The impact of consuming different types of high-caloric fat diet on the metabolic status, liver, and aortic integrity in rats.

Consumption of high-caloric diets contributes to the alarming number of overweight and obese individuals worldwide, which in turn leads to several diseases and multiple organ dysfunction. Not only has the number of calories taken per day but also the type of fat in the diet has an important impact on health. Accordingly, the purpose of the current study was to examine the impact of different types of high-caloric fat diets on the metabolic status and the integrity of the liver and aorta in albino rats.

2023 National Heart Center/Saudi Heart Association Focused Update of the 2019 Saudi Heart Association Guidelines for the Management of Heart Failure.

Background: The burden of cardiovascular diseases is undeniable in local populations, who have high mortality rates and a young age of disease onset. A systematic review of emerging evidence and update of the Saudi Heart Association (SHA) 2019 heart failure (HF) guidelines was therefore undertaken.

Methodology: A panel of expert cardiologists reviewed recommendations of the 2019 guidelines following the Saudi Heart Association methodology for guideline recommendations.

Saudi Heart Association Guidelines on Best Practices in the Management of Chronic Coronary Syndromes.

Background: The prevalence of both chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) and its risk factors is alarming in Saudi Arabia and only a minority of patients achieve optimal medical management. Context-specific CCS guidelines outlining best clinical practices are therefore needed to address local gaps and challenges.

Consensus Panel: A panel of experts representing the Saudi Heart Association (SHA) reviewed existing evidence and formulated guidance relevant to local clinical practice considering the characteristics of the Saudi population, the Saudi healthcare system, its resources and medical expertise.

Dapagliflozin for heart failure according to body mass index: the DELIVER trial.

Aims: Obesity is common and associated with unique phenotypic features in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Therefore, understanding the efficacy and safety of new therapies in HFpEF patients with obesity is important. The effects of dapagliflozin were examined according to body mass index (BMI) among patients in the Dapagliflozin Evaluation to Improve the LIVEs of Patients With PReserved Ejection Fraction Heart Failure trial.

Dapagliflozin in Heart Failure with Mildly Reduced or Preserved Ejection Fraction.

Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors reduce the risk of hospitalization for heart failure and cardiovascular death among patients with chronic heart failure and a left ventricular ejection fraction of 40% or less. Whether SGLT2 inhibitors are effective in patients with a higher left ventricular ejection fraction remains less certain.

Methods: We randomly assigned 6263 patients with heart failure and a left ventricular ejection fraction of more than 40% to receive dapagliflozin (at a dose of 10 mg once daily) or matching placebo, in addition to usual therapy.

Ischemic cardiomyopathy versus non-ischemic cardiomyopathy in diabetic patients: clinical characteristics, management, and long-term outcomes.

Background: Diabetes mellitus causes ischemic heart disease (IHD) through macrovascular or microvascular involvement. Diabetes-associated hypertension, dyslipidemia, and obesity further increase coronary artery disease risk and can cause left ventricular hypertrophy leading to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction independent of IHD. This study was undertaken to evaluate the differences in demographics, clinical characteristics, Echocardiographic parameters, management, and outcomes between non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) and ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) patients in cohort of diabetes patients.

Baseline Characteristics of Patients With HF With Mildly Reduced and Preserved Ejection Fraction: DELIVER Trial.

Objectives: This report describes the baseline clinical profiles and management of DELIVER (Dapagliflozin Evaluation to Improve the Lives of Patients With Preserved Ejection Fraction Heart Failure) trial participants and how these compare with those in other contemporary heart failure with preserved ejection fraction trials.

Background: The DELIVER trial was designed to evaluate the effects of the sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor dapagliflozin on cardiovascular death, heart failure (HF) hospitalization, or urgent HF visits in patients with HF with mildly reduced and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

Methods: Adults with symptomatic HF and LVEF >40%, with or without type 2 diabetes mellitus, elevated N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels, and evidence of structural heart disease were randomized to dapagliflozin 10 mg once daily or matching placebo.

Mutation in FBXO32 causes dilated cardiomyopathy through up-regulation of ER-stress mediated apoptosis.

