Objective: The present study was undertaken to investigate the prognostic value of the frontal planar QRS-T angle in patients without angiographically apparent coronary atherosclerosis. Subjects and Methods: Three hundred and seven patients with normal coronary arteries on coronary angiography were included. The absolute difference between the frontal QRS- and T-wave axes was defined as the frontal planar QRS-T angle, and patients were divided into 3 subgroups based on the frontal planar QRS-T angle (<45, 45-90, and >90°). Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and angiographic data were compared between groups. Based on the regression analysis results, patients were recategorized into 4 groups according to their luminal calibers of left main coronary artery (LMCA) and history of hypertension (HT) (nonhypertensive LMCA ≤4.13 mm, nonhypertensive LMCA >4.13 mm, hypertensive LMCA ≤4.13 mm, and hypertensive LMCA >4.13 mm). Results: The median value of the frontal planar QRS-T angle of all participants was 38°. Subjects with the widest frontal planar QRS-T angle were older (p = 0.027), were hypertensive (p = 0.001), and had higher corrected QT values (p = 0.001). Patients with the widest frontal planar QRS-T angle had larger LMCA and left anterior descending coronary artery diameters compared to subjects with a normal and borderline frontal QRS-T angle (p = 0.004 and p = 0.028, respectively). Corrected QT, HT, and LMCA diameter were found as independent predictors of the frontal planar QRS-T angle. Subjects with HT and a larger luminal caliber of LMCA had the widest frontal planar QRS-T angle. Conclusion: Patients with a history of HT and a larger luminal caliber of LMCA had the widest frontal planar QRS-T angle. Since HT-induced electrophysiological changes are still not well established and we observed that changes in the luminal caliber of coronary arteries are associated with an abnormal frontal QRS-T angle, the frontal QRS-T angle could serve as a marker of ventricular repolarization heterogeneity in hypertensive patients in addition to keeping track of arrhythmic events, even before overt disease.

No abstract

GLS and global longitudinal systolic strain rate showed significant improvement together with NIHSS score. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 44:305-311, 2016.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Serum γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity is a risk predictor for the development of coronary artery disease and is related to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We evaluated the clinical utility of GGT activity in predicting high troponin levels in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) admitted to the emergency department with chest pain. A total of 200 troponin-positive and 203 troponin-negative patients were classified into groups 1 and 2, respectively. γ-Glutamyl transferase activity was significantly higher in group 1 (44 ± 34 U/L) compared with group 2 (31 ± 26 U/L, P = .001). A GGT activity cutoff >25.5 showed 62% sensitivity and 61% specificity in predicting troponin positivity. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated a significant predictive value of GGT for troponin positivity. Spearman rank correlation analysis showed a moderately strong relationship between GGT activity and troponin positivity. Considering the predictive value of high GGT activity for troponin positivity, GGT activity may complement other diagnostic biomarkers for predicting troponin positivity in patients having ACS admitted with chest pain.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by hormonal and metabolic abnormalities and is thought to increase a risk for cardiovascular diseases. In this study we use speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) to evaluate left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in the early period of the disease. We enrolled 31 patients with PCOS and 32 healthy volunteers as a control group. The participants' ages ranged between 18 and 40 years. PCOS was diagnosed according to the Rotterdam criteria. LV strain (LS) and strain rate (SR) were evaluated using apical two-chamber (2C), three-chamber (3C), and four-chamber (4C) imaging. Global LS and SR were calculated as average of three apical views. The waist-to-hip ratio, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and fasting insulin and triglyceride levels were higher in the PCOS group than in the controls (p = 0.001, p = 0.001, p = 0.001, and p = 0.005, respectively). In the PCOS group, the mitral A wave, deceleration time (DT), and isovolumetric relaxation time (IVRT) were significantly higher than in the controls (all p < 0.05). The LV global longitudinal strain (GLS) and global longitudinal SR systolic (GLSRS) were significantly lower in the PCOS patient group (both p = 0.001). There were strong negative correlations between GLS and both fasting insulin (r = −0.64) and DT (r = -0.62) (both p < 0.05). The study demonstrated that PCOS patients had decreased LV function using STE. Therefore, STE imaging appears to be useful for the early detection of subclinical LV dysfunction in patients with PCOS.