The prevalences of HF and ASVD are higher in Turkey when compared with western countries, despite a younger Turkish population. The established predictors of HF are valid for Turkey as well. There is a significant ASVD population in Turkey with similar characteristics and risk factors to HF. Focusing on the early detection and treatment of ASVD may prevent the progression to HF, and therefore would decrease the prevalence of HF in Turkey.

Dysglycemia, in this survey defined as impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or type 2 diabetes, is common in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and associated with an unfavorable prognosis. This European survey investigated dysglycemia screening and risk factor management of patients with CAD in relation to standards of European guidelines for cardiovascular subjects. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The European Society of Cardiology's European Observational Research Programme (ESC EORP) European Action on Secondary and Primary Prevention by Intervention to Reduce Events (EUROASPIRE) V (2016-2017) included 8,261 CAD patients, aged 18-80 years, from 27 countries. If the glycemic state was unknown, patients underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and measurement of glycated hemoglobin A 1c. Lifestyle, risk factors, and pharmacological management were investigated. RESULTS A total of 2,452 patients (29.7%) had known diabetes. OGTT was performed in 4,440 patients with unknown glycemic state, of whom 41.1% were dysglycemic. Without the OGTT, 30% of patients with type 2 diabetes and 70% of those with IGT would not have been detected. The presence of dysglycemia almost doubled from that selfreported to the true proportion after screening. Only approximately one-third of all coronary patients had completely normal glucose metabolism. Of patients with known diabetes, 31% had been advised to attend a diabetes clinic, and only 24% attended. Only 58% of dysglycemic patients were prescribed all cardioprotective drugs, and use of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (3%) or glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (1%) was small. CONCLUSIONS Urgent action is required for both screening and management of patients with CAD and dysglycemia, in the expectation of a substantial reduction in risk of further cardiovascular events and in complications of diabetes, as well as longer life expectancy.

Results of this study have demonstrated increased levels of circulating IL-6 in patients with coronary ectasia which might indicate a possible role of inflammatory processes. Absence of a significant correlation between the dimensions of the ectatic segments and IL-6 levels might be due to the narrower range of the diameters of the coronary arteries compared with the abdominal aorta.

We investigated the incidence and severity of echocardiographic and clinical abnormalities in patients with psoriasis and their relationship to the severity, duration and type of psoriasis and other related factors. A total of 216 psoriasis patients and 216 control subjects were included in this study. Left and right heart dimensions, wall thicknesses, wall motion abnormalities, valvular disturbances, and systolic and diastolic functions were examined using two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiographic techniques. Left ventricular hypertrophy, left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, left ventricular wall motion abnormalities and valvular pathologies, especially mitral and tricuspid valve prolapse, were significantly more frequent in patients with psoriasis. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly higher in psoriasis patients. Significant correlations were found between: (i) psoriasis vulgaris and tricuspid valve prolapse; (ii) palmo-plantar psoriasis and valvular pathologies; and (iii) disease duration and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Physicians should be aware that cardiovascular abnormalities are common in patients with psoriasis.

Levosimendan improves right ventricular systolic and diastolic functions.

These results demonstrate the necessity for improved quality of physician care of patients with AF, especially with regards to antithrombotic therapy.

EUROASPIRE-IV Turkey data revealed that secondary prevention was unsatisfactory and had progressed unfavorably compared with last EUROASPIRE study, some risk factors were more uncontrolled than overall European average, and coronary artery events at young age remain an important problem.

Objective:Cardiac fibrosis is an important contributor to adverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling and arrhythmias in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a novel marker of cardiac fibrosis and inflammation. In this study, we investigated Gal-3 levels in patients with HCM and controls and assessed the relationship between Gal-3 level and echocardiographic indices using strain echocardiography in patients with HCM.Methods:Forty patients with HCM in sinus rhythm and 35 healthy controls were prospectively enrolled in this case-control study. The HCM diagnosis was based on two-dimensional echocardiographic demonstration of a hypertrophied and non-dilated left ventricle (LV) with a wall thickness ≥15 mm in one or more LV myocardial segments in the absence of any cardiac or systemic disease capable of inducing LV hypertrophy. Patients with one of the followings were excluded: coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation episodes on 24-h Holter electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring, history of an invasive intervention to alleviate an LV outflow (LVOT) obstruction, inadequate image quality, renal disease, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, liver cirrhosis, and pulmonary fibrosis. Global LV longitudinal, circumferential strain and strain rates, peak torsion, and LV mass index (LVMI) of all subjects were assessed by echocardiography. Gal-3 levels were measured in all subjects.Results:Left ventricular global longitudinal strain (-13.37±4.6% vs. -18.93±2.5%, p<0.001) and strain rate (0.66±0.22 s-1 vs. 1.08±0.14 s-1, respectively; p<0.001) values were lower in patients with HCM than in controls. Gal-3 levels were significantly higher in patients with HCM than in controls (16.9±6.64 ng/mL vs. 13.21±3.42 ng/mL, p=0.005). Gal-3 levels were associated with the thickness of the interventricular septum (r=0.444, p=0.004) and LVMI (r=0.365, p=0.021); however, they were not associated with LV global longitudinal strain (p=0.42) or strain rate (p=0.28).Conclusion:Gal-3 levels increased and were correlated with the degree of LV hypertrophy in patients with HCM. Gal-3 is not a good marker of decreased myocardial LV diastolic and systolic functions in these patients.