Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Neth Heart J 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Cardiology, Amsterdam University Medical Centre, location AMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Aim: To determine differences in surgical procedures and clinical characteristics at the time of surgery between native bicuspid aortic valves (BAV) and tricuspid aortic valves (TAV) in patients being followed up after aortic valve surgery (AVS).

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study in a non-academic hospital, we identified patients who had a surgeon's report of the number of native valve cusps and were still being followed up. We selected patients with BAV and TAV, and used multivariable regression analyses to identify associations between BAV-TAV and pre-specified clinical characteristics. Read More

Sleep Breath 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Center for Sleep and Vigilance Disorders, Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 8b, Box 421, SE-40530, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Background: The relationship between insomnia and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular disease, has not been extensively studied. We aimed to assess the independent association between insomnia and CRF in a population-based cohort of subjects aged 50 to 64 years.

Methods: Subjects participating in the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImaging Study (SCAPIS) pilot cohort (n = 603, men 47. Read More

Eur J Pediatr 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Clinical Genetics Department, Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.

The filamin A gene (FLNA) on Xq28 encodes the filamin A protein. Mutation in FLNA causes a wide spectrum of disease including skeletal dysplasia, neuronal migration abnormality, cardiovascular malformation, intellectual disability and intestinal obstruction. Recently, childhood-onset interstitial lung disease associated with a range of FLNA mutations has been recognised and reported. Read More

Geroscience 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Center for Integrated BioSystems, School of Veterinary Medicine, Utah State University, 4700 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT, 84322, USA.

Cardiovascular disease, rare in premenopausal women, increases sharply at menopause and is typically accompanied by chronic inflammation. Previous work in our laboratory demonstrated that replacing senescent ovaries in post-reproductive mice with young, actively cycling ovaries restored many health benefits, including decreased cardiomyopathy and restoration of immune function. Our objective here was to determine if depletion of germ cells from young transplanted ovaries would alter the ovarian-dependent extension of life and health span. Read More

Intensive Care Med 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Intensive Care, CHIREC Hospitals, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 35 Rue Wayez, 1420, Braine L'Alleud, Belgium.

The original article can be found online. Read More

Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Cardiovascular Imaging, Diagnóstico Maipú, Av Maipú 1668, B1602ABQ, Vicente López, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

We explored the impact of gender and cardiovascular risk factors (RF) in the distribution and burden of coronary and extra-coronary atherosclerotic plaques among patients undergoing ECG-gated thoracoabdominal computed tomography angiography (CTA) from the supra-aortic trunks to the femoral arteries. We included a consecutive cohort of patients who underwent ECG-gated thoracoabdominal aortic CTA from the supra-aortic trunks to the pubic symphysis. We evaluated the number of coronary segments with plaques [segment-involvement score (SIS)]; and the extra-coronary atherosclerotic plaque burden, comprising the aorta and supra-aortic trunks, iliofemoral arteries, and visceral arteries (extra-coronary SS). Read More

Support Care Cancer 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Oncology, Division of Palliative Care Medicine, University of Alberta, 11560 University Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1Z2, Canada.

Purpose: Currently, there is no approved therapy for cancer cachexia. According to European and American regulatory agencies, physical function improvements would be approvable co-primary endpoints of new anti-cachexia medications. As physical functioning is in part dependent on cardiac functioning, we aimed to explore the cardiac status of a group of patients meeting current criteria for inclusion in cachexia clinical trials. Read More

J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, West Virginia University School of Public Health, 64 Medical Center Drive, P.O. Box 9190, Morgantown, WV, 26506-9190, USA.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) disproportionately affects non-Hispanic blacks (NHB) in the United States (U.S.). Read More

J Nucl Cardiol 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Turku PET Centre, University of Turku, 20520, Turku, Finland.

Background: Activation of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) signaling protects against cardiac dysfunction and remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI). The aim of the study was to evaluate Ga-NODAGA-exendin-4 positron emission tomography (PET) for assessment of GLP-1R expression after MI in rats.

