Introduction. Cardiovascular (CV) diseases and bone fractures due to osteoporosis are the leading causes of death in the elderly. Objective. The aim of this study was to demonstrate a correlation between the overall risk for CV events, and low bone density in postmenopausal women, and its impact on the incidence of serious CV events. Methods. Our prospective study involved 300 postmenopausal women. All the examinees were divided into three groups based on their measured bone density: Group I - 84 examinees with osteoporosis; Group II - 115 examinees with osteopenia; and Group III - 101 examinees with normal bone density. In all examinees the overall ten-year risk for a fatal CV event was calculated using the SCORE system tables. Results. After a 36-month follow-up, CV events occurred in 19 (6.3%) examinees. Significant differences in the incidence of CV events were demonstrated between the patients with osteoporosis, osteopenia, and normal bone density (?2=28.7; p<0.001), as well as between those with a high and low CV risk (?2=22.6; p<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that smoking (OR: 2.23; 95% CI: 1.02 to 6.19; p=0.035), and increase of overall CV score (OR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.17 to 1.58; p<0.001) are associated with increased CV event risk, while the increase of T score value is associated with decreased risk of CV event (OR: 0.42; 95% CI: 0.25 to 0.73; p=0.002). Conclusion. Measurement of bone density with a standard assessment of the total CV risk could be useful for selecting women who need intensive prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of metabolic syndrome (MetS) on clinical severity and long-term prognosis in patients with myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation (STEMI). We examined 507 patients with STEMI, who were admitted for primary percutaneous coronary intervention classified according to the presence of MetS using American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute definition. After applying these criteria, the patients were categorized into groups as patients with MetS and without MetS. We compared baseline characteristics, clinical findings, and outcomes between these groups. During the 48-month follow-up, we collected data about major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and mortality. The MetS group comprised 217 patients with MetS (mean age = 60.71 ± 11.52 years; 59 females), while the control group comprised 290 subjects (mean age = 57.50 ± 10.95 years; 54 females). The patients with and without MetS had similar parameters of clinical severity of STEMI but differed in severe coronary artery disease. During the follow-up period, a significantly higher percentage of myocardial infarction (6.91% vs 2.06%) and new revascularization (16.59% vs 8.97%) was recorded in the MetS group. On multivariate analysis, MetS was independently associated with MACE (HR = 1.834, 95% CI = 1.162-2.896, p = 0.009) but not with mortality (HR = 1.603, 95% CI = 0.864-2.973, p = 0.134). Among cardiovascular events that compose MACE, MetS was associated with new revascularization (HR = 2.204, 95% CI = 1.273-3.815, p=0.005). The presence of MetS in patients with STEMI is an independent risk factor for MACE, and this syndrome is strongly associated with new revascularization.