Aortic Ductus Diverticulum Mimicking Aortic Dissection: A Case of Diagnostic Ambiguity in Transthoracic Echocardiography.

Background: Aortic dissection is a critical condition often presenting with acute, severe chest pain and haemodynamic instability. Early diagnosis is essential to mitigate the high mortality risk. Imaging modalities play a pivotal role in diagnosing aortic conditions, but determining the appropriate method can be challenging.

Sporadic Form of Recurrent Atrial Myxoma: The Blob Strikes Back.

Cardiac myxoma is a benign neoplasm composed of stellate to plump, cytologically bland mesenchymal cells set in a myxoid stroma. Although benign, as they can lead to severe complications, they are often removed surgically. A 39-year-old female presented with a chief complaint of generalized fatigue.

Postpartum Pulmonary Hypertension Masquerading as Submassive Pulmonary Embolism: A Case Report and a Literature Review.

Postpartum pulmonary hypertension (PPPHT) is an extremely rare disorder, with few reported cases. Late diagnosis and treatment are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We present an 18-year-old female patient who presented four-week postpartum with a typical submissive pulmonary embolism picture subsequently diagnosed as postpartum pulmonary hypertension.

Palliative Care in Myocardial Infarction: Patient Characteristics and Trends of Service Utilization in a National Inpatient Sample.

Introduction: Myocardial infarction (MI) remains a leading cause of mortality. Palliative care (PC) has recently expanded in scope to include noncancer-related conditions. There is little data available regarding the use of PC in critical MI patients.

Is obstructive sleep apnea associated with ventricular tachycardia? A retrospective study from the National Inpatient Sample and a literature review on the pathogenesis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a known independent risk factor for a multiple cardiovascular morbidities and mortality. The association of OSA and ventricular arrhythmias is less well understood. The aim of this analysis is to study the relationship between OSA and ventricular tachyarrhythmias.

Cardiac sarcoidosis and ventricular arrhythmias. A rare association of a rare disease. A retrospective cohort study from the National Inpatient Sample and current evidence for management.

Background: Sarcoidosis is an increasingly recognized multi-systemic condition. Cardiac sarcoidosis is associated with ventricular arrhythmias and higher mortality rates. Little epidemiological data is available regarding the disease and associated ventricular arrhythmias.

Impact of delirium on patients hospitalized for myocardial infarction: A propensity score analysis of the National Inpatient Sample.

Background: Delirium is associated with worse outcomes in critically ill patients. In the subset of patients with myocardial infarction (MI), the impact on clinical outcomes of delirium is not as well elucidated.

Hypothesis: Delirium is associated with increased mortality in patients hospitalized for MI.

In silico cardiac risk assessment in patients with long QT syndrome: type 1: clinical predictability of cardiac models.

Objectives: The study was designed to assess the ability of computer-simulated electrocardiography parameters to predict clinical outcomes and to risk-stratify patients with long QT syndrome type 1 (LQT1).

Background: Although attempts have been made to correlate mutation-specific ion channel dysfunction with patient phenotype in long QT syndrome, these have been largely unsuccessful. Systems-level computational models can be used to predict consequences of complex changes in channel function to the overall heart rhythm.

G-protein-coupled receptor kinase interacting protein-1 is required for pulmonary vascular development.

Background: The G-protein-coupled receptor kinase interacting protein-1 (GIT1) is a multidomain scaffold protein that participates in many cellular functions including receptor internalization, focal adhesion remodeling, and signaling by both G-protein-coupled receptors and tyrosine kinase receptors. However, there have been no in vivo studies of GIT1 function to date.

Methods And Results: To determine essential functions of GIT1 in vivo, we generated a traditional GIT1 knockout mouse.

The multifunctional GIT family of proteins.

The G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-kinase-interacting proteins 1 and 2 (GIT1 and GIT2) are ubiquitous multidomain proteins involved in diverse cellular processes. They traffic between three distinct cellular compartments (cytoplasmic complexes, focal adhesions and the cell periphery) through interactions with proteins including ARF, Rac1 and Cdc42 GTPases, p21-activated kinase (PAK), PAK-interacting exchange factor (PIX), the kinase MEK1, phospholipase Cgamma (PLCgamma) and paxillin. GITs and PIX cooperate to form large oligomeric complexes to which other proteins are transiently recruited.

GIT1 mediates thrombin signaling in endothelial cells: role in turnover of RhoA-type focal adhesions.

Thrombin mediates changes in endothelial barrier function and increases endothelial permeability. A feature of thrombin-enhanced endothelial hyperpermeability is contraction of endothelial cells (ECs), accompanied by formation of focal adhesions (FAs). Recently, a G protein-coupled receptor kinase-interacting protein, GIT1, was shown to regulate FA disassembly.

Atheroprotective Mechanisms Activated by Fluid Shear Stress in Endothelial Cells.

Atherosclerosis preferentially occurs in areas of turbulent flow and low fluid shear stress, while laminar flow and high shear stress are atheroprotective. Well characterized atheroprotective mechanisms include inhibition of thrombosis (increased tissue-type plasminogen activator and decreased plasminogen activator inhibitor-1), inhibition of endothelial cell apoptosis, limitation of permeability (uptake of low-density lipoprotein), prevention of white blood cell binding and transmigration (no expression of adhesion molecules such as intercellular adhesion molecule-1 [ICAM-1] and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 [VCAM-1] and no release of monocyte chemotactic protein-1) and increased bioavailability of nitric oxide (because of increased expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and manganese superoxide dismutase). Our lab has investigated flow-mediated inhibition of inflammatory cytokine action.

The role of MAP kinases in endothelial activation.

Activation of endothelial cells by proinflammatory stimuli results in increased migration of leukocytes across the endothelium, which contributes to the progression of atherosclerosis. Thus, control of the inflammatory status of endothelial cells, which is achieved by a balance of pro- and antiinflammatory signals, is crucial to limiting the disease. The mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are a family of central signaling molecules that respond to numerous stimuli by phosphorylating a variety of substrates including transcription factors, enzymes, and other kinases.

Fluid shear stress attenuates hydrogen peroxide-induced c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase activation via a glutathione reductase-mediated mechanism.

c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) is activated by a number of cellular stimuli including reactive oxygen species (ROS). Previous studies have demonstrated that fluid shear stress (flow) inhibits cytokine-induced JNK activation in endothelial cells (ECs). In the present study, we show JNK activation by ROS in ECs and hypothesized that flow inhibits ROS-induced JNK activation in ECs via modulation of cellular protection systems against ROS.