Reappraisal of Variants in Cardiovascular Diseases: Uncovering Mechanisms and Future Directions.

Inherited cardiac arrhythmias, which may lead to sudden cardiac death, represent a significant health risk, with genetic factors playing a key role in their development. The ankyrin 2 () gene, encoding ankyrin-B, is implicated in several heritable arrhythmia syndromes. variants have been linked to an inherited condition known as "ankyrin-B syndrome", which manifests as a spectrum of cardiac arrhythmias and cardiomyopathy.

Real-world evidence of direct oral anticoagulants in patients with atrial fibrillation and cancer: A -analysis.

Background: Several observational cohort studies have been conducted to investigate the effectiveness and safety of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) compared with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in patients who have both atrial fibrillation (AF) and cancer. Herein, we conducted a -analysis to present a comprehensive overview of the real-world evidence on DOACs in patients with AF and cancer.

Methods: A comprehensive search strategy was performed in PubMed and Embase until February 2024 for studies that enrolled AF patients with cancer who received DOACs or VKAs.

Occurrence of Maize Leaf Spot Disease Caused by in Yunnan, China.

Maize (Zea mays) is vital as a staple food and livestock feed crop. Yunnan is one of the main maize-producing provinces in China (National Bureau of Statistics, 2022). While corn production in Yunnan is lower than the national average, the development of drought-tolerant varieties has contributed to improving productivity.

The use of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: an updated meta-analysis.

Studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism (VTE). The impact of NOACs on chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) remains controversial. This meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effectiveness and safety of NOACs compared with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in patients with CTEPH.

Adipsin alleviates cardiac microvascular injury in diabetic cardiomyopathy through Csk-dependent signaling mechanism.

Background: Microvascular complications are associated with an overtly increased risk of adverse outcomes in patients with diabetes including coronary microvascular injury which manifested as disruption of adherens junctions between cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (CMECs). However, particular mechanism leading to diabetic coronary microvascular hyperpermeability remains elusive.

Methods: Experimental diabetes was induced in mice with adipose tissue-specific Adipsin overexpression (Adipsin-Cre) and their respective control (Adipsin).

Fibroblast-specific activation of Rnd3 protects against cardiac remodeling in diabetic cardiomyopathy via suppression of Notch and TGF-β signaling.

Extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, a key pathological feature in diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), is triggered by oxidative stress, inflammation, and various metabolic disorders in the heart. Cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) are the primary source of ECM proteins and the ultimate effector cells in ECM remodeling. CFs are turned on and differentiated into myofibroblasts in response to profibrotic signaling.

Exosomes derived from pericardial adipose tissues attenuate cardiac remodeling following myocardial infarction by Adipsin-regulated iron homeostasis.

As a vital adipokine, Adipsin is closely associated with cardiovascular risks. Nevertheless, its role in the onset and development of cardiovascular diseases remains elusive. This study was designed to examine the effect of Adipsin on survival, cardiac dysfunction and adverse remodeling in the face of myocardial infarction (MI) injury.

Inhibition of macrophage-derived foam cells by Adipsin attenuates progression of atherosclerosis.

Phagocytosis of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) by macrophages yields "foam cells" and serves as a hallmark of atherosclerotic lesion. Adipsin is a critical component of the complement activation pathway. Recent evidence has indicated an obligatory role for Adipsin in pathological models including ischemia-reperfusion and sepsis.

Effect of aggressive diuresis in acute heart failure with reduced and preserved ejection fraction.

Aims: Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) had distinct haemodynamic characteristics in the setting of acute heart failure. The aim of our study is to evaluate the differential response to aggressive diuresis in HFrEF and HFpEF.

Methods And Results: Patients in the Diuretic Optimization Strategies Evaluation trial with left ventricular ejection fraction measurement were included (n = 300) and classified into HFrEF [left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 40%] (n = 193) and HFpEF (LVEF ≥ 40%) (n = 107).

Prognostic Implication of Liver Function Tests in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction Without Chronic Hepatic Diseases: Insight From TOPCAT Trial.

Liver dysfunction is prevalent in patients with heart failure (HF), but the prognostic significance of liver function tests (LFTs) remains controversial. Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) had been introduced for some time, but no previous study had focused on LFTs in HFpEF. Thus, we aim to evaluate the prognostic significance of LFTs in well-defined HFpEF patients.

Living Alone and Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction.

Objective: In patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), whether living alone could contribute to a poor prognosis remains unknown. We sought to investigate the association of living alone with clinical outcomes in patients with HFpEF.

Methods: Symptomatic patients with HFpEF with a follow-up of 3.

CHEST score predicts clinical outcomes in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a secondary analysis of the TOPCAT trial.

Background: The CHEST score has been validated for predicting AF in the general population or post-stroke patients. We aimed to assess whether this risk score could predict incident AF and other clinical outcomes in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients.

Methods: A total of 2202 HFpEF patients without baseline AF in the TOPCAT trial were stratified by baseline CHEST score.

Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Non-Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants in Atrial Fibrillation Patients.

