Publications by authors named "Helen Triantafyllidi"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates whether carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), a measure of arterial stiffness, can predict cardiovascular risks beyond the SCORE2 risk score in individuals without existing atheromatosis.
  • Over a 6-year follow-up of 747 participants, results show that higher PWV is an independent predictor of first cardiovascular events (like strokes and heart attacks) and enhances the predictive power of SCORE2.
  • The findings suggest that including PWV in risk assessments may significantly improve the identification of individuals at risk for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), validating its importance in cardiovascular health monitoring.
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Objective Real-life management of patients with hypertension and chronic kidney disease (CKD) among European Society of Hypertension Excellence Centres (ESH-ECs) is unclear : we aimed to investigate it. Methods A survey was conducted in 2023. The questionnaire contained 64 questions asking ESH-ECs representatives to estimate how patients with CKD are managed.

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Article Synopsis
  • - A 2023 survey by the European Society of Hypertension assessed the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients with hypertension across 88 centers in 27 countries, finding that only 28% had preexisting CKD, and 30% exhibited resistant hypertension.
  • - The survey indicated inconsistent rates of recent kidney function tests and varying usage of important medications, showing higher rates of certain drugs when nephrologists were involved in the care team.
  • - Overall, the study highlighted significant gaps in CKD screening and treatment prior to referral for specialized care, suggesting that tailored initiatives could enhance management for patients with hypertension and CKD.
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Objective: Obesity and arterial hypertension (AH) in children represent well-recognized risk factors for cardiovascular (CV) events during adult life. We investigated any changes regarding several CV risk (CVR) factors in children after a 10-year follow-up period.

Methods: A cohort of 143 healthy children, elementary/high school students, 6-16 years old, was initially evaluated in 2010-2011 regarding CVR factors [obesity, blood pressure (BP), aortic stiffness (PWV), lipid profile] plus food habits/sports activity.

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Objective: Early onset of untreated arterial hypertension is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular (CV) diseases. The evaluation of hypertension-mediated organ damage (HMOD) helps estimating CV risk. We investigated the incidence of HMOD in young first, diagnosed and nevertreated patients with systolic arterial hypertension (SH) to identify high CV-risk patients based on the presence of HMOD.

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Endothelial glycocalyx (EG) derangement has been associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Studies on EG integrity among people living with HIV (PLWH), are lacking. We conducted a prospective cohort study among treatment-naïve PLWH who received emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide, combined with either an integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI, dolutegravir, raltegravir or elvitegravir/cobicistat), or a protease inhibitor (PI, darunavir/cobicistat).

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Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection represents a major cardiovascular risk factor, and the cumulative cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden among aging people living with HIV (PLWH) constitutes a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. To date, CVD risk assessment in PLWH remains challenging. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate and stratify the cardiovascular risk in PLWH with appropriate screening and risk assessment tools and protocols to correctly identify which patients are at a higher risk for CVD and will benefit most from prevention measures and timely management.

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Objective: Little is known about the exercise-induced changes in the multidimensional mechanical properties of the heart. We aimed to evaluate the myocardial deformation indices (MDI) at rest and their response at peak exercise during the same cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) session, investigating their relationship to exercise capacity and ventilatory sufficiency in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patients.

Methods: We evaluated left ventricular (LV) function using speckle tracking imaging (STI) at rest and peak exercise during the same CPET session in 57 idiopathic DCM patients in New York Heart Association (NYHA) I-II class [54 ± 12 years, 42 males, ejection fraction (EF) 33 ± 9%].

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We investigated whether disturbance of glycocalyx integrity is related with increased cardiovascular risk. In 600 healthy subjects, we measured perfused boundary region (PBR), a marker of glycocalyx integrity, in sublingual microvessels with diameter ranging 5-25 µm using a dedicated camera (Sideview Darkfield Imaging). Increased PBR indicates reduced glycocalyx thickness.

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Background: Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is the most comprehensive technique which allows a holistic approach to cardiopulmonary diseases.

Summary: This article provides basic information addressed to the Clinical Cardiologist regarding the utility and the indications of the CPET technique in the everyday clinical practice. Clinical application of CPET continues to evolve and protocols should be adapted to each specific patient to obtain the most reliable and useful information.

