Characteristics and clinical significance of ambulatory myocardial ischemia in men and women in the general population presenting with angina pectoris

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most frequent cause of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Etiopathogenic and prognostic characteristics in young patients may differ from older patients and young women may present worse outcomes than men. We aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of men and women with premature STEMI. Methods: A total 1404 consecutive patients were referred to our institution for emergency cardiac catheterization due to STEMI suspicion (1 January 2014–31 December 2018). Patients with confirmed premature (<55 years old in men and <60 in women) STEMI (366 patients, 83% men and 17% women) were included (359 atherothrombotic and 7 spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD)). Results: Premature STEMI patients had a high prevalence of classical cardiovascular risk factors. Mean follow-up was 4.1 years (±1.75 SD). Mortality rates, re-hospitalization, and hospital stay showed no significant differences between sexes. More than 10% of women with premature STEMI suffered SCAD. There were no significant differences between sexes, neither among cholesterol levels nor in hypolipemiant therapy. The global survival rates were similar to that expected in the general population of the same sex and age in our region with a significantly higher excess of mortality at 6 years among men compared with the general population. Conclusion: Our results showed a high incidence of cardiovascular risk factors, a high prevalence of SCAD among young women, and a generally good prognosis after standardized treatment. During follow-up, 23% suffered a major cardiovascular event (MACE), without significant differences between sexes and observed survival at 1, 3, and 6 years of follow-up was 96.57% (95% CI 94.04–98.04), 95.64% (95% CI 92.87–97.35), and 94.5% (95% CI 91.12–97.66). An extra effort to prevent/delay STEMI should be invested focusing on smoking avoidance and optimal hypolipemiant treatment both in primary and secondary prevention.

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Prevalence of Hallucinations in the General Croatian Population

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18084237 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (8) ◽

pp. 4237

Author(s):

Jelinčić Ivana ◽

Degmečić Dunja

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Clinical Significance ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Visual Hallucinations ◽

The World ◽

The Mind

Background: Hallucinations involve sensing things such as visions, sounds, or smells that seem real but are not. These things are created by the mind. However, little is known about the distribution of incident hallucinations in the community. This paper aims to examine manifestation and frequency of the hallucinatory experiences within the general Croatian population. Methods: The instrument of the survey is Chicago Hallucination Assessment Tool (CHAT). The study included 521 examinees; 284 females (54.5%) and males 237 (45.5%). Results: There was a manifestation of all types of hallucinatory experiences determined. Out of all of the participants 17% listed that they experienced acoustic hallucinations during their lifetime, 15% said that they have experienced visual hallucinations, 12% olfactory hallucinations, 10% gustatory and 12% tactile/cenesthetic hallucinations. Conclusion: The results of this research have indicated that simple hallucinations were mostly represented among the general Croatian population and those more complex were represented less which is a positive thing because of its prominent clinical significance. The contribution of this study is the possibility of comparisons with studies from different regions of Europe and the world. This is another component in a better understanding of the incidence of hallucinations in the general population. The data we have obtained puts us on the map of countries trying to raise awareness of a topic that needs to acquire more attention.

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Sex-specific reference values and determinants of infra-renal abdominal aortic diameter among women and men from general population

European Heart Journal ◽

10.1093/ehjci/ehaa946.2841 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽

Author(s):

F Zhu ◽

B Arshi ◽

M Ikram ◽

R De Knegt ◽

M Kavousi

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Blood Pressure ◽

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

General Population ◽

Cardiovascular Risk Factors ◽

Reference Values ◽

Aortic Diameter ◽

Funding Source ◽

Men And Women ◽

Abdominal Aortic

Abstract Introduction Abdominal aortic diameter has shown to be a marker of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Among the non-aneurysmal populations, studies regarding abdominal aortic diameter normal reference values are sparse. Moreover, data regarding the associations between cardiovascular risk factors and aortic diameter among men and women are limited. Purpose To establish age- and sex-specific distribution of the infra-renal abdominal aortic diameters among non-aneurysmal older adults from the general population and to investigate the associations between cardiovascular risk factors and aortic diameters in men and women. Methods From a population-based cohort, 4032 participants (mean age, 67.2 years; 60.4% women) with infra-renal diameter assessment and without history of cardiovascular disease were included. Mean and quantile values of diameters were calculated in different age groups. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to detect the association of cardiovascular risk factors with diameters in men and women. Results The mean crude diameter was larger in men [mean (SD): 19.5 (2.6) mm] compared to women [17.0 (2.4)mm] but after adjustment for body surface area (BSA), the differences were small. There was a non-linear relationship between age and diameter (p<0.001). After 66 years of age, the increase in diameter with increasing age was attenuated. After age 74 years in women and 71 years in men, the relationship between age and infra-renal aortic diameter was no longer statistically significant (Figure). Waist [standardized β (95% CI): 0.02 (0.0–0.04) in women and 0.03 (0.01–0.06) in men] and diastolic blood pressure [0.04 (0.02–0.05) in women and 0.02 (0.0–0.04) in men] were the risk factors for diameters in both sexes. Body mass index [0.02 (0.01–0.09)], systolic blood pressure [−0.01 (−0.02 to −0.01)], smoking status [0.21 (0.02–0.39)], cholesterol [−0.19 (−0.29 to −0.09)], and lipid-lowering medication [−0.47 (−0.71 to −0.23)] were significantly associated with aortic diameter only in women. Conclusion The differences in the crude abdominal aortic diameter between women and men diminished after taking into account the BSA. The abdominal aortic diameter increased steeply with advancing age and up to 66 years of age. However, after 74 years in women and 71 years in men, the diameter values reached a plateau. We also observed sex differences in the associations of cardiovascular risk factors with abdominal aortic diameter. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): Netherlands Organization for the Health Research and Development (ZonMw); the Research Institute for Diseases in the Elderly (RIDE)

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