Cor et Vasa, 2004 (vol. 45), issue 2
Original research articles
Differences between patients with and without diabetes in secondary-prevention intervention of the risk factors for coronary heart disease in the Czech Republic (EUROASPIRE II study)
Jakub Čech, Hana Rosolová, Otto Mayer jr., Jaroslav Šimon, Markéta Plášková, Renata Cífková
Cor Vasa 2004, 45(2):55-59
Aim:To evaluate risk factor modification in patients with documented coronary heart disease (CHD) and with diabetes mellitus (DM), who were examined in Czech centers (i. e., in the Departments of Internal Medicine I and II of the University Hospital in Pilsen, and in the Department of Preventive Cardiology of the Prague-based Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine Center) participating in the EUROASPIRE II study, and to compare them with patients without DM. Method:Using standard protocol of the EUROASPIRE II study, a total of 410 patients including 300 patients without DM and 110 patients (27%) with DM were examined....
The relationship of selected fibrinolytic markers to early atherosclerosis in dyslipidemic middle-aged subjects
Martin Hutyra, Luděk Slavík, Dalibor Novotný, David Karásek, Milan Halenka, Helena Vaverková
Cor Vasa 2004, 45(2):60-67
Objective:The aim of the present study was to examine the association of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) as a marker of early atheroslerosis to the plasma concentrations of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) antigens in middle-aged dyslipidemic subjects without clinically manifest atherosclerosis. Methods:In the period from January 2001 through October 2002, we studied the association of tPA and PAI-1 with carotid IMT in 111 individuals (65 women/46 men, mean age 43.4 ± 13.25 years). Furthermore, we investigated the plasma concentrations of total cholesterol, low density...
Review articles
Heart transplantation in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice as a model of atherosclerosis regression
Dagmar Bobková, Jitka Kočová, Zbyněk Tonar, Jiří Lácha, Jana Havlíčková, Rudolf Poledne
Cor Vasa 2004, 45(2):68-72
Atherosclerosis is a long-term process of structural changes involving the vessel wall, which are characterized by potential regression. We tested the possibility of using a model of heart transplantation to study atherosclerosis regression in mice with spontaneous development of atherosclerosis, that is, in homozygous apolipoprotein E-deficient mice (apo E KO). Compared with wild-type mice on chow diet (2.3 ± 0.15 mmol/L), apo E KO mice show markedly higher cholesterol levels (10.3 ± 1.40 mmol/L) and the cholesterol/triglyceride ratio in VLDL fraction. After feeding a cholesterol-rich diet, cholesterolemia increased dramatically by a...
Case reports
Traumatic tricuspid valve regurgitation
Radka Duchoňová, Josef Veselka, Petr Pavel, Jana Páleníčková
Cor Vasa 2004, 45(2):73-75
Traumatic tricuspid valve regurgitation caused by blunt chest trauma is a rare diagnosis. Manifestation of symptoms depends on the type of valve injury. The key diagnostic technique is echocardiography. Treatment of traumatic tricuspid regurgitation can be surgical or medical. The operative techniques include various valvular repair methods of valve replacement with mechanical or biological prostheses.
Spontaneous coronary artery dissection
Marcela Škvařilová, Jan Lukl, Alan Bulava, Ivana Kellnerová, František Holm
Cor Vasa 2004, 45(2):76-79
Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a rare cause of acute myocardial infarction. It typically occurs in young women using oral contraception or during the peripartum period. SCAD may be associated with cocaine abuse. Most cases of SCAD appear to be idiopathic and are thought to be related to a disorder in arterial collagen metabolism or synthesis. We report the case of a 49-year-old male with spontaneous dissection of the left anterior descending coronary artery found to be completely healed at angiography 6 months later.
Short communication
Insulin resistance and body mass index
Marica Krajčovičová-Kudláčková, Pavel Blažíček, Mária Dušinská
Cor Vasa 2004, 45(2):58-87
Obesity plays an important role in the development of insulin resistance. This metabolic abnormality leads to age-related diseases. Insulin resistance values were correlated with obesity and age. Insulin levels were assessed in adult subjects of the general population with different body mass index values from normal weight (BMI = 18.8-25.0, n = 84) through overweight (BMI = 25.1-30.0, n = 42) to obesity (BMI = 30.1-51.6, n = 42). Mean insulin and glucose levels as well as insulin resistance (HOMA) value are significantly increased in overweight and obese groups. Risk-related insulin resistance values were present in 57% of obese subjects vs. 1% of...
Combinations of statins with a cholesterol absorption inhibitor: a strategy for reaching goal lipid levels
Helena Vaverková
Cor Vasa 2004, 45(2):80-83
Large intervention lipid-lowering trials have demonstrated a decrease in LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels results in a reduction in the risk for cardiovascular morbidity and overall mortality both in primary and secondary prevention. Despite this major development, only about one in three patients receiving secondary prevention in the Czech Republic will attain goal lipid levels (as defined by current guidelines); this is consistent with data reported from industrialized Western nations. While maximum doses of highly effective statins (atorvastin, simvastatin) will produce goal levels of total cholesterol and LDL-C in most individuals-even in secondary...