Changes in natriuretic peptides, apelin and adrenomedullin after off-pump and on-pump coronary artery bypass surgery.

AIM: The authors have evaluated the postoperative changes of natriuretic peptides, apelin and adrenomedullin after off-pump (OPCAB) and on-pump coronary artery bypass surgery (CCAB) to assess the impact of these techniques on the myocardium. METHODS: Twenty-two patients underwent OPCAB and 24 patients underwent CCAB. Plasma levels of NT-proANP, NT-proBNP, apelin and adrenomedullin were measured preoperatively, and on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th postoperative day. RESULTS: Natriuretic peptides, apelin and adrenomedullin increased significantly postoperatively. Natriuretic peptides were markedly elevated on the fifth postoperative day. Apelin was still increasing, but adrenomedullin, although elevated, clearly decreased toward baseline levels on the fifth postoperative day. CCAB was associated with significantly higher postoperative cTnI, but levels of natriuretic peptides, adrenomedullin and apelin did not differ significantly after CCAB and OPCAB. cTnI, echocardiographic parameters, cardiac index, and degree of postoperative pericardial effusion did not correlate with levels of natriuretic peptides, apelin and adrenomedullin. Postoperative levels of natriuretic peptides were significantly associated with parameters of renal function, age, and extracardiac arteriopathy. The correlation between preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate and natriuretic peptides increased along the study intervals (NT-proANP rho: -0.181, -0.350, -0.364, and -0.442; NT-proBNP rho: -0.112, -0.420, -0.405 and -0.550). Also adrenomedullin correlated with parameters of renal function. The postoperative levels of apelin were not associated with any variable. CONCLUSION: A marked, sustained and similar increase in these five markers of cardiac adaptation was detected after OPCAB and CCAB. The upregulation of these peptides should be further investigated to evaluate their potential beneficial/harmful impact on the outcome after coronary surgery.

Myocardial infarction in diabetic and non-diabetic persons with and without prior myocardial infarction: the FINAMI Study.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: We compared the risk of acute coronary events in diabetic and non-diabetic persons with and without prior myocardial infarction (MI), stratified by age and sex. METHODS: A Finnish MI-register study known as FINAMI recorded incident MIs and coronary deaths (n=6988) among people aged 45 to 74 years in four areas of Finland between 1993 and 2002. The population-based FINRISK surveys were used to estimate the numbers of persons with prior diabetes and prior MI in the population. RESULTS: Persons with diabetes but no prior MI and persons with prior MI but no diabetes had a markedly greater risk of a coronary event than persons without diabetes and without prior MI. The rate of recurrent MI among non-diabetic men with prior MI was higher than the incidence of first MI among diabetic men aged 45 to 54 years. The rate ratio was 2.14 (95% CI 1.40-3.27) among men aged 50. Among elderly men, diabetes conferred a higher risk than prior MI. Diabetic women had a similar risk of suffering a first MI as non-diabetic women with a prior MI had for suffering a recurrent MI. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Both persons with diabetes but no prior MI, and persons with a prior MI but no diabetes are high-risk individuals. Among men, a prior MI conferred a higher risk of a coronary event than diabetes in the 45-54 year age group, but the situation was reversed in the elderly. Among diabetic women, the risk of suffering a first MI was similar to the risk that non-diabetic women with prior MI had of suffering a recurrent MI.

Five-year risk of developing clinical diabetes after first myocardial infarction; the FINAMI study.

