COVID-19: An opportunity to engage African Americans and women in research on cardiovascular disease.

Introduction: African Americans (AA) have been disproportionately affected with the COVID-19 disease experiencing 30%-60% of the deaths, while only making up 13% of the US population. Early data suggest that pregnant women and those with cardiovascular disease (CVD) may experience worse outcomes with severe coronavirus infection. There is an urgent need to incorporate AA and female perspectives into the design of research on the CVD complications related to COVID-19.

Person-Centered Models for Cardiovascular Care: A Review of the Evidence: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death and disability in the United States and globally. Disease burden continues to escalate despite technological advances associated with improved life expectancy and quality of life. As a result, longer life is associated with multiple chronic cardiovascular conditions.

Extubation strategies after esophageal atresia repair.

Background/purpose: Early extubation following repair of esophageal atresia (EA) is desirable unless the anastomosis is under tension, in which case paralysis and post-operative ventilation may reduce the risk of anastomotic leakage. However, complications from emergency reintubations do occur with either strategy. We aim to examine the risk/benefit balance of early and delayed extubation following EA repair.

Prenatally diagnosed congenital lung malformations-A long-term outcome study.

Aim: To report the natural history of a cohort of children with prenatally diagnosed congenital lung malformations (CLM) which we set out to manage expectantly.

Methods: Retrospective review of children born between 1995 and 2013 with a CLM identified on prenatal ultrasound. Prenatal ultrasound data were analyzed along with patient medical records, radiology, and pathology.

GABA Detection with Nano-ITIES Pipet Electrode: A New Mechanism, Water/DCE-Octanoic Acid Interface.

Interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES) supported on the orifice of a pipet have become a powerful platform to detect a broad range of analytes. We present here the detection of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) with the nanoITIES pipet electrodes for the first time. GABA has a net charge of zero in an aqueous solution at pH ≈ 7, and it has not previously been detected at ITIES.

Outcome of prenatally diagnosed congenital lung anomalies in the North of England: a review of 228 cases to aid in prenatal counselling.

Objective: To describe data on congenital lung anomalies identified on prenatal ultrasound from two centres in the North of England.

Method: This retrospective case series includes all cases notified to the Northern Congenital Abnormality Survey from 1990 to 2010 and to Leeds Regional Fetal Medicine Unit 2000-2015.

Results: There were a total of 228 cases, 101 from Northern Congenital Abnormality Survey and 127 from Leeds Regional Fetal Medicine Unit.

Evidence for Therapeutic Patient Education Interventions to Promote Cardiovascular Patient Self-Management: A Scientific Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association.

Background: The burden of cardiovascular disease as a chronic illness increasingly requires patients to assume more responsibility for their self-management. Patient education is believed to be an essential component of cardiovascular care; however, there is limited evidence about specific therapeutic patient education approaches used and the impact on patient self-management outcomes.

Methods And Results: An integrative review of the literature was conducted to critically analyze published research studies of therapeutic patient education for self-management in selected cardiovascular conditions.

Tracheal Replacement Therapy with a Stem Cell-Seeded Graft: Lessons from Compassionate Use Application of a GMP-Compliant Tissue-Engineered Medicine.

Tracheal replacement for the treatment of end-stage airway disease remains an elusive goal. The use of tissue-engineered tracheae in compassionate use cases suggests that such an approach is a viable option. Here, a stem cell-seeded, decellularized tissue-engineered tracheal graft was used on a compassionate basis for a girl with critical tracheal stenosis after conventional reconstructive techniques failed.

Sex differences in utilization and outcomes of catheter-directed thrombolysis in patients with proximal lower extremity deep venous thrombosis - Insights from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample.

Catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) is being increasingly used for the treatment of proximal lower extremity (LE) deep venous thrombosis (DVT). However, sex differences in utilization and safety outcomes of CDT in these patients are unknown. The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database was used to identify all patients with a principal discharge diagnosis of proximal LE or caval DVT who underwent CDT between January 2005 and December 2011 in the United States.

The great debate: open or thoracoscopic repair for oesophageal atresia or diaphragmatic hernia.

Controversy exists over the best method and technique of repair of oesophageal atresia and diaphragmatic hernia. Open surgical repairs have a long established history of over 60 years of experience. Set against this has been a series of successful thoracoscopic repairs of both congenital anomalies reported over the past decade.

Vascular ring diagnosis following respiratory arrest.

Vascular rings can present with non-specific respiratory and/or oesophageal symptoms. Early diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion. This case report describes an uncommon acute presentation of a vascular ring.

