The Relationship between Nocturnal Dipping Status, Morning Blood Pressure Surge, and Hospital Admissions in Patients with Systolic Heart Failure. / A Relação entre o Estado Dipping Noturno, Aumento da Pressão Arterial Matinal e Internações Hospitalares em Pacientes com a Insuficiência Cardíaca Sistólica.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a known risk factor for developing heart failure. However, there is limited data to investigate the association between morning blood pressure surge (MBPS), dipping status, echocardiographic parameters, and hospital admissions in patients with systolic heart failure. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship between morning blood pressure surge, non-dipper blood pressure pattern, echocardiographic parameters, and hospital admissions in patients with systolic heart failure. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data from 206 consecutive patients with hypertension and a left ventricular ejection fraction below 40%. We divided the patients into two groups according to 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) results: dippers (n=110) and non-dippers (n=96). Morning blood pressure surge was calculated. Echocardiographic findings and hospital admissions during follow-up were noted. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05. RESULTS: The study group comprised 206 patients with a male predominance and mean age of 63.5 ± 16.1 years. The non-dipper group had significantly more hospital admissions compared to dippers. There was a positive correlation between MBPS and left atrial volume index (r=0.331, p=0.001), the ratio between early mitral inflow velocity and flow propagation velocity (r= 0.326, p=0.001), and the ratio between early mitral inflow velocity and mitral annular early diastolic velocity (E/Em) (r= 0.314, p=0.001). Non-dipper BP, MBPS, and E/Em pattern were found to be independently associated with increased hospital admissions. CONCLUSION: MBPS is associated with diastolic dysfunction and may be a sensitive predictor of hospital admission in patients with systolic heart failure.

FUNDAMENTO: A hipertensão é um fator de risco conhecido para o desenvolvimento de insuficiência cardíaca. No entanto, há dados limitados para investigar a associação entre pico de pressão arterial matinal (PPAM), estado dipper, parâmetros ecocardiográficos e internações hospitalares em pacientes com insuficiência cardíaca sistólica. OBJETIVOS: Avaliar a relação entre aumento matinal da pressão arterial, padrão de pressão arterial não-dipper, parâmetros ecocardiográficos e internações hospitalares em pacientes com insuficiência cardíaca sistólica. MÉTODOS: Analisamos retrospectivamente os dados de 206 pacientes consecutivos com hipertensão e fração de ejeção do ventrículo esquerdo abaixo de 40%. Dividimos os pacientes em dois grupos de acordo com os resultados da monitoramento ambulatorial da pressão arterial (MAPA) de 24 horas: dippers (n=110) e não-dippers (n=96). O aumento matinal da pressão arterial foi calculado. Achados ecocardiográficos e internações hospitalares durante o acompanhamento foram anotados. A significância estatística foi definida como p < 0,05. RESULTADOS: O grupo de estudo foi composto por 206 pacientes com predominância do sexo masculino e idade média de 63,5 ± 16,1 anos. O grupo não-dipper teve significativamente mais internações hospitalares em comparação com os dippers. Houve correlação positiva entre PPAM e índice de volume do átrio esquerdo (r=0,331, p=0,001), relação entre velocidade de influxo mitral precoce e velocidade de propagação do fluxo (r= 0,326, p=0,001) e relação entre influxo mitral precoce velocidade e velocidade diastólica inicial do anel mitral (E/Em) (r= 0,314, p=0,001). Verificou-se que a PA não-dipper, PPAM e o padrão E/Em estão independentemente associados ao aumento das admissões hospitalares. CONCLUSÃO: O PPAM está associado à disfunção diastólica e pode ser um preditor sensível de internação hospitalar em pacientes com insuficiência cardíaca sistólica.

Effects of COVID-19 on the Autonomic Cardiovascular System: Heart Rate Variability and Turbulence in Recovered Patients.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 may be a risk factor for developing cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction. Data are limited, however, on the association between heart rate variability, heart rate turbulence, and COVID-19. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of COVID-19 on the cardiovascular autonomic system in patients with persistent symptoms after recovering from COVID-19 and to determine whether these patients showed changes in ambulatory electrocardiography monitoring. METHODS: Fifty-one adults who had confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and presented with persistent symptoms to the cardiology outpatient clinic after clinical recovery between April and June 2021 were included. Patients were prospectively followed for 6 months. The patients were evaluated at the time of first application to the cardiology outpatient clinic and at 6 months after presentation. Ambulatory electrocardiography monitoring and echocardiographic findings were compared with a control group of 95 patients. RESULTS: Patients in the post-COVID-19 group had significantly higher mean (SD) turbulence onset (0.39% [1.82%] vs -1.37% [2.93%]; P < .001) and lower heart rate variability than those in the control group at both initial and 6-month evaluations. The post-COVID-19 group had no significant differences in echocardiographic findings compared with the control group at 6 months, except for right ventricle late diastolic mitral annular velocity (P = .034). Furthermore, turbulence onset was significantly correlated with turbulence slope (r = -0.232; P = .004), heart rate variability, and the parameters of left (r = -0.194; P=.049) and right (r = 0.225; P = .02) ventricular diastolic function. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 may cause cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction. Heart rate variability and turbulence parameters can be used to recognize cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction in patients who have recovered from COVID-19 but have persistent symptoms.

