Purpose
The association between hypertensive retinopathy and left atrial (LA) impairment is unknown. Accordingly, it was aimed to investigate the possible relationship between hypertensive retinopathy and LA phasic functions by means of two‐dimensional speckle‐tracking echocardiography (2D‐STE).
Methods
A total of 124 hypertensive patients and 27 control subjects were included in the study. LA reservoir strain (LAS‐S), LA conduit strain (LAS‐E), and LA booster strain (LAS‐A) parameters were used to evaluate LA myocardial functions.
Results
Hypertensive patients (with and without retinopathy) displayed an obvious reduction in the LA reservoir strain (LAS‐S), and LA conduit strain (LAS‐E). Moreover, further impairment in LA reservoir and conduit strain was found in patients with hypertensive retinopathy than in the isolated hypertensive patients. There were no significant differences in LA booster strain (LAS‐A) among the three groups. Impaired LAS‐S (OR: 0.764, CI: 0.657–0.888, and p < 0.001), LAS‐E (OR: 0.754, CI: 0.634–0.897, and p = 0.001), and hypertension (HT) duration (OR: 2.345, CI: 1.568–3.507, and p < 0.001) were shown to be independent predictors of hypertensive retinopathy.
Conclusion
Impaired LA reservoir and conduit strain may be used to predict hypertensive patients at higher risk of developing hypertensive retinopathy, and to determine which patients should be followed more closely for hypertensive retinopathy.
Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain no-reflow (NR). Some of these hypotheses, state that NR may be caused by damage to the vascular endothelium and an inflammatory process. In a recent study that did not include patients with coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), the ratio of C-reactive protein (CRP) to albumin (CAR) was found to be associated with NR. Our study aims to evaluate the relationship between CAR and NR in patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for saphenous vein graft (SVG). In this retrospective study, among the patients with CABG who underwent primary or elective coronary angiography, 242 patients who underwent PCI to the SVG were selected. The incidence of NR was 19.8% (n = 48). Diabetes mellitus, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), stent length, and CAR were found as independent predictors of NR in multivariate logistic regression analysis (P < .05). Using a cut-off level of .930, the CAR predicted NR with a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 73% (AUC: .814, 95% CI: .749–.879, P < .001). The CAR was a better predictor than both stent length and LVEF. CAR was found to be the strongest predictor of NR in our study.
We read the article with great interest by Sharma et al 1 about ventricular tachycardia (VT) and heart failure (HF) that are the most common cause of 30-day readmission after initial VT ablation. Authors noted a high readmission 30-day rate as 16.3%, 1 and these represent a high-risk VT patient population with advanced HF, and also limitations in current technologies, ablation techniques, and understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms. 2,3 Furthermore, VT ablation patients seem likely to be at a higher risk of complications due to underlying advanced HF and comorbidities. 1 We want to address some points that
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