Chemokine RANTES is increased at early stages of coronary artery disease.

Cardiovascular diseases, and in particular coronary artery disease (CAD), are the leading causes of death in Europe and represent around 50% of overall mortality. Numerous cardiovascular markers have been proposed in relation to cardiovascular risk prediction, in relation to cardiac and vascular and cerebral events. Chemokines which regulate immune cell vascular chemotaxis, including CCL5/RANTES are points of great interest. We hypothesized that chemokine RANTES level measured in peripheral blood may be associated with severity of atherosclerosis in patients with stable angina undergoing coronary angiography. RANTES and interleukin 18 (IL-18) levels were measured by ELISA. Classical and novel cardiovascular risk factors like brachial flow mediated dilation and intima-media thickness were analyzed in the context of chemokine levels and severity of atherosclerosis. Study included 62 consecutive patients with coronary atherosclerosis demonstrated by coronary angiography, (mean age 59.3 years (S.D. = 7.4)), divided into two groups: group I with lower severity of atherosclerosis, (n = 45) and group 2 with severe CAD (n = 17) based on coronary angiography. Groups were well balanced for classic risk factors for atherosclerosis. Mean RANTES level were significantly higher in patients in group I (67.9 ng/ml, S.E.M. = 3.97) than in group II (50.5 ng/ml, S.E.M. = 7.49; P = 0.03). In contrast, IL-18 levels were similar in both groups (255 pg/ml in group I and 315 pg/ml, S.E.M. = 40.91 in group I, P = 0.12), as well as hsCRP concentration (3.45 S.E.M. = 2.66 ng/ml and 4.69 ng/ml S.E.M.= 1.64 ng/ml respectively; P = 0.47). Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) values have been significantly lower in group II than in group I (6.31; S.E.M. = 0.61; vs 4.41; S.E.M. = 0,56, respectively, P = 0.026), while nitroglycerine-mediated dilatation (NMD) did not differ, indicating more pronounced endothelial dysfunction. No significant correlations between chemokine RANTES levels and intima-media thickness (IMT), FMD measurements have been found in the total population studied. Chemokine RANTES level could become a useful marker of severity of coronary artery disease. Its lower levels were observed in patients with more diffuse disease. Elevated level of chemokine RANTES in patients with stable angina pectoris may evaluate patients to high risk group in plaque formation at early stages of atherosclerosis.

Association of heart structure and function abnormalities with laboratory findings in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Conventional risk factors of coronary artery disease fail to explain the increased frequency of cardiovascular morbidity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The study was conducted to determine possible association between the heart structure and function abnormalities with established prognostic value assessed by non-invasive imaging techniques and markers of autoimmune and inflammatory phenomena typical for SLE. Echocardiography and single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT; Tc-99m-MIBI) at rest were performed in 60 SLE patients in a stable clinical condition of their disease. Laboratory evaluation included serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), complement C3c and C4 components and antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). The latter included serum anticardiolipin (aCL) and anti-ß2-glycoprotein I (antiß2GPI) antibodies, both of IgG and IgM class, and lupus anticoagulant (LA) in plasma. Echocardiography revealed pathologic thickening of valvular leaflets and/or pericardium in more than 60% of patients. Right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) was elevated (>30 mmHg) in 16.7%. Myocardial perfusion defects were present in 36.7% of patients, despite normal ECG recordings and a lack of clinical symptoms of myocardial ischaemia. There was a significant association between thickening of valvular leaflets and/or pericardium and high CRP and low C3c and C4 concentrations. On the other hand, increased RVSP and the presence of myocardial perfusion defects were associated with the presence of anticardiolipin and antiß2GPI antibodies of the IgG class. Increased anticardiolipin IgG levels predicted perfusion defects in SPECT study with 100% sensitivity and 68% specificity, whereas elevated antiß2GPI IgG levels predicted RVSP elevation (>30 mmHg) with 100% sensitivity and 78% specificity. In stable SLE patients pericardial and valve abnormalities may be associated with markers of an ongoing inflammation. Also, pulmonary systolic pressure elevation and myocardial perfusion defects are combined with elevated levels of anticardiolipin and antiß2GPI antibodies of the IgG class. These results indicate that even clinically silent pulmonary hypertension and myocardial perfusion defects in SLE patients could be causally related to the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies.

Comparison of dual-chamber pacing with nonsurgical septal reduction effect in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to compare the influence of dual-chamber pacing vs. nonsurgical septal reduction on hemodynamic and morphological parameters in patients with obstructive form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. METHODS: Nineteen patients with dual-chamber pacing (group I) and 9 patients who underwent nonsurgical septal reduction (group II) were studied at baseline and after a 6-month follow-up. The changes of left ventricular outflow tract gradient and posterior wall thickness (as an index of left ventricular hypertrophy regression) were compared. RESULTS: The baseline left ventricular outflow tract gradient was comparable between group I and group II (77+/-25 vs. 82+/-25 mm Hg, p>0.05). At 6-month follow-up, the left ventricular outflow tract gradient was reduced to a similar level in both groups (28+/-19 vs. 25+/-12 mm Hg, p>0.05). At baseline, posterior wall hypertrophy was comparable between groups (12.9+/-1.7 vs. 13.6+/-2.2 mm, p>0.05). During follow-up, the posterior wall thickness was unchanged in the pacing group (12.9+/-1.7 vs. 12.6+/-1.6 mm, p>0.05), whereas nonsurgical septal reduction induced regression of left ventricular hypertrophy in myocardial region remote from the infarcted septal segment (13.6+/-2.2 vs. 10.5+/-2.3 mm, p<0.003). CONCLUSION: Despite comparable reduction of instantaneous left ventricular outflow tract gradient, the nonsurgical septal reduction decreased posterior wall thickness, whereas pacing did not reduce left ventricular hypertrophy. Thus, regression of left ventricular hypertrophy that appeared solely after nonsurgical septal reduction may reflect the more permanent reduction of left ventricular pressure overload. Thus, not only hemodynamic but also morphological benefit from nonsurgical septal reduction seems to indicate the superiority of this method over dual-chamber pacing.

