The Interplay of Type 2 Diabetes Status, Cardiorespiratory Fitness Level, and Sudden Cardiac Death: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: To evaluate the individual and joint effects of type 2 diabetes (T2D) status and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) level with sudden cardiac death (SCD) risk.

Methods: Prevalent T2D was defined based on guideline recommendations, and CRF level was assessed using a respiratory gas-exchange analyzer during exercise testing at baseline, in 2308 men aged 42-61 years. T2D status was classified as either "Yes" or "No," and CRF level was classified as low, medium, or high.

Efficacy of Flaxseed Compared to ACE Inhibition in Treating Anthracycline- and Trastuzumab-Induced Cardiotoxicity.

Background: Although the current combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy is used in the breast-cancer setting, the administration of the anticancer drugs doxorubicin and trastuzumab is associated with an increased risk of developing heart failure. The aim of this study is to determine whether dietary flaxseed is comparable and/or synergistic with the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor perindopril in the treatment of doxorubicin- and trastuzumab-mediated cardiotoxicity.

Methods: In a chronic murine model (n = 110), doxorubicin and trastuzumab (8 mg/kg and 3 mg/kg, respectively) were administered weekly for 3 weeks.

Doxorubicin‑induced cardiomyopathy is mitigated by empagliflozin via the modulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress pathways.

Doxorubicin (Dox) exhibits a high efficacy in the treatment of numerous types of cancer. However, the beneficial cytotoxic effects of Dox are often accompanied by an increase in the risk of cardiotoxicity. Oxidative stress (OS) plays a key role in Dox‑induced cardiomyopathy (DIC).

Chest Pain Evaluation: Diagnostic Testing.

Chest pain/discomfort (CP) is a common symptom and can be a diagnostic dilemma for many clinicians. The misdiagnosis of an acute or progressive chronic cardiac etiology may carry a significant risk of morbidity and mortality. This review summarizes the different options and modalities for establishing the diagnosis and severity of coronary artery disease.

Preventing broken hearts in women with breast cancer: a concise review on chemotherapy-mediated cardiotoxicity.

Cancer and cardiovascular disease are the leading causes of death for Canadian women. One in eight Canadian women will receive the life-changing diagnosis of breast cancer (BC) in their lifetime, with 1 in 34 dying from the disease. Although doxorubicin (DOX) and trastuzumab (TRZ) have significantly improved survival in women diagnosed with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive BC, approximately one in four women who receive this treatment are at risk of developing chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity.

Ventricular tachycardia triggered by electroconvulsive therapy: Case report and review of the literature.

We report a case of a 71-year-old male with severe depression treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the operating room complicated by monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (MMVT). The clinical presentation, treatment, and outcomes of this catecholamine-mediated cardiac event are reported with a brief review of the literature.

Scleraxis and fibrosis in the pressure-overloaded heart.

Aims: In response to pro-fibrotic signals, scleraxis regulates cardiac fibroblast activation in vitro via transcriptional control of key fibrosis genes such as collagen and fibronectin; however, its role in vivo is unknown. The present study assessed the impact of scleraxis loss on fibroblast activation, cardiac fibrosis, and dysfunction in pressure overload-induced heart failure.

Methods And Results: Scleraxis expression was upregulated in the hearts of non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy patients, and in mice subjected to pressure overload by transverse aortic constriction (TAC).

Proteasomal Degradation of TRAF2 Mediates Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Doxorubicin-Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) have been implicated in cardiac dysfunction and toxicity associated with doxorubicin (DOX). Although TNFα can elicit different cellular responses, including survival or death, the mechanisms underlying these divergent outcomes in the heart remain cryptic. The E3 ubiquitin ligase TRAF2 (TNF receptor associated factor 2) provides a critical signaling platform for K63-linked polyubiquitination of RIPK1 (receptor interacting protein 1), crucial for nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation by TNFα and survival.

Olive oil protects against progression of heart failure by inhibiting remodeling of heart subsequent to myocardial infarction in rats.

We examined the beneficial effects of olive oil against heart failure post-myocardial infarction (PMI), induced by coronary artery ligation in rats. Animals were divided into sham and ligated groups and fed either regular chow, olive oil (10% wt/wt), or corn oil (10% wt/wt) and were followed up to 16 weeks. On the echocardiography at 3 days (PMI), in the ligated regular chow (LRC), ligated olive oil (LOO), and ligated corn oil (LCO) left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) decrease was 12.

Comparing Flaxseed and Perindopril in the Prevention of Doxorubicin and Trastuzumab-Induced Cardiotoxicity in C57Bl/6 Mice.

