Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Am Coll Cardiol 2022 May;79(21):2129-2139

Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

The burden of vascular diseases and complexity of their management have been growing. Vascular medicine specialists may help to bridge gaps in care, especially as part of multidisciplinary teams. However, there is a limited number of vascular medicine specialists because of constraints in training. Read More

J Am Coll Cardiol 2022 May;79(21):2119-2126

Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine, Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, Gainesville, Florida, USA.

Background: Specialty training in cardiovascular diseases is consistently perceived to have adverse job conditions and interfere with family life. There is a dearth of universal workforce support for trainees who become parents during training.

Objectives: This study sought to identify parental policies across cardiovascular training programs internationally. Read More

J Am Coll Cardiol 2022 May;79(21):2097-2115

State Key Laboratory for Oncogenes and Related Genes, Division of Cardiology, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Shanghai, China. Electronic address:

Background: Shift work is associated with increased risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and worsened prognosis. However, the mechanisms linking shift work and worsened prognosis in AMI remain unclear.

Objectives: This study sought to investigate the impact of shift work on reperfusion injury, a major determinant of clinical outcomes in AMI. Read More

J Am Coll Cardiol 2022 May;79(21):2085-2093

University of Foggia, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Foggia, Italy.

Background: Male sex in takotsubo syndrome (TTS) has a low incidence and it is still not well characterized.

Objectives: The aim of the present study is to describe TTS sex differences.

Methods: TTS patients enrolled in the international multicenter GEIST (GErman Italian Spanish Takotsubo) registry were analyzed. Read More

J Am Coll Cardiol 2022 May;79(21):2069-2081

Division of Cardiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA.

Background: The GenTAC (Genetically Triggered Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm and Cardiovascular Conditions) Registry enrolled patients with genetic aortopathies between 2007 and 2016.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare age distribution and probability of elective surgery for proximal aortic aneurysm, any dissection surgery, and cardiovascular mortality among aortopathy etiologies.

Methods: The GenTAC study had a retrospective/prospective design. Read More

Open Heart 2022 May;9(1)

Department of Cardiology, University Heart Center, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Objectives: Although cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is increasingly used to diagnose pericardial inflammation, imaging can still be challenging using conventional CMR techniques. Parametric mapping (T1/T2 mapping) techniques have emerged as novel methods to quantify focal and global changes of the myocardium without contrast agent. The aim of the present study was to implement parametric mapping to facilitate diagnostic decision-making in pericardial inflammation. Read More

Eur Respir J 2022 May 26. Epub 2022 May 26.

Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Department of Respiratory and Intensive Care Medicine, Pulmonary Hypertension National Referral Center, Hôpital Bicêtre, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France.

Introduction: The phenotype of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients carrying pathogenic variants remains mostly unknown.

Methods: We report the genetic analysis findings, characteristics and outcomes of patients with heritable PAH carrying variants from the French Pulmonary Hypertension Network.

Results: Twenty patients and eight unaffected relatives were identified. Read More

Eur Respir J 2022 May 26. Epub 2022 May 26.

Professor Emeritus, John Rankin Laboratory of Pulmonary Medicine, Dept of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Increased ventilation relative to metabolic secondary to alveolar hyperventilation and/or increased physiological dead space (excess ventilation) is a key cause of exertional dyspnoea. Excess ventilation has assumed a prominent role in the functional assessment of patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced (r) or preserved (p) ejection fraction, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and chronic thromboembolic PH (CTEPH). We herein provide the key pieces of information to the caring physician to a) gain unique insights into the seeds of patients' shortness of breath, and b) develop a rationale for therapeutically lessening excess ventilation to mitigate this distressing symptom. Read More

Tuberc Respir Dis (Seoul) 2022 May 27. Epub 2022 May 27.

State University of Bahia (UNEB), Brazil.

Objectives: To describe the frequency of comorbidities associated with COPD and their relation with relevant outcomes.

Methods: A systematic review based on the PRISMA methodology was performed. The systematic search was carried until July 2021, using the MEDLINE, Lilacs and Scielo databases to identify studies related to COPD and its comorbidities. Read More

J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2022 May 23. Epub 2022 May 23.

Department of Pediatrics, Division of Cardiology, University of Utah and Primary Children's Hospital, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.

Background: There are no published data on left ventricular (LV) reverse remodeling after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in children. We sought to assess changes in LV echocardiographic parameters 6 months post-TAVR in children.

Methods: This single center, retrospective study included all 22 patients (age <21 yrs. Read More

J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2022 May 23. Epub 2022 May 23.

Department of Cardiology, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Canada. Electronic address:

Background: The natural history of mitral annular calcification (MAC) and risk for developing calcific mitral valve disease (CMVD) has been poorly defined. We sought to evaluate the progression rate of MAC and of the development of CMVD.

