ObjectiveTo investigate the association between TNF-α gene -308G/A polymorphism and the risk of coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (CHD) in Chinese population.MethodsWe searched PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP Databases from inception to February 2017, to collect case-control studies about the association between TNF-α gene -308G/A polymorphism and risk of CHD in Chinese population. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. Meta-analysis was performed by Stata 12.0 software.ResultsA total of 10 case-control studies were included. The results of meta-analysis showed a significant association between the TNF-α gene -308G/A polymorphism and CHD risk in Chinese population (A vs. G: OR=1.13, 95%CI 1.02 to 1.26, P=0.020; AA vs. GA/GG: OR=1.47, 95%CI 1.02 to 2.12, P=0.038; AA vs. GG: OR=1.50, 95%CI 1.04 to 2.16, P=0.029).ConclusionThe current evidence shows that the TNF-α gene -308G/A polymorphism may be associated with CHD risk in Chinese population and A allele may be a risk factor. Due to the limited quantity and quality of included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.
Atherosclerotic plaque rupture is the main cause of many cardiovascular diseases, and biomechanical factors play an important role in the process of plaque rupture. In the study of plaque biomechanics, there are relatively few studies based on fatigue fracture failure theory, and most of them mainly focus on the whole fatigue propagation process from crack initiation to plaque rupture, while there are few studies on the influence of crack on plaque rupture at a certain time in the process of fatigue propagation. In this paper, a two-dimensional plaque model with crack was established. Based on the theory of fracture mechanics and combined with the finite element numerical simulation method, the stress intensity factor (SIF) and related influencing factors at the crack tip in the plaque were studied. The SIF was used to measure the influence of crack on plaque rupture. The results show that the existence of crack can lead to local stress concentration, which increases the risk of plaque rupture. The SIF at the crack tip in the plaque was positively correlated with blood pressure, but negatively correlated with fibrous cap thickness and lipid pool stiffness. The effect of the thickness and angle of lipid pool on the SIF at the crack tip in the plaque was less than 4%, which could be ignored. This study provides a theoretical basis for the risk assessment of plaque rupture with cracks.
Coronary heart disease is the second leading cause of death worldwide. As a preventable and treatable chronic disease, early screening is of great importance for disease control. However, previous screening tools relied on physician assistance, thus cannot be used on a large scale. Many facial features have been reported to be associated with coronary heart disease and may be useful for screening. However, these facial features have limitations such as fewer types, irregular definitions and poor repeatability of manual judgment, so they can not be routinely applied in clinical practice. With the development of artificial intelligence, it is possible to integrate facial features to predict diseases. A recent study published in the European Heart Journal showed that coronary heart disease can be predicted using artificial intelligence based on facial photos. Although this work still has some limitations, this novel technology will be promise for improving disease screening and diagnosis in the future.
Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) belong to the very high-risk group of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Although CABG gets advantages in relieving symptoms and improving long-term outcomes, a significant risk of cardiovascular adverse events after surgery still exists and standardized secondary prevention is needed. Lipid management plays a critical role as a secondary preventive strategy in CABG. However, lipid management of CABG patients in real clinical setting is inadequate, including lack of standardized lipid-lowering strategy, low goal attainment rate, as well as poor long-term medication adherence. In recent years, a series of clinical trials have provided a lot of groundbreaking new evidence for lipid management in patients with cardiovascular diseases which offers new strategies together with objectives of lipid-lowering and comprehensive management for patients undergoing CABG. This article reviews the strategy and research progress of lipid management after CABG, aiming to provide objective reference for clinical treatment.
Sclerostin, as a bone-derived secreted glycoprotein, is a suppressor of Wnt signaling pathway. Recently, adverse cardiovascular events in the treatment of osteoporosis with sclerostin inhibitors have raised concerns about the association of sclerostin with atherosclerotic heart disease. Whether the role of sclerostin in atherosclerotic heart disease is harmful or beneficial is not clear. This article reviews the progress of the mechanisms of sclerostin in vascular calcification and atherosclerotic heart disease, focusing on the relationship between sclerostin and vascular calcification, the impact of its concentration changes on atherosclerotic heart disease, and the effect of sclerostin inhibitor on cardiovascular events.