Methods And Results: Rats were studied at 3 days, 1 and 12 weeks after permanent coronary ligation or a sham-operation. Read More

Cardiovasc Drugs Ther 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, the Bateson Centre, and INSIGNEO Institute for In Silico Medicine, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.

Eur J Epidemiol 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Competence Cluster for Nutrition and Cardiovascular Health (nutriCARD), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany.

This study was performed to highlight the relationship between single dietary risk factors and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in the WHO European Region. We used the comparative risk assessment framework of the Global Burden of Disease Study to estimate CVD mortality attributable to diet; comprising eleven forms of CVDs, twelve food and nutrient groups and 27 risk-outcome pairs in four GBD regions including 51 countries by age and sex between 1990 and 2016. In 2016, dietary risks were associated with 2. Read More

Surg Case Rep 2018 Dec 13;4(1):142. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.

Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a life-threatening heart muscle disease characterized by progressive heart failure, which often requires left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation or heart transplantation (HTx). A tissue engineering strategy using cell sheets for end-stage heart failure has emerged in recent years.

Case Presentation: Here, we describe a 50-year-old DCM patient with severe symptoms of heart failure with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) who was not a candidate for LVAD or HTx. Read More

Eur J Appl Physiol 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences Cluster (SHSC), University of Southern Denmark, 3450, Odense, Denmark.

The author would like to correct the errors in the publication of the original article. The corrected details are given below for your reading. Read More

Diabetologia 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Aims/hypothesis: Identifying rare coding variants associated with albuminuria may open new avenues for preventing chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease, which are highly prevalent in individuals with diabetes. Efforts to identify genetic susceptibility variants for albuminuria have so far been limited, with the majority of studies focusing on common variants.

Methods: We performed an exome-wide association study to identify coding variants in a two-stage (discovery and replication) approach. Read More

Eur Radiol 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

University Clinic of Internal Medicine III, Cardiology and Angiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, A-6020, Innsbruck, Austria.

Objectives: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is the gold-standard modality for the assessment of left ventricular (LV) remodeling in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. However, the commonly used remodeling criteria have never been validated for hard clinical events. We therefore aimed to define clear CMR criteria of LV remodeling following STEMI with proven prognostic impact. Read More

J Vasc Surg Cases Innov Tech 2018 Dec 4;4(4):305-306. Epub 2018 Dec 4.

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Hokkaido Prefectural Kitami Hospital, Kitami, Hokkaido, Japan.

J Vasc Surg Cases Innov Tech 2018 Dec 4;4(4):296-300. Epub 2018 Dec 4.

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Trousseau University Hospital, Tours, France.

Aortic infection is a challenging condition. Fortunately, surgical revision of infected aorta with in situ reconstruction can provide long-term cure. The material for aortic repair remains an area of debate. Read More

J Vasc Surg Cases Innov Tech 2018 Dec 4;4(4):268-271. Epub 2018 Dec 4.

Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Narita Red Cross Hospital, Chiba, Japan.

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is an infrequent aortic dissection complication, and its optimal treatment remains controversial. A 55-year-old woman developed DIC associated with Stanford type B aortic dissection, which improved by administration of low-molecular-weight heparin combined with tranexamic acid, but the dissecting aneurysm of the descending aorta was dilated. After thoracic endovascular aortic repair for occlusion of entry tears detected by transesophageal echocardiography, DIC improved without anticoagulant therapy. Read More

J Spine Surg 2018 Sep;4(3):616-623

Neuroradiology Service, Central Military Hospital, Bogotá DC, Colombia.

Background: In 1988, Modic and his colleagues described changes in the subchondral bone marrow of the vertebral plates in patients with degenerative disease or other pathologies, which were observed in the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of the spine and were subdivided into three patterns of signal changes, called Modic type I, Modic type II and Modic type III. The main differential diagnosis of the Modic I changes of the vertebral plates due to degenerative disease in spine NMR, is infection in its early stages. In their study in 2014, Patel and collaborators, using a protocol and the concept of diffusion in spine MRI, were able to demonstrate that by means of the "claw sing", a degenerative disease with Modic type I changes, can be differentiated from an infection in early stages. Read More

Front Public Health 2018 28;6:352. Epub 2018 Nov 28.

Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States.

Evidence suggests that cognitive decline in older adults is influenced by cardiovascular health (CVH), with metabolic and vascular mechanisms hypothesized to underlie the etiology of cognitive impairment. Research in high-income nations suggests that improved CVH is linked with decreased cognitive impairment risk, but it is unclear if this pattern is evident in low-income countries. Nationally-representative data collected in China were drawn from the World Health Organization's Study on global AGing and adult health Wave 1 (2007-2010; = 11,295). Read More

J Clin Transl Endocrinol 2019 Mar 30;15:30-34. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

Department of Pediatrics/Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism, Children's of Alabama, University of Alabama at Birmingham, CPPII M30, 1601 4th Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35233, United States.

Aim: Significant knowledge gaps exist regarding lipoprotein profiles in children with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The primary objective was to analyze the type and nature of lipoprotein abnormalities present in children with T2DM and to identify determinants of adverse lipoprotein profiles. The secondary objective was to assess associations with elevated glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), i. Read More

Curr Phys Med Rehabil Rep 2018 15;6(4):264-276. Epub 2018 Nov 15.

1The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL USA.

Purpose Of Review: Persons with spinal cord injuries (SCI) commonly experience individual risks and coalesced health hazards of the cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS). This review will examinethe role of exercise and nutritional intervention as countermeasures to these disease risks.

Recent Findings: The CMS hazards of overweight/obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, and dyslipidemia are strongly associated with physical deconditioning and are common after SCI. Read More

J Clin Imaging Sci 2018 15;8:44. Epub 2018 Nov 15.

Department of Radiology, University of Kentucky, Kentucky, USA.

Waardenburg syndrome (WS) is a rare genetic disorder secondary to neural crest cell developmental abnormalities. It is predominantly described as an auditory-pigmentary syndrome with diverse patient presentation, typically involving congenital sensorineural hearing loss and pigmentation abnormalities of the skin, hair, and iris. Other developmental abnormalities that may be associated with this syndrome are Hirschsprung's disease and a myriad of cardiovascular congenital defects. Read More

Mol Clin Oncol 2018 Dec 1;9(6):673-676. Epub 2018 Oct 1.

Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kanagawa Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0051, Japan.

Miliary lung metastases have been reported to be frequently observed in nοn-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with major EGFR mutations, which consist of exon 19 deletion and exon 21 L858R. However, it remains undetermined whether NSCLC with minor EGFR mutations possesses characteristics similar to those with major EGFR mutations. In the present study, two cases of miliary lung metastases from NSCLC with exon 20 insertion were reported. Read More

Biomed Rep 2018 Dec 12;9(6):540-544. Epub 2018 Oct 12.

Department of Clinical Pharmacy, The Third Hospital of Mianyang (Sichuan Mental Health Center), Mianyang, Sichuan 621000, P.R. China.

Paclitaxel (PTX) is an antimicrotubule agent, and is effective in treating a wide range of solid tumors. However, its use may lead to cardiovascular toxicities, the manifestations of which include arrhythmia, heart failure, acute myocardial ischemia and atrial fibrillation (AF). AF is among the severe reactions to the PTX cardiotoxicity, and a cause for substantial morbidity and mortality. Read More

Oncotarget 2018 Nov 16;9(90):36250. Epub 2018 Nov 16.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.18053. Read More

J Rural Med 2018 Nov 29;13(2):185-187. Epub 2018 Nov 29.

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Shonai Amarume Hospital, Japan.

Older pacemaker systems, which are magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) incompatible, require replacement with compatible systems when patients are in need of MRI. Replacement involves extraction of the pacing lead, which is usually done with a laser sheath under general anesthesia. We report two cases of complete pacing system replacements allowing patient access to MRI. Read More

Eur Geriatr Med 2018 12;9(6):853-861. Epub 2018 Oct 12.

1Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Leiden University Medical Centre, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands.

Purpose: Cardiac rehabilitation in older patients after hospitalization because of cardiovascular disease is recommended. However, many older patients do not receive cardiac rehabilitation in daily practice, due to lack of referral and poor adherence. This can be related to impaired clinical and functional status of these patients, who are more likely to present with frailty, frequent comorbidities, and disability. Read More

Exp Ther Med 2018 Dec 22;16(6):5117-5122. Epub 2018 Oct 22.

Department of Urology, Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing 100144, P.R. China.

Emerging pieces of evidence indicate that microRNA-466 (miR-466) serves as a tumor suppressor in several human tumors, including colorectal cancer and prostate cancer. However, whether miR-466 is involved in osteosarcoma (OS) progression remains largely unknown. The present study demonstrated that miR-466 was significantly downregulated in OS tissues and cell lines. Read More

Exp Ther Med 2018 Dec 27;16(6):4669-4673. Epub 2018 Sep 27.

Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Central Hospital of Tongchuan Mining Bureau, Tongchuan, Shaanxi 727000, P.R. China.

Correlation between coronary atherosclerosis calcification and epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) volume in patients with nephropathy was investigated. A total of 529 patients with high risk of coronary atherosclerotic nephropathy were selected from August 2013 to September 2016 in Xianyang Central Hospital to serve as research subjects, and their clinical data were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent coronary artery and EAT examination using dual-source CT. Read More

Front Genet 2018 28;9:599. Epub 2018 Nov 28.

Aix-Marseille Univ, INSERM, MMG, U1251, Marseille, France.

Essential muscular organ that provides the whole body with oxygen and nutrients, the heart is the first organ to function during embryonic development. Cardiovascular diseases, including acquired and congenital heart defects, are the leading cause of mortality in industrialized countries. Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGFs) are involved in a variety of cellular responses including proliferation, differentiation, and migration. Read More

Front Genet 2018 28;9:560. Epub 2018 Nov 28.

Research Group of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics, Faculty of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Zografou, Greece.

Genetic polymorphisms in β-, β- and β-adrenergic receptors (β-ARs) have been associated with chronic non-communicable disorders, such as cardiovascular diseases, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obesity, as well as β-agonists and antagonists response and toxicity. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency distribution of genetic variants Ser49Gly and Arg389Gly, variants Gly16Arg and Gln27Glu, variant Trp64Arg in a Southeastern European Caucasian (SEC) population sample and to establish a comparison with existing data from other human populations. A sample of 431 men and 590 women volunteered to participate in this genotyping analysis after anonymization and de-identification. Read More

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2018 28;9:718. Epub 2018 Nov 28.

Endocrine, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research, Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.

Obesity and obesity related co-morbidities are well-recognized risks for cardiovascular (CV) disease and mortality. Weight loss improves CV risk factors and the efficacy of bariatric surgery in decreasing CV mortality is now well-established. Our aim was to assess CV risk progression and occurrence of CV events in a cohort of patients that underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) for obesity treatment in a single academic public center. Read More

Front Physiol 2018 28;9:1700. Epub 2018 Nov 28.

Human Performance and Health Research Laboratory, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.

Sport-specific differences in the left ventricle (LV) of land-based athletes have been observed; however, comparisons to water-based athletes are sparse. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in LV structure and function in elite swimmers and runners. Sixteen elite swimmers [23 (2) years, 81% male, 69% white] and 16 age, sex, and race matched elite runners participated in the study. Read More

Front Physiol 2018 28;9:1623. Epub 2018 Nov 28.

Department of Pharmacodynamics, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland.

