The heroin abuses can seriously damage human body system, among them the damage of cardiovascular system is various. In this paper those damages involved heart rate, blood pressure, electrocardiogram, heart function, blood circulation, the changes of some material inside, and complications of cardiovascular system are reviewed.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac/etiology* ; Blood Circulation ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiovascular Diseases/physiopathology* ; Death, Sudden/etiology* ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Rate ; Heroin Dependence/physiopathology* ; Humans ; Myocardial Ischemia/etiology*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the roles of cardiovascular disease in obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome. METHOD: All 228 OSAHS patients underwent the examination of biochemical and complete blood count. The correlation analysis between AHI, AI, HI, LSaO2, complete blood count, and biochemical examination were employed. Two hundred and twenty-eight cases were divided into 3 groups according to sleep apnea hypopnea index (AHI): group 1 (5 < or = AHI < 15), group 2 (15 < or = AHI < 30), group 3 (30 < or = AHI). Morbidity of diseases in each group was calculated and the value of AHI and AI for morbidity was analyzed by using ROC curve. RESULT: (1) No statistically significant difference was found between group 1 and group 2 (chi2 = 0.428, P > 0.05). There was significant difference between group 3 and group 1, 2 (chi2 = 12.89, P < 0.05). The areas under the ROC curves of AHI and AI were 0. 678 and 0. 679,respectively. (2) There was significant positive correlation between AHI and complete blood count parameters (r = 0.176 to 0.194, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION OSAHS may be one of the predisposing factors of cardiovascular disease.
Adult ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polysomnography ; Risk Factors ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; complications ; diagnosis ; physiopathology ; Young Adult

Although metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality and the development of atherosclerosis, consensus is still lacking on the status of cardiovascular function and geometry in MetS patients. We investigated the relation between MetS and left ventricle (LV) geometry and function, carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and arterial stiffness in a community-based cohort of 702 adult subjects. Subjects were categorized into three groups according to the number of MetS components present, as defined by the Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines: 1) Absent (0 criteria), 2) Pre-MetS (1-2 criteria) or 3) MetS (> or =3 criteria). In female subjects, LV mass, LV mass/height(2.7), deceleration time, and aortic pulse wave velocity increased, and E/A ration decreased in a stepwise manner across the three groups. These changes were not observed in male subjects. The mean carotid IMT was higher in the MetS group than in the other two groups. The degree of MetS clustering is found to be strongly correlated with geometric eccentricity of LV hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction and arterial changes irrespective of age and blood pressure status, particularly in females. Waist circumference is found to have the most powerful effect on cardiovascular parameters.
Adult ; Aged ; Cardiovascular Diseases/etiology/*physiopathology ; Cardiovascular System/pathology/*physiopathology ; Carotid Arteries/anatomy & histology/physiology ; *Cohort Studies ; Female ; Heart Ventricles/anatomy & histology ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X/complications/*physiopathology ; Middle Aged ; *Rural Population ; Ventricular Function, Left/physiology

BACKGROUNDWomen with a history of preeclampsia have twice the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and there is a graded relationship between the severity of preeclampsia and the risk of cardiac disease. Moreover, metabolic scores are associated with developing preeclampsia. However, since there are no diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome during pregnancy and pregnant women undergo metabolic changes, it is difficult to elucidate the relationship between preeclampsia and metabolic syndrome. We carried out a cross-sectional study to investigate the relationship between metabolic syndrome and preeclampsia among women with a history of severe preeclampsia shortly after an indexed pregnancy.

METHODSWe recruited 62 women with a history of severe preeclampsia 1 to 3 years after an indexed pregnancy. Blood pressure and body compositional indices were recorded. Fasting blood samples were tested for glucose, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglycerides, and insulin. A questionnaire was used to collect demographic data including pre-pregnancy weight and family history of diseases associated with cardiovascular diseases. Criteria for metabolic syndrome were defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program, Adult Treatment Panel III 2001 (NCEP III) and International Diabetes Federation 2005 (IDF). Data were analyzed by the a2 test and multivariate Logistic regression.

RESULTSAccording to NCEP III and IDF standards, 17 (27%) and 24 (39%) women, respectively, were identified as having metabolic syndrome. Being overweight pre-pregnancy and currently overweight were risk factors, and currently overweight was an independent risk factor. A combination of blood pressure and waist circumference was predictive of metabolic syndrome with a sensitivity of 91.67% and specificity of 94.74%.

CONCLUSIONSAn unfavorable metabolic constitution in women may lead to metabolic syndrome, preeclampsia, and long-term cardiovascular disease. In women with severe preeclampsia, therapeutic interventions should include weight-control shortly after pregnancy, especially among women who were previously overweight.

Adult ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; epidemiology ; physiopathology ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Metabolic Syndrome ; epidemiology ; physiopathology ; Middle Aged ; Pre-Eclampsia ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Pregnancy ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVETo analyze the correlation of Chinese medicine syndrome evolvement and cardiovascular: events in patients with stable coronary heart disease (CHD).

