Omnipolar mapping versus point-by-point mapping approach for catheter ablation of atrioventricular accessory pathway.

Background: The conventional mapping approach for the atrioventricular accessory pathway (AP) involves point-by-point mapping to identify the connection sites of the AP to the atria or ventricle and accurate interpretation of local electrograms. Omnipolar mapping technology (OMT) explains how vector and wave speed are produced by using both unipolar and bipolar signals to obtain omnipolar signals, directions, and conduction velocity. The aim of this study is to verify the effectiveness of OMT for catheter ablation of AP.

Relationship Between Serum ω-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Concentration and Fatty Acid Fraction of Epicardial Adipose Tissue in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease.

Background: ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5ω3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6ω3), are widely regarded as cardioprotective. EPA, but not DHA, has been reported to prevent fibrosis in heart failure. The relationship between the ω-3 PUFA fraction in epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and vascular inflammation in patients with cardiovascular disease remains unclear.

Safety and Effectiveness of Acceleration Training as Cardiac Rehabilitation Immediately After Open Heart Surgery - A Pilot Study.

Background: We examined the safety and efficacy of acceleration training (AT) in patients immediately after cardiac surgery.

Methods And Results: This randomized controlled study included patients who underwent open-heart surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass. Of these patients, 31 received regular cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and 39 received AT in addition to regular CR (AT group).

Left atrial reservoir strain is a marker of atrial fibrotic remodeling in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery: Analysis of gene expression.

Left atrial strain (LAS) measured by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2DSTE) is considered to be a marker of LA structural remodeling, but it remains unsettled. We investigated the potential usefulness and clinical relevance of LAS to detect atrial remodeling including fibrosis by analyzing gene expression in cardiovascular surgery patients. Preoperative 2DSTE was performed in 131 patients (92 patients with sinus rhythm [SR] patients including paroxysmal AF [PAF], 39 atrial fibrillation [AF]) undergoing cardiovascular surgery.

Physiological Role of Serum Growth Differentiation Factor-15 (GDF-15) Level and Iron Metabolism in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Background Anemia is common in older adults and, together with heart failure and chronic kidney disease, forms a vicious cycle, whereas diseases such as chronic inflammation and cancer are associated with the anemia of chronic disease (ACD). Researchers have linked growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) to a variety of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, inflammation, cancer, and kidney disease, and have reported hepcidin as a biomarker for iron regulation in ACD. Therefore, anemia, GDF-15, and hepcidin have significance in aging physiology.

Pathophysiological roles of the serum acylcarnitine level and acylcarnitine/free carnitine ratio in patients with cardiovascular diseases.

Introduction: L-carnitine exerts protective effects, such as maintaining mitochondrial functions and decreasing reactive oxygen species, while acylcarnitine (AC) is linked to the development of heart failure and atherosclerosis.

Hypothesis: Serum carnitines play important pathophysiological roles in cardiovascular diseases.

Methods: Pre-operative biochemical data were obtained from 117 patients (71 men, average age 69.

CAN WE DIAGNOSE SARCOPENIA USING ANTERIOR FEMORAL MUSCLE THICKNESS IN PATIENTS WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE?

Objective: Making the diagnosis of sarcopenia is not always easy and this is especially true for those with cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether it is possible to diagnose sarcopenia by using ultrasound-guided measurements of anterior femoral muscle thickness.

Methods: We investigated the utility of ultrasound-guided measurements of anterior femoral muscle thickness in 1075 hospitalized patients with cardiovascular disease (675 men).

Blood flow restriction reduces the increases in cardiorespiratory responses and subjective burden without inhibiting muscular activity during cycling at ventilatory threshold in healthy males.

Low-intensity endurance exercise with blood flow restriction (KAATSU) is under consideration for use in cardiac rehabilitation. However, the physiological responses to such exercise have not yet been fully characterized. In an initial effort in healthy males (n = 11, age: 26.

Clinical usefulness of phase angle as an indicator of muscle wasting and malnutrition in inpatients with cardiovascular diseases.

Background and Objectives: Extracellular water is increased in patients with edema, such as those with chronic heart failure, and it is difficult to assess skeletal muscle mass with the skeletal muscle mass index when extracellular water is high. We investigated the relationship between phase angle and physical function, nutritional indices, and sarcopenia in patients with cardiovascular diseases, including chronic heart failure. Methods and Study Design: In 590 patients with cardiovascular diseases (372 men), handgrip strength, gait speed, and anterior mid-thigh muscle thickness by ultrasound were measured, and the skeletal muscle mass index, phase angle, and the extracellular water: total body water ratio were measured with a bioelectrical impedance analyzer, and presence of sarcopenia was evaluated.

Utility of growth differentiation factor-15 as a predictor of cardiovascular surgery outcomes: Current research and future directions.

In a world increasingly confronted by cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and an aging population, accurate risk assessment prior to cardiac surgery is critical. Although effective, traditional risk calculators such as the Japan SCORE, Society of Thoracic Surgeons score, and EuroSCORE II may not completely capture contemporary risks, particularly due to emerging factors such as frailty and sarcopenia. These calculators often focus on regional and ethnic specificity and rely heavily on evaluations based on age and underlying diseases.

