Publications by authors named "R B Wenby"
Background: In the Fontan palliation for single ventricle heart disease (SVHD), pulmonary blood flow is non-pulsatile/passive, low velocity, and low shear, making viscous power loss a critical determinant of cardiac output. The rheologic properties of blood in SVHD patients are essential for understanding and modulating their limited cardiac output and they have not been systematically studied. We hypothesize that viscosity is decreased in single ventricle circulation.
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- * The study examined how nitric oxide (NO•) is produced in RBCs from SCA patients compared to control subjects, revealing that SCA RBCs showed higher NO• levels at rest but had a similar increase in NO• when stressed by shear forces.
- * Sickle-shaped RBCs had lower resting NO• production than typical disk-shaped RBCs but became more circular under shear stress, indicating that their shape and properties can influence NO• production differently, with total production being higher
Nattokinase atherothrombotic prevention study: A randomized controlled trial.
Clin Hemorheol Microcirc
November 2021
Background: Described to be antithrombotic and antihypertensive, nattokinase is consumed for putative cardiovascular benefit. However, no large-scale, long-term cardiovascular study has been conducted with nattokinase supplementation.
Objective: To determine the effect of nattokinase on subclinical atherosclerosis progression and atherothrombotic biomarkers.
After the Fontan procedure, patients with univentricular hearts can experience long-term complications due to chronic low-shear non-pulsatile pulmonary blood flow. We sought to evaluate hemorheology and its relationship to hemodynamics in children with univentricular hearts. We hypothesized that low-shear blood viscosity and red blood cell (RBC) aggregation would be associated with increased pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and decreased pulmonary blood flow (PBF).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To test the hypothesis that abnormal hemorheology and chronic low-grade inflammation are more prevalent in Lewis negative individuals, possibly contributing to premature atherosclerosis.
Methods And Results: We enrolled 223 healthy subjects (154 females, mean age: 64yrs). Conventional risk factors, markers of inflammation and hemorheological profiles were measured; Lewis blood group was determined by serology.