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Background and Objectives：Metabolic syndrome and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) are known to be strong predictors of coronary atherosclerosis. Even though there have been many observations and much research concerning the association of coronary atherosclerosis with CRP and metabolic syndrome, certain problems still need to be resolved in order to produce clear mechanistic illustrations. Therefore, the correlations of metabolic syndrome, hs-CRP and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis were evaluated herein. Subjects and Methods： 271 patients, aged between 29 and 87, who had undergone diagnostic coronary angiograms at the National Medical Center, between January, 2004 and June, 2006 were evaluated. Coronary angiograms were performed in patients who complained of typical chest pain and had risk factors associated with coronary atherosclerosis. The correlations of metabolic syndrome, hs-CRP and coronary atherosclerosis were analyzed in these patients. Results：Positive relationships were found between the metabolic syndrome risk factor clustering and an increased level of hs-CRP (p<0.01). The severity of coronary atherosclerosis increased with the increasing number of metabolic syndrome risk factors. As metabolic syndrome risk factor clustering increased, the quantity of 1, 2 and 3 vessel diseases also increased (Odd ratios 1.61, 1.83 and 2.50; p=0.001, <0.001 and <0.001, respectively). In contrast to metabolic syndrome risk factor clustering, no definite relationship between the hs-CRP level and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis was observed. Conclusion：The more metabolic syndrome risk factors clustered, the greater the severity of coronary atherosclerosis. The extension of coronary atherosclerosis maybe predicted using evaluation of metabolic syndrome risk factor clustering in patients with angina. (Korean Circulation J 2006;36:802-808)

Background and ObjectivesThe reliability and usefulness of the right ventricular (RV) Tei index (RTX) remains controversial because it has not been possible to simultaneously measure RV inflow and outflow. However, dual pulsed-wave Doppler (DPD) enables flow velocities to be obtained at different sampling sites simultaneously. In this study we evaluated the feasibility and reliability of RTX values obtained by DPD (RTXDPD).Subjects and MethodsForty-one patients who underwent cardiac catheterization and echocardiography for RV volume or pressure overloading conditions were evaluated. Symptom-limited exercise treadmill testing with expired gas analysis was performed and maximal exercise capacity was measured.ResultsRTX by conventional flow Doppler (RTXCFD, 0.262±0.164) was similar to RTXDPD (0.253±0.117, p=NS), whereas RTX by tissue Doppler echocardiography (RTXTDE, 0.447±0.125) was significantly larger than RTXDPD (p<0.001). Based on multiple regression analysis, maximal exercise capacity was independently related to RTXDPD (β=-0.60, p<0.001), mid-RV dimension (β=-0.26, p=0.012), left ventricular ejection fraction (β=0.22, p=0.023), and early diastolic tricuspid annular velocity (β=0.21, p=0.048).ConclusionIt is feasible and reliable to evaluate RV function using RTXDPD values. However, to evaluate the clinical usefulness of RTXDPD, additional studies are required with a large number of patients and long-term follow-up.