Association of overhydration and cardiac dysfunction in patients have chronic kidney disease but not yet dialysis.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Fluid overload and cardiac dysfunction is well established in hemodialysis patients. But in predialysis chronic kidney disease, the association of fluid overload and cardiac dysfunction is relatively unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between fluid overload and cardiac dysfunction in predialysis chronic kidney disease patients. METHOD: We enrolled 107 consecutive patients in our study. Fluid overload was assessed via body composition monitor. Patients were dichotomized according to the fluid overload status. The patients with FO < 1.1L were determined as normovolemic and those with FO ≥ 1.1L as hypervolemic according to the previously reported physiologic model. Left atrial volume index (LAVI), left ventricular end-diastolic-end-systolic index (LVEDVI, LVESVI), E/e', LVMI and global longitudinal left ventricular left ventricular strain (GLS-%) were evaluated in each patient as markers of cardiac dysfunction. Arterial stiffness was also assessed by Mobil-O-Graph(®) 24h pulse wave analysis monitor and pWV values were recorded. RESULTS: Fifty-five patients were normovolemic and 52 patients were hypervolemic. LAVI, LVMI, LDEDVI, LVEDSVI, E/e' were increased in hypervolemic patients. Also in hypervolemic patients pulse wave velocity was increased and GLS was decreased. Multivariate analysis showed that FO was independently associated with GLS which is the most specific echo-parameter for left ventricular dysfunction. CONCLUSION: FO was independently associated with cardiac dysfunction in patients with chronic kidney disease not ongoing dialysis. Effective treatment of hypervolemia may be important in these patients to avoid further cardiac damage.

Evaluation of the impact of warfarin time in therapeutic range on outcomes of patients with atrial fibrillation in Turkey: perspectives from the observational, prospective WATER Registry.

BACKGROUND: Warfarin is highly efficacious in reducing stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). However, its safety and efficacy in stroke prevention is markedly influenced by its time in therapeutic range (TTR). The quality of anticoagulant therapy varies considerably among countries. Representative data concerning the quality of anticoagulant therapy and its effects on clinical outcomes in Turkey are lacking. METHODS: Warfarin in Therapeutic Range (WATER) registry is a prospective, observational study which followed 572 AF patients (mean age 67.3 ± 12 years; females 60%; 71% non-valvular AF) treated with warfarin. RESULTS: At a median of 22-month follow-up, the mean TTR value was 42.3 ± 18% (median: 40%) for the whole population and lower in non-valvular AF su group than valvular AF subgroup (40.3 ± 18 vs. 46.9 ± 19, respectively, p < 0.001). Death, cardiac hospital-ization and minor bleeding rates were higher in the group with TTR value < 40% than the group with > 40% (3.4% vs. 5.9%; 28.6% vs. 35.4%; 36.5% vs. 41.7%, respectively, all of them p < 0.001). A correlation analysis showed a negative correlation between age and TTR value (r = -0.178, p < 0.001). Mean CHA2DS2VASc score was 3.63 ± 1.5 and mean HASBLED score was 2.38 ± 1.01 in the non-valvular AF group. A negative correlation was observed between TTR levels and CHA2DS2VASc score. CONCLUSIONS: WATER provides insight into the anticoagulation control status of AF patients in Turkey. The quality of anticoagulation was poor. Strategies should be undertaken by clinicians and patients to improve TTR. New oral anticoagulant agents may be perfect alternatives for non-valvular AF patients.

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 relationship between platelet indices and clinical features of coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Platelets play a key role in the development and progression of cardiovascular disease. The degree of platelet activation may be assessed by platelet indices such as platelet count, mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW). AIM: To evaluate the relationship between platelet indices and clinical features of coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: Our population is represented by a total of 441 consecutive patients undergoing coronary angiography. Patients were divided into three groups according to their clinical presentation: Patients with stable angina (Group I), with acute coronary syndrome (Group II), and with a normal coronary angiogram (Group III). All demographic and clinical features were collected retrospectively. Platelet indices were measured in all patients. RESULTS: There was no statistical difference for platelet count, MPV and PDW values among the groups. Correlation analysis showed a positive association between platelet count and Gensini scoring (Kendall's tau b, r = 0.312, p = 0.037, two-tailed)and also age (Kendall's tau b, r = 0.518, p = 0.001, two-tailed) in patients with CAD. However, there was no significant correlation between Gensini scoring and MPV or PDW values in these patients. CONCLUSIONS: PDW and MPV may not be related to the clinical features or presentation and extent of CAD. Our study findings add to the conflicting results of previous studies in this area. Prospective trials with longer follow-up periods and larger samples are warranted to conclusively define the role of platelet indices in CAD.