Methods: Patients with MAC and paired echocardiograms at least one year apart between 2005 and 2019 were included. Read More

Matrix Biol 2022 May 23. Epub 2022 May 23.

Divisions of Cell Matrix Biology & Regenerative Medicine and Cardiovascular Sciences, School of Biological Science, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. Electronic address:

Extracellular matrix (ECM) in the intervertebral disc (IVD), lung and artery are thought to undergo the age-dependant accumulation of damage by chronic exposure to mechanisms such as reactive oxygen species, proteases and glycation. It is unknown whether this damage accumulation is species-dependant (via differing lifespans and hence cumulative exposures) or whether it can influence the progression of age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis. Peptide location fingerprinting (PLF) is a new proteomic analysis method, capable of the non-targeted identification of structure-associated changes within proteins. Read More

Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2022 May 23:111244. Epub 2022 May 23.

Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Canada; Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Canada. Electronic address:

Vertebrates need oxygen to survive. The central nervous system has an especially high energy demand, so brain and retinal neurons quickly die in anoxia. But fish of the genus Carassius are exceptionally anoxia-tolerant: the crucian carp (C. Read More

J Infect 2022 May 23. Epub 2022 May 23.

Unidad Clínica de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Microbiología y Medicina Preventiva, Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena/Departamento de Medicina, Universidad de Sevilla/Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla, Seville, Spain.

Objectives: To determine the incidence of cardiac device-related infection (CDRI) among patients with cardiac device (CD) during late-onset bloodstream infection (BSI) and to identify the risk factors associated with CDRI.

Methods: Patients with a CD (cardiac implantable electronic devices -CIED- and/or prosthetic heart valve -PHV-) and late-onset-BSI (>1 year after the CD implantation/last manipulation) were selected from the PROBAC project, a prospective, observational cohort study including adult patients with bacteraemia consecutively admitted to 26 Spanish hospitals from October 2016 to March 2017. Multivariate analyses using logistic regression were performed to identify the risk factors associated with CDRI. Read More

Int J Cardiol 2022 May 23. Epub 2022 May 23.

Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Wellington Rd, Clayton, Australia, 3800; Monash Cardiovascular Research Centre, Monash Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 246 Clayton Rd, Clayton, Australia, 3168; Victorian Heart Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Blackburn Rd, Clayton, Australia, 3800; Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 75 Commercial Rd, Melbourne, Australia, 3004. Electronic address:

Background: Mammographically detected breast arterial calcification (BAC) has been proposed as surrogate marker for coronary artery disease (CAD) in women. Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) and peri-coronary adipose tissue (PCAT) are inflammatory fat depots linked to atherogenesis. BAC has demonstrated association with inflammation, therefore we aimed to determine the association between BAC, EAT and PCAT. Read More

Int J Cardiol 2022 May 23. Epub 2022 May 23.

CARIM School for Cardiovascular Diseases, Maastricht University, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.; Department of Cardiology, Maastricht University, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.; Department of Cardiology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.; Centre for Heart Rhythm Disorders, University of Adelaide and Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia.; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.. Electronic address:

Background: To identify the association between comorbidities and left atrial (LA) and right atrial (RA) function in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Speckle-tracking echocardiography was performed in 344 patients with paroxysmal AF at baseline, and available in 298 patients after 1-year follow-up. Read More

Metabolism 2022 May 23:155220. Epub 2022 May 23.

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China. Electronic address:

Background: Evidence suggests that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, the results are inconsistent, and the causality remains to be established.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the potential causal relationship between NAFLD and CVDs, including arterial stiffness, coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, ischemic stroke and its subtypes using two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR). Read More

Biochem Pharmacol 2022 May 23:115104. Epub 2022 May 23.

Department of Biological Sciences, Al al-bayt University, Al-Mafraq, Jordan.

Cardiac diseases are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Mounting evidence suggests that transglutaminases (TGs), tissue TG (TG2) in particular, are involved in numerous molecular responses underlying the pathogenesis of cardiac diseases. The TG family has several intra- and extracellular functions in the human body, including collagen cross-linking, angiogenesis, cell growth, differentiation, migration, adhesion as well as survival. Read More

Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2022 Apr 20;615:136-142. Epub 2022 Apr 20.

Department of Cardiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China. Electronic address:

Hyperthyroidism can potentiate arrhythmias and cardiac hypertrophy, whereas Ca/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) promotes maladaptive myocardial remodeling. However, it remains unclear whether CaMKII contributes to the progression of hyperthyroid heart disease (HHD). This study demonstrated that CaMKII inhibition can relieve adverse myocardial remodeling and reduce sinus tachycardia, isoproterenol-induced atrial fibrillation, and ventricular arrhythmias in hyperthyroid mice with preserved heart function. Read More

J Comput Assist Tomogr 2022 May 20. Epub 2022 May 20.

