Cardiovascular disease in chronic kidney disease (CKD) is explained in part by traditional cardiovascular risk factors; by uremia-specific factors; and by abnormalities of mineral metabolism, factors ...involved in its regulation, and in the vascular calcification process.
In an unselected population of 177 patients with calculated GFR (eGFR) between 90 and 30 ml/min per 1.73 m(2), the link between the mineral metabolism abnormalities (calcium, phosphorus, calcium-phosphorus product), regulatory factors (parathyroid hormone PTH, intact PTH iPTH, vitamin D, fibroblast growth factor 23 FGF 23, and fetuin A), and the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) assessed by coronary angiography were evaluated in three subgroups defined by tertiles of Gensini lesion severity score.
The mean serum values for FGF 23 in the entire study population was 28.1 ± 17.3 RU/ml and for fetuin A was 473.1 ± 156.2 μg/ml. Patients with eGFR < 60 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) had significantly higher values of FGF 23 compared with patients with eGFR > 60 ml/min per 1.73 m(2). The Gensini score values significantly correlated with gender; arterial hypertension; and HDL cholesterol, eGFR, iPTH, FGF 23, and fetuin A levels. After the adjustments for traditional and uremia-related cardiovascular risk factors, the FGF 23 and fetuin A remained significant predictors of the Gensini score.
This study suggests that in a relatively young population with mild-to-moderate alteration of kidney function and with less traditional cardiovascular risk factors, anomalies of the serum FGF 23 and fetuin A levels appear early in the course of disease and are independent major predictors for extent of CAD.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between pericoronary fat and the severity and extent of atherosclerosis, quantified using 64-multidetector computed tomography, in ...patients with suspected coronary artery disease.
The study population consisted of 131 patients who were clinically referred for noninvasive multislice computed tomography coronary angiography for the evaluation of coronary artery disease. Patients were classified as follows: no atherosclerosis, Group 1; nonobstructive atherosclerosis (luminal narrowing <50% in diameter), Group 2; and obstructive atherosclerosis (luminal narrowing ≥50%) in a single vessel or obstructive atherosclerosis in the left main coronary artery and/or multiple vessels, Group 3. Epicardial adipose tissue was defined as the adipose tissue between the surface of the heart and the visceral layer of the pericardium (visceral epicardium). Epicardial adipose tissue thickness (mm) was determined in the right ventricular anterior free wall. The mean thickness of the pericoronary fat surrounding the three coronary arteries was used for the analyses.
The average thickness over all three regions was 13.2 ± 2.1 mm. The pericoronary fat thickness was significantly increased in Group 3 compared with Groups 2 and 1. The epicardial adipose tissue thickness was significantly increased in Group 3 compared with Groups 2 and 1. A receiver operating characteristic curve for obstructive coronary artery disease was assessed to verify the optimum cut-off point for pericoronary fat thickness, which was 13.8 mm. A receiver operating characteristic curve for obstructive coronary artery disease was also assessed to verify the optimum cut-off point for epicardial adipose tissue, which was 6.8 cm.
We showed that the epicardial adipose tissue and pericoronary fat thickness scores were higher in patients with obstructive coronary artery diseases.
A link between uric acid levels and cardiovascular diseases has been previously reported. Coronary artery calcium score (CACS) is a marker of atherosclerotic disease and a predictor of cardiovascular ...events. We sought to determine if serum uric acid level is an independent risk factor for the presence of calcium in coronary arteries.
Four hundred and forty-two patients who were evaluated in the cardiology outpatient clinic for suspected coronary heart disease with a low-moderate risk for coronary artery disease were included in this observational case-controlled study. Serum uric acid levels were measured with colorimetric methods. CACS were performed using a 64-slice CT scanner. Patients were divided to 3 groups according to their CACS value (Group 1: CACS=0, Group 2: CACS 1-100, Group 3: CACS>100).
The demographical characteristics and laboratory findings of 3 groups were similar, except age, fasting glucose levels and serum uric acid levels. Serum uric acid levels were found to increase significantly with increasing CACS (p=0.001). Patients were grouped according to presence CAC (CACS=0 and CACS≥1) and in the multiple regression analysis, age (OR, 1.11, 95% CI, 1.07-1.16), smoking (OR, 3.83, 95% CI, 2.06-7.09), serum uric acid levels (OR, 1.26, 95% CI, 1.04-1.54) and average 10-year total risk of Framingham risk score (OR, 1.13, 95% CI, 1.04-1.09) appeared as independent factors predictive of presence of CAC (p<0.05).
Serum uric acid level is an independent risk factor for presence of coronary calcium. Moreover, increasing levels of serum uric acid are associated with increasing CACS.
Vitamin D insufficiency has been shown to be associated with cardiac dysfunctions, such as cardiac hypertrophy and hypertension, in animal studies. Arterial stiffness is a prognostic marker for ...cardiovascular disease. Previous studies have demonstrated that 25-hydroxyvitamin D 25(OH)D levels were negatively correlated with arterial stiffness index. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between 25(OH)D levels and arterial stiffness, which is evaluated using an ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI), in patients who have untreated and newly diagnosed essential hypertension.
A total of 123 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed and untreated essential hypertension were included. Patients were divided into two groups according to their 25(OH)D levels. Vitamin D insufficiency was defined by 25(OH)D levels less than 20 ng/ml. All patients were referred for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. The regression slope of diastolic and systolic blood pressure was computed for each individual on the basis of ambulatory blood pressure readings. AASI was described as one minus the respective regression slope.
