Prospective Observational Study of N-terminal Pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide Levels in Obese and Nonobese Women during Pregnancy.

Objective: N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), a marker of ventricular dysfunction, varies by body mass index (BMI) outside of pregnancy. This study aimed to determine whether obesity affects NT-proBNP levels in pregnancy.

Study Design: This was a prospective observational study of healthy pregnant people in the third trimester (3TM) and postpartum (PP).

Evaluation and Management of Maternal Congenital Heart Disease: A Review.

Objective: Congenital heart defects represent the most common major congenital anomalies. The objective of this review was to define the most common forms of congenital heart disease (CHD) in pregnancy, outline preconception counseling, discuss the associated morbidity and mortality of each lesion, and review current recommendations for management of CHD in pregnancy.

Evidence Acquisition: A MEDLINE search of "congenital heart disease in pregnancy" and specific conditions in pregnancy including "ventricular septal defect," "atrial septal defect," "left outflow obstruction," "right outflow obstruction," "tetralogy of Fallot," and "transposition of the great vessels" was performed.

The Use of Implantable Cardioverter-defibrillators in the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death: A Focus on Congenital Heart Disease and Inherited Arrhythmia Syndromes.

Some congenital heart diseases (CHDs) and inherited arrhythmia syndromes are associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Appropriate selection criteria for implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation in these patients are poorly defined due to a paucity of data available from randomized clinical trials, leading to current guidelines relying more on non-randomized studies and expert opinions to make their recommendations. This review describes available evidence-based risk stratification methods for identifying patients at risk for SCD, as well as current guideline-driven management strategies for the use of ICDs in patients with CHD and inherited arrhythmia syndromes.

Congenital and Acquired Valvular Heart Disease in Pregnancy.

Purpose Of Review: The number of pregnancies complicated by valvular heart disease is increasing. This review describes the hemodynamic effects of clinically important valvular abnormalities during pregnancy and reviews current guideline-driven management strategies.

Recent Findings: Valvular heart disease in women of childbearing age is most commonly caused by congenital abnormalities and rheumatic heart disease.

STIM1 signalling controls store-operated calcium entry required for development and contractile function in skeletal muscle.

It is now well established that stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) is the calcium sensor of endoplasmic reticulum stores required to activate store-operated calcium entry (SOC) channels at the surface of non-excitable cells. However, little is known about STIM1 in excitable cells, such as striated muscle, where the complement of calcium regulatory molecules is rather disparate from that of non-excitable cells. Here, we show that STIM1 is expressed in both myotubes and adult skeletal muscle.

Secondary heart field contributes myocardium and smooth muscle to the arterial pole of the developing heart.

The arterial pole of the heart is the region where the ventricular myocardium continues as the vascular smooth muscle tunics of the aorta and pulmonary trunk. It has been shown that the arterial pole myocardium derives from the secondary heart field and the smooth muscle tunic of the aorta and pulmonary trunk derives from neural crest. However, this neural crest-derived smooth muscle does not extend to the arterial pole myocardium leaving a region at the base of the aorta and pulmonary trunk that is invested by vascular smooth muscle of unknown origin.