Diabetic patients have an increased risk of mortality after hip fracture. The medical care in the post-operative period, including glycemic control and postoperative complications, should be optimized in diabetic patients suffering from hip fracture in order to decrease mortality in these patients.

Cardiac involvement in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been reported previously. However, evaluation of ventricular function in this disease by the use of recently proposed Doppler echocardiographic methods has not been reported before. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate ventricular function by measurement of myocardial performance index (MPI) and transmitral flow propagation velocity (TFPV). Thirty-two patients with long-standing RA and 32 control subjects (mean ages 52 +/- 11 and 50 +/- 10 years, respectively) participated in this study. Systolic function was assessed by subjective evaluation of wall motion for both ventricles and by fractional shortening for the left ventricle (LV). LV diastolic function was evaluated by standard pulsed-wave Doppler echocardiography, MPI and TFPV. Right ventricular (RV) function was evaluated by MPI. No subject had signs or symptoms of clinically overt heart failure. Systolic function was normal in all subjects. Among the echocardiographic indices of LV diastolic function the peak E velocity, E velocity/A velocity ratio, isovolumetric relaxation time, MPI and TFPV in the RA group were significantly different from those of the controls ( P < 0.05). However, we did not observe a significant difference in RV echocardiographic indices between the two groups. Our results show that there is LV diastolic dysfunction in patients with long-standing RA. The lack of a history of cardiotoxic antirheumatic drug use among our patients suggests that this abnormality is due to RA itself.

SUMMARYCardiac risk factors are observed more frequently in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). On the other hand, increased QT dispersion, which is a risk factor for cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death, has not been investigated in this syndrome. In this study, we evaluated QT dispersion in PCOS patients without overt heart disease. Thirtysix consecutive women with PCOS (mean age 24±5 years) and 36 healthy women of similar ages (mean age 24±4 years) participated in this study. PCOS was diagnosed if there were polycystic ovaries by ultrasound (enlarged ovaries with ≥8 cysts 2-8 mm in diameter), oligoamenorrhea (intermenstrual interval >35 days), hirsutism (Ferriman-Gallwey score, ≥7) and elevated serum levels of testosterone (≥2.7 nmol/L). Electrocardiograms were recorded at a paper speed of 50 mm/s. QT intervals were manually measured by a cardiologist. All intervals were corrected for heart rate according to Bazett's formula: QTc interval=QT interval/square root of the RR interval. Mean values of body mass index, heart rate, and blood pressure were not significantly different between the two groups (P>0.05). No significant differences in QT intervals (maximum QT, minimum QT, QT dispersion, minimum corrected QT, maximum corrected QT, and corrected QT dispersion) were observed between the two groups (P>0.05). Our results suggest that the risk of ventricular arrhythmias or sudden cardiac death is not increased in PCOS patients. (Jpn Heart J 2002; 43: 487-493) Key words: Electrocardiography, Polycystic ovary syndrome, QT dispersion POLYCYSTIC ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder of chronic anovulation, hyperandrogenism, hirsutism, obesity, subfertility, hyperlipidemia, and insulin resistance. Infertility is not the only important component of this syndrome, since the risks of cardiac disease and hypertension also increase in women with PCOS.1-3) Insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia appear central to the pathophysiology of PCOS. Glucose intolerance, abnormally high fasting serum lipid concentrations, and high blood pressure are the three cardiac risk factors that have From the

Estrogen has short-term anti-ischemic effects on the myocardial ischemia induced by increased myocardial oxygen demand in postmenopausal women with CAD.

Sildenafil does not prolong QT intervals or increase QT dispersion in patients with erectile dysfunction. Our results suggest that the risk of ventricular arrhythmia does not increase with ingestion of 50 mg sildenafil.

No abstract

Objective: To assess the aortic root function in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEXS). Methods: In this case-controlled observational study, aortic root function in 31 PEXS patients (mean age 71±9 years) and 29 controls of similar ages (mean age 69±9 years) were evaluated by M-mode transthoracic echocardiography. Aortic cross-sectional compliance (CSC), Peterson's elastic modulus (index beta), aortic stiffness index (ASI) and aortic root distensibility (ARD) were calculated by M-mode echocardiography to evaluate the aortic root function. The findings of two groups of patients were compared by Mann-Whitney U test. Results: The CSC and ARD were significantly decreased in patients with PEXS. The CSC was 12.2±6.3 cm 2 /mmHg in patients with PEXS and 17.5±11.6 cm 2 /mmHg in the control group (p=0.015). The ARD was 1.56±0.80 cm 2 /dyne in patients with PEXS and 2.23±1.48 cm 2 /dyne in the control group (p=0.021). The other two indices of aortic root function were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion: Aortic root function decreases in patients with PEXS. PEXS may be regarded as a risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. (Anadolu Kardiyol Derg 2012; 12: 483-7)

We describe a 45-year-old man with thromboangiitis obliterans. He had a large immobile wall-adherent thrombus located in the main pulmonary artery, which was detected by transthoracic echocardiography. The pulmonary arterial involvement in this patient may suggest that thromboangiitis obliterans is a generalized vascular disease. We conclude that pulmonary artery should be thoroughly examined for thrombi in thromboangiitis obliterans patients who present with signs and symptoms of right heart failure. Transthoracic echocardiography should be the initial mode of examination in these patients.