Background And Purpose: Several observational studies have compared the effect of the non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants to each other in patients with atrial fibrillation. However, confounding by indication is a major problem when comparing non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant treatments in some of these studies. This meta-analysis was conducted to compare the effectiveness and safety between non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant and non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant by only including the propensity score matching studies.

Usefulness of CHADS2, R2CHADS2, and CHA2DS2-VASc scores for predicting incident atrial fibrillation in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction patients.

Aims: Coexisting of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) could increase the risk of mortality. In this study, we aimed to assess the values of the CHADS2, R2CHADS2, and CHA2DS2-VASc scores for AF prediction in HFpEF patients.

Methods And Results: We performed a retrospective analysis on symptomatic HFpEF patients in the TOPCAT (Treatment of Preserved Cardiac Function Heart Failure with an Aldosterone Antagonist) trial.

Influence of polypharmacy on patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a retrospective analysis on adverse outcomes in the TOPCAT trial.

Background: Polypharmacy is common in heart failure (HF), whereas its effect on adverse outcomes in patients with HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is unclear.

Aim: To evaluate the prevalence, prognostic impacts, and predictors of polypharmacy in HFpEF patients.

Design And Setting: A retrospective analysis performed on patients in the Americas region (including the US, Canada, Argentina, and Brazil) with symptomatic HF and a left ventricular ejection fraction ≥45% in the TOPCAT (Treatment of Preserved Cardiac Function Heart Failure with an Aldosterone Antagonist) trial, an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted during 2006-2013 in six countries.

Clinical implication of pulmonary hospitalization in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: from the TOPCAT.

Aims: The aim of the study was to explore the risk factors and evaluate the prognostic implication of pulmonary hospitalization on heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).

Methods And Results: We performed a secondary analysis of the Treatment of Preserved Cardiac Function Heart Failure with an Aldosterone Antagonist Trial (TOPCAT). A total of 1714 patients with HFpEF were analysed in our study.

Major depression and clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Objective: Limited data have been published concerning about depression in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Besides, among HFpEF patients with depression, the efficacy of antidepressants is poorly defined. Therefore, our current study was aimed to examine the relationship between major depression and clinical outcomes in HFpEF patients and further address the effects of antidepressants on prognosis in patients with major depression and HFpEF.

Efficacy and safety of xuezhikang once per day versus two times per day in patients with mild to moderate hypercholesterolaemia (APEX study): a protocol for a multicentre, prospective randomised controlled, open-label, non-inferiority study.

Introduction: Reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) improves clinical outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease. However, rates of lipid-lowering medication adherence are far from ideal. Reducing dosage frequency from multiple dosing to once-daily dosing may improve patients' medication adherence.

Association of Cyr61-cysteine-rich protein 61 and short-term mortality in patients with acute heart failure and coronary heart disease.

The protein CCN1/CYR61 exerts critical functions in myocardial ischemic injury. We sought to investigate the prognostic value of CCN1 in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) and coronary heart disease (CAD). We prospectively enrolled 113 patients with AHF and CAD.

Prognostic Value of Cysteine-Rich Protein 61 Combined with N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide for Mortality in Acute Heart Failure Patients with and without Chronic Kidney Disease.

Background: The ability of most biomarkers, such as N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), to predict prognosis in heart failure can be affected by the state of renal function; therefore, there is the need for a biomarker that can predict prognosis accurately without the influence of renal function. The prognostic value of cysteine-rich protein 61 (CYR61/CCN1) in acute heart failure (AHF) patients has been proven.

Methods: A total of 248 patients hospitalized with AHF were recruited in this study, and serum CCN1 levels, NT-proBNP levels, and other necessary data of patients were collected upon admission.

Prognostic Significance of Serum Cysteine-Rich Protein 61 in Patients with Acute Heart Failure.

Background/aims: Cyr61-cysteine-rich protein 61 (CCN1/CYR61) is a multifunctional matricellular protein involved in the regulation of fibrogenesis. Animal experiments have demonstrated that CCN1 can inhibit cardiac fibrosis in cardiac hypertrophy. However, no study has been conducted to assess the relation between serum CCN1 and prognosis of acute heart failure (AHF).

Long-term treatment of spontaneously hypertensive rats with PD123319 and electrophysiological remodeling of left ventricular myocardium.

To investigate the effects of PD123319, an antagonist of angiotensin II subtype-2 receptor (AT2R), on the electrophysiological characteristics of the left ventricular hypertrophic myocardium in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). A total of twenty-four 10-week-old male SHR were divided into two groups: PD123319 and non-PD123319 groups (n = 12 in each). Twelve 10-week-old Wistar-Kyoto rats served as the control group.

Thermodilutional Confirmation of Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction in Patients With Recurrent Angina After Successful Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: Recurrent angina (RA) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains a challenging problem that confronts cardiologists in routine clinical practice. In patients without epicardial coronary causes, RA is commonly speculated as resulting from coronary microvascular dysfunction. The aim of this study was to investigate the coronary microvascular function in patients with RA late after successful PCI and without epicardial stenosis at the time of repeat angiography.