Arya Atherosclerosis
Volume:12 Issue: 6, Nov 2016

The dramatic increase in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome is associated with more increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in this group. Some recent studies suggested that metabolic syndrome is associated with increased risk of subclinical left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction. In the present cross-sectional case–control study, the utility of two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) was examined to detect early LV systolic dysfunction in this population.
A total of 75 clinically asymptomatic subjects with LV ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥ 55%, 39 without metabolic syndrome and 36 with metabolic syndrome, matched for gender and age, were enrolled in this case–control study. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed using the National Cholesterol Education Program/Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. LV systolic function was assessed by STE-derived global and segmental longitudinal strain (εLL).
Global εLL was significantly lower in patients with metabolic syndrome compared with normal population (−18.41 ± 2.20% vs. −21.2 ± 2.1%, P STE-derived longitudinal LV strain (εLL), a marker of subclinical cardiovascular disease, is impaired in asymptomatic individuals with metabolic syndrome and normal LVEF.

Hypertension (HTN) is an important public health challenge worldwide. The prevalence of HTN varies across countries. It is necessary to obtain valid information about the prevalence of chronic condition like HTN and its predictors in different societies. Hence, this study was conducted to assess the prevalence of HTN and associated factors in Mashhad, Iran, 2015.
This cross-sectional study was performed on 2974 adults residing in Mashhad in 2015. Multistage random sampling was used. A checklist was fulfilled for each subject, and a blood sample was taken for measuring fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol, triglycerides, hemoglobin, serum creatinine, high-density lipoproteins, and low-density lipoproteins. The height and weight of participants and their blood pressure were measured according to protocols.
The prevalence of HTN in this population was 22% (25.9% in male and 20% in female). Most interestingly, smoking and drug abuse were more prevalent in men (14.9% and 3.8%), but the sedentary behavior was more prevalent in women (51%). Interestingly, by increasing the age, the frequency of optimum, normal and high normal type was decreased and the frequency of HTN, specially sever form were increased. In binary logistic regression model, age [odds ratio (OR): 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06-1.09], gender (Ref:Female) (OR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.05-1.83), and obesity (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.06-1.12) were the predictors of HTN.
The prevalence of HTN among this population was found to be high; which indicates the need for HTN-screening programs, especially for the elderly, male and obese population. Given the close relationship between obesity and various diseases, including HTN, practical solutions, including lifestyle interventions, need to be developed.

This study was conducted to establish the comparative effects of carbohydrate versus fat restriction on metabolic indices in Type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).
This randomized, clinical trial was done among 56 overweight persons with T2D and CHD aged 40-85 years old. The patients were randomly allocated to take either a high-carbohydrate (HC) diet (60-65% carbohydrates and 20-25% fats) (n = 28) or a restricted carbohydrate (RC) diet (43-49% carbohydrate and 36-40% fats) (n = 28) for 8 weeks to determine metabolic status.
After 8 weeks of treatment, RC diet decreased fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (−11.5 ± 28.3 vs. .0 ± 26.9 mg/dl, P = 0.010) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (−564.3 ± 1280.1 vs. �.1 ± 1789.2 ng/ml, P = 0.040) compared with a HC diet. Moreover, compared with a HC diet, RC diet increased total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (�.8 ± 111.5 vs. .2 ± 82.5 mmol/l, P RC diet in overweight T2D with CHD had beneficial effects on FPG, hs-CRP, TAC, and GSH values.

Fingolimod (FTY-720) has shown efficacy in relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), while some side effects of this drug have been recognized that the most important is cardiovascular side effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cardiovascular side effects of FTY-720. However, the effect of fingolimod on cardiac has not been well recognized. This study was designed to evaluate the cardiovascular side effects of fingolimod in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patient in an Iranian population.
This prospective clinical trial study was performed on 200 RRMS patients. The patients received a single daily oral dose of fingolimod 0.5 mg. During the first 6 hours after the first fingolimod dose, the patients’ vital signs and electrocardiographic traces were continuously monitored. Moreover, the patients followed up over 6 months after receiving fingolimod.
The results showed that pulse rate (P All the side effects such as hypotension and bradycardia were happened in first 3 hours after receiving the fingolimod. Indeed, we advise clinicians to monitor the patients for first 6 hours after initiation of fingolimod to decrease worse side effects.

The prevalence of obesity is influenced by environmental and genetic factors. Recently, it has been reported that an interaction between genotype and environmental factors can affect each other’s effects on the phenotype. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the recent studies on the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene interactions with environmental factors affecting on obesity and the impact of these interactions on the success level of the lifestyle intervention.
All articles published in English from June 1990 to June 2015 were studied.
In most studies, the role of the FTO risk alleles for obesity is significantly intensified through reduced physical activity and high calorie diet. Furthermore, the results of studies about the effect of FTO on the success level of lifestyle interventions have been contradictory. Some studies show that FTO genotype influences on the success of lifestyle interventions, while other studies did not report it.
The results of these studies generally indicate that the effect of the FTO gene on obesity may be influenced by environmental factors and lifestyle. In the other hand, the FTO genotype can affect the success of lifestyle interventions in the prevention and treatment of obesity. Future studies are crucial to elucidate relationships between FTO gene and lifestyle.

The presence of primary intracardiac tumors are scarce, and most of them are myxomas. We reported, in this paper, a case with huge mass in the right side of the heart.
CASE REPORT: A 45-year-old man, with a complaint of bilateral lower limbs edema and exertional dyspnea, was admitted to intensive cardiac care unit. Cardiac auscultation revealed soft grade systolic murmur without any evidence of “tumor plop.” Echocardiography showed a huge mobile mass in right side of the heart that suggested myxoma. Our patient underwent cardiac surgery with excision of 13 cm mass. Histopathological study was confirmed the diagnosis of mass type.
In this case report, it shows that in the differential diagnosis of right-sided heart failure, the right sided myxoma must be considered. The preferable approach in patient with cardiac myxomas is surgical excision to alleviate symptoms, early identification, and removal.