M S Nieminen

..We wanted to study if treatment of periodontitis can decrease the levels of these inflammatory markers...

..This analysis evaluates the gender differences in patients hospitalised for acute heart failure (AHF) in the EuroHeart Failure Survey II (EHFS)...

..Intravenous levosimendan improves symptoms in acutely decompensated heart failure...

..Levosimendan produced haemodynamic responses that were unaffected by concomitant use of beta blockers...

..No increase in arrhythmias is seen. The hemodynamic effects of levosimendan are dose-dependent and the current recommended doses are safe. No increase in mortality or any life-threatening arrhythmias have been observed...

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..We sought to define the therapeutic dose range of levosimendan in patients with New York Heart Association class II-IV heart failure of ischemic origin...

..The epidemiology of AHFS has been studied in large and small registries and surveys in both North America and Europe. The properties of the population of patients with acute HF are discussed in light of these data...

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..The relative increase in serum C3 protein and decrease in C4 protein could explain changes in the C3/C4 ratio...

..Although weakly supported by scientific evidence, according to guidelines the use of inotropes in acute heart failure is indicated in the presence of hypoperfusion refractory to fluid resuscitation...

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..Thus extended doxycycline therapy did not affect C. pneumoniae antibodies or coronary heart disease risk factors. We conclude that doxycycline monotherapy may not be sufficient to eradicate chronic C. pneumoniae infection...

..HR variability provided information on progression of focal coronary atherosclerosis beyond that obtained by traditional risk markers of atherosclerosis...

..The aim of the Drug and Evidence Based Medicine in the Elderly (DEBATE) study is to test the applicability and effectiveness of established CVD treatments in elderly patients...

..However, definitions and prognostic impact of AKI in AHF have been variable. Cystatin C is a prospective new marker of AKI. The objective of this study was to investigate the use of cystatin C as a marker of early AKI in AHF...

..We evaluated the interactions between kidney function, cardiac stress, and various inflammatory cytokines in patients with acute heart failure (AHF). The effect on 1-year mortality was also assessed...

..Long-term clarithromycin therapy seems to be beneficial in prevention of recurrent cardiovascular events in non-periodontitis but not in periodontitis patients...

..Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is familial in approximately 20-35% of cases of idiopathic DCM. Several mutations in the different sarcomere protein genes have been reported to cause DCM...

..We assessed the relation of QT intervals and QT dispersion to echocardiographically determined left ventricular (LV) mass and geometry in a large population of hypertensive patients with ECG evidence of LVH...

..We further examined whether genetic variants at the interleukin-1 (IL-1) locus would predict clinically incident diabetes...

..The aim of this exploratory study was to assess the hemodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions between digoxin and oral levosimendan as well as the proarrhythmic potential of this combination in patients with chronic heart failure...

..There has been no previous study to determine the severity and extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) in subjects with no diagnosis or symptoms of CAD at the time of the angiography...

..PLA96 may thus be a promising stent core material for small vessels in the future, although further investigation is needed to establish its final biocompatibility...

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..Our aim was to characterize current clinical course, medication and invasive treatment in elderly patients with AMI, compare treatment between sexes and also with data from 1994...

..Insulin resistance (IR) is frequently observed in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Aim. To examine the association between IR and severity and extent of CAD...

..The MTHFR genotype was not associated with extent or progression of coronary atherosclerosis. We conclude that gemfibrozil causes a significant elevation in tHcy levels, but the clinical relevance of this is unknown at present...

..The goal of this study was to examine the association between paraoxonase-1 (PON1) activity and concentration and the severity and extent of coronary artery disease (CAD)...

..In this study, we evaluated the clinical impact and safety of bronchoscopy with BAL in heart transplant recipients...

..We investigated the prognostic value of cystatin C in acute heart failure (AHF) in comparison to other markers of renal function and NT-proBNP...

..However, the predictive value of changes in the magnitude of electrocardiographic LVH criteria during antihypertensive therapy remains unclear...

..Acute heart failure (AHF) has a poor prognosis. We evaluated 3- and 12-month mortality in different clinical classes of AHF patients from 30 European countries who were included in the EuroHeart Failure Survey (EHFS) II...

