Journal of cardiology
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Journal of cardiology · Jul 2010
Correlation between plasma B-type natriuretic peptide levels and left ventricular diastolic function using color kinetic imaging.
B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) has been used widely as an objective marker for severity and prognostic predictor of heart failure. Recently it has been reported that plasma BNP level is associated with left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction. Color kinesis (CK), a technique based on acoustic quantification, has been developed to facilitate the evaluation of regional wall motion and LV function. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between plasma BNP levels and LV diastolic function using diastolic CK imaging. ⋯ Our results suggest that the plasma BNP level may be related to LV relaxation. The analysis of diastolic CK may be useful for quantitative assessment of LV diastolic function in patients with heart failure.
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Journal of cardiology · Jul 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyRationale and design of the NAGOYA HEART Study: comparison between valsartan and amlodipine regarding morbidity and mortality in patients with hypertension and glucose intolerance.
Inhibitors of the renin angiotensin system are recommended as the first-line medications for diabetic hypertensive patients. However, there is less evidence supporting this recommendation especially among East Asians, a population with a unique distribution of cardiovascular disease compared to the Western population. ⋯ The NAGOYA HEART Study will provide us with a relevant insight for appropriate treatment of hypertension with glucose intolerance.
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Journal of cardiology · Jul 2010
Differences in intravascular ultrasound findings in culprit lesions in infarct-related arteries between ST segment elevation myocardial infarction and non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction.
Previous studies have reported diffuse destabilization of atherosclerotic plaques in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We used intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) to assess coronary culprit lesions in ST segment elevation MI (STEMI) vs. in non-ST segment elevation MI (NSTEMI). ⋯ Culprit lesions in STEMI have more markers of plaque instability (more plaque rupture and thrombus, and larger plaque mass) compared with lesions in NSTEMI.
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Journal of cardiology · Jul 2010
Effectiveness of a portable device and the need for treatment of mild-to-moderate obstructive sleep-disordered breathing in patients with cardiovascular disease.
In Japan, there are two sleep-disordered breathing (SDB)-related problems, which include diagnosing SDB using a portable device (PD) and treating mild-to-moderate SDB (mm-SDB) using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for severe SDB (s-SDB) in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. Our aims were to evaluate the effectiveness of a PD in diagnosing SDB in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), and to assess the difference between mm-SDB [apnea-hypopnea index (AHI): 20-40h(-1)] and s-SDB (AHI: >40h(-1)) using brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in OSA patients. ⋯ The PD was effective in diagnosing SDB in patients with CVD. The BNP value was higher in the mm-SDB patients. Therefore, they need to be treated with CPAP to treat underlying CVD.