The relationship between morning blood pressure surge and asymptomatic episodes of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in patients with systemic arterial hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a known risk factor for developing atrial fibrillation. However, there is limited data to investigate the association between morning blood pressure surge (MBPS) and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). We conducted the present study to determine whether there is a relationship between asymptomatic PAF and MBPS and whether MBPS may be a predictor of asymptomatic PAF episodes. METHODS: This prospective study comprised 264 adult patients who were newly diagnosed with essential hypertension or were previously diagnosed but not receiving regular antihypertensive therapy. We evaluated the patients in 2 groups according to their 24-h electrocardiography monitoring results: group 1 included patients who exhibited PAF (n = 32, 23 females/9 males; mean age 60.2 ± 7.4 years) and group 2 included patients with no signs of PAF as a control group (n = 232, 134 females/98 males; mean age 56.9 ± 9.4 years). We calculated the MBPS as the difference between mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the 2 h after getting up and the minimum nocturnal SBP. RESULTS: : MBPS values were significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2 (35.3 ± 7.0 vs. 22.0 ± 6.7, p < 0.001). MBPS was positively associated with left atrial diameter (LAD) (r = 0.441, p < 0.001), left ventricle mass index (LVMI) (r = 0.235, p < 0.001), the ratio of early (E) peak of mitral inflow velocity to early (Em) diastolic mitral annular velocity (E / Em) (r = 0.239, p < 0.001), 24-h mean (r = 0.270, p < 0.001) and daytime SBP (r = 0.291, p < 0.001). We determined a cut-off value for MBPS as 28.6 for predicting PAF episodes development and identified LAD and MBPS as independent risk factors for PAF. DISCUSSION: Patients who had larger MBPS were observed to have higher PAF incidence. MBPS values may be sensitive in predicting asymptomatic episodes of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Relation between nocturnal decline in blood pressure and choroidal thickness: a comparative analysis in dipper vs. non-dipper hypertensive patients.

PURPOSE: To compare choroidal thickness (ChT) and echocardiographical changes in patients with dipper and non-dipper systemic arterial hypertension (HT). METHODS: Patients with HT were evaluated in two groups according to the 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring. Compared to day-time values, those whose night-time SBP decreased ≥10% were defined as dippers, and those whose SBP decreased <10% were defined as non-dippers. Transthoracic echocardiography was conducted in all patients. ChT and central macular thickness were measured with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. ChT was obtained at the subfoveal, 1500 µm nasal and temporal to the fovea. RESULTS: Thirty non-dipper (18 females and 12 males) and 23 dipper (16 females and seven males) hypertensive patients were recruited. Sex distribution and the mean age were similar between the groups (P = 0.472; P = 0.12). Disease duration was longer in the non-dipper group (8 ± 3.39 vs. 4.96 ± 1.19 years, P = 0.001). The non-dipper group had lower ChT in subfoveal and temporal locations (P = 0.02 and 0.03, respectively) and higher left atrial volume index (LAVI) and pulmonary valve maximum flow (PV-max; P < 0.001). The night-time SBP was negatively correlated with ChT (P = 0.048) and positive correlated with LAVI and PV-max (P < 0.05). However those correlations were not significant when were controlled by the possible confounding factors as disease duration, age and gender. CONCLUSION: Non-dipper HT patients may have thinner choroid than dippers due to longer duration of HT and higher ambulatory BP levels.

Effect of Heart Rate-Oriented Therapy on Diastolic Functions in Patients with Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction.

BACKGROUND: Resting heart rate (HR) is a strong predictor of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, the effects of HR-lowering therapy on diastolic function in HFrEF patients are not well described. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of lowering HR on diastolic function in HFrEF patients with sinus rhythm. METHODS: Fifty patients with HFrEF with coexisting diastolic dysfunction and sinus rhythm with resting HR > 70 bpm were prospectively included in the study. All patients were treated with intended HR-lowering therapy, which targeted a HR below 70 bpm. We divided the whole population according to the resting HR achieved with strict rate control (group 1) and to that achieved without strict rate control (group 2; HR > 70 bpm) at the end of the study. Left ventricular diastolic function and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) values at baseline and at the end of the study were compared in both groups. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the groups in terms of baseline parameters except for lower diastolic blood pressure in group 2. At the end of follow-up, E/Em ratio, E/A ratio and left atrial area significantly decreased with an increased deceleration time in group 1. The changes in HR (delta HR) were correlated with E/Em (r = 0.67, p < 0.001) and delta BNP level (r = 0.49, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: No significant differences were found between the groups in terms of baseline parameters except for lower diastolic blood pressure in group 2. At the end of follow-up, E/Em ratio, E/A ratio and left atrial area significantly decreased with an increased deceleration time in group 1. The changes in HR (delta HR) were correlated with E/Em (r = 0.67, p < 0.001) and delta BNP level (r = 0.49, p < 0.001).

