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Achilles tendon thickening is associated with higher incidence of adverse cardiovascular event in patients with coronary artery disease

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Abstract

Achilles tendon thickening (ATT) is a marker of high risk for coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the association between the presence of ATT and the incidence of cardiovascular events in patients with CAD is unclear. A total of 406 consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and ATT assessment were analyzed. ATT was defined as the Achilles tendon thickness of 9 mm or more on radiography. The incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) at 1-year was compared between patients with ATT and those without ATT. MACE included cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, target vessel revascularization (TVR), and non-TVR. ATT was found in 67 patients (16.5%). The incidence of cardiac death (3.2 vs. 0.0%, p = 0.001), TVR (12.7 vs. 4.0%, p = 0.005) and MACE (20.6 vs. 9.6%, p = 0.011) was significantly higher in the ATT group than the no ATT group. Patients with ATT had significantly higher incidence of cardiac death (5.6 vs. 0%, p < 0.001) than those without ATT even if they did not meet the diagnostic criteria of familial hypercholesterolemia. A multivariate model demonstrated that ATT was independently associated with the MACE at 1-year (Hazard ratio, 2.09; 95% Confidence Interval, 1.09–4.00, p = 0.026). The presence of ATT was independently associated with 1-year recurrence of cardiovascular events in patients with CAD undergoing PCI. Assessment of ATT might be useful for risk stratification of secondary cardiovascular events.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Teruyoshi Nemoto for his sincere contribution to data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Kitasato University School of Medicine, 1-15-1 Kitasato, Minami-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan

    Takuya Hashimoto, Yoshiyasu Minami, Kiyoshi Asakura, Masahiro Katamine, Ayami Kato, Aritomo Katsura, Toshimitsu Sato, Yusuke Muramatsu, Ryota Kakizaki, Kazuhiro Fujiyoshi, Kohki Ishida, Ryo Kameda, Kentaro Meguro, Takao Shimohama & Junya Ako

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  1. Takuya Hashimoto
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  2. Yoshiyasu Minami
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Correspondence to Yoshiyasu Minami.

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Hashimoto, T., Minami, Y., Asakura, K. et al. Achilles tendon thickening is associated with higher incidence of adverse cardiovascular event in patients with coronary artery disease. Heart Vessels 36, 163–169 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00380-020-01679-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00380-020-01679-w

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