OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to investigate the incidence rate of fatty liver and it's related factors based on a three year follow up of multiphasic health screening participants. METHODS: 671 male workers who had participated in both initial and second multiphasic health screening were selected. Initial screening was performed during the year of 1996 to 1997 and second screening was performed during the year of 1999 to 2000. Among them, four hundred and thirty workers who didn't initially have a fatty liver were selected as the final study subjects. They were classified into 2 categories according to the initial and second hepatic ultrasonographic findings; stationary normal(307, 71.4%), and fatty liver incident(123, 28.6%). The incidence rate was calculated using the incidence density method. RESULTS: The incidence rate of fatty liver among the male workers was 9.73 per 100 person-years. The white collar workers had a higher incidence rate(10.66) than the blue collar workers(8.14). The incidence density ratio of alcohol drinking to fatty liver incidence was 1.41, and the incidence density ratio of low vegetable diet was 1.63. The incidence density ratio of obesity was 1.78 for the 100-109% obesity index group, 2.83 for the 110-119% obesity index group, 4.25 for the >or=120% obesity index group over <100%. Smoking, regular exercise, salty food preference, and taking food supplement had no significant effect on the incidence of fatty liver. The fatty liver incident group had higher initial blood pressure, GPT, gamma GTP, fasting blood sugar, HbA1c, uric acid, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels than the stationary normal group. However, there were no differences in the GOT, HDL-cholesterol or LDL-cholesterol levels. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, obesity index and serum triglyceride were found to be major factors in the incidence of fatty liver after controlling age, alcohol drinking, vegetable diet, daily coffee intake, blood pressure, HbA1c, total cholesterol, and uric acid levels. CONCLUSION: The incidence rate of fatty liver among the male workers was 9.73 per 100 person-years. The lifestyles which gave rise to an increasing incidence of fatty liver were those involving excessive alcohol drinking, obesity, and low vegetable diet. Moreover, many cardiovascular disorder related health indices such as blood pressure, and the blood sugar, blood lipid and uric acid levels, were related to the incidence of fatty liver.
Alcohol Drinking ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Cholesterol ; Coffee ; Diet ; Dietary Supplements ; Fasting ; Fatty Liver* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Food Preferences ; Guanosine Triphosphate ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Life Style ; Logistic Models ; Male* ; Mass Screening ; Obesity ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Triglycerides ; Uric Acid ; Vegetables

BACKGROUND: The lesion length of coronary artery stenosis has been regarded as a risk factor for acute complication and long segment stenosis of the coronary artery is associated with a less chance of successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty(PTCA). Many new interventional techniques auch as excimer laser angioplasty, directional atherectomy, and long-balloon angioplasty catheter have been developed and used for long lesion of coronary artery stenosis. Only a little data is, however, available on long-balloon PTCA. This study was carried out to see the clinical results of PTCA using long-balloon angioplasty catheters. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifty-four coronary arterial stenotic lesions in 49 patients(M:F=32:17, 54.48.9 years)were attempted to dilate with long-balloon PTCA. Clinical diagnoses in 49 patients were acute myocardial infarction in 13, old myocardial infarction in 9, unstable angina in 18, andd stable angina in 9. Lesion length and TIMI(Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction) flow of target lesions were measured before PTCA. PTCA was performed in standard fashion using long-balloon angioplasty catheters. Immediate success rate, complications, and retenosis rate were evaluated. RESULTS: The associated risk factors of atherosclerosis were hypertension in 16, hypercholesterolemia in 10, smoking in 27, and diabetes mellitus in 9 patients. The target vessels were 34 left anterior descending arteries, 6 left circumflex arteries, and 14 right coronary arteries. PTCA using long-balloon catheters was performed as an adjunct to suboptimal PTCA using standard balloon catheters in 6 patients. In the remaining 44 patients, long-balloon PTCA was primarily performed due to lesion length greater than 2.0 cm. The overall success rate of long-balloon PTCA was 85.2%, and the procedure-related complications were occurred in 12(22.2%) lesions. Restenosis was revealed in 9(50%) of 18 lesions which were evaluated with follow-up coronary angiography. CONCLUSION: Above results suggest that PTCA using a long-balloon angioplasty catheter is efficacious in dilation long segment stenosis of coronary artery with a low complication rate.