Patients suffering from chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at a 20-fold higher risk of dying due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), primarily thrombosis following vascular injury. CKD is connected with retention of uremic toxins, especially indoxyl sulfate (IS), which are currently considered as a non-classical CKD-specific risk factor for CVDs. The present study aimed to examine the effect of chronic exposure to IS on the hemostatic system and arterial thrombosis in a model without greater interferences from the uremic milieu consisting of additional uremic toxins. Read More

Front Pharmacol 2018 28;9:1393. Epub 2018 Nov 28.

Institute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Antipsychotic drugs may lead to side effects such as obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular disease. The current systematic review and network meta-analysis analyzes and provides an update on the clinical performance of these add-ons in comparison to placebo on body weight and body mass index (BMI) reductions. A comprehensive literature search was performed on electronic databases: PubMed (1946-), Embase (1974-), Cochrane library (1992-), and OpenGrey (2000-) until 31 July 2018. Read More

J Korean Med Sci 2018 Dec 3;33(51):e332. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Jungbu Area Epidemiologic Investigation Team, Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Incheon, Korea.

Background: The trend of aging society is occurring globally, and with it, one of the health problems that is emerging is frailty. Efforts are being made to account for the increasing prevalence of frailty, and various modifiable factors are being considered in regards to frailty. Because social contact has shown beneficial effects in terms of health in previous studies, it is increasingly being considered in relation to frailty. Read More

Int J Obes (Lond) 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Population Health Research Institute, St George's, University of London, London, UK.

Background: Body mass index (BMI) overweight/obesity thresholds in South Asian (SA) adults, at equivalent type-2 diabetes risk are lower than for white Europeans (WE). We aimed to define adjusted overweight/obesity thresholds for UK-SA children based on equivalent insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) to WE children.

Methods: In 1138 WE and 1292 SA children aged 9. Read More

Hypertens Res 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Nephrology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.

The lack of a decrease in nocturnal blood pressure is a risk factor for the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, it currently remains unknown whether it is a risk factor in normotensive CKD patients. We conducted a retrospective cohort study and enrolled 676 CKD patients who underwent ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). According to their nocturnal blood pressure dipping pattern (>10%: dipper or <10%: non-dipper) and average 24-h systolic blood pressure (>130/80 mmHg: hypertension or <130/80 mmHg: normotension), patients were divided into four groups. Read More

Sci Rep 2018 Dec 13;8(1):17578. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Institute of Molecular Medicine, McGovern Medical School University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA.

The apoE4 isoform is associated with increased cholesterol, cardiovascular risk, and Alzheimer's Disease risk, however, its distribution is not well-understood among US Latinos. Latinos living in the US are highly Amerindian, European and African admixed, which varies by region and country of origin. However, Latino genetic diversity is understudied and consequently poorly understood, which has significant implications for understanding disease risk in nearly one-fifth of the US population. Read More

J Hum Hypertens 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Clinical Research Unit, Italian Institute of Telemedicine, Varese, Italy.

Community pharmacists play a crucial role in hypertension management and their intervention, mainly including education, medication monitoring, and reviewing, blood pressure (BP) measurement and cardiovascular risk factors tracking, have proved to enhance BP control and adherence to antihypertensive treatment. A multidisciplinary collaborative approach with the referring physician and a patient-centered model of care have been proved to be particularly effective for improving control of hypertension and promoting patients' health. The inclusion of telehealth in such model (the so-called telepharmacy) may expand the reach of the pharmacist's intervention and provide pharmacy operations and patient care at a distance with further benefits for hypertensive patients and their managing physicians. Read More

Cell Death Dis 2018 Dec 13;9(12):1195. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210000, Jiangsu, China.

Approximately 10-15% of all bone fractures do not heal properly, causing patient morbidity and additional medical care expenses. Therefore, better mechanism-based fracture repair approaches are needed. In this study, a reduced number of osteoclasts (OCs) and autophagosomes/autolysosomes in OC can be observed in GPCR kinase 2-interacting protein 1 (GIT1) knockout (KO) mice on days 21 and 28 post-fracture, compared with GIT1 wild-type (GIT1 WT) mice. Read More

Sci Rep 2018 Dec 13;8(1):17835. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, 55905, MN, USA.

