Diet Quality and Associated Factors in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Patients with and without Diabetes at a Specialized Outpatient Clinic in the City of Pelotas, Brazil

Abstract Background In most cases, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD) is preventable through primary prevention and control of traditional risk factors, such as smoking cessation, regular physical activity, and adherence to healthy dietary patterns. The assessment of diet quality of ACVD patients would be important for a dietary intervention. Objectives This study aimed to evaluate diet quality of ACVD patients and its association with clinical conditions. Methods This cross-sectional study was nested within a randomized clinical trial entitled "Programa Alimentar Cardioprotetor Brasileiro." Baseline data of 80 patients from Pelotas, Brazil, were obtained. Food consumption was assessed using 24-h food recall and the Revised Diet Quality Index (IQD-R). Data on smoking status and comorbidities were reported by the patients during medical history taking. To analyze the associations between IQD-R and clinical variables, unpaired Student's t-test or the analysis of variance was performed. The significance level was 5%. Results Most of the sample consisted of men (66.5%), elderly individuals (52.50%), patients with hypertension (78.75%), dyslipidemia (58.75%), and overweight (73.75%). The average IQD-R score was 56.7 ± 12.6 points. Better quality of diet was observed for patients with diabetes compared to those without diabetes (61.1 ± 11.8 versus 54.0 ± 12.6 points; p=0.014). Conclusion There is a need to improve diet quality of ACVD patients. Patients ACVD and diabetes had better diet quality compared to those without diabetes.

Remodeling of ipsilateral ulnar artery after radial artery harvesting for coronary artery bypass graft.

There are controversies in the literature on the blood supply to the forearm after surgical removal of the radial artery in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The objective was to investigate the arterial remodeling of the ulnar artery after the removal of the radial artery in myocardial revascularization by means of ultrasound examination with color Doppler in the pre- and post-operative periods. This paper describes an observational prospective study of the remodeling of the left brachial and ulnar arteries (donor arm) in 103 right-handed non-consecutive adult patients undergoing CABG with removal of the ipsilateral radial artery using the color Doppler ultrasound examination. In the ulnar artery, a significant increase (P < 0.05) was seen in the following measurements: lumen diameter by 13%, lumen area by 26%, peak systolic flow by 40%, and average flow by 46%. Intima-media thickness measured in the ulnar artery did not show a statistically significant difference (P = 0.22), except in diabetic patients (P = 0.007). We conclude that the ulnar artery undergoes positive physiological remodeling, adapting to the new requirements of chronic increase in flow after the ipsilateral removal of the radial artery to serve as a graft in CABG. There was no evidence of increased intima-media thickness, except in diabetic patients.

Considerações atuais da relação entre a doença periodontal e a doença cardiovascular / Current considerations of the relation between periodontal and cardiovascular diseases

As doenças cardiovasculares constituem-se num sério problema de saúde na atualidade. Sua abrangência envolve todas as classes sociais, e requer, do ponto de vista da saúde pública, uma abordagem multidisciplinar. Sua característica debilitante e degenerativa, sua interferência no modo de vida do portador, bem como suas interações com outras condições sistêmicas e locais fazem desta doença uma prioridade nos programas de saúde. As periodontopatias estão entre as afecções bucais mais freqüentes, sendo multifatoriais e de difícil controle. Qualquer lesão bucal representa um potencial perigo de desequilíbrio metabólico e as doenças da cavidade oral estão associadas à higiene deficiente e irregular, a carga bacteriana acumulada nas áreas peridentais e periodontais e as alterações inflamatórias e imunes no organismo como um todo. A plausibilidade biológica da associação entre periodontite e doenças cardiovasculares é bastante estudada e inclui três possíveis mecanismos: a doença aterosclerótica, que é considerada uma doença de origem inflamatória e é causa mais freqüente de fluxo sangüíneo coronário diminuído; a ação de bactérias orais no processo de aterosclerose; e a participação de proteínas de fase aguda que podem estar aumentadas na periodontite crônica.

The cardiovascular disease consists in a serious health problem at the present time. It involves all social levels, and requires, from the public health point of view, a multidisciplinary approach. Its debilitating and degenerative characteristics, plus the interference in life quality, as well as its interactions with other systemic and local conditions makes this illness a priority to attention health programs. The periodontopathys are the most frequent oral affections, being multifactorial and of difficult control. Any oral injury represents a potential danger of metabolic disequilibrium and the illnesses of the oral cavity are associated to deficient and irregular hygiene, the bacterial burden around dental tissues and periodontal tissue, and inflammatory and imunological alterations in whole organism. The biological plausibility of the association between periodontitis and cardiovascular diseases is been quite studied and incluyes three posible mechanisms: the atherosclerotic disease, which is considered an inflammatory originated disease and is the most frequent cause of diminished coronary blood flow; the activity of oral bacteria in the atherosclerosis process; and the participation of acute phase proteins that may be augmented in the cronical periodontitis.