Effect of Monocyte-to-Lymphocyte Ratio on Heart Failure Characteristics and Hospitalizations in a Coronary Angiography Cohort.

Inflammation is a shared mechanism in coronary artery disease (CAD) and subsequent heart failure (HF), and circulating monocyte and lymphocyte counts predict CAD severity and outcomes. We investigated whether the monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) correlates with biomarkers of HF and extent of CAD, as well as future HF hospitalizations in patients undergoing coronary angiography. Therefore, we studied 1754 patients undergoing coronary angiography for stable CAD, unstable angina, or myocardial infarction.

HEART score performance in Asian and Caucasian patients presenting to the emergency department with suspected acute coronary syndrome.

Background: The HEART score is a simple and effective tool to predict short-term major adverse cardiovascular events in patients suspected of acute coronary syndrome. Patients are assigned to three risk categories using History, ECG, Age, Risk factors and Troponin (HEART). The purpose is early rule out and discharge is considered safe for patients in the low risk category.

Titin-truncating variants affect heart function in disease cohorts and the general population.

Titin-truncating variants (TTNtv) commonly cause dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). TTNtv are also encountered in ∼1% of the general population, where they may be silent, perhaps reflecting allelic factors. To better understand TTNtv, we integrated TTN allelic series, cardiac imaging and genomic data in humans and studied rat models with disparate TTNtv.

Aberrant Splicing Promotes Proteasomal Degradation of L-type Ca1.2 Calcium Channels by Competitive Binding for Caβ Subunits in Cardiac Hypertrophy.

Decreased expression and activity of Ca1.2 calcium channels has been reported in pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown.

Ethnic differences in the association of QRS duration with ejection fraction and outcome in heart failure.

Background: QRS duration (QRSd) criteria for device therapy in heart failure (HF) were derived from predominantly white populations and ethnic differences are poorly understood.

Methods: We compared the association of QRSd with ejection fraction (EF) and outcomes between 839 Singaporean Asian and 11 221 Swedish white patients with HF having preserved EF (HFPEF)and HF having reduced EF (HFREF) were followed in prospective population-based HF studies.

Results: Compared with whites, Asian patients with HF were younger (62 vs 74 years, p<0.

Identification of CD163 as an antiinflammatory receptor for HMGB1-haptoglobin complexes.

Secreted by activated cells or passively released by damaged cells, extracellular HMGB1 is a prototypical damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) inflammatory mediator. During the course of developing extracorporeal approaches to treating injury and infection, we inadvertently discovered that haptoglobin, the acute phase protein that binds extracellular hemoglobin and targets cellular uptake through CD163, also binds HMGB1. Haptoglobin-HMGB1 complexes elicit the production of antiinflammatory enzymes (heme oxygenase-1) and cytokines (e.

Isolation and Characterization of Exosome from Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived C-Myc-Immortalized Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are currently the cell type of choice in many cell therapy trials. The number of therapeutic applications for MSCs registered as product IND submissions with the FDA and initiation of registered clinical trials has increased substantially in recent years, in particular between 2006 and 2012. However, defined mechanisms of action underpinning the therapeutic efficacy of MSCs are lacking, but they are increasingly attributed to MSC trophic secretion rather than their differentiation potential.

Human Validation of Genes Associated With a Murine Atherosclerotic Phenotype.

Objective: The genetically modified mouse is the most commonly used animal model for studying the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic disease. We aimed to assess if mice atherosclerosis-related genes could be validated in human disease through examination of results from genome-wide association studies.

Approach And Results: We performed a systematic review to identify atherosclerosis-causing genes in mice and carried out gene-based association tests of their human orthologs for an association with human coronary artery disease and human large artery ischemic stroke.

Extracellular Vesicle Proteins Associated with Systemic Vascular Events Correlate with Heart Failure: An Observational Study in a Dyspnoea Cohort.

Background: SerpinF2, SerpinG1, CystatinC and CD14 are involved in inflammatory processes and plasma extracellular vesicle (EV) -levels of these proteins have been reported to be associated with systemic vascular events. Evidence is accumulating that inflammatory processes may play a pivotal role both in systemic vascular events and in heart failure. Therefore, we studied the association between plasma extracellular vesicle SerpinF2-, SerpinG1-, CystatinC and CD14-levels and the occurrence of acute heart failure in patients.

Ethnic differences in clinical outcome of patients presenting to the emergency department with chest pain.

Background: Ethnicity, although known to influence cardiovascular outcome in assorted clinical settings, has not been investigated previously as a risk factor in patients presenting to the emergency department with suspected acute myocardial infarction.

Methods: In this multi-ethnic cohort study conducted in Singapore and The Netherlands, 2784 patients presenting to the emergency department with chest pain were enrolled (788 Caucasians, 1281 Chinese, 404 Indians and 311 Malays) and were followed up for 1 year.