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that an experimental high fat (HF) animal with metabolic syndrome results in structural degeneration of the aortic valve. Domestic pigs were divided (n = 12) and administered either a normal or HF diet. After 16-weeks, the HF diet group had increased weight (p ≤ 0. Read More

Sci Rep 2018 Dec 13;8(1):17829. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong General Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Science, Guangzhou, 510080, China.

Precise prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) and the associated risk factors in southern China are rarely reported. This large population-based follow-up study, the Guangzhou Heart Study, was conducted from 2015 to 2017 to fill up this gap. Permanent residents aged 35 years and above in Guangzhou city were enrolled and demographic factors of participants were collected by a structured questionnaire. Read More

Eur Respir J 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Dept of Thoracic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Intensive care of patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) and right-sided heart failure includes treatment of factors causing or contributing to heart failure, careful fluid management, and strategies to reduce ventricular afterload and improve cardiac function. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) should be considered in distinct situations, especially in candidates for lung transplantation (bridge to transplant) or, occasionally, in patients with a reversible cause of right-sided heart failure (bridge to recovery). ECMO should not be used in patients with end-stage disease without a realistic chance for recovery or for transplantation. Read More

Eur Respir J 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Pulmonary Hypertension Association, Silver Spring, MD, USA.

The assessment of objective measurement of cardiopulmonary status has helped us achieve better clinical outcomes for patients and develop new therapies through to the point of market access; however, patient surveys indicate that more can be done to improve holistic care and patient engagement. In this multidisciplinary review, we examine how clinical teams can acknowledge and embrace the individual patient's perspective, and thus improve the care for individual patients suffering from pulmonary hypertension by cultivating the importance and relevance of health-related quality of life in direct clinical care. At the individual level, patients should be provided with access to accredited specialist centres which provide a multidisciplinary approach where there is a culture focused on narrative medicine, quality of life, shared decision making and timely access to palliative care, and where there is participation in education. Read More

Eur Respir J 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Dept of Cardiology, Erasme University Hospital, Brussels, Belgium.

The function of the right ventricle determines the fate of patients with pulmonary hypertension. Since right heart failure is the consequence of increased afterload, a full physiological description of the cardiopulmonary unit consisting of both the right ventricle and pulmonary vascular system is required to interpret clinical data correctly. Here, we provide such a description of the unit and its components, including the functional interactions between the right ventricle and its load. Read More

Eur Respir J 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is frequent in left heart disease (LHD), as a consequence of the underlying condition. Significant advances have occurred over the past 5 years since the 5th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension in 2013, leading to a better understanding of PH-LHD, challenges and gaps in evidence. PH in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction represents the most complex situation, as it may be misdiagnosed with group 1 PH. Read More

Eur Respir J 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Cardiovascular Medicine, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) remains a severe clinical condition despite the availability over the past 15 years of multiple drugs interfering with the endothelin, nitric oxide and prostacyclin pathways. The recent progress observed in medical therapy of PAH is not, therefore, related to the discovery of new pathways, but to the development of new strategies for combination therapy and on escalation of treatments based on systematic assessment of clinical response. The current treatment strategy is based on the severity of the newly diagnosed PAH patient as assessed by a multiparametric risk stratification approach. Read More

Eur Respir J 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Cardiovascular Institute, Dept of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.

Clinical and translational research has played a major role in advancing our understanding of pulmonary hypertension (PH), including pulmonary arterial hypertension and other forms of PH with severe vascular remodelling ( chronic thromboembolic PH and pulmonary veno-occlusive disease). However, PH remains an incurable condition with a high mortality rate, underscoring the need for a better transfer of novel scientific knowledge into healthcare interventions. Herein, we review recent findings in pathology (with the questioning of the strict morphological categorisation of various forms of PH into pre- or post-capillary involvement of pulmonary vessels) and cellular mechanisms contributing to the onset and progression of pulmonary vascular remodelling associated with various forms of PH. Read More