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induction of cell death is implicated in cardiovascular diseases. Sustained activation of ER-stress induces the unfolded protein response (UPR) pathways, which in turn activate three major effector proteins. We previously reported a missense homozygous mutation in FBXO32 (MAFbx, Atrogin-1) causing advanced heart failure by impairing autophagy.

The Prognostic Impact of Pulse Pressure in Acute Heart Failure: Insights from the HEARTS Registry.

Background: Low pulse pressure predicts long-term mortality in chronic heart failure, but its prognostic value in acute heart failure is less understood. The present study was designed to examine the prognostic value of pulse pressure in acute heart failure.

Methods: Pulse pressure was tested for its impact on short- and long-term mortality in all patients admitted with acute heart failure from October 2009 to December 2010 in eighteen tertiary centers in Saudi Arabia (n = 2609).

Protein arginine methyltransferase 6 mediates cardiac hypertrophy by differential regulation of histone H3 arginine methylation.

Heart failure remains a major cause of hospitalization and death worldwide. Heart failure can be caused by abnormalities in the epigenome resulting from dysregulation of histone-modifying enzymes. While chromatin enzymes catalyzing lysine acetylation and methylation of histones have been the topic of many investigations, the role of arginine methyltransferases has been overlooked.

The role of activation of K channels on hydrogen sulfide induced renoprotective effect on diabetic nephropathy.

This work aims to investigate the renal effect of hydrogen sulfide (H S), in the experimentally induced diabetic nephropathy, besides the role of activation of АТP-sensitive potassium (K ) channel in that effect. Thirty-two adult male albino rats randomly divided into four groups: Control, streptozotocin-induced diabetic (diabetic nephropathy [DN]), DN+NaHS (the H S inducer), and DN+NaHS+Glibenclamide (a selective K channel blocker) groups. Results showed that kidney functions in the diabetic group improved by NaHS proved by the significant decrease in the measured renal injury markers when compared with the diabetic group with an obvious role of inflammation and oxidative stress.

Supporting the Management of Patients with Heart Failure within Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and African Countries: A Toolbox for Healthcare Providers.

Objectives: The management of heart failure (HF) is most effective when established treatment guidelines and recommendations are followed. We aimed to develop a "Toolbox" of resources to facilitate the care of patients with acute HF and chronic HF with reduced ejection fraction delivered by healthcare professionals across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa (henceforth referred to as the "Region").

Methods: We convened a group of cardiologists from across the Region to develop a set of checklists, algorithms, and other practical resources.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension in Saudi patients with systemic sclerosis: Clinical and hemodynamic characteristics and mortality.

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). The objective of this study is to describe the clinical characteristics, mortality, and predictors of SSc-PAH in Saudi patients.

Methods: Retrospective chart review study of SSc patients who were followed for at least 1 year in three tertiary care centers in Saudi Arabia was conducted.

The prognostic impact of hyperglycemia on clinical outcomes of acute heart failure: Insights from the heart function assessment registry trial in Saudi Arabia.

Background: The prognostic impact of hyperglycemia (HG) in acute heart failure (AHF) is controversial. Our aim is to examine the impact of HG on short- and long-term survival in AHF patients.

Methods: Data from the Heart Function Assessment Registry Trial in Saudi Arabia (HEARTS) for patients who had available random blood sugar (RBS) were analyzed.

Documentation of various approaches and outcomes in patients on warfarin undergoing dental procedures: a review article.

Appropriate management of patients with mechanical prosthetic valves on warfarin during dental procedures is crucial. If the patients continue warfarin, they might develop bleeding, while interruption of therapy can cause thromboembolic events. Bridging therapy (mostly heparin) is used in some patients, while others stop medications.

Acute heart failure with and without acute coronary syndrome: clinical correlates and prognostic impact (From the HEARTS registry).

Background: Little is know about the outcomes of acute heart failure (AHF) with acute coronary syndrome (ACS-AHF), compared to those without ACS (NACS-AHF).

Methods: We conducted a prospective registry of AHF patients involving 18 hospitals in Saudi Arabia between October 2009 and December 2010. In this sub-study, we compared the clinical correlates, management and hospital course, as well as short, and long-term outcomes between AHF patients with and without ACS.

Worsening heart failure in 'real-world' clinical practice: predictors and prognostic impact.

Aims: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical features, predictors, and clinical outcomes of patients hospitalized with acute heart failure (AHF), with and without worsening heart failure (WHF).

