The Impact of Fasting during the Month of Ramadan on Aortic Elasticity in Stable Cardiac Patients

Objective: The effects of fasting in the month of Ramadan on cardiac patients have been studied in previous studies. However, the association between ascending aortic elastic indexes measured echocardiographically (Aortic distensibility (AD) and aortic train (AS)) and fasting in patients with stable cardiac disease was not evaluated. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between elasticity indexes of aorta and fasting in patients with stable cardiac disease. Methods: Twenty patients (10 female, 10 male and mean age of 52.1) with known stable cardiac disease who fasted for 30 days during the month of Ramadan were included. AS and AD as elasticity indexes of aorta were calculated from the aortic diameters using echocardiography three times; first before Ramadan (BR), second during Ramadan (DR) and finally after Ramadan (AR). Results: No statistically significant difference in aortic elasticity measured three different times (AS: 8.7 +/- 3.94, AD: 0.32 +/- 0.18 vs 10.26 +/- 6.14, 0.39 +/- 0.27 vs 9.31 +/- 4.28, 0.37 +/- 0.22; respectively BR, DR, AR; p>0.05) was measured. Conclusion: Findings of our study have shown that fasting during Ramadan do not have an adverse effect on aortic elasticity in stable cardiac patients.