Effects of moderate aerobic exercise training on vascular health and blood pressure in African Americans.

As healthcare progresses toward individualized medicine, understanding how different racial groups respond to lifestyle interventions is valuable. It is established that African Americans have disproportionate levels of cardiovascular disease and impaired vascular health, and clinical practice guidelines suggest lifestyle interventions as the first line of treatment. Recently, the authors reported that 6 months of aerobic exercise improved inflammatory markers, flow-mediated dilation (FMD), and levels of circulating endothelial microparticles (EMPs) in African American adults.

A standardized exercise intervention differentially affects premenopausal and postmenopausal African-American women.

Objective: African-American women represent an understudied population in menopause research yet face greater postmenopausal challenges associated with mortality than their white peers. We investigated the effects of a mild-intensity aerobic exercise training program on markers of mortality risk in both premenopausal and postmenopausal African-American women.

Methods: Sixteen premenopausal women and 19 postmenopausal women underwent 6 months of mild-intensity aerobic exercise training.

Endothelial activation microparticles and inflammation status improve with exercise training in african americans.

African Americans have the highest prevalence of hypertension in the world which may emanate from their predisposition to heightened endothelial inflammation. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a 6-month aerobic exercise training (AEXT) intervention on the inflammatory biomarkers interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and endothelial microparticle (EMP) CD62E+ and endothelial function assessed by flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in African Americans. A secondary purpose was to evaluate whether changes in IL-10, IL-6, or CD62E+ EMPs predicted the change in FMD following the 6-month AEXT intervention.

Visit-to-visit and 24-h blood pressure variability: association with endothelial and smooth muscle function in African Americans.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of visit-to-visit and 24-h blood pressure (BP) variability with markers of endothelial injury and vascular function. We recruited 72 African Americans who were non-diabetic, non-smoking and free of cardiovascular (CV) and renal disease. Office BP was measured at three visits and 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring was conducted to measure visit-to-visit and 24-h BP variability, respectively.

Targeted delivery of VEGF to treat myocardial infarction.

Noninvasive injection of pro-angiogenic compounds such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has shown promising results in regenerating cardiac microvasculature. However, these results have failed to translate into successful clinical trials in part due to the short half-life of VEGF in circulation. Increasing the dose of VEGF may increase its availability to the target tissue, but harmful side-effects remain a concern.

Targeted Delivery of VEGF after a Myocardial Infarction Reduces Collagen Deposition and Improves Cardiac Function.

The development of adjunctive therapies which attenuate adverse remodeling and improve LV function post myocardial infarction (MI) is of significant clinical interest. Previously, we have shown that targeted delivery of therapeutic vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to the infarct border zone significantly increases vascular perfusion and results in improvements in LV function. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that improvements in cardiac function observed with this novel targeted drug delivery system strongly correlate with reductions in collagen deposition in the scar tissue after an MI.

Congenital cytomegalovirus infection associated with development of neonatal emphysematous lung disease.

A 26-week-gestation infant developed cystic lung changes which required lobar resection at 6 weeks of age. Lung histology showed cytomegalovirus (CMV) inclusion bodies. The authors present the radiology and histology images of this case and review the literature regarding congenital CMV infection and cystic lung disease.

Relationship of visit-to-visit and ambulatory blood pressure variability to vascular function in African Americans.

Visit-to-visit clinic blood pressure variability (BPV) and 24-h BPV have both been identified as independent risk factors for cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality; however, the mechanisms contributing to the increased CV risk as yet are unclear. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between BPV and endothelial function in a cohort of putatively healthy African Americans. A total of 36 African Americans who were sedentary, non-diabetic, non-smoking, free of CV and renal disease and not on antihypertensive medication followed an American Heart Association low fat, low salt diet for 6 weeks.

Renal lymphangiomatosis, interrupted IVC with persistent primitive hepatic venous plexus and multiple anomalous venous channels: parts of an overlap syndrome?

A 5-year-old girl with cutis marmorata telangiectasia congenita (CMTC) and congenital glaucoma, who had previously presented with seizures, transient hemiplegia, upper gastrointestinal bleeding and hemihypertrophy, developed a large pleural effusion. Subsequent imaging revealed renal lymphangiomatosis, multiple anomalous intra-abdominal venous channels, an interrupted inferior vena cava with a persistent primitive hepatic venous plexus (PPHVP) and meningeal angiomas. To the best of our knowledge, the CT findings of PPHVP and the combination of the demonstrated abnormalities have not been previously reported.