METHODSThis prospective cohort study investigated and: collected the clinical information of patients with stable CHD and observed the syndrome type at the baseline and 6-month at follow-up, as well as the cardiovascular events during the 6-month and 12-month follow-up. The patients were divided into the event group and the non-event group. The interaction and the impact of syndrome evolvement on cardiovascular events were examined through multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) analysis and the results were verified by Chi-square test.

RESULTSTotally 1,333 of 1,503 stable CHD patients enrolled met the inclusion criteria: of MDR analysis. Among them, 959 (71.9%) cases were males and 374 (28.1%) cases were females. Thirty seven cases had cardiovascular events during 6 to 12 months after the study began. The results of the MDR analysis and verification using Chi-square test showed that the development of cardiovascular events was positively correlated with interaction between blood stasis and toxic syndrome at the baseline, blood stasis at the baseline and qi deficiency at the 6-month follow-up, toxic syndrome at the baseline and qi deficiency at the 6-month follow-up, toxic syndrome at the base line and blood stasis at the 6-month follow-up, qi deficiency and blood stasis at the 6-month follow-up (P<0.05 for all).

CONCLUSIONSBlood stasis, toxic syndrome and qi deficiency are important factors of stable CHD. There: are positive correlation between cardiovascular events and syndrome evolution from blood stasis to qi deficiency, from toxic syndrome to qi deficiency and from toxic syndrome to blood stasis, indicating the pathogenesis of toxin consuming qi, toxin leading to blood-stasis in stable CHD patients prone to recurrent cardiovascular events.

Aged ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; etiology ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Disease ; complications ; physiopathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction ; Syndrome

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between resting heart rate (RHR)and target organs damage in senile essential hypertension.

METHODSAll 206 elderly essential hypertensive patients (age: 60 - 85 years) were divided into three groups according to the levels of systolic blood pressure (SBP): SBP < 160 mm Hg, 160 mm Hg /= 180 mm Hg. Each of the groups mentioned above were divided into five groups according to the levels of RHR [RHR1 group: RHR < 65 beats/minute(bpm); RHR2: 65 bpm /= 80 bpm]. Electrocardiography, carotid ultrasonography, echocardiography, creatinine clearance rate (CCr) and quantitative test for 24 hours' urinary microalbuminuria (MAU) were performed.

RESULTS(1) Compared with RHR1-RHR4 groups, the RHR5 group showed with lower levels of MAU and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Compared with RHR1 and RHR2 groups, RHR5 or RHR4 group showed with higher levels of carotid intima-medial thickness (IMT) and carotid arterial diameter (CAD), lower CCr and MAU (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). (2) The levels of IMT, CAD, LVMI, MAU were positively correlated to RHR (r = 0.312, 0.289, 0.630, 0.563, 0.576 respectively, all P < 0.01), however, the levels of LVEF, CCr were negatively correlated to RHR (r = -0.563, -0.510. all P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSTarget organ damage (TOD) seems not only related with PP, SBP, DBP, but also related with RHR in senile essential hypertension. RHR may be one of the important risk factors in TOD.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; etiology ; Female ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: Reduced heart rate variability significantly increases cardiovascular mortality. Metabolic syndrome increases the cardiac autonomic dysfunction. Recently, increasing cardiovascular mortality has been reported in patients with schizophrenia. This study was done to compare heart rate variability between adults with and without schizophrenia and to compare the relationship of heart rate variability to metabolic syndrome in hospitalized patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: This was a descriptive and correlational study in which 719 adults without schizophrenia and 308 adults with schizophrenia took part between May and June 2008. We measured the following: five-minute heart rate variability; high-frequency, low-frequency, the ratio of low-frequency to high-frequency, and the Standard Deviation of all the normal RR intervals. Data was also collected on metabolic syndrome, abdominal obesity, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, blood pressure and fasting glucose. RESULTS: The Standard Deviation of all the normal RR intervals values of heart rate variability indices were 1.53+/-0.18. The low-frequency and high-frequency values of heart rate variability indices were significantly higher in hospitalized patients with schizophrenia (3.89+/-1.36; 3.80+/-1.20) than those in the healthy participants (2.20+/-0.46; 2.10+/-0.46). There were no significant differences between the schizophrenic patients with and without metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that schizophrenia patients have significantly lower cardiac autonomic control, but they have significantly higher low-frequency and high-frequency values than those of healthy adults. Use of antipsychotic drug may affect the autonomic nervous system in schizophrenic patients. Metabolic syndrome was not associated with cardiac autonomic control in schizophrenia patients.
Adult ; Autonomic Nervous System/physiopathology ; Blood Glucose/analysis ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiovascular Diseases/complications/diagnosis/mortality ; Cholesterol, HDL/blood ; Female ; *Heart Rate ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X/*complications/*physiopathology ; Middle Aged ; Obesity/etiology ; Schizophrenia/*complications/mortality/*physiopathology ; Triglycerides/blood

