Aims In this study, we aimed to determine the relationship between EAT thickness in patients with STEMI who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) and the development of new-onset atrial fibrillation during hospital follow-up. Material and methods Four hundred and thirteen consecutive patients [284 men (69%) and 129 women (31%)] with a mean age of 59 ± 11 years diagnosed with STEMI were included in this study. Atrial fibrillation developed in 52 (12.5%) patients during in-hospital follow-up and the remaining 361 patients were determined as the control group. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of age and sex. EAT thickness was measured using transthoracic echocardiography. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the independent predictors of atrial fibrillation. Results EAT thickness was higher in the group with atrial fibrillation than in the control group (P < 0.001). The SYNTAX risk score was higher in the atrial fibrillation group (P < 0.001). A positive correlation was observed between EAT thickness and SYNTAX score (r = 0.523, P < 0.001). In the logistic regression analysis, EAT was detected to be an independent predictor for the development of atrial fibrillation (odds ratio: 4.135, 95% confidence interval 1.245–8.176, P < 0.001). Conclusion EAT thickness is an important marker of atrial fibrillation development in STEMI patients in the post-pPCI period. We think that EAT thickness can be used as a cardioembolic risk factor in STEMI patients.

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Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is an early form of atherosclerosis and subclinical myocardial dysfunction. Epicardial fat tissue (EFT) is associated with impaired left ventricular (LV) function, even in the absence of cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between EFT and LV systolic function in patients with erectile ED by speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) method. Methods: A total of 129 consecutive patients with ED were compared with 145 age-and sexmatched control subjects. ED was evaluated using the International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire. Thickness of EFT was measured by TTE. Global LV longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) and global LV circumferential strain (LV-GCS) were measured by 2D-STE method. Results: The EFT thickness was significantly higher in the patients with ED (p <.01). LV-GLS and LV-GCS were revealed to be more deterioration in the ED group compared to controls (À18.2 ± 2.7 vs. (À21.1 ± 3.9, p<.001; À19.5 ± 4.1 vs. À21.9 ± 3.9, p<.001, respectively). It has been shown that EFT thickness is an independent predictor of LV dysfunction. Conclusions: These results indicate that EFT thickness is associated with subclinical LV systolic dysfunction in patients with ED.

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Purpose Atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia (AVNRT) is the most common supraventriculer arrhythmia in daily clinical practice. Comorbidity of AVNRT and atrial fibrillation (AF) has been well documented in some patients and AF development has been observed more frequently in AVNRT patients during their long‐term follow‐up. This study was conducted in order to investigate the left atrial two‐dimensional‐speckle‐tracking echocardiographic (STE) parametres as the predictors of the occurence of AF in long‐term follow‐up in patients with spontaneously developed AF during AVNRT ablation. Methods Two hundred and thirty two consecutive AVNRT patients who developed spontaneous AF during ablation procedure were included in the study. The patients were followed up for a mean follow‐up period of 6.2 ± 2.1 years. All patients were evaluated using the 2D‐STE method. AF was developed in 34 patients during the follow‐up period. Cox regression analysis was performed in order to identify the independent predictors of AF occurence. Results Left atrial LA‐res, LA‐pump, LA‐SRs, LA‐SRe, and LA‐SRa values were found to be significantly decreased in the group of patients that developed AF during the follow‐up period (p < .001 for all aforementioned values). Multivariate cox regression analysis revealed that LA‐res (hazard ratio [HR], 0.367; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.161–0.0.683, p < .001) and SRe (HR, 0.472; 95% CI, 0.346–0.825, p = .006) were independent risk factors associated with the occurrence of AF. Conclusion In conclusion, it was demonstrated for the first time with this study that 2D‐STE can effectively predict the development of AF in long‐term follow‐up in patients with spontaneously developed AF during AVNRT ablation.