Results: Although Caucasian patients on average were older and had incurred more cardiovascular adverse events, the Asian ethnic groups carried a greater burden of cardiovascular risk factors.

Routinely analyzed leukocyte characteristics improve prediction of mortality after coronary angiography.

Background: Inflammation and leukocyte infiltration are hallmarks of atherosclerosis. Clinically routine hematology analyzers mostly perform an entire differential blood count by default, irrespective of the requested parameter. We hypothesize that these normally unreported leukocyte characteristics associate with coronary artery disease (CAD) severity and can improve prediction of mortality in coronary angiography patients.

The diagnostic and prognostic potential of plasma extracellular vesicles for cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide and its prevalence is expected to rise rapidly worldwide in the coming decades. Atherosclerosis, the syndrome underlying CVD, is a chronic progressive disease of the arteries already present at a young age. Strokes, heart attacks and heart failure are acute CVD events that occur after decades, however, and require timely diagnosis and treatment.

BLT1 antagonist LSN2792613 reduces infarct size in a mouse model of myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injury.

Aims: Restoration of coronary blood flow is crucial in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction. Reperfusion, however, induces ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) injury, which further deteriorates myocardial function. The innate immune system plays an important role in this process, mediating rapid influx of immune cells into the reperfused myocardium.

Women Undergoing Coronary Angiography for Myocardial Infarction or Who Present With Multivessel Disease Have a Poorer Prognosis Than Men.

Background: Coronary artery disease affects both men and women. In this study, we examine sex-specific differences in occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) after coronary angiography.

Methods: We analyzed data from the coronary angiography cohort Utrecht Coronary Biobank (n = 1283 men, 480 women).

Gender differences in health-related quality of life in patients undergoing coronary angiography.

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) reflects the general well-being of individuals. In patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), HRQOL is compromised. Female patients with CAD have been reported to have lower HRQOL.

Ethnicity Modifies Associations between Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Disease Severity in Parallel Dutch and Singapore Coronary Cohorts.

Background: In 2020 the largest number of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) will be found in Asia. Published epidemiological and clinical reports are overwhelmingly derived from western (White) cohorts and data from Asia are scant. We compared CAD severity and all-cause mortality among 4 of the world's most populous ethnicities: Whites, Chinese, Indians and Malays.

Inter-Ethnic Differences in Quantified Coronary Artery Disease Severity and All-Cause Mortality among Dutch and Singaporean Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Patients.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a global problem with increasing incidence in Asia. Prior studies reported inter-ethnic differences in the prevalence of CAD rather than the severity of CAD. The angiographic "synergy between percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with taxus and cardiac surgery" (SYNTAX) score quantifies CAD severity and predicts outcomes.

Race/Ethnic Differences in the Associations of the Framingham Risk Factors with Carotid IMT and Cardiovascular Events.

Background: Clinical manifestations and outcomes of atherosclerotic disease differ between ethnic groups. In addition, the prevalence of risk factors is substantially different. Primary prevention programs are based on data derived from almost exclusively White people.

Biomarkers of Coronary Artery Disease Differ Between Asians and Caucasians in the General Population.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) markers have not been thoroughly investigated among Asians. The incidence of CAD, however, is rising rapidly in Asia. In this review, we systematically discuss publications that compare CAD biomarkers between Asians and Caucasians in the general population.

Suspected acute coronary syndrome in the emergency room: Limited added value of heart type fatty acid binding protein point of care or ELISA tests: The FAME-ER (Fatty Acid binding protein in Myocardial infarction Evaluation in the Emergency Room) study.

Background: Timely recognition of acute coronary syndrome remains a challenge as many biomarkers, including troponin, remain negative in the first hours following the onset of chest pain. We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP), a cardiac biomarker with potential value immediately post symptom onset.

Methods And Results: Prospective monocentre diagnostic accuracy study of H-FABP bedside point of care (CardioDetect®) and ELISA tests in acute coronary syndrome suspected patients presenting within 24 hours of symptom onset to the emergency department, in addition to clinical findings, electrocardiography and the currently recommended biomarker high sensitivity troponin-T (hs-cTnT).

Variants in ALOX5, ALOX5AP and LTA4H are not associated with atherosclerotic plaque phenotypes: the Athero-Express Genomics Study.

Background: The eicosanoid genes ALOX5, ALOX5AP and LTA4H have been implicated in atherosclerosis. We assessed the impact of common variants in these genes on gene expression, circulating protein levels, and atherosclerotic plaque phenotypes.

Methods: We included patients from the Stockholm Atherosclerosis Gene Expression study (STAGE, N = 109), and the Athero-Express Biobank Study (AE, N = 1443).

Severity of stable coronary artery disease and its biomarkers differ between men and women undergoing angiography.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) affects both men and women. Cardiovascular biomarkers have been suggested to relate to CAD severity, but data on sex-specificity is scarce. Therefore, we investigated the association of established biomarkers with the severity of CAD in stable patients undergoing coronary angiography in a sex-specific manner.