AIM: To investigate the incidence of clinical diabetes as determined by the incidence of diabetes drug reimbursements within a 5-year period after the first myocardial infarction (MI) in patients who were non-diabetic at the time of their first MI. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A population-based MI register, FINMONICA/FINAMI, recorded all coronary events in persons of 35-64 years of age between 1988 and 2002 in four study areas in Finland. These records were used to identify subjects sustaining their first MI (n = 2632). Participants of the population-based risk factor survey FINRISK (surveys 1987, 1992, 1997 and 2002), who did not have diabetes or a history of MI, served as the control group (n = 7774). The FINMONICA/FINAMI study records were linked with the National Social Security Institute's drug reimbursement records, which include diabetes medications, using personal identification codes. The records were used to identify subjects who developed diabetes during the 5-year follow-up period (n = 98 in the MI group and n = 79 in the control group). RESULTS: Sixteen per cent of men and 20% of women sustaining their first MI were known to have diabetes and thus were excluded from this analysis. Non-diabetic men having a first MI were at more than twofold {hazard ratio (HR) 2.3 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6-3.4]}, and women fourfold [HR 4.3 (95% CI 2.4-7.5)], risk of developing diabetes mellitus during the next 5 years compared with the control population without MI. CONCLUSIONS: Many patients who do not have diabetes at the time of their first MI develop diabetes in the following 5 years.

Decline in out-of-hospital coronary heart disease deaths has contributed the main part to the overall decline in coronary heart disease mortality rates among persons 35 to 64 years of age in Finland: the FINAMI study.

BACKGROUND: Out-of-hospital deaths constitute the majority of all coronary heart disease (CHD) deaths and are therefore of considerable public health significance. METHODS AND RESULTS: We used population-based myocardial infarction register data to examine trends in out-of-hospital CHD deaths in Finland during 1983 to 1997. We included in out-of-hospital deaths also deaths in the emergency room and all deaths within 1 hour after the onset of symptoms. Altogether, 3494 such events were included in the analyses. The proportion of out-of-hospital deaths of all CHD deaths depended on age and gender. In the age group 35 to 64 years, it was 73% among men and 60% among women. These proportions did not change during the study. The annual average decline in the age-standardized out-of-hospital CHD death rate was 6.1% (95% CI, -7.3, -5.0%) among men and 7.0% (-10.0, -4.0%) among women. These declines contributed among men 70% and among women 58% to the overall decline in CHD mortality rate. In all, 58% of the male and 52% of the female victims of out-of-hospital CHD death had a history of symptomatic CHD. Among men with a prior history of myocardial infarction, the annual average decline in out-of-hospital CHD deaths was 5.3% (-7.2, -3.2%), and among men without such history the decline was 2.9% (-4.4, -1.5%). Among women, the corresponding changes were -7.8% (-14.2, -1.5%) and -4.5% (-8.0, -1.0%). CONCLUSIONS: The decline in out-of-hospital CHD deaths has contributed the main part to the overall decline in CHD mortality rates among persons 35 to 64 years of age in Finland.

Trends in coronary events in Finland during 1983-1997. The FINAMI study.

AIMS: To analyse the trends in incidence, recurrence, case fatality, and treatments of acute coronary events in Finland during the 15-year period 1983-97. METHODS AND RESULTS: Population-based MI registration has been carried out in defined geographical areas, first as a part of the FINMONICA Project and then continued as the FINAMI register. During the study period, 6501 coronary heart disease (CHD) events were recorded among men and 1778 among women aged 35-64 years. The CHD mortality declined on average 6.4%/year (95% confidence interval -5.4, -7.4%) among men and 7.0%/year (-4.7, -9.3%) among women. The mortality from recurrent events declined even more steeply, 9.9%/year (-8.3, -11.4%) among men and 9.3%/year (-5.1, -13.4%) among women. The proportion of recurrent events of all CHD events also declined significantly in both sexes. Of all coronary deaths, 74% among men and 61% among women took place out-of-hospital. The decline in 28-day case fatality was 1.3%/year (-0.3, -2.3%) among men and 3.1%/year (-0.7, -5.5%) among women. CONCLUSIONS: The study period was characterized by a marked reduction in the occurrence of recurrent CHD events and a relatively modest reduction in the 28-day case fatality. The findings suggest that primary and secondary prevention have played the main roles in the decline in CHD mortality in Finland.