From the Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Purpose: Children with single-ventricle congenital heart disease undergo a series of operations to maintain their pulmonary circulation including bidirectional Glenn (BDG) or hemi-Fontan in the second stage to create a superior cavopulmonary anastomosis. We aimed to optimize cardiovascular angiography protocols by determining optimal contrast timing of pulmonary and systemic circulation on magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) performed with the technique of time-resolved imaging with interleaved stochastic trajectories (TWIST).

Methods And Materials: Cardiac TWIST MRA with lower extremity (LE) contrast injection was analyzed in 92 consecutive patients with a BDG or hemi-Fontan anastomosis. Read More

Med Sci Sports Exerc 2022 May 26. Epub 2022 May 26.

Division of Cardiology, Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA.

Purpose: Metabolomics identifies molecular products produced in response to numerous stimuli, including both adaptive (includes exercise training) and disease processes. We analyzed a longitudinal cohort of American-style football (ASF) athletes, who reliably acquire maladaptive cardiovascular (CV) phenotypes during competitive training, with high-resolution metabolomics to determine whether metabolomics can discriminate exercise-induced CV adaptations from early CV pathology.

Methods: Matched discovery (N = 42) and validation (N = 40) multi-center cohorts of collegiate freshman ASF athletes were studied with longitudinal echocardiography, applanation tonometry, and high-resolution metabolomics. Read More

J Patient Saf 2022 Jun;18(4):e727-e740

From the College of Nursing.

Objectives: Adverse events remain the third leading cause of death in hospitals today, after heart disease and cancer. However, adverse events remain underreported. The purpose of this integrative review is to synthesize adverse event reporting priorities in acute care hospitals from quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research articles. Read More

Cancer 2022 May 26. Epub 2022 May 26.

Gynecologic Oncology Unit, Dipartimento per le Scienze della Salute della Donna del Bambino e di Sanità Pubblica, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.

Background: The integration of molecular features with clinicopathological findings in endometrial cancer classification seems to be able to significantly refine risk assessment. Nevertheless, clinical management remains challenging, and different therapeutic options are available for each class. Further prognostic characterization of the subgroups within each risk class could be helpful in the decision-making process. Read More

Science 2022 May 26;376(6596):917-918. Epub 2022 May 26.

Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.

A resorbable closed-loop sensor-actuator implant can temporarily control heart rate. Read More

Circ Res 2022 May 26;130(11):1698-1722. Epub 2022 May 26.

Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN.

There is increasing evidence regarding the prevalence of genetic cardiomyopathies, for which arrhythmias may be the first presentation. Ventricular and atrial arrhythmias presenting in the absence of known myocardial disease are often labelled as idiopathic, or lone. While ventricular arrhythmias are well-recognized as presentation for arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy in the right ventricle, the scope of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy has broadened to include those with dominant left ventricular involvement, usually with a phenotype of dilated cardiomyopathy. Read More

Circ Res 2022 May 26;130(11):1723-1741. Epub 2022 May 26.

Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrookes Hospital, United Kingdom (E.F.W., X.L.).

Heart disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. With the advancement of modern technology, the role(s) of microtubules in the pathogenesis of heart disease has become increasingly apparent, though currently there are limited treatments targeting microtubule-relevant mechanisms. Here, we review the functions of microtubules in the cardiovascular system and their specific adaptive and pathological phenotypes in cardiac disorders. Read More

PLoS One 2022 26;17(5):e0268576. Epub 2022 May 26.

Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.

Background: Heart failure is a multi-system disease, with non-cardiac systems playing a key role in disease pathogenesis.

Objective: Investigate whether longitudinal multi-system trajectories incrementally predict heart failure risk compared to single-occasion traits.

Methods: We evaluated 3,412 participants from the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort, free of heart failure, who attended examination cycle 5 and at least one examination between 1995-2008 (mean age 67 years, 54% women). Read More

PLoS One 2022 26;17(5):e0268778. Epub 2022 May 26.

Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas, United States of America.

A growing body of evidence supports that pentadecanoic acid (C15:0), an odd-chain saturated fat found in butter, is an essential fatty acid that is necessary in the diet to support long-term metabolic and heart health. Here, dose dependent and clinically relevant cell-based activities of pure C15:0 (FA15TM) were compared to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a leading omega-3 fatty acid, as well as to an additional 4,500 compounds. These studies included 148 clinically relevant biomarkers measured across 12 primary human cell systems, mimicking various disease states, that were treated with C15:0 at four different concentrations (1. Read More

J Clin Invest 2022 May 26. Epub 2022 May 26.

Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.

Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in breast cancer survivors. Chemotherapy contributes to this risk. We aimed to define the mechanisms of long-term vascular dysfunction caused by neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and identify novel therapeutic targets. Read More