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BACKGROUND: The severity of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is classified based on mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) levels. However, other markers have not been elucidated. Fibrinolytic markers, such as total plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (tPAI-1) and thrombomodulin (TM), are known to reflect arterial endothelial function. However, the relationship between serum tPAI-1, TM and pulmonary circulation has not been completely determined. METHODS: This study included 100 consecutive patients (38 men), with a mean age of 68.9 ± 12.0 years, with cardiac diseases who underwent right heart catheterization. Serum coagulation and fibrinolytic marker levels were measured. RESULTS: The average mPAP value was 25.1 ± 13.1 mmHg for all patients. The mPAP levels revealed a significant positive correlation with serum tPAI-1 (ρ = 0.24, p = 0.042) and uric acid (ρ = 0.29, p = 0.0031) levels. In the group with mPAP levels less than 25 mmHg (n = 58, ave. 17.3 ± 4.3 mmHg), mPAP levels showed a significant positive correlation with serum tPA-1 (ρ = 0.34, p = 0.034) and TM (ρ = 0.34, p = 0.043) values. The mean tPAI-1 (29.8 ± 23.3 ng/ml, p = 0.047) and uric acid (5.7 ± 1.8 mg/dl, p = 0.026) levels were significantly less in those with lower mPAP levels. A multivariate analysis revealed that tPAI-1 alone was a significant independent characteristic marker of PAH (odds ratio 1.02, 95%CI 1.000-1.036, p = 0.034). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that serum tPAI-1 and TM may be useful predictors of severity, similar to mPAP in patients with PAH. They could be beneficial in predicting PAH among patients in the early stage of the disease.

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BACKGROUND: This prospective randomized multicenter open-label trial evaluated whether sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2-i) improves left ventricular (LV) pump function and suppresses elevation of LV filling pressure (LVFP) and right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) during exercise in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.Methods and Results:Based on HbA1c and LV ejection fraction, 78 patients with poorly controlled T2DM were randomly assigned to D-group (dapagliflozin 5 mg/day add-on) or C-group (conventional therapy add-on). Physical examination, home and office blood pressure examination, blood tests, and echocardiography at rest and during ergometer exercise were performed at baseline and at 1.5 and 6 months after treatment. The primary endpoint was defined as the change in RVSP (mmHg) between baseline and 6-month follow up. The secondary endpoints were changes in LVFP (ratio), stroke volume index (SVi; mL/m2), and cardiac index (CI; L/min/m2). Both RVSP and LVFP during exercise significantly decreased from baseline to 6 months after starting treatment in the D-group (P<0.001). No changes to either parameter was observed in the C-group. The SVi and CI did not improve in either group. Both home and office blood pressure significantly decreased in the D-group. Decreases in HbA1c were somewhat greater in the C-group. CONCLUSIONS: Dapagliflozin significantly improved RVSP and LVFP during exercise in patients with T2DM and cardiovascular risk, which may contribute to favorable effects on heart failure.

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Primary Sarcoma of the Pulmonary Artery (PAS) is a very rare and miserable disease. The clinical signs and symptoms of PAS are non- specific, which usually prevents diagnosis before surgery or autopsy. The current guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of PAS have not been well established. Several reported cases of PAS have been mistaken for Pulmonary Artery Thromboembolism (PTE), because the clinical signs and symptoms of PAS are non-specific. Elevated coagulation markers are generally absent in PAS and therefore, support a differential diagnosis of PTE. We herein report a patient with PAS who presented with elevated coagulation markers and later showed rapidly improved values mimicking response of PTE to anticoagulant therapy.

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This study was conducted to determine the effects of depression and/or insomnia on masked hypertension (MHT) compared with other types of HT and on variability in home-measured blood pressure (HBP) and clinic BP (CBP). Three hundred and twenty-eight hypertensives (132 women) aged 68±10 years were classified into four BP types: controlled HT (CHT), white-coat HT, MHT and sustained HT (SHT), based on CBP (140/90 mm Hg) and morning HBP (135/85 mm Hg) measurements. A score of ⩾16 on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was defined as depression. The mean values and s.d. of BP were calculated from measurements taken during the 14 consecutive days just before the CES-D evaluation. Compared with the CHT group, the risk of depression was 2.77-fold higher in the SHT group and even higher in the MHT group (7.02-fold). The association between depression and MHT was augmented in the presence of insomnia and was somewhat stronger in women. A HBP variability index defined as s.d./mean BPs in both morning and night time was significantly higher in MHT than in the other BP types, whereas that of CBP was not. Both morning and night-time HBP variability were significantly higher in depressive patients than in non-depressives. These suggest that depression is associated with MHT and that increases both morning and night-time HBP variability but not CBP variability. Physicians should be mindful of mental stresses such as depression in their hypertensive patients when forming strategies to control BP over the diurnal cycle.

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BACKGROUND: Nocturnal and early morning hypertension are both significant risk factors for cardiovascular events. It remains unclear whether anxiety disorder affects nocturnal blood pressure (BP), early morning BP, or BP pattern in hypertensive patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: One hundred and twenty consecutive hypertensive outpatients (77 men and 43 women; mean age, 66±11 years) were divided into 2 groups based on Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) score: a control group (n=78; HADS ≤10) and an anxiety group (42 patients; HADS ≥11). Nocturnal BP, early morning BP, morning BP surge (defined as BP rise ≥50 mmHg), and BP pattern (extreme-dipper/dipper/non-dipper/riser) were measured on ambulatory BP monitoring. Clinical characteristics and BP were also evaluated at physician check-up. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups for BP check-up, but nocturnal and early morning BP were significantly higher in the anxiety group (142±16 mmHg and 152±21 mmHg) than in the control group (126±14 mmHg and 141±18 mmHg). With regard to patients with morning BP surge, nocturnal and early morning BP were also significantly higher in the anxiety group. The relative risk of existing anxiety disorders in riser-type hypertension was 4.48-fold higher (95% confidence interval: 1.58-12.74; P<0.005) than in dipper-type hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: Anxiety disorder is associated with nocturnal and early morning hypertension, and may be a risk factor for cardiovascular events.

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