Middle aortic syndrome (MAS) is very uncommon vascular pathology characterized by a long segmental narrowing or obstruction of the abdominal and/or distal thoracic aorta, commonly involving with the visceral and renal arteries. This syndrome may be presented with various physical signs of coarctation of the aorta, including resistant hypertension, renal insufficiency and/or mesenteric ischemia. Here, we report a case of a 64-year-old man with severe hypertension. He was diagnosed with MAS associated with stenosis of visceral and renal vessels by use of computed tomography and magnetic resonance angiography.
Aorta, Abdominal ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Aortic Coarctation ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Hypertension ; Hypertension, Renal ; Ischemia ; Magnetic Resonance Angiography ; Renal Artery

Objective Multidector computed tomography (MDCT) is now commonly used for the evaluation of coronary artery disease. Because MDCT images include many non-cardiac organs and the patient population evaluated is highly susceptible to extracardiac diseases, this study was designed to evaluate the prevalence of extracardiac findings in the MDCT evaluation of ischemic heart disease. Methods From March 2007 to March 2008, a total of six-hundred twenty patients, who underwent 64-slice MDCT evaluations for chest pain, or dyspnea, were enrolled in this study. Cardiac and non-cardiac findings were comprehensively evaluated by a radiologist. Results Enrolled patients included 306 men (49.4%), with a mean age of 66 years. Significant coronary artery stenosis was found in 41.6%of the patients. A total of 158 extracardiac findings were observed in 110 (17.7%) patients. Commonly involved extracardiac organs were lung (36.7%), hepatobiliary system (21.5%), thyroid (19.6%), kidney (10.8%), spine (9.7%) and breast (0.6%). Of those 110 patients, 50 (45.5%) patients underwent further diagnostic investigations. Malignant disease was detected in three (2.7%) patients (lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and thyroid cancer). Conclusions Extracardiac findings are frequently present and should be a concern in the MDCT evaluation of chest pain syndrome.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to contribute to overall public health by examining the prevalence rates of impaired fasting blood glucose and type 2 diabetes mellitus and developing a model to predict high risk factors for impaired fasting blood glucose and type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: The 1998 Public Health Nutrition Survey data was used for this study. Subjects were 7,702 adult at the age of 20 or over. The frequency analysis, chisquared test was performed. A decision tree was utilized to define a model designed to predict high risk factors for impaired fasting glucose and type 2 diabetes mellitus. RESULTS: The prevalence rates of impaired fasting blood glucose was 10.8% and prevalence rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus was 9.4%. The decision tree analysis exhibited that age was strong factors for impaired fasting blood glucose. HDL cholesterol and kind of economic activities were high risk factors for impaired fasting blood glucose and type 2 diabetes mellitus on those in 20s. BMI, total cholesterol level, marriage status, sex for impaired fasting blood glucose and type 2 diabetes mellitus on those in 30s. The total cholesterol level, drinking and waist size were identified as risk factors on those in 40s. BMI, education level and hypertension seemed to have an impact on those in 50s. The waist size, sex and income had an impact on those in 60s. CONCLUSIONS: This study underscores the need for the public health infrastructure to improve various health promotion programs for those who have risk factors for impaired fasting blood glucose and type 2 diabetes mellius. The implementation of effective nutrition, workout and anti-drinking programs will boost public health.
Adult ; Blood Glucose ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Decision Trees ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2* ; Drinking ; Education ; Fasting* ; Glucose* ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Marriage ; Nutrition Surveys ; Prevalence ; Public Health ; Risk Factors*

Background The benefit of statin use after acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has been well established, however, the influence of the timing of statin administration has not been elucidated. The objective of this study focused on early clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods This analysis of the Korea Working Group on Myocardial Infarction registry (KorMI) study included 3,584 STEMI patients (mean age, 63 ±13 years;male, 2,684, 74.9%) undergoing PCI from January 2008 to June 2009. Rates of major adverse cardiac events (MACE:all-cause death, recurrent MI, and target lesion revascularization) were compared among patients grouped according to statin therapy timing:I, both during and after hospitalization (n=2,653, 74%);II, only during hospita-lization (n=309, 8.6%);III, only after discharge (n=157, 4.4%);and IV, no statin therapy (n=465, 13%). Mean follow-up duration was 234 ± 113 days. Results Multivariate factors of statin use during hospitalization included prior statin use, multiple diseased vessels, final thrombolysis in myocardial infarction flow grade III, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level. At 6-month follow-up, groups III and IV had the highest MACE rates (2.3%, 3.9%, 5.1%, and 4.9%for groups I-IV, respectively, P=0.004). After adjusting for confounders, groups II-IV had a higher MACE risk than group I [hazard ratio (HR):3.20, 95%confidence interval (95%CI):1.31-7.86, P=0.011;HR:3.84, 95%CI:1.47-10.02, P=0.006;and HR:3.17, 95%CI:1.59-6.40, P=0.001;respectively]. Conclusions This study, based on the national registry database, shows early and continuous statin therapy improvs early outcomes of STEMI patients after PCI in real-world clinical prac-tice.