanical function and stiffness in patients with nondipper hypertension: A speckle tracking study.

Background: Nondipper hypertension is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Speckle tracking echocardiography is a novel and promising tool for detecting early changes in left atrial (LA) myocardial dysfunction. Our aim was to evaluate the LA mechanical function and stiffness in nondipper hypertensive patients by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography strain parameters.

A Very Rare Coronary Artery Anomaly: Two Circumflex Arteries Originating From Both Right and Left Coronary Sinuses of Valsalva.

Coronary anomalies are found in less than 1% of diagnostic coronary angiograms. The clinical importance of coronary anomalies varies from insignificant to life-threatening. We report a very rare case of a patient with two circumflex arteries originating from both right and left coronary sinuses of Valsalva.

The Relationship Between Blood Monocyte Count and Coronary Artery Ectasia.

Background: The pathophysiology of coronary artery ectasia (CAE) has not been clearly identified, although multiple abnormalities including arteritis, endothelial dysfunction, and atherothrombosis have been reported. It is known that monocytes play an important role in inflammation, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. We aimed to compare the numbers of monocyte counts of the CAE patients versus controls.

The Relationship Between Plasma Eosinophil Count and Coronary Artery Ectasia.

Background: The pathophysiology of coronary artery ectasia (CAE) has not been clearly identified, although multiple abnormalities including arteritis, endothelial dysfunction, and atherothrombosis have been reported. It is known that eosinophils play an important role in inflammation and thrombosis. Also vascular anomalies such as aneurysm have been noted in patients with hypereosinophilic syndromes.