[Lifestyle of patients with high blood pressure in rural areas of Jahrom, Iran]

Introduction: Choosing the wrong lifestyle could underlie the occurrence of serious diseases including hypertension which is a crucial threat to health. This study examined the lifestyle of patients with hypertension in rural health centers of Jahrom, Iran

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 78 patients with hypertension who were over 30 years old, in Jahrom in 2013. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaire consisted of two parts of demographic characteristics and behavioral questionnaires reflecting the lifestyle of the study population. Data analysis was performed using the statistical software SPSS19

Results: The mean age of participants was 63.02 +/- 14.23 ranging from 30 to 70 years. 30.8% were male and 69.2% female. Average years of living with hypertension was 8.4 +/- 5.8. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients were 128.39 +/- 14.01 and 80.96 +/- 10.44, respectively. The mean BMI of patients was 24.8 +/- 4.6. Blood Pressure of 53.75% of patients was above the defined threshold equal to or greater than patients were smokers and 20.5% of them used hookah. 14.1% of the patients had regular physical activity. The most frequent behaviors were following the physician›s instructions [61.5%] and taking the medicines regularly [70.5%] and the least frequent behaviors were having regular physical activity [14.1%] and avoiding the stress [17.9%]

Conclusion: The results of this study indicated poor lifestyle and behaviors particularly avoiding stress and physical activity. Therefore, education and training is necessary for the studied subjects to adopt healthy lifestyle

[QT-Dispersion as a potential marker in prognosis of acute myocardial infarction]

QT dispersion in a 12 lead ECG represents the heterogeneity of ventricular repolarization. The prolongation of QT-interval dispersion increases the risk of coronary heart disease, ventricular arrhythmia, and sudden cardiac death in patients with myocardial infarction. We aimed to investigate the prognostic value of QT-dispersion in patients with acute myocardial infarction. A total number of 79 patients with acute myocardial infarction and 21 healthy controls were recruited. The QT-dispersion was estimated using a 12-lead surface electrocardiogram, 24 hours and 4-6 days after myocardial infarction. In patient group, the average QT-dispersion was 92.8 +/- 42.2 ms and 80.3 +/- 33.4 ms after 24 hours and four days respectively; whereas in control group it was 47.1 +/- 16.8 ms [p<0.001]. The relative frequency of arrhythmia in patients was 24%. Our study showed that the overage of QT-dispersion of arrhythmiain patients was significantly different and higher [p<0.05] compared to patients without arrhythmia. We showed that increased QT-dispersion is a potential marker in prognosis of patients with acute myocardial infarction

Comparision between effects of bicarbonate and acetate dialysates on spirometry parameters in patients with chronic renal failure undergoing hemodialysis

Chronic renal failure causes impairment of all body organs including heart and lungs. Main problem in these patients are pulmonary edema due to increased permeability of capillaries, intravascular and interstitial volume overload, hypertension and heart failure. These changes cause altered physiologic and mechanical function of lungs. The objective of this study is evaluating the effect of dialysates and other intervening factors on spirometry parameters. This cross-sectional study was performed on 41 patients with chronic renal failure in September and October 2006 in Labbafi Nejad Hospital, Tehran. Patients were randomly divided to bicarbonate and acetate groups. Prior to and after hemodialysis, patients were meticulously weighed and spirometry parameters [FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC%. FEF 25-27] were measured. Biochemical indices were checked. Spirometry parameters were analyzed using t-test, and p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. We compared 29 patients undergoing dialysis with bicarbonate and 21 patients on dialysis with acetate. Respiratory function improvement in spirometry parameters was only significant in patients undergoing dialysis with bicarbonate dialysate, and when results were compared according to gender, they were statistically significant only in men. This improvement was meaningful in FEF [25-27%], FEV1, FVC. Post dialysis weight loss and serum chemistry had no significant correlation with improvement of spirometry parameters. Dialysis with bicarbonate dialysate causes significant improvement in spirometry parameters and respiratory function in men