The mean AASI was significantly higher in patients with 25(OH)D levels less than 20 as compared with patients with 25(OH)D levels greater than or equal to 20 (0.50±0.20 vs. 0.34±0.17, P<0.001). In Pearson's correlation analysis, AASI had a significantly strong negative correlation with vitamin D levels (r=-0.385, P<0.001). In multivariate linear regression analysis, vitamin D levels were found to be significantly and independently associated with AASI (β=-0.317, P=0.035).
Arterial stiffness measured by AASI in newly diagnosed and untreated patients with essential hypertension were significantly related to vitamin D levels.
The association between polycystic ovarian syndrome and increased cardiovascular disease risk is still a controversial issue. In light of data documenting some common pathways or common end-points, ...the present study was undertaken to determine whether there is a relationship between sleep blood pressure pattern disturbances and polycystic ovarian syndrome in young women.
The daytime and nighttime ambulatory blood pressures (BPs) were determined for each subject, according to the actual waking and sleeping times recorded in their individual diaries, in this cross-sectional study.
The study group comprised 168 women (mean age: 25.7±5.5) diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome, while the control group included 52 age- and BMI-matched healthy subjects (mean age: 26.1±5.4). When nocturnal BP declines very little or not at all, with the BP falling less than 10% during sleep compared with waking values, this pattern is classified as a non-dipping BP pattern. However, the non-dipping pattern of BP changes was significantly more common in polycystic ovarian syndrome patients compared to the control group (p<0.01). The prevalence of a non-dipping BP pattern was 43.4% (73 patients) in polycystic ovarian syndrome patients and 3.9% (2 patients) in the control group.
Our cross-sectional study revealed that a non-dipping BP pattern is highly prevalent in polycystic ovarian syndrome patients, even if they are young and non-obese.
Hyperuricemia has been associated with the development of hypertension, cardiovascular, and renal disease. However, there is no data about the effect of lowering uric acid level on hypertension, ...renal function, and proteinuria in patients with glomerular filtration rate (GFR) >60 ml/min. We therefore conducted a prospective study to investigate the benefits of allopurinol treatment in hyperuricemic patients with normal renal function.
Forty-eight hyperuricemic and 21 normouricemic patients were included in the study. Hyperuricemic patients received 300 mg/day allopurinol for three months. All patients' serum creatinine level, 24-h urine protein level, glomerular filtration rate, and blood pressure levels were measured at baseline and after three months of treatment.
A total of 59 patients completed the three-month follow-up period of observation. In the allopurinol group, serum uric acid levels, GFR, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels significantly improved (P < 0.05). However, urine protein excretion remained unchanged (P > 0.05). No correlation was observed between changes in GFR and changes in CRP, or blood pressure in the allopurinol group. No significant changes were observed in the control group (P > 0.05).
We bring indirect evidence that hyperuricemia increases blood pressure, and decreases GFR. Hence, management of hyperuricemia may prevent the progression of renal disease, even in patients with normal renal function, suggesting that early treatment with allopurinol should be an important part of the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Long-term follow-up studies are warranted to identify the benefits of uric acid management on renal function and hypertension.
To report a case of amiodarone-induced keratopathy involving the entire cornea, including the endothelium.
Clinical case description and documentation with confocal laser scanning microscopy using ...the Heidelberg Retinal Tomography II (HRT II).
A 65 year-old man with a history of blurred vision and seeing halos around lights had been treated with amiodarone for 6 years. Best-corrected visual acuity was 20/25 in each eye. Slitlamp examination of both eyes showed a bilateral, symmetric, whorllike pattern of brown deposits in the inferocentral corneal epithelium. Diffuse and fine deposits resembling keratic precipitates in the central part of the endothelial face were also detected. Examination of the lens, optic nerve, and fundus in each eye did not show any abnormalities that could be attributed to the amiodarone therapy. Severe endothelial deposition was documented with the confocal laser scanning microscope of the HRT II.
Amiodarone-induced keratopathy with confluent and diffuse endothelial deposition is rare, and it may be indicative of a more severe toxicity associated with amiodarone.
Hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia, obesity and smoking are known to be the most important modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Because the elderly population has been ...increasing globally, CVD may become a more important public health problem in the future. This report examines the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in the elderly in Ankara, Turkey. This was a cross-sectional survey and included a total of 2720 individuals living in the Ankara district. Trained research staff administered a standard questionnaire in the participants’ homes and worksites. The questionnaire collected information on clinical and demographic characteristics and a self-reported medical history, including past history of hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, coronary artery by-pass graft operation, and cerebrovascular accident. The mean age of the study participants was 69.5 ± 7.2 years. The study identified 1298 women (78.1%) and 753 men (71.2%) with hypertension, and the overall prevalence of hypertension was 75.4%. A total of 739 (27.2%) people had diabetes mellitus, and, of these people, 603 (81.6%) were hypertensive. A total of 1361 people had hyperlipidemia, and 1103 of these patients were also hypertensive. The overall prevalence of obesity was 27.2%. A total of 553 (20.3%) people were smokers. Our findings indicate that cardiovascular risk factors are very common in the elderly. To maximize risk reduction, physicians must take aggressive measures to decrease cardiovascular risk factors.
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