Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Collagen vascular diseases commonly affect the heart; cardiovascular events are the major cause of mortality in people with these diseases. A striking feature of the cardiac involvement in individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis is aggressive and accelerated atherosclerosis; women with SLE in the 35- to 44-year-old age group are more than 50 times more likely to suffer myocardial infarction than are matched controls. Traditional risk factors contribute to the accelerated atherosclerosis, but cannot explain the extent of risk. It is possible that the inflammatory process, which is similar to the inflammatory process in atherosclerosis, pays a critical pathophysiologic role. It is critically important to identify the presence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors (eg, tobacco usage, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, homocysteinemia), and to modify these to secondary prevention targets. Cardiac valvular disease is common in individuals with SLE and rheumatoid arthritis; its presence should be anticipated and subacute bacterial endocarditis prophylaxis precautions initiated. Cardiac autonomic neuropathy and conduction disturbances are common in people with heart disease related to systemic sclerosis and human leukocyte antigen B27; these patients should be monitored carefully for evidence of dysrhythmias.
 ...
PMID:Cardiovascular Complications of Collagen Vascular Disease. 1185 77

Cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN) is a critical complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Heart rate variability (HRV) is a noninvasive tool to assess cardiac autonomic function. We aimed to evaluate whether CAN is associated with increased risk of atherosclerosis in T2DM. A total of 57 diabetic and 54 nondiabetic subjects, free of coronary heart disease, were recruited. Carotid intima media thickness (CIMT), coronary calcium score (CAC), and brachial Flow Mediated Dilation (FMD) were measured. Heart rate variability and vagal components of autonomic function were determined. Significant reduction of normalized HF power (P < 0.05) and total power (P < 0.01) was observed in T2DM. CIMT and CAC scores were significantly higher while FMD was significantly lower in diabetics (P < 0.01 for all). Median HbA(1c) levels were significantly higher in diabetics. CIMT was inversely and independently associated with total power both in diabetics and controls (P < 0.01 for both groups). There was also an inverse association between total power and median HbA(1c). Autonomic dysfunction, especially parasympathetic neuropathy, was present since early-stage T2DM. This was related to subclinical atherosclerosis. Early detection of cardiac autonomic neuropathy can help us detect the development of atherosclerosis earlier in T2DM to prevent unfavorable outcomes.
 ...
PMID:Cardiac autonomic neuropathy measured by heart rate variability and markers of subclinical atherosclerosis in early type 2 diabetes. 2325 73