The effect of a coronary artery risk evaluation program on serum lipid values and cardiovascular risk levels

Background: Accelerated atherosclerosis is widely present in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Objective: The aim of this review is to analyze the relationship between systemic lupus erythematosus and cardiovascular diseases, with the emphasis on acute myocardial infarction. Results: Various molecular mechanisms triggered by infection/inflammation are responsible for endothelial dysfunction and development of atherosclerosis at an earlier age. Contributing factor is the cumulative effect of traditional cardiovascular risk factors interaction with disease related characteristics. Myocardial infarction rates are 2- to 10-fold higher compared to the general population. Young women have the highest relative risk, however, men carry at least 3- fold higher risk than women. Coronary involvement varies from normal coronary artery with thrombosis, coronary microartery vasculitis, coronary arteritis, and coronary atherosclerosis. Typical clinical presentation is observed in men and older women, while atypical is more frequent in young women. Treatment is guided by the underlying mechanism, engaging invasive procedures alone, or accompanied with immunosuppressive and/or antiinflammatory therapy. There are significant gender differences in pathophysiology and clinical presentation. However, they receive the same therapeutic treatments. Conclusion: Systemic lupus erythematosus is a major contributor to atherosclerotic and non-atherosclerotic mechanisms involved in the development of myocardial infarction, which should be taken into account during therapeutic treatment. Although Systemic lupus erythematosus per se is a “female” disease, males are at increased cardiovascular risk and worse outcome. Method: We conducted a literature review through PubMed and Cochrane, using key words: SLE, atherosclerosis, atherothrombosis, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, prognosis, sex specifics.

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Antihypertensive Efficacy of Fixed Combination of Amlodipine and Ramipril in Patients with Arterial Hypertension and Very High Cardiovascular Risk

Rational Pharmacotherapy in Cardiology ◽

10.20996/1819-6446-2018-14-6-840-845 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (6) ◽

pp. 840-845

Author(s):

O. Yu. Korennova ◽

S. P. Podolnaya ◽

E. P. Prihodko ◽

E. A. Turusheva ◽

S. N. Starinskaya ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

Coronary Artery ◽

Fixed Combination ◽

Antihypertensive Drugs ◽

Antihypertensive Efficacy ◽

High Cardiovascular Risk ◽

Hypertensive Patients ◽

Coronary Artery Stenting ◽

History Of ◽

Very High

Aim. To evaluate the antihypertensive efficacy and tolerability of a fixed combination of amlodipine and ramipril in hypertensive patients with very high cardiovascular risk. Material and methods. A retrospective cohort study of real clinical practice of prescribing antihypertensive drugs according to 255 medical records of outpatient hypertensive patients with a history of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and coronary artery stenting was performed in the first part. An open observational study was performed in the second part. 69 people older than 18 years with a history of ACS and coronary artery stenting, without reaching the target blood pressure (BP) level while using free combinations of antihypertensive drugs and with indications for a fixed combination of ramipril and amlodipine were included into the study. Analysis of self-monitoring of BP, office BP, daily BP monitoring (ABPM) and patients’ adherence to treatment (Morisky-Green test) initially, after 4 and after 12 weeks of taking the fixed combination of ramipril and amlodipine was performed to assess the clinical efficacy of the studied drug. Results. It was found that 42.0% of patients did not follow the recommendations for regular intake of antihypertensive drugs. So, hypertension of all patients regarded as false-refractory, which was the basis for the prescription of the fixed combination of ramipril and amlodipine in accordance with clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. After 4 weeks of therapy, there was significant decrease in office BP with the achievement and preservation of the target level by the 12th week, normalization to the 12th week of day and night BP variability in 54.9% of patients. 78.0% of patients followed medical recommendations for regular administration of antihypertensive drugs, none of the patients had adverse events. Conclusion. The use of fixed combinations of drugs, in particular, amlodipine and ramipril as a part of multicomponent therapy in hypertensive patients with very high cardiovascular risk, led to the achievement of target BP by the 4th week of therapy and stable preservation of antihypertensive effect in 12 weeks of treatment as well as gradual normalization of day and night BP variability in more than half of patients. Fixed combination of ramipril and amlodipine allowed to improve adherence of patients to cardiovascular diseases.

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Premature STEMI in Men and Women: Current Clinical Features and Improvements in Management and Prognosis

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10061314 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 1314

Author(s):

Rebeca Lorca ◽

Isaac Pascual ◽

Andrea Aparicio ◽

Alejandro Junco-Vicente ◽

Rut Alvarez-Velasco ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

Coronary Artery ◽

General Population ◽

Cardiovascular Risk Factors ◽

Young Women ◽

Artery Dissection ◽

Men And Women ◽

High Prevalence

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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Association between the Severity of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and the Risk of Coronary Artery Calcification

Medicina ◽

10.3390/medicina57080807 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 57 (8) ◽

pp. 807

Author(s):

Chien-Chih Chen ◽

Wei-Chien Hsu ◽

Han-Ming Wu ◽

Jiun-Yi Wang ◽

Pei-Yu Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Computed Tomography ◽

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

Liver Disease ◽

Coronary Artery ◽

Fatty Liver ◽

Multidetector Computed Tomography ◽

Coronary Artery Calcification ◽

Fatty Liver Disease ◽

Calcium Score ◽

Left Main

Background and Objectives: There are limited data on the association between severity of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and coronary artery calcification. This study investigated sonographic diagnosed NAFLD and coronary artery calcium score (CAC) as detected by cardiac multidetector computed tomography in general populations. Materials and Methods: A total of 545 patients were enrolled in this study. NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasonography examination and CAC score were evaluated by cardiac multidetector computed tomography. The association between NAFLD and artery calcium score stage was determined by logistic regression analysis and Spearman correlation coefficient analysis. Results: Of all the participants, 437 (80.2%) had ultrasonography-diagnosed NAFLD and 242 (44%) had coronary artery calcification (CAC > 0). After adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, the risk of developing coronary artery calcification was 1.36-fold greater in the patients with different severity of NAFLD compared to those without NAFLD (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.07–1.77, p = 0.016). The highest OR for separate coronary artery calcification was 1.98 (OR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.37–2.87, p < 0.001) in the left main artery, and the risk was still 1.71-fold greater after adjustments (OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.16–2.54, p = 0.007). Conclusions: This cross-sectional study demonstrated that the severity of NAFLD was associated with the presence of significant coronary artery calcification, especially in the left main coronary artery, suggesting increasing the cardiovascular risk.

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