BACKGROUND Pulse pressure/stroke volume indexed to height(2.04) (PP/SVi) is a validated measure of arterial stiffness, but its relation to carotid atherosclerosis is unknown. METHODS Clinical, echocardiographic, and carotid ultrasound data from 6,209 hypertensive patients without prevalent cardiovascular (CV) disease in the Campania Salute Network were analyzed. The population was grouped int...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The extensive use of ultrasound examination of carotid arteries has revealed stenosis in many asymptomatic subjects, and clinical studies have shown that carotid stenosis is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and death. However, information on stenosis as detected in a general population and its relation to mortality is scarce. The purpose of this population-based s...

OBJECTIVES The aim of our study was to evaluate the total atrial conduction time and its relationship to subclinical atherosclerosis, inflammation and echocardiographic parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS A total of 132 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (mean age 54.5 ± 9.6 years; 57.6% male) and 80 age- and gender-matched controls were evaluated. The total atri...

The influence of diabetes on endothelial mechanisms implicated in the response of isolated rabbit carotid arteries to 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) was studied. 5-HT induced a concentration-dependent contraction that was potentiated in arteries from diabetic rabbits with respect to that in arteries from control rabbits. Endothelium removal potentiated 5-HT contractions in arteries from both contro...

Gestational diabetes mellitus is a common complication in gestation period, and single diagnostic test of blood glucose always results in misdiagnosis. Previous studies showed that glycosylated hemoglobin was a promising biomarker for screening, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. Combined measurements can improve the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis. Thus, our study aimed to explore t...

Background—The nature and contribution of different pregnancy-related complications to future cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors and the mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear. Methods and Results—We studied associations of pregnancy diabetes mellitus, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, preterm delivery, and size for gestational age with calculated 10-year CVD ...

OBJECTIVES Environmental factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes mellitus, many of these factors have been uncovered despite much research. A case-control study was carried out to determine the potential maternal, neonatal and early childhood risk factors for type 1 diabetes mellitus in children and adolescents in Basrah. METHODS A total of 96 diabetic patients w...

Background Arterial distensibility can be measured non-invasively by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in various arterial territories. However, no information is available comparing distensibility in different anatomical territories in individual patients. Therefore, we sought to compare CMR measurements of the distensibility of the coronary and carotid artery, and ascending aorta (AA) i...