Does "smoker's paradox" exist in clopidogrel-treated Turkish patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Previously conducted studies revealed that smoking enhanced the efficacy of clopidogrel by increasing formation of the active metabolite (AM) from the prodrug through induction of the cytochrome CYP1A2. The expression of cytochrome enzymes depends on genotype and no data exists in literature conducted in Turkish patients comparing the clopidogrel responsiveness between active smokers and non-active smokers treated with clopidogrel. In this study, our aim was to investigate the clopidogrel responsiveness in clopidogrel-treated Turkish acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients according to their smoking status. We retrospectively enrolled 258 patients who were hospitalized due to ACS. Clinical variables of the patients, especially smoking status were recorded. Clopidogrel resistance was evaluated by using adenosine diphosphate (ADP) induced platelet aggregometry. Clopidogrel resistance was detected as a change in maximal aggregation ≤20% from baseline. A total of 139 patients were active smokers while 12 were former smokers. 107 patients did not have a history of smoking. Ten of the smokers were hyporesponsive to clopidogrel, whereas 36 of non-smokers were hyporesponsive to clopidogrel (p < 0.001). Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that Au-min value >612.5 predicted the clopidogrel resistance with a sensitivity of 60% (OR: 100.65, %95 CI = 19.996-506.615 p < 0.001). Results of this study demonstrated that ADP responses were lower in smokers receiving clopidogrel and aspirin than in non-smokers receiving the same drug regimen. This finding indicates that smoking was related to an enhanced clopidogrel responsiveness in Turkish patients hospitalized due to ACS, suggesting that "smoker's paradox" probably exists in Turkish ACS patients.

Prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prognostic value of baseline neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in the prediction of long-term mortality in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). METHODS: This prospective study recorded NLR during initial diagnostic right-sided cardiac catheterization in adult patients with PAH. Demographic, clinical, laboratory and haemodynamic variables were compared by NLR tertile. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to determine whether NLR was independently associated with mortality. RESULTS: Adults with PAH (n = 101) were followed-up for mean ± SD 36.8 ± 23.6 months. The number of deaths, New York Heart Association functional capacity (NYHA FC), levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) or C-reactive protein (CRP) and presence of pericardial effusion increased as the NLR tertile increased, but haemoglobin and tricuspid plane annular systolic excursion (TAPSE) decreased. On univariate analysis, high NLR values were associated with mortality, but on multivariate analysis, NLR did not remain an independent predictor of mortality. Baseline NYHA FC, TAPSE, BNP level and pericardial effusion were independent predictors of mortality. CONCLUSIONS: NLR was correlated with important prognostic markers in PAH such as NYHA FC, BNP and TAPSE. This simple marker may be useful in the assessment of disease severity in patients with PAH.

Impact of Severe Tricuspid Regurgitation on Accuracy of Echocardiographic Pulmonary Artery Systolic Pressure Estimation.

INTRODUCTION: Transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (DE) is recommended for screening and monitorization of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, some recent studies have suggested that Doppler echocardiographic pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) estimates may frequently be inaccurate. Some hemodynamic and echocardiographic factors are known to contribute to discordant results. The aim of this study was to determine whether severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) has any impact on true estimation of PASP by DE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively identified all PAH patients who underwent right heart catheterization (RHC) and had an echocardiogram within the same hospitalization period. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of severe TR: Group 1 consisted of 36 patients with mild-moderate TR and group 2 of 36 patients with severe TR. For these two groups, the agreement between echocardiographic and catheterization PASP measurements was evaluated by Bland-Altman analysis, separately. RESULTS: In group 1, the bias for the echocardiographic estimates of the PASP was 2.5 mmHg and 62.5% of the echocardiographic estimates were accurate (≤10 mmHg difference with RHC measurement). In group 2, the bias was 16.25 mmHg and echocardiography was accurate in 37.5% of the patients. To clarify the association between PASP overestimation on DE and the presence of severe TR, regression analysis was performed. Severe TR was found as the only independent predictor of PASP overestimation on echocardiography after multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: The results of the study show that in patients with PAH, the presence of severe TR is associated with an overestimated PASP measurement on echocardiography.

[The distribution of intestinal parasites in children living in orphanages in Hatay, Turkey]. / Hatay Ili Cocuk Esirgeme ve Yetistirme Kurumlarinda Kalan Cocuklarda Bagirsak Parazitlerinin Dagilimi.

Intestinal parasites are an important public health problem in our country as in the rest of the world. Parasitic infection frequencies are related to the socioeconomic status and environmental factors. The aim of this study was to determine the parasite frequency in children in the 0-7 age group in the Hatay Society for the Protection of Children and in teenagers in the 7-17 age group in the Hatay Orphanage for boys and girls. One hundred and seventy seven children were examined for intestinal parasites. One or more intestinal parasites were found in 87 (49.2%) stool samples. The number and distribution of these parasites in the specimens is as follows: 57 (32.2%) Enterobius vermicularis, 14 (7.9%) Giardia intestinalis, 11 (6.2%) Ascaris lumbricoides, and 5 (2.8%) Taenia saginata.