Journal of internal medicine
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Hypertensive patients with metabolic syndrome (MS) are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease. To get a better understanding of the pathophysiology underlying this association, we evaluated the relationship between MS and subclinical organ damage in essential hypertensive patients. ⋯ Metabolic syndrome is associated with subclinical organ damage in nondiabetic, essential hypertensive patients. These data may, in part, explain the high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality that is observed in hypertensive patients with MS.
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To investigate the relationship between cardiac repolarization (QT interval duration) and intima media thickness (IMT) of the carotid arteries as surrogate measures of subclinical atherosclerosis. ⋯ The results of the present study demonstrate that QT and QTc prolongation are in part associated with IMT of carotid arteries, which is an established risk marker of subclinical atherosclerosis. In men the data support the hypothesis of an association between QTc and ICA IMT. In women a statistically significant relationship was found between the uncorrected QT interval and CCA IMT. These findings suggest that differences in carotid IMT and ventricular repolarization between genders might be related to hormonal and nonhormonal effects.
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Comparative Study
Difference in survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest between the two largest cities in Sweden: a matter of time?
Dramatic differences in survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) reported from different geographical locations require analysis. We therefore compared patients with OHCA in the two largest cities in Sweden with regard to various factors at resuscitation and outcome. ⋯ Survival was almost three times higher in Goteborg than in Stockholm amongst patients suffering an OHCA. This is primarily explained by a higher occurrence of VF at the time of arrival of the ambulance crew, which in turn probably is explained by shorter delays in Goteborg. The reason for the difference in time intervals is most likely multifactorial, with a significantly higher ambulance density in Goteborg as one possible explanation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Holotranscobalamin--a first choice assay for diagnosing early vitamin B deficiency?
The performance of holotranscobalamin (holoTC) was compared with the other markers of vitamin B12 deficiency, and the influence of age, renal function, and thyroid status was examined. ⋯ HoloTC shows promise as first-line tests for diagnosing early vitamin B12 deficiency.