Methods And Results: We used data from a multicentre prospective registry of AHF patients created in Saudi Arabia. WHF was defined as recurrence of heart failure symptoms or signs-with or without cardiogenic shock.

FBXO32, encoding a member of the SCF complex, is mutated in dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a common form of cardiomyopathy causing systolic dysfunction and heart failure. Rare variants in more than 30 genes, mostly encoding sarcomeric proteins and proteins of the cytoskeleton, have been implicated in familial DCM to date. Yet, the majority of variants causing DCM remain to be identified.

Congenital ventricular diverticulum and MI - Diagnostic challenges and implications.

The use of modern cardiac imaging techniques suggests that congenital ventricular diverticulum (CVD) may be more common than generally believed and may present asymptomatically in adult life. We present a case of congenital left ventricular diverticulum diagnosed in a patient presenting with myocardial infarction (MI). The case highlights the importance of the differential diagnosis of CVD from post infarct left ventricular aneurysms (PILVA) and suggests that adult studies using modern imaging techniques are needed to define the prognosis for asymptomatic CVD in order to guide management.

Sex Differences in Patients With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure: Insights From the Heart Function Assessment Registry Trial in Saudi Arabia.

We assessed sex-specific differences in clinical features and outcomes of patients with acute heart failure (AHF). The Heart function Assessment Registry Trial in Saudi Arabia (HEARTS), a prospective registry, enrolled 2609 patients with AHF (34.2% women) between 2009 and 2010.

Deletion of low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (Acp1) protects against stress-induced cardiomyopathy.

The low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMPTP), encoded by the ACP1 gene, is a ubiquitously expressed phosphatase whose in vivo function in the heart and in cardiac diseases remains unknown. To investigate the in vivo role of LMPTP in cardiac function, we generated mice with genetic inactivation of the Acp1 locus and studied their response to long-term pressure overload. Acp1(-/-) mice develop normally and ageing mice do not show pathology in major tissues under basal conditions.

Control of histone H3 phosphorylation by CaMKIIδ in response to haemodynamic cardiac stress.

Heart failure is associated with the reactivation of a fetal cardiac gene programme that has become a hallmark of cardiac hypertrophy and maladaptive ventricular remodelling, yet the mechanisms that regulate this transcriptional reprogramming are not fully understood. Using mice with genetic ablation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II δ (CaMKIIδ), which are resistant to pathological cardiac stress, we show that CaMKIIδ regulates the phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine-10 during pressure overload hypertrophy. H3 S10 phosphorylation is strongly increased in the adult mouse heart in the early phase of cardiac hypertrophy and remains detectable during cardiac decompensation.

Echocardiography detects elevated left ventricular filling pressures in heart transplant recipients.

Diastolic dysfunction is a recognized complication in heart transplant (HTx) recipients that limits exercise capacity and is a risk factor for mortality. We investigated the ability of echocardiography to detect elevated pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (mean PCWP>15 mmHg) in HTx recipients. This retrospective study comprised HTx recipients with echocardiography and right heart catheterization within 24 hours (n = 100, 113 investigations).

Use of Rotaflow pump for left ventricular assist device bridging for 15 weeks.

Mechanical circulatory support systems have been described for short- and long-term left ventricular assistance. We report the use of a Rotaflow centrifugal pump in a 55-year-old man with ischemic cardiomyopathy and severe left ventricular dysfunction. He was successfully bridged to transplantation with 15 weeks of Rotaflow support, with no major adverse events.

Pressure reflection in the pulmonary circulation by echocardiography in patients with left heart disease indicates reactive pulmonary hypertension.

Objectives: The two hemodynamic profiles in left heart disease (LHD) with pulmonary hypertension (PH), passive PH with increased pulmonary venous pressure and reactive PH with increased pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR > 3 Wood units, WU), are difficult to distinguish non-invasively. We hypothesized that echocardiographic signs of pressure reflection (PR) in the pulmonary circulation can be used to diagnose reactive PH.

Material And Methods: The study comprised 122 patients divided into three groups: patients without PH (No PH, n = 61), patients with LHD, PH and normal PVR (passive PH, n = 29) and patients with LHD, PH and increased PVR (reactive PH, n = 32).