Stenosis with 55.2% cross section area reduction was introduced into the rabbit aorta. Using Evans blue dye and scanning microscope, we observed the morphology of endothelial cells and the permeability of endothelium to albumin in the stenotic aorta. Numerical simulation of blood flow in the stenotic aorta was performed to obtain the distribution of wall shear rate. The results showed that in the immediately proximal and distal vicinity of stenosis, blood flow was disturbed significantly, resulting in apparent changes in the morphology of endothelial cells and the permeability of endothelium to albumin. These changes were not only attributed to the value of wall shear stress, but also attributed to the flow pattern in the stenosis. The result therefore is in good consistent with the clinical observation that atherosclerosis often occurs in the areas where blood flow is disturbed and flow separation occurs.
Animals ; Aorta, Abdominal ; pathology ; Aortic Diseases ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Atherosclerosis ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Blood Flow Velocity ; Blood Pressure ; Capillary Permeability ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Endothelium, Vascular ; pathology ; physiology ; Hemodynamics ; physiology ; Hemorheology ; methods ; Male ; Models, Cardiovascular ; Permeability ; Pulsatile Flow ; physiology ; Rabbits ; Stress, Mechanical ; Tensile Strength

Antibody against the angiotensin AT1 receptor (AT1-Ab) could disturb placental development. The placenta is the key organ between mother and fetus. Placental damage will seriously impair fetal growth and development in utero, leading to intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Based on the fetal origins of adult disease (FOAD) hypothesis, IUGR could increase a propensity to develop adult onset cardiovascular disease (CVD). The present study was designed to determine whether vascular function has changed in the adult offspring of AT1-Ab positive pregnant rats. Twenty four female rats (8-week-old, AT1-Ab negative) were randomly divided into two groups, immunized and vehicle groups. Immunized group received active immunization to establish AT1-Ab-positive model, while vehicle group was subjected to Freund's adjuvant without antigen. After 8 weeks of immunization, the antibody titers in sera from the female rats were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Then all the female rats were mated with normal Wistar male rats and became pregnant. Immunized/vehicle group offspring rats (I offspring/V offspring) were raised to 40-week-old under standard chow feeding. Then the two groups' offspring rats were given a high-salt diet for 12 weeks (4% NaCl in chow feeding). Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured dynamically by noninvasive blood pressure system. The vascular ring experiment was performed to detect vascular function and reactivity. As detected by ELISA, the titers of antibody peaked at the 8th week (OD values: 2.75 ± 0.08 vs 0.33 ± 0.01, P < 0.01 vs vehicle group at the same time point). There was no significant difference of SBP between the two groups' offspring rats during the high-salt diet (P > 0.05). Isolated thoracic aortic rings of I offspring had significantly decreased constriction under norepinephrine treatment (P < 0.01 vs V offspring) and significantly decreased dilation under acetylcholine treatment (P < 0.05 vs V offspring). These results suggest that the offspring of AT1-Ab-positive pregnant rats are more susceptible to vascular functional abnormality while being fed high-salt diet.
Animals ; Antibodies ; blood ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Disease Susceptibility ; Female ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; physiopathology ; Immunization ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1 ; immunology ; Sodium Chloride, Dietary ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects

OBJECTIVETo investigate the major cardiovascular risk factors affecting small arterial elasticity and the effect of combined multiple risk factors on it.

METHODSArterial elasticity indexes (C(1)-large artery and C(2)-small artery) were measured with CVProfilor DO-2020. The status of insulin resistance was evaluated with HOMA (homeostasis model assessment). Subjects were categorized into abnormal C(2) group and control group according to the level of C(2). The former group was further divided into four subgroups (0 to 3) based on the number of risk factors.

RESULTS(1) The levels of age, total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein- cholesterol (LDL-C), fasting blood glucose (FBG), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in abnormal C(2) group were higher than those in control group, whereas C(2) itself was lower than that in control group (P all < 0.05). Age, TC, LDL-C, FBG, SBP and DBP were significantly inversely correlated with C(2). (2) With the clusters of risk factors increasing, C(2) was decreasing (6.5 +/- 2.6 vs 5.4 +/- 2.3 vs 4.7 +/- 2.7 vs 3.1 +/- 1.6, P < 0.001). C(2) decreased significantly in subjects with multiple risk factors (subgroup 3). (3) Fasting plasma insulin and HOMA-IR (insulin resistance index) were significantly higher in subgroup 3 than in the other subgroups (P < 0.05, P < 0.001 respectively).

CONCLUSIONSThe elevations of age, TC, LDL-C, FBG, SBP and DBP were the major cardiovascular risk factors on the reduction of C(2), and the effects on it were continuously. With their concurrent effects, multiple risk factors could decrease small arterial elasticity much more significantly. Insulin resistance seems to be closely related to the clusters of multiple risk factors.

Adult ; Aged ; Arterioles ; physiopathology ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; blood ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Cholesterol, HDL ; blood ; Cholesterol, LDL ; blood ; Elasticity ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors