IntroductionThe aim of the study was to assess the arterial stiffness and serum levels of selected metalloproteinases (MMPs) in hypertensive patients and their changes following antihypertensive therapy.Material and methodsThe study group consisted of 95 patients with essential arterial hypertension (HT) stage 1 or 2 (mean age: 53.1 ±13.0 years). The control group consisted of 31 normotensives of the same age range. Hypertension patients were randomized to one of the following monotherapies for 6 months: quinapril, losartan, amlodipine, hydrochlorothiazide or bisoprolol. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured using a Complior device. Serum concentrations of MMPs (proMMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-9) and plasma concentration of tissue inhibitor of MMPs (TIMP-1) were measured using ELISA.ResultsPulse wave velocity and serum concentrations of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were higher in HT patients than in the control group. In HT patients PWV was significantly associated (R2 = 0.41) with age (B = 0.408, p = 0.00027), systolic blood pressure (SBP) (B = 0.441, p = 0.0011), and MMP-3 (B = 0.204, p = 0.0459). After 6 months of treatment, regardless of the agent used, we observed a significant decrease of PWV, SBP, MMP-2 and MMP-3 and an increase of TIMP-1 plasma concentration. The decrease of PWV was significantly associated with a decrease of SBP (R2 = 0.07, B = 0.260, p = 0.015) only.ConclusionsIn patients with arterial hypertension, beside age and systolic blood pressure, the determinants of arterial stiffness include serum MMP-3 concentration. For drugs compared in the study with the same hypotensive effect obtained, the arterial stiffness reduction effect is not dependent on the drug used. Systolic blood pressure is one of the independent factors responsible for the reduction of arterial stiffness in the course of antihypertensive treatment.

Blood flow restoration after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) may not always be achieved and could be complicated by the no-reflow phenomenon (NRP). The aim of the current study was to assess the frequency of thrombus aspirations (TAs) and NRPs in patients with AMI and treated with pPCI based on the data collected during a 5-year period in the national ORPKI registry, as well as the frequency of periprocedural strokes and predictors of TA and NRP. This retrospective analysis was performed on prospectively collected data gathered in the Polish National Registry of Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (ORPKI), which covered the period between January 2014 and December 2018, and included 200,991 patients treated due to AMI out of 535,857 patients treated using PCI. Among them, 16,777 patients underwent TA. TA was mainly used in the STEMI subgroup of 14,207 patients (84.8%). The frequency of NRP among AMI patients in the thrombectomy group was 2.75% and in the non-thrombectomy group 0.82%. Predictors of TA and NRP were also assessed using multivariate analysis. The percentage of patients treated with pPCI and with PCI alone increased significantly in all of the three selected groups of patients from 88.7% to 94.3% in the AMI group (p < 0.001), from 82.3% to 90.3% in the STEMI subgroup (p < 0.001), and from 96.3% to 98.2% in the NSTEMI subgroup (p < 0.001) during the analysed period. NRP occurred more often in the thrombectomy group for the NSTEMI (0.58% vs. 3.07%, p < 0.05) and STEMI (1.06% vs. 2.69%, p < 0.05) subgroups. Periprocedural stroke occurred more often in the thrombectomy group in comparison to the non-thrombectomy group with AMI (0.03% vs. 0.01%, p < 0.05) and the NSTEMI (0.16% vs. 0.02%, p < 0.05). In conclusion, the frequency of TA has been experiencing a steady decline in recent years, regardless of AMI type, among patients treated with pPCI.

Introduction:The aim of the study was to evaluate clinical and biochemical differences between patients with low-renin and high-renin primary arterial hypertension (AH), mainly in reference to serum lipids, and to identify factors determining lipid concentrations.Materials and methods:In untreated patients with AH stage 1 we measured plasma renin activity (PRA) and subdivided the group into low-renin (PRA < 0.65 ng/mL/h) and high-renin (PRA ⩾ 0.65 ng/mL/h) AH. We compared office and 24-h ambulatory blood pressure, serum aldosterone, lipids and selected biochemical parameters between subgroups. Factors determining lipid concentration in both subgroups were assessed in regression analysis.Results:Patients with high-renin hypertension (N = 58) were characterized by higher heart rate (p = 0.04), lower serum sodium (p < 0.01) and aldosterone-to-renin ratio (p < 0.01), and significantly higher serum aldosterone (p = 0.03), albumin (p < 0.01), total protein (p < 0.01), total cholesterol (p = 0.01) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (p = 0.04) than low-renin subjects (N = 39). In univariate linear regression, only PRA in the low-renin group was in a positive relationship with LDL-C (R2 = 0.15, β = 1.53 and p = 0.013); this association remained significant after adjustment for age, sex, and serum albumin and aldosterone concentrations.Conclusions:Higher serum levels of total and LDL-C characterized high-renin subjects, but the association between LDL-C level and PRA existed only in low-renin primary AH.

Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) is an established effective method for the treatment of typical cavo-tricuspid isthmus (CTI)-dependent atrial flutter (AFL). The introduction of 3-dimensional electro-anatomic systems enables RFCA without fluoroscopy (No-X-Ray [NXR]). The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of CTI RFCA during implementation of the NXR approach and the maximum voltage-guided (MVG) technique for ablation of AFL.Data were obtained from prospective standardized multicenter ablation registry. Consecutive patients with the first RFCA for CTI-dependent AFL were recruited. Two navigation approaches (NXR and fluoroscopy based as low as reasonable achievable [ALARA]) and 2 mapping and ablation techniques (MVG and pull-back technique [PBT]) were assessed. NXR + MVG (n  =  164; age: 63.7 ± 9.5; 30% women), NXR + PBT (n  =  55; age: 63.9 ± 10.7; 39% women); ALARA + MVG (n  =  36; age: 64.2 ± 9.6; 39% women); and ALARA + PBT (n  =  205; age: 64.7 ± 9.1; 30% women) were compared, respectively. All groups were simplified with a 2-catheter femoral approach using 8-mm gold tip catheters (Osypka AG, Germany or Biotronik, Germany) with 15 min of observation. The MVG technique was performed using step-by-step application by mapping the largest atrial signals within the CTI.Bidirectional block in CTI was achieved in 99% of all patients (P  =  NS, between groups). In NXR + MVG and NXR + PBT groups, the procedure time decreased (45.4 ± 17.6 and 47.2 ± 15.7 min vs. 52.6 ± 23.7 and 59.8 ± 24.0 min, P < .01) as compared to ALARA + MVG and ALARA + PBT subgroups. In NXR + MVG and NXR + PBT groups, 91% and 98% of the procedures were performed with complete elimination of fluoroscopy. The NXR approach was associated with a significant reduction in fluoroscopy exposure (from 0.2 ± 1.1 [NXR + PBT] and 0.3 ± 1.6 [NXR + MVG] to 7.7 ± 6.0 min [ALARA + MVG] and 9.1 ± 7.2 min [ALARA + PBT], P < .001). The total application time significantly decreased in the MVG technique subgroup both in NXR and ALARA (P < .01). No major complications were observed in either groups.Complete elimination of fluoroscopy is feasible, safe, and effective during RFCA of CTI in almost all AFL patients without cardiac implanted electronic devices. The most optimal method for RFCA of CTI-dependent AFL seems to be MVG; however, it required validation of optimal RFCA's parameters with clinical follow-up.

The PR/RR ratio is a simple tool for slow pathway substrate and AVNRT evaluation. Eliminating PR/RR ratios ≥1 may serve as a surrogate endpoint for slow pathway ablation in children and adults with AVNRT.