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BackgroundSome peripheral artery disease (PAD) patients have normal ankle brachial index (ABI) (0.9 - 1.4), although ABI is a useful parameter for the diagnosis of PAD. We investigated whether other parameters of ABI report sheet are useful to detect these patients.MethodsWe initially enrolled 3,912 patients (7,824 limbs) who underwent ABI for the first time. Subjects who have normal ABI were divided into the PAD group (n = 136) and the non-PAD group (n = 240) by lower extremity ultrasonography. We investigated blood pressures (BP) (systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP), mean (mBP) and pulse pressure (PP)), heart rate, upstroke time (UT), and %mean arterial pressure (%MAP).ResultsSBP, mBP, PP, UT, and %MAP in the PAD group were significantly higher. A multivariate analysis showed that mBP, DBP, PP, UT and %MAP were independently associated with the presence of PAD (mBP: odds ratio (OR) 2.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22 - 4.37, P = 0.010; DBP: OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.28 - 0.97, P = 0.039; PP: OR 1.30, 95% CI 0.69 - 2.46, P = 0.041; UT: OR 3.40, 95% CI 2.03 - 5.83, P < 0.001; %MAP: OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.05 - 2.98, P = 0.031). Maximal area under the curve (AUC) of BPs for associating PAD was PP. The cut-off value of PP was 53.0 mm Hg (sensitivity 0.500, specificity 0.721, AUC 0.628, 95% CI 0.569 - 0.687).ConclusionsThe present study demonstrated that BPs are associated with PAD in patients with normal ABI. The measurement of BPs could provide additional information for the diagnosis of PAD.

Background While the cardioprotective benefits of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have been established in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), their advantages over other anti-diabetic drugs at earlier stages remain unclear. We compared the cardioprotective effects of empagliflozin, an SGLT2 inhibitor, with those of sitagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, focusing on cardiac fat accumulation, cardiac function, and cardiac metabolism in patients with early-stage type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) without CVD complications. Methods This was a prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded-endpoint, parallel-group trial that enrolled 44 Japanese patients with T2DM. The patients were randomized for 12-week administration of empagliflozin or sitagliptin. Pericardial fat accumulation and myocardial triglyceride content were evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, respectively. Echocardiography, 123I-β-methyl-iodophenyl pentadecanoic acid myocardial scintigraphy, and laboratory tests were performed at baseline and after the 12-week treatment period. Results The patients were middle-aged (50.3 ± 10.7 years, mean ± standard deviation) and overweight (body mass index 29.3 ± 4.9 kg/m2). They had a short diabetes duration (3.5 ± 3.2 years), HbA1c levels of 7.1 ± 0.8%, and preserved cardiac function (ejection fraction 73.8 ± 5.0%) with no vascular complications, except for one baseline case each of diabetic nephropathy and peripheral arterial disease. After the 12-week treatment, no differences from baseline were observed between the two groups regarding changes in pericardial, epicardial, and paracardial fat content; myocardial triglyceride content; cardiac function and mass; and cardiac fatty acid metabolism. However, considering cardiometabolic biomarkers, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and ketone bodies, including β-hydroxybutyric acid, were significantly increased, whereas uric acid, plasma glucose, plasma insulin, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance were significantly lower in the empagliflozin group than in the sitagliptin group (p < 0.05). Conclusions Although the effects on cardiac fat and function were not statistically different between the two groups, empagliflozin exhibited superior effects on cardiometabolic biomarkers, such as uric acid, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, ketone bodies, and insulin sensitivity. Therefore, when considering the primary preventive strategies for CVD, early supplementation with SGLT2 inhibitors may be more beneficial than DPP-4 inhibitors, even in patients with early-stage T2DM without current CVD complications. Clinical Trial Registration: UMIN000026340; registered on February 28, 2017. https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/icdr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000030257

Background: Recent development of multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) has made the detection of myocardial bridge (MB) easier on the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). The LAD segment proximal to the MB is well known to be susceptible to atherosclerosis. Anatomical characteristics of MB on LAD in patients with myocardial infarction (MI) were examined by MDCT. Methods and Results:Subjects were 43 MI patients who had MB in the LAD and comprised 2 groups: 14 with culprit lesions in the LAD proximal to MB (culprit group) and 29 without culprit lesions in the LAD (non-culprit group). MB length, MB thickness, and the distance from the orifice of left main trunk (LMT) to MB entrance were compared. Age and coronary risk factors showed no significant difference between the 2 groups. MB length (P=0.011), MB thickness (P=0.035), and index of the length multiplied by thickness of MB (P=0.031) were significantly greater in the culprit group. The distance from the orifice of the LMT to MB entrance was significantly shorter in the culprit group (P=0.006).Conclusions: Anatomical properties of MB, such as length and thickness of MB as well as MB location, are associated with the formation of culprit lesions of LAD proximal to MB in MI. (Circ J 2011; 75: 642 - 648)

BackgroundPatients with acute heart failure (HF) complicated by supraventricular tachyarrhythmia (SVT) often receive continuous intravenous infusion of landiolol or diltiazem for rate control. It is unclear whether the interval from initiation of infusion to commencement of oral beta-blocker (BB) therapy differs for these two drugs.MethodsFrom January 2013 to July 2015, 94 consecutive patients were hospitalized for acute HF complicated by SVT. After 35 patients were excluded, the remaining 59 were divided into groups treated with diltiazem or landiolol. We investigated the blood pressure, heart rate, New York Heart Association classification, brain natriuretic peptide, chest X-ray film, echocardiographic findings (ejection fraction (EF)), time until commencement of oral BB therapy, and hospital stay.ResultsThere were no significant between-group differences of heart rate, blood pressure, or the severity of HF. The time until commencing oral BB therapy was significantly shorter in the landiolol group compared with the diltiazem group (median: 2 vs. 4 days, P = 0.002), but there was no significant difference in hospital stay. This interval was significantly shorter in patients with a reduced EF in the landiolol group (median: 2 days) compared with those with a reduced EF in the diltiazem group (median: 5 days, P = 0.008), and patients with a preserved EF in the landiolol group tended to have a shorter interval (median: 2 days) than those with a preserved EF in the diltiazem group (median: 4 days, P = 0.092).ConclusionsSwitching to oral BBs was accomplished earlier with landiolol than with diltiazem.