Association of physical activity on body composition, cardiometabolic risk factors, and prevalence of cardiovascular disease in the Korean population (from the fifth Korea national health and nutrition examination survey, 2008-2011).

BACKGROUND: Data regarding associations among physical activity (PA) level, body composition, and prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in Asian populations are rare. METHODS: The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was utilized to estimate PA levels and analyze the association of PA level with various body composition parameters and the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases by using data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2008 to 2011. RESULTS: Moderate and high PA levels were associated with lower prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus, and lower concentrations of serum ferritin, parathyroid hormone, and alkaline phosphatase. Sarcopenia (low vs. moderate vs. high PA group: 14.3% vs. 10.5% vs. 7.3%, p = 0.001), underweight (5.7% vs. 4.9% vs. 3.5%, p = 0.001), and central obesity (7.8% vs. 6.9% vs. 6.3%, p = 0.002) were more often observed in the low PA group. The prevalence rates of cardiovascular diseases were lower in the moderate (odds ratio [OR], 0.822; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.737-0.916; p = 0.001) and high activity groups (OR, 0.663; 95% CI, 0.589-0.748; p = 0.001) than in the low activity group, even after adjusting for age, sex, smoking, underlying disease, and general or abdominal obesity and muscle mass. CONCLUSION: Regular physical activity was associated with a low prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (stroke, myocardial infarction, stable angina, and chronic renal disease), which was independent of body composition and conventional risk factors in the Korean population, with a positive dose-response relationship.

Elevated Lipoprotein(a) has Incremental Prognostic Value in Type 2 Diabetic Patients with Symptomatic Coronary Artery Disease.

AIM: In addition to type 2 diabetes, an elevated Lp(a) level is known to be a surrogate biomarker of cardiovascular disease. However, recent studies have demonstrated that the Lp(a) levels are lower in type 2 diabetic patients than in non-diabetic subjects. Therefore, we sought to evaluate the prognostic value of elevated lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] in type 2 diabetic patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: A total of 1494 diabetic patients with CAD (62.3% men, mean age: 63.5 ± 10.3 years) were enrolled. CAD was diagnosed using invasive coronary angiography, and laboratory values for lipid parameters, including Lp(a), were obtained on the day of coronary angiography. The patients were divided into tertile groups according to the individual Lp(a) level. The baseline characteristics, coronary angiographic findings, duration of follow-up and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) were recorded. RESULTS: Over a mean follow-up period of 4.4 ± 2.6 years, there were 59 MACEs (35 cardiac deaths and 24 cases of non-fatal myocardial infarction), for an event rate of 3.9%. A survival probability plot according to the Lp(a) tertile revealed that an elevated Lp(a) level was associated with a worse prognosis (p = 0.008), after adjusting for age, gender, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking and the extent of CAD. Furthermore, the addition of an elevated Lp(a) level to the reference model improved the integrated discrimination improvement (0.0216, p ＜ 0.001), continuous net reclassification improvement (NRI) (0.5721, p = 0.012) and NRI (0.1549, p = 0.004) values. CONCLUSIONS: In terms of the prognosis, elevated Lp(a) is associated with worse outcomes in type 2 diabetic patients with symptomatic CAD. Furthermore, an elevated Lp(a) level has incremental prognostic value in type 2 diabetic patients with symptomatic CAD.

Prognostic significance of elevated lipoprotein(a) in coronary artery revascularization patients.

BACKGROUND: Although lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] has been considered a cardiovascular risk factor for many years, there is a paucity of data in regard to the potential risk of elevated Lp(a) in symptomatic patients with CAD. Therefore, we sought to evaluate whether elevated Lp(a) is associated with worse outcome in symptomatic patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), and to clarify the prognostic value of Lp(a) in the era of coronary artery revascularization. METHODS: 6252 consecutive subjects (59.2% male, mean age 61.2 ± 11.2 years) suspected of having CAD underwent coronary angiography. Laboratory values for lipid parameters including Lp(a) were obtained on the day of coronary angiography. Baseline risk factors, coronary angiographic findings, length of follow-up, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), including cardiac death and non-fatal myocardial infarction were recorded. RESULTS: Over a mean follow-up period of 3.1 ± 2.2 years, there were 100 MACE (56 cardiac deaths and 44 non-fatal myocardial infarctions), with an event rate of 1.6%. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, elevated Lp(a) was a significant predictor of MACE [hazard ratio 1.773 (95% confidence interval 1.194-2.634, p=0.005)], and the addition of this factor to the model significantly increased the global х(2) value over traditional risk factors and CAD (from 79.1 to 88.7, p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Elevated Lp(a) is an independent prognostic risk factor for cardiovascular events, and moreover, has incremental prognostic value in symptomatic patients with coronary artery revascularization.

