Background/aim: High levels of triglyceride (TG) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) values increase atherosclerosis risk. This study evaluates the relationship between peripheral artery disease (PAD) severity and complexity, as assessed by TransAtlantic InterSociety Consensus-II (TASC-II) classification and the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index. Materials and methods: A total of 71 consecutive patients with PAD (males 93%, mean age 63.3 +/- 9.7), who underwent percutaneous peripheral intervention were included retrospectively. The patients were divided into two groups according to the angiographically detected lesions. Those with TASC A-B lesions were included in Group 1, and those with TASC C-D lesions were included in Group 2. TyG index was calculated as formula: ln[fasting TG (mg/dL) x fasting plasma glucose (mg/dL)/2]. Results: There were 40 patients in Group 1 (90.3% men, with a mean age of 63.6 +/- 9.3 years) and 31 patients in Group 2 (96.8% men, with a mean age of 62.0 +/- 8.6 years). In the majority of patients in both groups, the target vessels are iliac arteries and femoral arteries. In Group 2, platelet count and TyG index were significantly high, according to Group 1. The TyG index was significantly correlated with TASC-II, Rutherford category, HbA1c, and HDL-C. Conclusion: In this present study, we showed that the TyG index was an independent predictor of peripheral artery disease complexity, according to TASC-II classification, for the first time in the literature.

From a pathophysiological point of view, inflammation is thought to be more dominant in bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) stenosis than tricuspid aortic valve (TAV) stenosis. Our study aimed to determine the association between monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio (MHR), a new inflammatory marker, and the speed of progression of stenosis and pathophysiology of BAV stenosis. A total of 210 severe aortic stenosis patients (70 consecutive BAV patients, 140 matched TAV patients) were retrospectively enrolled in the study. Clinical and echocardiographic data and laboratory results related to our research were collected retrospectively from the patients’ records. MHR was measured as the ratio of the absolute monocyte count to the HDL-C value. Seventy BAV (mean age: 72.0 ± 9.1 years, 42.9% female) and 140 TAV patients (mean age: 77.9 ± 8.3 years, 51.4% female) with severe aortic stenosis were enrolled in this study. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of another baseline demographic or clinic findings except age (P < 0.001). Monocyte count, hemoglobin level, mean platelet volume was significantly higher, and HDL-C level was significantly lower in the BAV group, while other lipid and CBC parameters were found to be similar. In the multivariate analysis, MHR (P = 0.005, 95% CI: 0.90–0.98) and, as expected, age (P = 0.001, 95% CI: 1.02–1.11) were found to be significant as the independent predictor of BAV, after adjusting for other risk factors. Our study showed a significant correlation between increased MHR and BAV. MHR was determined as a significant independent predictor for the speed of progression and diagnosis of severe BAV stenosis in multivariate analysis.

Sarcoidosis increases inhomogeneity in ventricular repolarization due to the presence of sarcoid granuloma, which significantly correlates with ventricular fibrillation. Various studies have suggested that the interval from the peak to the end of the electrocardiographic T wave (T-peak to T-end [Tpe] interval) may correspond to the transmural dispersion of repolarization and that increased Tpe interval and Tpe/QT ratio are associated with malignant ventricular arrhythmias. The present study hypothesized that QT and Tpe intervals are significantly prolonged in sarcoidosis patients without apparent cardiac involvement. The study population consisted of 54 patients (37 female; mean age 43.4±10.6 years) under follow-up for sarcoidosis and 56 healthy subjects (37 female; mean age 42.4±8.6 years). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in maximum QT interval, QT dispersion or corrected QT (QTc) interval, but QTc dispersion and Tpe interval were significantly prolonged in the sarcoidosis group compared to the control group (QTc dispersion 59.9±22.5 and 44.4±23.8, respectively, p=0.001; Tpe interval 79.4±9.3 and 70.7±7.03, respectively, p<0.001). We also found that the Tpe/QT ratio was significantly higher in sarcoidosis patients compared to the control group (0.21±0.02 and 0.18±0.23, respectively, p<0.001). Our study revealed that QTc dispersion, Tpe and Tpe/QT ratio were greater in sarcoidosis patients compared to the control group. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to use Tpe interval analysis in patients without cardiac involvement in sarcoidosis. Tpe interval and Tpe/QT ratio may be promising markers for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality due to ventricular arrhythmias in patients with and without cardiac involvement in sarcoidosis.