ObjectiveTo explore the effect of skeletonized left internal mammary artery (LIMA) in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). MethodsA total of 122 patients who underwent pure CABG were recruited in the study in the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University between January and April 2013. There were 77 males and 45 females with age of 41-76(62.8±10.5) years. They were randomly assigned to received CABG with skeletonized LIMAs (group A, 60 patients) or pedicle LIMAs (the group B, 62 patients) by random digital table. LIMAs were all anastomosised to the left anterior descending artery. ResultsThere was one patient failure in harvesting LIMA process in the group A and B respectively, and they were changed to saphenous vein grafts and excluded from the criteria. There were 2 and 3 patients of postoperative myocardial infarction in the group A and in the group B respectively, with incidence rate of 3.4% and 4.9% respectively (P > 0.05). One patient died in each group during hospitalization with hospital mortality rates of 1.7% and 1.6% respectively (P > 0.05). Complications such as mediastinal infection occurred zero and one patient in the group A and in the group B respectively (P > 0.05). LIMA harvesting time of the group A was statistically longer than that of the group B (30.7±7.2 min vs. 17.2±5.6 min, P < 0.05). In six months of follow-up after surgery, coronary CT showed patency rate of LIMA in the group A and in the group B was 96.8% and 100.0% respectively (P > 0.05). ConclusionThe recent effect of skeletonized LIMA as graft material in CABG is satisfactory.
ObjectiveTo explore the association between free fatty acid (FFA) and extent of severity of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). MethodsWe analyzed the clinical data of 93 ACS in-patients treated between July 2014 and May 2015, including 35 with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), 34 with acute non STEMI (NSTEMI), and 24 with unstable angina (UA). Another 29 in-patients during the same period without coronary heart disease and heart failure and with normal results of electrocardiogram and myocardial damage markers were selected as the control. The statistical analysis of FFA collected within 24 hours after admission was conducted. ResultsThe FFA in the ACS group[(1.08±0.41) mmol/L] was significantly higher than that in control group[(0.51±0.15) mmol/L] (P < 0.01). The FFA in patients with STEMI, NSTEMI, and UA in ACS group was (1.32±0.38), (1.12±0.35, and (0.67±0.10) mmol/L, respectively; the FFA in STEMI and NSTEMI patients was much higher than that in the UA patients (P < 0.05), and the difference between STEMI and NSTEMI patients was not significant (P > 0.05). There were 58 NSTEMI and UA patients evaluated by Grace risk score, in whom 30 had Grace score≥140 with the FFA of (1.12±0.37) mmol/L and 28 had < 140 with the FFA of (0.73±0.17) mmol/L; the difference was significant (P < 0.05). There were 35 STEMI patients evaluated by Killip grade, in whom 16 were Killip I-II with the FFA of (1.17±0.37) mmol/L, and 19 were Killip III-IV with the FFA of (1.45±0.35) mmol/L; the difference was significant (P < 0.05). ConclusionElevated plasma FFA could be associated with ischemic risk and extent of severity of ACS.
目的 应用128层螺旋CT冠状动脉成像，探讨冠状动脉不同成分斑块与狭窄程度的诊断价值。 方法 对2010年3月－2012年10月150例临床拟诊冠心病及确诊冠心病患者的128层螺旋CT冠状动脉成像检查，冠状动脉影像表现由两位心血管CT诊断医师独立判断冠状动脉斑块成分及测量冠状动脉狭窄程度。应用Circulation血管分析软件，分析冠状动脉斑块成分与狭窄程度之间的相关性。 结果 150例患者中，共发现319处斑块，其中软斑块104处，纤维、混合斑块103处，钙化斑块112处。冠状动脉轻度狭窄114处中，钙化斑块86处 （75.4%）；冠状动脉中度狭窄113处中，纤维、混合斑块75处（66.3%）；冠状动脉重度狭窄92处中，软斑块68处（73.9%）。 结论 128层螺旋CT冠状动脉成像能够有效检测患者冠状动脉斑块的成分及准确判断冠状动脉狭窄程度。