Current Cardiology Reviews - Volume 2, Issue 4, 2006

Postischemic reperfusion causes microvascular endothelial cell dysfunction characterized by low shear stress, excessive oxidative stress and a reduced nitric oxide (NO) release. Recent studies have demonstrated that reduced shear forces are responsible for the impairment of endothelium-dependent vasodilation after ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury. Preconditioning is an endogenous phenomenon whereby intermittent peri Read More

There is growing evidence that oxidative stress is involved in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation. Many known triggers of oxidative stress, such as age, diabetes, smoking, inflammation, and renin angiotensin system activation are linked with an increased risk of the arrhythmia. Blockers of angiotensin II signaling and other drugs with anti-oxidant properties can reduce the incidence of atrial fibrillation. Now, studies in animal Read More

The current knowledge of the development and progression of atherosclerotic lesions is largely owed to experimental studies carried out in animals fed a high cholesterol diet. Only a few studies have addressed the atherogenic effects of other important exogenous risk factor, namely cigarette smoking. The results of our research into the effects of cigarette smoking on the fetal arterial wall have demonstrated that the first reac Read More

The recently discovered protein family of NADPH oxidases (NOX) is a group of transmembrane proteins that generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) by transferring electrons from NADPH onto molecular oxygen. The NOX proteins are the catalytic subunits that assemble with several regulatory subunits to form the catalytically active enzyme complex. Of the regulatory subunits exist several isoforms that are differenti Read More

A quantitative assessment of regional cardiac performance is required for the diagnosis of disease, evaluation of severity and the quantification of treatment effect. MRI allows the noninvasive quantification of motion and deformation in the heart, including the precise assessment of all components of deformation in all regions of the heart throughout the cardiac cycle. In recent years, these imaging protocols have beco Read More

Identification of high-risk patients for sudden cardiac death (SCD) remains difficult. Non-invasive markers evaluating changes in heart rate and ventricular repolarisation (VR) have been developed to stratify this risk. Most studies using VR analysis rely on static analysis of the QT interval which is poorly reproducible and heart rate dependent. Dynamic VR analysis assesses QT interval modification according to RR duration Read More

Background: The coronary circulation in cyanotic congenital heart disease (CCHD) encompasses extramural coronary arteries, basal coronary blood flow, flow reserve, the coronary microcirculation, and coronary atherogenesis. Methods: Coronary arteriograms were analyzed in 59 adults with CCHD. Dilated extramural coronaries were examined histologically in 6 patients. Basal coronary blood flow was determined with N- Read More

Primary and secondary strategies for preventing cardiac events remain a major challenge in cardiovascular diseases. To date, there is robust evidence that inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system by angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor antagonists significantly improves the outcome and prevents cardiac events in patients with coronary risk factors. This beneficial effect may be expl Read More