Provocation and Localization of Arrhythmogenic Triggers from Persistent Left Superior Vena Cava in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Although pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is an established procedure for atrial fibrillation (AF), non-PV foci play a crucial role in AF recurrence. Persistent left superior vena cava (PLSVC) has been reported as critical non-PV foci. However, the effectiveness of provocation of AF triggers from PLSVC remains unclear.

Association between serum GDF-15, myostatin, and sarcopenia in cardiovascular surgery patients.

Background: Myostatin is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass. On the other hand, growth differentiation factor (GDF)-15 is associated with lower muscle strength and muscle mass. We investigated the relationship between serum GDF-15, myostatin, and sarcopenia in patients receiving cardiovascular surgery through a ROC curve and a multivariate regression analysis.

Serum and Adipose Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 in Cardiovascular Surgery Patients: Influence of Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 Inhibitors.

Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) is a novel adipokine and may be involved in the association between adipose tissue and metabolic syndrome. We investigated DPP-4 and adiponectin levels in the serum, subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), and epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), and their relationship with preoperative factors, as well as comparing the DPP-4 levels in SAT and EAT with and without DPP-4 inhibitors. This study included 40 patients (25 men, age 67.

Effect of sarcopenia on hospital stay from post cardiac surgery to discharge.

Background: Cardiovascular surgery in older patients with sarcopenia has high rates of major complications, long hospital stays, readmissions, and discharge transfers. However, the factors that influence the length of hospital stay are unknown. This study aimed was to identify the predictors of the prolonged hospital stay in patients with sarcopenia after cardiovascular surgery.

Is blood flow-restricted training effective for rehabilitation of a pianist with residual neurological symptoms in the upper limbs? A case study.

[Purpose] We investigated whether blood flow-restricted training known as KAATSU training, was effective for rehabilitation of a pianist with residual neurological symptoms in the upper limbs. [Participant and Methods] A pianist with residual neurological symptoms in the upper body played "Revolutionary Etude" under two conditions: piano performance with (Piano-blood flow-restricted) and without (Piano-control) the restriction of blood flow to the upper limbs. In the Piano-blood flow-restricted exercise, a pressure of 130-170 mmHg was applied around the most proximal portion of both arms.

Preoperative Serum GDF-15, Endothelin-1 Levels, and Intraoperative Factors as Short-Term Operative Risks for Patients Undergoing Cardiovascular Surgery.

Objectives: The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) risk score is widely used for the risk assessment of cardiac surgery. Serum biomarkers such as growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) are also used to evaluate risk. We investigated the relationships between preoperative serum GDF-15, ET-1 levels, and intraoperative factors and short-term operative risks including acute kidney injury (AKI) for patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery.

Muscle Thickness of Anterior Mid-Thigh in Hospitalized Patients: Comparison of Supine and Standing Postures.

Objectives: To compare the magnitude changes in muscle thickness (MTH) of the anterior mid-thigh between the supine and standing postures.

Design: Experimental.

Setting: University hospital laboratory.

Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) activates nonselective cation currents in human cardiac fibroblasts: possible involvement of TRPA1.

The effects of allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) agonist, on cultured human cardiac fibroblasts were examined by measuring intracellular Ca concentration [Ca] and whole-cell voltage clamp techniques. AITC (200 μM) increased Ca entry in the presence of [Ca]. Ruthenium red (RR) (30 μM), and La (0.

Vascular Endothelial Dysfunction and Autonomic Nervous Hyperactivity among Premenopausal Women with Cold-Sensitivity Constitution (Hiesho).

The cold-sensitivity constitution (CSC), termed "Hiesho" in Japanese, is a woman-specific cold sense of peripheral sites. The etiology of and criteria for CSC are not yet well established. We defined CSC as temperature gradient > 6˚C between body surface and core, and investigated the autonomic nervous activity by measuring heart rate variability and the vascular endothelial function by determining reactive hyperemia index (RHI) in 43 healthy premenopausal women, aged 18-47 years.

Type I diabetes suppresses intracellular calcium ion increase normally evoked by heat stress in rat skeletal muscle.

Heat stress, via its effects on muscle intracellular Ca concentrations ([Ca]), has been invoked as a putative therapeutic countermeasure to type 1 diabetes-induced muscle atrophy. Using a circulation- and neurally intact in vivo muscle preparation, we tested the hypothesis that impaired muscle Ca homeostasis in type 1 diabetic rats is due to attenuated heat stress tolerance mediated via transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1). Male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to one of the following four groups: ) healthy control 30°C (CONT 30°C); ) CONT 40°C; ) diabetes 30°C (DIA 30°C); and ) DIA 40°C.

Association of serum growth differentiation factor-15 with eGFR and hemoglobin in healthy older females.

Purpose: Anemia and sarcopenia associated with renal dysfunction caused by cytokine imbalance can contribute to decreased quality of life for older individuals. Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) is associated with renal dysfunction, although whether it is related to anemia or sarcopenia is unclear. In this study we examined the association of GDF-15 with renal function, hemoglobin and sarcopenia in healthy community-dwelling older females in Japan.