..We examined whether shedding of endothelin-converting enzyme (ECE), a metalloprotease responsible for endothelin production, is concomitant with tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), and how atherosclerosis affects ECE release...

..The aim of this pre-planned, first-year analysis of the Drugs and Evidence-Based Medicine in the Elderly (DEBATE) Study was to determine the feasibility of prevention efforts in elderly cardiovascular patients...

..Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the association between apoE polymorphism and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and severity and extent of coronary artery disease (CAD)...

..The predictive value of ECG QT interval for mortality in the general population has been weak. Only a few population studies on the predictive value of ECG T-wave morphology parameters for mortality have been reported...

..Echocardiographic evaluation may be warranted if the acute ReA persists or has a prolonged course but is not recommended for routine use...

..In the present survey, we sought to estimate the actual prevalence of the founder mutations and to determine their effect sizes in the general Finnish population...

..Coronary artery disease, an inflammatory disease, may be caused by infection. We investigated whether the antibiotic clarithromycin would reduce morbidity and mortality in patients with acute non-Q-wave coronary syndrome...

..Magnetocardiographic (MCG) mapping is a new method to record cardiac signals. This study examined the association of MCG late fields with the propensity to sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) after myocardial infarction (MI)...

..The increased plasma concentrations of NT-ANP (but not BNP) and P-NN with aging reflect neurohumoral physiologic changes that must be distinguished from pathologic changes in patients with heart failure...

..Despite the observed cross-reactivity in the systemic IgG-class antibody response to HSP60 and A. actinomycetemcomitans, the pathogen carriage in saliva or the periodontal status did not affect the HSP60 antibody levels in ACS patients...

..Cytokines play an important role in chronic heart failure (HF), but little is known about their involvement in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF)...

..Other risk factors associated with carotid atherosclerosis were also investigated...

..The risks in the losartan group also increased with increasing pulse pressure quartile, but were lower than those in the atenolol group, and were not significant...

..Moreover, levosimendan-evoked KATP channel opening may possess favorable effects on mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate synthesis conferring cardioprotection during ischemic insults...

..85), cancer (1 vs 4 vs 2; P=0.38) or diabetes (2 vs 2 vs 2; P=0.97) did not differ between the groups. Local intracoronary VEGF gene transfer is safe and does not increase the risk of MACE, arrhythmias, cancer, diabetes or other diseases...

..It is possible that endothelial dysfunction in coronary heart disease patients is related to the chronic inflammation or infection coexisting with atherosclerosis...

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..Hypertension-induced left ventricular structural remodelling associates with repolarization abnormalities. We investigated if antihypertensive drugs can modulate ventricular repolarization...

..As 30-40% of the QT-interval variability is heritable, we tested the association of common LQTS and NOS1AP gene variants with QT interval in a Finnish population-based sample...

..Six months after operation, the patient is doing better than ever before in his life. Our findings suggest that a complicated conotruncal development does not preclude cardiac transplantation...

..In the diabetic group this association was independent of LpA-I levels, suggesting impaired antiatherogenic potential of these particles in type 2 diabetic patients...

..Neither urine volume nor body weight changed. Side effects were mild except for tachycardia of one patient.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)..

..56; 95% CI = 1.05-2.30; P = 0.026) remained as significant risk factors for periodontitis. In conclusion, the major finding of this study is that the LTA+496C allele is associated with periodontitis in patients with CAD...

..46; 95% CI 0.24-0.88; P = 0.02) or together with the haplotype LTA+253a-LTA+633g-C4A3-C4B1 (OR 0.36; 95% CI 0.22-0.57; P = 0.00001). In conclusion, human MHC region harbors genes that protect from and predispose to CAD...

..Compared with progression of ECG LVH, regression of the Cornell product ECG LVH is associated with greater reduction in LV mass and a greater likelihood of regression of anatomic LVH...

..The present study aimed to determine the frequency and the impact on clinical outcome of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and left ventricular dysfunction...