Background: Two anti-cancer agents, doxorubicin (DOX) and trastuzumab (TRZ), are commonly used in the management of breast cancer in women. Despite their efficacy in reducing the morbidity and mortality of individuals with breast cancer, the use of these agents is limited by adverse cardiotoxic side effects. Both the nutraceutical agent flaxseed (FLX) and the pharmaceutical drug perindopril (PER) have been studied individually in the prevention of chemotherapy-mediated cardiac dysfunction.

Interleukin-10 Mitigates Doxorubicin-Induced Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress as Well as Cardiomyopathy.

The use of doxorubicin (Dox) in cancer patients carries the risk of cardiotoxicity via an increase in oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and disturbed endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis in cardiomyocytes. The present study explores which of the ER transmembrane sensors is involved in Dox-induced apoptosis and whether interleukin-10 (IL-10) has any mitigating effect. There was a time-related increase in apoptosis in cardiomyocytes exposed to 5.

COVID-19 Vaccination-Induced Myopericarditis: An Imager's Perspective.

COVID-19 vaccine-induced myocarditis is a rare adverse event in the current pandemic. The following is a case series of 10 individuals with COVID-19 vaccine-related myocarditis confirmed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. In this cohort of predominantly male patients, with a mean age of 23 years, chest discomfort and positive cardiac biomarkers occurred at a median of 3 days after the second COVID-19 vaccine dose.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Promotes iNOS/NO and Influences Inflammation in the Development of Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiomyopathy.

Doxorubicin (Dox) is known to cause heart failure in some cancer patients. Despite extensive studies over the past half century, the subcellular basis of Dox-induced cardiomyopathy (DIC) is still elusive. Earlier, we suggested that Dox causes a delayed activation of unfolded protein response (UPR) which may promote mitochondrial Bax activity leading to cardiomyocyte death.

Exercise to Reduce Anthracycline-Mediated Cardiovascular Complications in Breast Cancer Survivors.

While developments in cancer therapeutics have greatly reduced morbidity and mortality in females with breast cancer, it comes at a cost of an increased risk of cardiovascular complications. In particular, anthracyclines, like doxorubicin, which are a mainstay of current chemotherapy regimens, are associated with dose-dependent cardiotoxicity. Exercise has been widely accepted as an effective intervention in reducing cardiovascular risk in a variety of different clinical conditions.

Long COVID-19: A Primer for Cardiovascular Health Professionals, on Behalf of the CCS Rapid Response Team.

It is now widely recognized that COVID-19 illness can be associated with significant intermediate and potentially longer-term physical limitations. The term, "long COVID-19" is used to define any patient with persistent symptoms after acute COVID-19 infection (ie, after 4 weeks). It is postulated that cardiac injury might be linked to symptoms that persist after resolution of acute infection, as part of this syndrome.

Elimination of endogenous high molecular weight FGF2 prevents pressure-overload-induced systolic dysfunction, linked to increased FGFR1 activity and NR1D1 expression.

Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), produced as high (Hi-) and low (Lo-) molecular weight isoforms, is implicated in cardiac response to injury. The role of endogenous FGF2 isoforms during chronic stress is not well defined. We investigated the effects of endogenous Hi-FGF2 in a mouse model of simulated pressure-overload stress achieved by transverse aortic constriction (TAC) surgery.

Atypical presentation of Takayasu aortitis and myocarditis contributing to sudden death in a young Canadian first nations adult.

This is a rare presentation of Takayasu arteritis in a 30-year-old Canadian First Nations woman with cardiac and aortic root-predominant disease, which manifested in complete heart block. She had a past medical history significant for substance misuse. At presentation, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging identified diffuse thickening of the left atrium and ventricular outflow tract with left ventricular cavity dilation and preserved systolic function.

Prevalence and Functional Implication of Silent Coronary Artery Disease in Marathon Runners Over 40 Years of Age: The MATCH-40 Study.

Background: Marathon participation is becoming increasingly popular among individuals ≥40 years of age. Little is known about the prevalence of subclinical coronary artery disease (CAD) and corresponding ischemia in this patient population. The study objectives are: (1) to characterize the prevalence of silent CAD in marathoners ≥ 40 years old using cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCT); and (2) if subclinical CAD was detected, to determine the functional significance of occult lesions by stress echocardiography (SE).

Study of ER stress and apoptotic proteins in the heart and tumor exposed to doxorubicin.

Although a high cumulative dose of Doxorubicin (Dox) is known to cause cardiotoxicity, there is still a lack of understanding of the subcellular basis of this drug-induced cardiomyopathy. Differential effects of Dox on mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) were examined in cardiomyocytes, tumor cells, implanted tumors and hearts of normal as well as tumor-bearing animals. Dox increased mitochondrial (Mito) Bax activation at 3 h in the cardiomyocyte without change in the DNA damage inducible transcriptor-3 (DDIT3) expression in the ER.