Publications by authors named "Gerdts E"
Objective: Sex-specific low flow was recently defined as stroke volume index (SVi) ≤40 ml/m² in men and ≤32 ml/m² in women. We tested the prognostic association of these cut-offs in patients with aortic stenosis (AS) with concordantly and discordantly graded AS (CGASEL and DGASEL) based on pressure recovery adjusted aortic valve area (energy loss, EL).
Methods: Data from 1351 patients with asymptomatic AS, peak jet velocity <4m/s and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction enrolled in the Simvastatin and Ezetimibe in AS study was used.
Article Synopsis
- Women generally have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared to men, but it's unclear how hypertension-related organ damage affects this difference.
- A study assessed whether carotid plaque influences the risk of cardiovascular events in young patients with treated hypertension, finding that women without carotid plaque had a significantly lower risk than men.
- However, when carotid plaque was present, the cardiovascular risk for women was similar to that of men, indicating that carotid plaque neutralizes the protective effect in women.
Advancing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells for the treatment of solid tumors is a major focus in the field of cellular immunotherapy. Several hurdles have hindered similar CAR T cell clinical responses in solid tumors as seen in hematological malignancies. These challenges include on-target off-tumor toxicities, which have inspired efforts to optimize CARs for improved tumor antigen selectivity and overall safety.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Incidence of cryptogenic ischemic stroke (CIS) in young adults is increasing. Early left atrial (LA) myopathy might be 1 of the underlying mechanisms, but this has only been scarcely explored.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the association between increased LA stiffness and CIS in young adults.
Article Synopsis
- The study examined the link between heavy alcohol use and young-onset cryptogenic ischemic stroke (CIS) in individuals aged 18-49.
- Patients showed significantly higher rates of heavy drinking compared to stroke-free controls, with 13.7% of CIS patients classified as heavy alcohol users versus 6.7% of controls.
- The findings suggest that heavy alcohol consumption, especially binge drinking, is an independent risk factor for CIS in young men, but not in women.
Despite recent therapeutic advances, metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) remains lethal. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies have demonstrated durable remissions in hematological malignancies. We report results from a phase 1, first-in-human study of prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA)-directed CAR T cells in men with mCRPC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is more common in women and linked to cardiovascular issues like hypertension and arterial stiffness; researchers studied changes in arterial stiffness in RA patients on DMARD therapy.
- In a study of 77 RA patients, while disease activity (DAS28) improved over 22 months, arterial stiffness (measured by increasing pulse wave velocity) worsened, especially in those with higher baseline blood pressure, diabetes, and body mass index.
- The findings suggest that managing cardiovascular risk factors is crucial for RA patients, as improvement in disease activity does not necessarily prevent increased arterial stiffness.
Influence of cardiorespiratory fitness on obesity-associated inflammation in women and men: The FATCOR study.
Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis
August 2024
Background And Aims: Cardiorespiratory fitness has been postulated to lower chronic inflammation in obesity. We assessed sex-specific associations of inflammation with cardiorespiratory fitness in overweight and obese persons.
Methods And Results: Peak oxygen uptake (VO) was measured by treadmill in 566 participants (age 48 ± 9 years, 60% women) with body mass index >27.
Background: Drug concentration in blood or urine is an acknowledged method to detect nonadherence. Observational studies suggest that informing patients about low or absent serum drug levels improves blood pressure (BP). We performed a multicenter randomized clinical trial to test the hypothesis that therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) could improve drug adherence and BP in patients with uncontrolled hypertension (HT).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGender Differences in Cardiac Organ Damage in Arterial Hypertension: Assessing the Role of Drug Nonadherence.
High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev
March 2024
Introduction: Cardiac organ damage like left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and left atrial (LA) enlargement is more prevalent in women than men with hypertension, but the mechanisms underlying this gender difference remain unclear.
Methods: We tested the association of drug nonadherence with the presence of LV hypertrophy and LA enlargement by echocardiography in 186 women and 337 men with uncontrolled hypertension defined as daytime systolic blood pressure (BP) ≥ 135mmHg despite the prescription of at least two antihypertensive drugs. Drug adherence was assessed by measurements of serum drug concentrations interpreted by an experienced pharmacologist.
Article Synopsis
- * A study involving 75 patients showed that while bariatric surgery improved body mass index (BMI) and some measures of heart function, over one-third still had issues with midwall shortening (MWS) a year later.