Angina, Stable ; Angina, Unstable ; Angioplasty ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary* ; Arteries ; Atherectomy ; Atherosclerosis ; Catheters ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Stenosis ; Coronary Vessels ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Hypertension ; Lasers, Excimer ; Myocardial Infarction ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking

BACKGROUND: Inotropic agents have been shown to improve cardiac function in patients with congestive heart failure. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the short-term efficacy and safety of denopamine(Cardopamin(R)), and orally available beta-stimulant, in patients with chronic congestive heart failure. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty-four patients(54.1+/-10.9 years, male:female=1.4:1) with chronic congestive heart failure whose functional classes were equal or greater than New York Heart Association(NYHA) Class II were enrolled in this study after informed consents were obtained. Upon completion of baseline evaluation, denopamine(Cardopamin(R)) was administered orally, startion with 15 mg per day and increased to 30 mg per day according to the clinical response of each patient. Blood pressure, heart rate, electrocardiographic(EKG) findings, AST, BUN, and creatinine were also followed up at 4 weeks' interval. The clinical effects and side effects at 4 weeks' interbal and echocardiographic examination at baseline and 8 weeks after trentment were evaluated. RESULTS: Mean dosage of denopamine(Cardopamin(R)) was 22.9+/-5.3mg per day. The clinical symptoms of 18(75%) of 24 patients were improved. The echocardiographic follow-up revealed a significant decrease in left vetricular(LV) end-Systolic dimemsion(fron 4.8+/-0.2mm to 4.5+/-0.1mm. p<0.005) and LV end-systolic volume(from 92.0+/-8.5ml to 80.3+/-4.5ml, p<0.005). However, there was no significant interval change in LV end-diastolic dimension, LV end-diastolic volume, ejection fraction, and fractional shortening. Blood pressure, heart rate, EKG findings, AST, BUN, and creatinine were not changed significantly during treatment. CONCLUSION: Above results suggest that short-term therapy of denopamine(Cardopamin(R)) may improve clinical symptom with no side effect in patients with chronic congestive heart failure, but the long-term efficacy remains to be determined with a randomized long-term follow up study.
Blood Pressure ; Creatinine ; Echocardiography* ; Electrocardiography ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP)* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart ; Heart Failure* ; Heart Rate ; Humans

BACKGROUND: Catheter ablation of accessory pathways using radiofrequency(RF) energy was recently introduced to cure accessory pathway related tachyarrhythmias. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of radiofrequency catheter ablation of accessory pathways and to determine factors influencing the outcome of catheter ablation. METHODS: Electrophysiology study was performed with standard technique and catheter ablation of accessory pathways using RF and conventional ablation technique. The outcome of RF catheter ablation were evaluated according to the location and the overtness of accessory pathways. Eighty patients(Mean +/-SD age, 36+/-15 years ; 50 male, 30 female)comprising 49(61%) with Wolff-Parkinson-White(WPW) syndrome and 31(39%) with atrioventricular reentry tachycardia(AVRT) using concealed bypass tract underwent RF catheter ablation for total of 85 accessory pathways in the Chonnam University Hospital. Five(6.3%) patients had multiple accessory pathways. RESULTS: Seventy-nine(92.9%) out of 85 pathways and all the pathways in 75(93.8%) out of 80 patients were ablated successfully. The success rate showed no significant difference between patients with overt accessory pathways and patients with concealed accessory pathways(92.0% vs. 93.9%). However, the success rate in right free wall location(72.7% of 11) was significantly lower than that in the other sites (95.9% of 74, p<0.05). More attempts were tried to ablate right-sided accessory pathway than left-sided pathways(6.4+/-24.1 vs. 3.8+/-6.8, p<0.05). Three(3.8%) pathways recurred within 30 minutes after the initial successful ablation. Four(5.1%) pathways recurred from 16 hours to 7 months after completion of the initial successful ablation session during the mean follow-up period of 43+/-24 weeks(range, 2-84 weeks). This late recurrence was more frequent, although statistically insignificant, in right-sided accessory pathways(11.1% vs. 3.3%, p=0.22). All 4 recurrent pathways(1 at the same session, 3 at the repeated sessions) reattempted for ablation were successfully ablated. As procedure-related complications, second degree AV block developed in a patients with mid septal and posteroseptal pahways and hemopericardium in a patients with a left anterolateral pathway. CONCLUSION: RF catheter ablation of atrioventricular accessory pathways is very effective and safe, with a success rate of 93.8% and a complication rate of 2.5%. Right-sided accessory pathways are more difficult to ablate than left-sided accessory pathways, requiring the development of a better technique for right free wall pathways.
