[Association between abnormal electrocardiographic features and disease severity in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy].

Objective: To analyze the relationship between electrocardiographic (ECG) features and disease severity in patients with the arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC).

Method: The study group consisted of 61 subjects with a definite diagnosis of ARVC on the basis of published guideline criteria and patients were divided into 3 subgroups according to the extent of diseased myocardium defined by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): Group A: local involvement (n = 19, 31%), Group B: diffuse involvement of whole right ventricle (n = 28, 46%) and Group C: involvement of both right and left ventricles (n = 14, 23%).

Results: Normal electrocardiogram was shown in 1 patient in each group.

[Association between lysosomal cysteine protease cathepsin's activation and left ventricular function and remodeling in hypertensive heart failure rats].

Objective: To observe myocardial cathepsin (Cat) S expression and activity in hypertensive heart failure rats.

Methods: The expression and activity of Cat S were determined in the left ventricular (LV) myocardium (LVM) of Dahl salt-sensitive rats fed either a high-salt (HS, 8%) or low-salt (LS, 0, 3%, controls) diet starting at age 7 weeks for 12 weeks (hypertrophy model, H-LVH) or 19 weeks (heart failure model, H-HF). Age-matched rats served as controls and human normal, hypertensive and heart failure myocardial specimen were also examined for changes on the expression and activity of Cat S.