Right atrial electromechanical delay is significantly prolonged in patients with COPD. The right atrial area, PAP and FEV1 levels are important factors of this prolonged delay. Also the duration of atrial depolarization is significantly prolonged and propagation of depolarization is inhomogeneous in patients with COPD. These may be the underlying mechanisms to explain the atrial premature beats, multifocal atrial tachycardia, atrial flutter and fibrillation often seen in patients with COPD secondary to these changes.

Nondipper hypertension is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery disease, heart failure, and hypertension. Vitamin D deficiency activates the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, which affects the cardiovascular system. For this reason, a relationship between vitamin D deficiency and nondipper hypertension could be suggested. In this study, we compared 25-OH vitamin D levels between dipper and nondipper hypertensive patients. The study included 80 hypertensive patients and they were divided into two groups: 50 dipper patients (29 male, mean age 51.5 ± 8 years) and 30 nondipper patients (17 male, mean age 50.6 ± 5.4 years). All the patients were subjected to transthoracic echocardiography and ambulatory 24-hour blood pressure monitoring. In addition to routine tests, 25-OH vitamin D and parathormone (PTH) levels were analyzed. All the patients received antihypertensive drug therapy for at least 3 months prior to the evaluations. 25-OH vitamin D and PTH levels were compared between the two groups. No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of basic characteristics. The average PTH level of hypertensive dipper patients was lower than that of nondipper patients (65.3 ± 14.2 vs. 96.9 ± 30.8 pg/mL, P < .001). The average 25-OH vitamin D level of hypertensive dipper patients was higher than that of nondipper patients (21.9 ± 7.4 vs. 12.8 ± 5.9 ng/mL, P = .001). The left ventricular mass and left ventricular mass index were lower in the dipper patients than in the nondipper patients (186.5 ± 62.1 vs. 246.3 ± 85.3 g, P = .022; and 111.6 ± 21.2 vs.147 ± 25.7 g/m(2), P < .001, respectively). Other conventional echocardiographic parameters were similar between the two groups. Daytime systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements were similar between dippers and nondippers, but there was a significant difference between the two groups with regard to nighttime measurements (nighttime systolic 118.5 ± 5.8 vs.130.2 ± 9.6 mm Hg, P < .001; and nighttime diastolic 69.3 ± 4.8 vs.78.1 ± 7.2 mm Hg, P < .001, respectively). Our results suggest that vitamin D deficiency has a positive correlation with blood pressure and vitamin D deficiency could be related to nondipper hypertension. The measurement of vitamin D may be used to indicate increased risk of hypertension-related adverse cardiovascular events.

In ASA patients right and left atrial appendage function are impaired. Biatrial dysfunction may cause arrhythmia and thromboembolism.

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Introduction: To investigate the prognostic importance of the changes in serum p53 antibody titrations during follow-up of patients who had anti-p53 antibody-positive invasive bladder tumors with transitional epithelial cells. Materials and Methods: The study group consisted of 23 clinically T3≤, N0, M0 patients with positive serum anti-p53 antibodies before treatment. 23 cases with negative serum anti-p53 antibodies who were comparable in age, comorbidity and stage with the study group were selected as a control group. The cases whose serum anti-p53 titrations decreased to normal levels after treatment were compared for metastases, death rates and survival with cases who remained serum anti-p53-positive and those who were serum p53 antibody-negative before treatment. Serum anti-p53 antibody titration was determined by ELISA. Results: While serum anti-p53 antibody titrations became negative in 8 (35%) of the 23 seropositive patients, it did not change in 15 patients (65%). There was a correlation between the maintenance of seropositivity, local progression/metastasis and death (p < 0.05). Survival was found to be better in cases who were seronegative after treatment compared with cases who remained positive and also those who were seronegative before treatment (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The normalization of serum anti-p53 antibody positivity after treatment of invasive bladder tumors seems to be a good and reliable prognostic indicator.