Orthostatic hypotension in elderly women with congestive heart failure.

Orthostatic hypotension is common in the elderly and could be the cause of impaired vision, dizziness, fainting spells and falls. To date, studies on orthostatic hypotension have chiefly concentrated on elderly patients in nursing homes, outpatients or healthy subjects. Congestive heart failure (CHF) is one of the most common causes of hospitalization and pharmacotherapy in the elderly, but little is known about the orthostatic hypotension in patients with CHF. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of orthostatic hypotension and associated symptoms in elderly females hospitalized for CHF. The study group included 36 women aged 70-100 years (mean 82.2), admitted to hospital for congestive heart failure. The control group consisted of 15 women aged 71-95 years (mean 82.5) with no symptoms of heart failure or other diseases, who underwent earlier epidemiological studies on Cracow's elderly population. In all subjects a tilt test was performed (60 degree tilt for 10 minutes) under standardized conditions (fasting patients, 12 hours after the last administration of medications, between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.). Orthostatic hypotension was defined as a decline of 20 mmHg or more in systolic blood pressure, or 10 mmHg or more in diastolic blood pressure on assumption of the upright position. Orthostatic hypotension was detected in 83.3% of CHF women, and 43.3% of them manifested clinical symptoms associated with it. In the control group, orthostatic hypotension was noted in 53.3% of women, but none was symptomatic. In particular, the CHF patients showed a decreased ability to develop compensatory tachycardia during hypotension. Moreover, reduction in systolic blood pressure was more pronounced in CHF patients, and diastolic blood pressure increase was less significant as compared with the control group.

Echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular structure and function in elderly women with congestive heart failure.

The aim of this investigation was an echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular structure and function in elderly women who were hospitalized due to congestive heart failure. Sixty-three women with heart failure aged 70-100 years (mean age, 82 years) were studied; medical histories were taken, medical examinations and chest X-ray studies, along with ECG and M-mode, 2D-mode and Doppler echocardiography were performed. Echocardiography revealed that the predominant structural lesions involved the cardiac valves; in the majority of cases, there was thickening and calcification of the mitral and aortic valves, but calcification of the mitral and aortic annulus was also frequent. Mitral regurgitation was noted in 84.1% of patients, and tricuspid regurgitation in 50.8%. More than one type of valvular dysfunction was characteristic of 57.1% of women. Among the evaluated cardiac dimensions, left atrial enlargement was observed in 84.1% of women, and ventricular septal hypertrophy in 60.3%. In the majority of patients (55.6%), the values of left ventricular ejection fraction ranged from 51% to 82%, while in the remaining 44.4% they oscillated between 18% and 50%. The most often detected underlying etiological factor in our elderly females with heart failure was coronary artery disease diagnosed in 88.9% of patients, followed by arterial hypertension (54%), and valvular defects (22.2%). In conclusion, the results indicate the presence of some characteristic lesions revealed by echocardiography in elderly patients treated for heart failure; valvular and annular degenerative lesions are commonly detected, valvular dysfunction is frequent, and in the majority of patients (55.6%) left ventricular systolic function is not impaired.

Correlation between aortic pulse wave velocity and norepinephrine, epinephrine, aldosterone and plasma renin activity in very elderly subjects and in patients with congestive heart failure.

The expression of cardiovascular disease in older patients results from the interaction between age-related changes and the disease process itself. It is still unclear whether the physiologic and pathophysiologic changes that occur with advanced age accelerate or compound the factors responsible for congestive heart failure (CHF). Whether, and to what extent, arterial compliance is altered in CHF in the elderly is not clear. It is also unknown whether the plasma levels of neurohumoral factors in the healthy elderly and in CHF patients are associated with changes in arterial compliance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) in the aorta of elderly healthy subjects and CHF patients, and establish the correlation between PWV and plasma levels of norepinephrine, epinephrine, aldosterone, and renin activity. The study group consisted of 63 females aged 70-100 years (mean, 82 years) with CHF, and 15 age-matched healthy women. Aortic PWV in patients with heart failure did not differ significantly from figures in the age-matched healthy group (12.42 m/sec vs 11.86 m/sec). No statistically significant correlations were found between plasma levels of norepinephrine, epinephrine, aldosterone and renin activity, and aortic compliance measured as PWV. These results suggest that age-associated arterial stiffening is a predominant factor in the development of reduced arterial compliance in elderly patients with CHF.