Frequency of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is significantly related to adverse clinical outcomes in patients at high risk of cardiovascular events. In patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), data on LVH, that is, prevalence and determinants, are inconsistent mainly because of different definitions and heterogeneity of study populations. We determined echocardiographic-based LVH prevalence and clinical factors independently associated with its development in a prospective cohort of patients with non-valvular (NV) AF. From the "Atrial Fibrillation Registry for Ankle-brachial Index Prevalence Assessment: Collaborative Italian Study" (ARAPACIS) population, 1,184 patients with NVAF (mean age 72 ± 11 yea…

Relationship between low Ankle-Brachial Index and rapid renal function decline in patients with atrial fibrillation: a prospective multicentre cohort study.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) and renal function progression in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Design: Observational prospective multicentre cohort study. Setting: Atherothrombosis Center of I Clinica Medica of 'Sapienza' University of Rome; Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences of University Magna Græcia of Catanzaro; Atrial Fibrillation Registry for Ankle-Brachial Index Prevalence Assessment-Collaborative Italian Study. Participants: 897 AF patients on treatment with vitamin K antagonists. Main outcome measures: The relationship between basal ABI and renal function progression, assessed by the estimated Glomerular Filtration R…

Gender-differences in disease distribution and outcome in hospitalized elderly: data from the REPOSI study.

none 330 Women live longer and outnumber men. On the other hand, older women develop more chronic diseases and conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis and depression, leading to a greater number of years of living with disabilities. The aim of this study was to describe whether or not there are gender differences in the demographic profile, disease distribution and outcome in a population of hospitalized elderly people.Retrospective observational study including all patients recruited for the REPOSI study in the year 2010. Analyses are referred to the whole group and gender categorization was applied.A total of 1380 hospitalized elderly subjects, 50.5\% women and 49.5\% men, were conside…

Soluble CD40L and Cardiovascular Risk in Asymptomatic Low-Grade Carotid Stenosis

Background and Purpose— We investigated whether soluble CD40L (sCD40L) may predict the risk of cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with asymptomatic carotid plaques. Methods— Forty-two patients with asymptomatic low-grade carotid stenosis (ALCS) and 21 controls without any carotid stenosis were enrolled. All subjects had at least a major cardiovascular risk factor (CRF). Plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), IL-6, and sCD40L were measured. Subjects were reviewed every 12 months (median follow-up, 8 years). Results— ALCS patients had higher ( P <0.0001) CRP, IL-6, and sCD40L than controls. Fourteen patients experienced a CV event. Cox regression analysis showed that only high sCD…

Circulating transforming growth factor-beta1 levels in asymptomatic carotid plaques

Relationship between carotid intima-media thickness and non valvular atrial fibrillation type.

OBJECTIVE: Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) is a surrogate marker of subclinical atherosclerosis and it is able to predict both coronary and cerebral vascular events. No data exist on the association between cIMT and non valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) type. We conduct this study with the aim to analyze the association between abnormal cIMT and NVAF type. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of the "Atrial fibrillation Registry for Ankle-brachial index Prevalence Assessment-Collaborative Italian Study (ARAPACIS)" has been performed. Among 2027 patients enrolled in the ARAPACIS, 673 patients, who underwent carotid ultrasound examination to assess cIMT, were included in the study. RESULT…