- * Preoperative evaluations using a risk index based on factors like sex, hypertension, ejection fraction, and levels of inflammatory proteins can effectively identify patients at high risk for impaired heart mechanics after surgery.
Background: Progressive arterial stiffening may increase the risk of recurrent cardiovascular events in ischemic stroke survivors. Information about factors associated with progressive arterial stiffening during the follow-up of young patients with ischemic stroke is lacking.
Methods: Arterial stiffness by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) and ambulatory 24-hour blood pressure (24hBP) were assessed in 81 women and 190 men ≤60 years of age included in the Norwegian Stroke in the Young (NOR-SYS) study 3 months and 5.
Article Synopsis
- * Utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), researchers can combine various omics and clinical data to create personalized diagnostic and therapeutic tools.
- * Collaborative initiatives like AtheroNET COST Action are crucial for addressing challenges such as data quality, integration, and privacy, ultimately improving patient care in ASCVD research.
Article Synopsis
- The study examined the global myocardial work index (GWI), a new measure of heart function, in relation to sex and body mass index (BMI) among 467 individuals without known heart disease.
- Women had higher BMI, aortic augmentation pressure, left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS), and GWI compared to men, with these differences being statistically significant.
- The higher GWI in women was linked to increased left ventricular workload due to higher aortic augmentation pressure, which explained the sex difference but became non-significant when accounting for other hemodynamic factors.
Article Synopsis
- Global left ventricular (LV) function declines as aortic valve stenosis (AS) worsens, but the specific deformation changes from base to apex had not been studied until now.
- A cross-sectional study involving 85 AS patients used 3D echocardiography to assess global LV function and deformation patterns by categorizing patients into mild, moderate, and severe AS groups.
- Results showed that as AS severity increased, global and regional myocardial function decreased, particularly in males and those with higher body mass index, linking LV mechanics to AS severity and cardiovascular risk factors.*
Arterial Stiffness in Overweight and Obesity: Association with Sex, Age, and Blood Pressure.
High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev
September 2023
Article Synopsis
- Obesity is linked to increased arterial stiffness, but sex differences in this association have not been thoroughly investigated.
- A study examined the arterial stiffness of 323 women and 225 men with overweight and obesity, finding that women had higher augmentation pressure (AP) and augmentation index (AIx), while men had higher carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV).
- Both age and 24-hour systolic blood pressure were significant factors affecting arterial stiffness in all subjects, while body fat measures like BMI had minimal influence.
Article Synopsis
- This study investigated whether blood pressure-lowering treatments impact cardiovascular outcomes differently for men and women, especially when blood pressure is not very high.
- Researchers analyzed data from 51 clinical trials with nearly 359,000 participants, finding that a reduction of 5 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure decreased the risk of major cardiovascular events similarly for both sexes over an average follow-up of 4.2 years.
- The findings indicate that there are no significant differences in the effectiveness of blood pressure treatments between men and women, regardless of initial blood pressure levels or the types of medications used.
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigated sex differences in stroke risk among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who have hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), using data from a large clinical trial.
- - Among patients aged 55-63, males had a higher prevalence of both history and new-onset AF compared to females, but this gap narrowed with age.
- - The findings suggested that females with new-onset AF are at a greater stroke risk than males, particularly for those over 64 years, while the risk was similar for both sexes in patients with a history of AF.
Article Synopsis
- Hypertension is a significant cardiovascular risk factor for patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), but its connection to cardiovascular organ damage is not well understood.* ! -
- In a study of 126 AS patients, 34% had hypertension, which was linked to a high prevalence of cardiovascular organ damage (84%) compared to those without hypertension (29%) and healthy controls (30%).* ! -
- The findings highlight that managing hypertension is crucial for minimizing cardiovascular organ damage in AS patients, as it substantially increases their risk.* !
Purpose: To identify modifiable risk factors in early midlife associated with incident hypertension 26 years later in women and men.
Materials And Methods: We used data from 1025 women and 703 men in the community-based Hordaland Health Study examined at the mean age of 42 years (baseline) and after a 26-year follow-up. Patients with hypertension at baseline were excluded.
Article Synopsis
- - Aortic stenosis (AS) is the leading type of heart valve disease in older women, making accurate grading vital for patient selection for valve replacement procedures.
- - The severity of AS differs between women and men, even when aortic valve calcification levels are similar, indicating different physiological responses.
- - Women typically exhibit unique structural and functional heart changes due to AS, complicating accurate grading and impacting treatment approaches and outcomes for female patients.