Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 and Osteopontin Gene Expression in Epicardial Adipose Tissue from Patients with Coronary Artery Disease Is Associated with the Presence of Calcified Atherosclerotic Plaques.

Purpose: It has been proposed that the cardiovascular effects of obesity are related to epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), which seems to play an active role on the development and calcification of atherosclerotic plaques, but the mechanisms are still unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether the EAT expresses the genes of calcifying factors and whether such expression is associated with the body mass index (BMI) and with the presence of coronary artery calcium (CAC) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

Patients And Methods: Forty-three patients with CAD were enrolled specifically for this study, and their CAC score and EAT volume were determined by computed tomography.

[New treatments for heart failure?].

Treatment of chronic heart failure still needs to be improved. Blockade of ET-1 and TNF-alpha, as well as the combined inhibition of ACE and NE have demonstrated limited benefits, thus other strategies continue being evaluated. This article reviews current concepts regarding the blockade of arginine vasopressin receptors (AVP) and the selective inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs).

[Pacemaker stimulation in dilated and hypertrophic myocardiopathies: should its use be stratified?].

New indications for permanent cardiac pacing have been developed in recent years, with numerous studies demonstrating improved clinical outcomes in many disorders. These techniques have been used in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy, and many physiological bases and clinical studies justify their application. In dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure with intraventricular conduction delay, abnormal electrical depolarization of the heart results in mechanical asynchrony of the ventricles.