Prone position coronary angiography due to intractable back pain: another merit of transradial approach compared to transfemoral approach.

We report a case of prone position coronary angiography due to intractable back pain via left transradial approach. When a patient cannot lie down in a supine position, prone position coronary angiography can be performed alternatively. This may be another merit of transradial approach compared to transfemoral approach on the evaluation of patients with suspected coronary artery disease.

Pathobiological role of advanced glycation endproducts via mitogen-activated protein kinase dependent pathway in the diabetic vasculopathy.

Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) have been reported to play a role in neointimal formation and increase the rate of in-stent restenosis (ISR) in the diabetic coronary artery disease patients treated with stents, but the potential pathogenic mechanisms of AGEs in vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation remain unclear. We sought to determine the AGEs related pathobiological mechanism of diabetic vasculopathy. Rat aortic smooth muscle cell (RAoSMC) culture was done with different concentrations of AGEs and proliferation was assessed. Immunohistochemistry for receptor of AGEs (RAGE) was performed with human carotid atheroma. Western blotting was performed to assess the activation of MAP kinase system in the cultured RAoSMC. AGEs increased RAoSMC proliferation and were associated with increased phosphorylation of ERK and p38 kinase by time and dose dependent manner. The MAP kinase activity was decreased by RNA interference for RAGE. AGEs stimulation increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in cultured RAoSMC. From this study it is concluded that AGEs played a key role in RAoSMC proliferation via MAP kinase dependent pathways. Activation of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation by MAP kinase system and increased formation of ROS may be the possible mechanisms of AGEs induced diabetic vasculopathy.

Effects of increasing particle size of low-density lipoprotein on restenosis after coronary stent implantation.

BACKGROUND: Small dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL) has emerged as an important risk factor in coronary atherosclerosis and vascular inflammation, which is related to neointimal hyperplasia. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether changes in LDL particle size are related to in-stent restenosis (ISR). METHODS AND RESULTS: The LDL subfraction and lipid profiles were measured in 274 patients (412 stents) at both baseline and follow-up coronary angiography (CAG). The incidence of ISR (80 lesions, 19.4%) was lower in the patients with increased LDL particle size than in those with no change or decrease (14.2% vs 25.8%, p=0.004). Logistic multivariate analysis revealed that stent length (>or=24 mm) (odds ratio (OR) =1.913, p=0.027), post minimal luminal diameter (>3 mm) (OR =0.528, p=0.028), acute coronary syndrome (OR =2.294, p=0.005), decrease in high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (OR =1.028, p=0.047) and increase in LDL particle size (OR =0.528, p=0.031) were independent predictors for ISR. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, an increase in the LDL particle size between baseline and follow-up CAG was associated with reduced incidence of ISR. Therefore, modification of LDL particle size may have a beneficial effect on the risk of ISR.

Lipoprotein(a) and LDL particle size are related to the severity of coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: The pathophysiological role and metabolic pathway of Lp(a) have not been clearly defined. An association between Lp(a) and oxidative low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were recently reported. And small dense LDL (sd-LDL) were associated with circulating malondialdehyde-modified LDL. We investigated the relationships between serum Lp(a) level and LDL particle size in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Further, we investigated the relationships of sd-LDL and Lp(a) with the extent and severity of CAD. METHODS: A total of 490 patients (mean: 60.5 +/- 11.5 years old) who underwent coronary angiography to evaluate chest pain were investigated. Patients were classified into two groups, a CAD group (n = 256), who had significant stenosis observed by coronary angiogram, and a control group (n = 234), who had normal, or minimal coronary arteries. CAD severity was measured by Gensini scores. The distribution of the LDL subfraction was analyzed using a Quantimetrix Lipoprint LDL System. RESULTS: The serum Lp(a) concentration was correlated with the fraction of sd-LDL (r = 0.193, p < 0.001) and mean LDL size (r = 0.160, p = 0.003). The Lp(a) level and mean LDL particle size were significantly correlated with a high Gensini score. LDL particle size in the CAD group was smaller than in the control group (26.74 +/- 0.64 vs. 26.43 +/- 0.93 nm, p < 0.001). The Gensini score was significantly higher in small LDL with high Lp(a) level groups. CONCLUSION: The positive correlation of the level of Lp(a) and sd-LDL fraction were demonstrated. The mechanism of this association is not clearly defined; we can suggest that it may stem from the individual atherogenic condition that linked to increased oxidative stress. Both increased Lp(a) and sd-LDL fraction were correlated with the severity of CAD.