Sex hormones and arrhythmia in myocardial ischemia

Effect of handgrip exercise on QTc interval during different phases of menstrual cycle

Menopause is a major change in a women’s life, it refers to a permanent cessation of menstruation and fertility. The fast face of modern life has induced many problems like stress, anxiety, insomnia etc. associated with serious health problems. The most common disorders associated with menstruation among younger women are dysmenorrhea, pre-menstrual syndrome, menorrhagia, metrorrhagia. Aims and Objectives: To record the effect of handgrip exercise on QTc and RR interval in different phases of menstrual cycle and to compare with the baseline ecg values. The study was conducted on 40 medical (I MBBS) students from Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, Mysore. In this study a total of 40 female students aged between 17-19 years from 1st MBBS studying at Mysore Medical Collage and Research Institute, Mysore were selected as per the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Informed consent was obtained from each student. Data about the duration of previous two menstrual cycles and the days of menstrual bleeding were noted from the subjects statement. Subject monitored basal body temperature was used to identify phases of menstrual cycle. Ovulation was indicated by a sustained increase in the basal body temperature of at least 0.3°C after LH surge.

Angiographic correlation and synergistic effect of coronary artery stenosis and cerebral artery stenosis: a retrospective study

Background

Comorbidity of coronary artery stenosis (CoAS) and cerebral artery stenosis (CeAS) is relatively common, but little is known about their angiographic correlation and synergistic effect.

Material/Methods

A total of 66 patients with CoAS were divided into 2 groups: 30 patients with mild CoAS in group A and 36 patients with severe CoAS in group B. Patients were subdivided further into 4 groups: 20 patients with multiple CeAS in group B1, 16 patients with non-multiple CeAS in group B2, 22 patients with multiple CeAS in group A1, and 8 patients with non-multiple CeAS in group A2. Then, the morbidity rates for myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke before angiography were analyzed.

Results

Overall, the incidence and extent of CoAS were positively related to those of CeAS (p=0.004 and p=0.008, respectively). After stratification, the incidences of stenotic vessels in the intracranial arteries (EA) and carotid artery system (CAS) in group B were significantly higher than those in group A (p=0.011 and p=0.007, respectively). Additionally, the morbidity rates for ischemic stroke in groups B1 and A1 showed a weak trend toward a significant difference (p=0.060).

Conclusions

This study indicates, for the first time, that severe CoAS might be a predictive marker for stenotic vessels of the EA and CAS and for severe CeAS. Furthermore, this study is the first to report that the synergistic effect of CoAS and CeAS might increase the risk of ischemic stroke, which must be confirmed in a large-scale prospective study.

Relationship between sex hormones and idiopathic outflow tract ventricular arrhythmias in adult male patients

Sex hormones and gender differences have been reported to be associated with the occurrences of ventricular arrhythmias. This study investigated the relationship between sex hormones and idiopathic outflow tract ventricular arrhythmias (IOTVA) in adult male patients. Serum sex hormonal levels, which include testosterone, estradiol, and progestogen, were measured by using commercially prepared immunoassay kits. The average count of premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) (number/24h) was assessed by 72h electrocardiographic monitoring. No differences were found in the levels of testosterone and progestogen between the IOTVA male patients and the control males (both P>0.05). However, the level of estradiol in the IOTVA male patients was significantly lower than that in the control males (P<0.05). A significant negative correlation was observed between the number of PVCs and the level of estradiol in the IOTVA male patients (r=0.702, P<0.05). The current study suggested that IOTVA might be associated with the reduction of estradiol level in adult male patients.