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In this article, we present the case of a 38-year-old female who suffered from serious respiratory distress. After an extensive pulmonary artery imaging diagnostic work-up (CTPA, MRA and PET), we were unable to differentiate between chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) vs. pulmonary artery sarcoma (PAS) due to extensive filling defects and extraluminal findings.

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Aims: SARS-CoV-2 infection may lead to endothelial and vascular dysfunction. We investigated alterations of arterial stiffness, endothelial coronary and myocardial function markers 4 months after COVID-19 infection.

Methods And Results: In a case-control prospective study, we included 70 patients 4 months after COVID-19 infection, 70 age- and sex-matched untreated hypertensive patients (positive control) and 70 healthy individuals.

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Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) initial evaluation and follow-up, a rare and incurable disease if left untreated, is based on a multiparametric approach (functional status of the patient, biomarkers, hemodynamic parameters and imaging evaluation of right heart impairment). Arterial stiffness (AS) and endothelial glycocalyx are indices of systemic circulation. We present the 3-years follow-up of a female IPAH patient.

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Objective: The efficacy of renal sympathetic denervation (RDN) has been affirmed by a number of recent clinical studies, despite controversies in this field over the last five years. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that hypertension experts debate the merits of RDN by revealing and expressing their personal beliefs and perspectives regarding this procedure.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Greek leaders of the Hypertension Excellence Centers with the use of a closed-type questionnaire specifically designed to elicit information and evaluate the respondent's views and perspectives about RDN efficacy, safety and ideal target patient population.

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Dipping phenomena is defined as nocturnal BP fall >10% during 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring (ABPM) which carries a favorable cardiovascular risk (CVR) prognosis due to reduced 24-h hypertension burden. To date, extreme dipping phenotype (defined as BP decrease ≥20%) has led to controversial prognostic results regarding CVR. We aimed to explore hypertension-mediated organ damage (HMOD) in extreme dippers compared to the other dipping phenotypes (nondipping, dipping).

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Blood pressure variability (BPV) has been associated with the development, progression, and severity of cardiovascular (CV) organ damage and an increased risk of CV morbidity and mortality. We aimed to explore any association between short-term BPV reduction and hypertension-mediated organ damage (HMOD) regression in hypertensive patients 3-year post-treatment initiation regarding BP control. 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (24 h ABPM) was performed at baseline in 180 newly diagnosed and never-treated hypertensive patients.

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The perception that women represent a low-risk population for cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD) needs to be reconsidered. Starting from risk factors, women are more likely to be susceptible to unhealthy behaviors and risk factors that have different impact on CV morbidity and mortality as compared to men. Despite the large body of evidence as regards the effect of lifestyle factors on the CVD onset, the gender-specific effect of traditional and non-traditional risk factors on the prognosis of patients with already established CVD has not been well investigated and understood.

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Smoking, a well-recognized major cardiovascular (CV) risk factor, impairs endothelial function and increases aortic stiffness which indicates subclinical organ damage in hypertensive patients. Loss of endothelial glycocalyx (EG) integrity, as part of the endothelium, represents endothelial dysfunction. The authors aimed to investigate the role of increased HDL cholesterol levels (HDL-C), which usually are considered protective against CV disease, in aortic stiffness and endothelial integrity in middle-aged treated hypertensive patients regarding smoking habit.

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Introduction: Unattended automatic office blood pressure (BP) measurement has given new evidence regarding treatment goals.

Aim: We aimed to explore any differences between unattended and conventional office BP measurements in different groups of patients visiting a European Society of Hypertension (ESH)  Excellence Centre.

Methods: We performed two unattended (Microlife Watch BP Home) followed by a single attended (mercury sphygmomanometer) BP measurement in 310 patients (mean age 62 ± 15 years, 151 males, 64% hypertensives and 36% normotensive individuals) visiting our ESH Centre for a scheduled follow-up.

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We obtained directly measured maximal oxygen uptake (VO max) by open-circuit spirometry in 1,453 patients with chronic heart failure (HF) who completed a treadmill test (n = 1,453) or cycle ergometry (n = 1,838), as participants in The Fitness Registry and the Importance of Exercise National Data Base (FRIEND) dataset. We developed a new equation to predict measured VO max in those using a treadmill by randomly sampling 70% of the participants from each of the following age categories: <40, 40 to 50, 50 to 70, and >70 and used the remaining 30% for validation. Multivariable linear regression analysis was applied to identify the most relevant variables and construct the best prediction model for VO max.

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