Ablation Techniques ; Atrioventricular Block ; Catheter Ablation* ; Catheters* ; Electrophysiology ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Jeollanam-do ; Male ; Pericardial Effusion ; Recurrence ; Tachycardia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Diffuse long coronary artery disease (DLCAD) still has unfavorable clinical outcomes after successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Resolute™ zotarolimus-eluting stent (R-ZES; Resolute™ Integrity) for patients with DLCAD. METHODS: From December 2011 to December 2014, 1,011 patients who underwent PCI using R-ZES for CAD with longer than 25 mm lesion were prospectively enrolled from 21 hospitals in Korea. We assessed the clinical outcome of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) defined as the composite of cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), and clinically-driven target vessel revascularization at 12 months. RESULTS: Mean age was 63.8±10.8 years, 701 (69.3%) patients were male, 572 (87.0%) patients had hypertension, 339 (33.8%) patients had diabetes, 549 (54.3%) patients diagnosed with acute MI and 545 (53.9%) patients had multi-vessel disease (MVD). A total of 1,697 stents were implanted into a total of 1,472 lesions. The mean diameter was 3.07±0.38 mm and the length was 28.27±6.97 mm. Multiple overlapping stents were performed in 205 (13.8%) lesions. A 12-month clinical follow-up was available in 1,004 patients (99.3%). The incidences of MACE and definite stent thrombosis at 12-month were 3.0% and 0.3% respectively. On multivariate Cox-regression analysis, multiple overlapping stents implantation, previous congestive heart failure, MVD, and age ≥75 years were independent predictors of one-year MACE. CONCLUSIONS Our study shows that R-ZES has an excellent 1-year clinical outcome in Korean patients with DLCAD.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Diffuse long coronary artery disease (DLCAD) still has unfavorable clinical outcomes after successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Resolute™ zotarolimus-eluting stent (R-ZES; Resolute™ Integrity) for patients with DLCAD. METHODS: From December 2011 to December 2014, 1,011 patients who underwent PCI using R-ZES for CAD with longer than 25 mm lesion were prospectively enrolled from 21 hospitals in Korea. We assessed the clinical outcome of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) defined as the composite of cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), and clinically-driven target vessel revascularization at 12 months. RESULTS: Mean age was 63.8±10.8 years, 701 (69.3%) patients were male, 572 (87.0%) patients had hypertension, 339 (33.8%) patients had diabetes, 549 (54.3%) patients diagnosed with acute MI and 545 (53.9%) patients had multi-vessel disease (MVD). A total of 1,697 stents were implanted into a total of 1,472 lesions. The mean diameter was 3.07±0.38 mm and the length was 28.27±6.97 mm. Multiple overlapping stents were performed in 205 (13.8%) lesions. A 12-month clinical follow-up was available in 1,004 patients (99.3%). The incidences of MACE and definite stent thrombosis at 12-month were 3.0% and 0.3% respectively. On multivariate Cox-regression analysis, multiple overlapping stents implantation, previous congestive heart failure, MVD, and age ≥75 years were independent predictors of one-year MACE. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that R-ZES has an excellent 1-year clinical outcome in Korean patients with DLCAD.
Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Death ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Korea ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Prospective Studies ; Stents ; Thrombosis ; Treatment Outcome