..We discuss the systemic effects of periodontal infection and consider studies to test our hypothesis, which offers a novel viewpoint for discussion of antibiotics in coronary-disease prevention...

..Experimentally, regression of LVH normalizes ventricular electrophysiology...

..003). In conclusion, Chlamydia pneumoniae DNA is present during acute coronary syndrome and in the recovery period, but declines in stable state, suggesting a role of the bacterium in the acute phase of coronary syndrome...

..We studied whether electrocardiographic repolarization changes are already detectable in mild LVM increase associated with hypertension...

..We sought to examine the role of complement component C4 deficiencies on the effect of antibiotic treatment in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS)...

..In conclusion, lower PC and AT values, even within the normal range, seem to be associated with elevated risk for recurrent cardiovascular events and shorter event-free time in acute coronary syndrome patients...

..732; P<0.001). In conclusion, the BSPM QRS area sum compared to 12-lead QRS area sum does not substantially improve LVH assessment. The 2-lead QRS area sum may improve ECG QRS area-based LVH assessment...

..In cross-sectional data in hypertensive subjects, brachial pulse pressure (PP)/Doppler stroke index (SVi), (PP/SVi) correlates weakly but significantly with left ventricular (LV) mass and relative wall thickness (RWT)...

..We conclude that the desmin and delta-sarcoglycan genes are not predominant disease-causing genes in patients with DCM in eastern Finland...

..Accordingly, our aim was to study the relationship between prior treatment and both baseline and 1-year echocardiographic LV mass in subjects enrolled in the Losartan Intervention For Endpoint reduction (LIFE) study...

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..Alpha1-Antitrypsin (AAT) protects elastic tissue and may play a role in atherogenesis. The association of atherosclerosis progression with common AAT variants was considered in 2 clinical trials...

..However, uncertainty persists as to how best to regress ECG LVH...

..The effect of the locus on early markers of atherosclerosis is unknown. We examined its association with carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and brachial flow-mediated dilatation (FMD)...

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..Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) regulates the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism and inflammation, making it a candidate gene for atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease (IHD)...

..These data demonstrate that the PECAM-1 gene is responsive to shear stress in vitro and that decreased PECAM-1 gene expression in 53A carriers may influence reduced progression of vessel stenosis in patients with coronary artery disease...

..To examine the time course of left ventricular (LV) geometric response to blood pressure (BP) control during 2 years of systematic antihypertensive treatment...

..However, the high mortality associated with LVH in African American patients makes more accurate ECG detection of LVH in these patients a clinical priority...

..Smoking increased cardiovascular risk markedly in the LIFE study. The benefit of losartan vs atenolol is consistent with the overall conclusion of the LIFE study, although the treatment effect appeared largest in non-smokers...

..There has been uncertainty about the risk of new-onset diabetes in hypertensive individuals treated with different blood pressure-decreasing drugs...

..046). Losartan decreased ECG-LVH more than atenolol (P<.001) and was better tolerated. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that losartan is superior to atenolol for treatment of patients with isolated systolic hypertension and ECG-LVH...

..Although albuminuria and the electrocardiographic (ECG) strain pattern each predict development of heart failure (HF), whether combining albuminuria and strain improves prediction of new HF is unclear...

..Sudden cardiac death (SCD) occurs more often in patients with ECG left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy. However, whether LV hypertrophy regression is associated with a reduced risk of SCD remains unclear...

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..This study was designed to evaluate whether different antihypertensive treatment regimens with similar blood pressure reduction have different effects on new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF)...

..However, whether ECG strain is an independent predictor of new-onset congestive heart failure (CHF) in the setting of aggressive antihypertensive therapy in unclear...

..The aim of this study was to investigate the state of treatment and secondary prevention of CHD in a population-based sample and to analyze possible gender differences in different age groups...

..To analyse secular changes in the prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and to assess changes in the burden of CHD at population level...

..We aimed to investigate whether they predicted cardiovascular (CV) events independently in patients with hypertension and electrocardiographic left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy...

..We assessed the impact of antihypertensive treatment in hypertensive patients with electrocardiographic (ECG) left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and a history of atrial fibrillation (AF)...