Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonism Reduces Atrial Arrhythmias Post-Cardiac Surgery and Attenuates Atrial Stress Responses to Cardioplegic Arrest.

Background: New postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) occurs in about 40% after cardiac surgery. Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA) are known to reduce chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) development and burden. We examined the impact of preoperative MRA use on POAF and also examine the atrial cell type impacted by MRA treatment during cold cardiac preservation.

oG-miR-6513-5p/BCL2L13 Axis Regulates Mitophagy during Oxidative Stress in the Human Saphenous Vein Endothelial Cells.

Venous graft decay (VGD) occurs in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), and ischemia-reperfusion oxidative stress injury during the operation is involved in VGD. To explore the cellular phenotypic changes during this process, a stable oxidative stress model of human saphenous vein endothelial cells (HSVECs) is constructed. Through proteomics and cell experiments, it is found that the expression of BCL2L13 is upregulated during oxidative stress of HSVECs, and BCL2L13 regulated mitophagy through receptor-mediated interaction with LC3 and plays a role in cell protection.

Heart transplantation under mechanical circulatory support for fulminant myocarditis: a Case Report.

Fulminant myocarditis has been defined as the clinical manifestation of cardiac inflammation with rapid-onset heart failure and cardiogenic shock. We report on the case of a 17-year-old boy with hemodynamic derangement and cardiac arrest due to fulminant myocarditis. After about 2 h of intensive cardiopulmonary resuscitation, with 13 days of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support, the patient finally bridged to orthotopic heart transplantation.

TEA domain transcription factor 1(TEAD1) induces cardiac fibroblasts cells remodeling through BRD4/Wnt4 pathway.

Cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) are the primary cells tasked with depositing and remodeling collagen and significantly associated with heart failure (HF). TEAD1 has been shown to be essential for heart development and homeostasis. However, fibroblast endogenous TEAD1 in cardiac remodeling remains incompletely understood.

A transformer-based diffusion probabilistic model for heart rate and blood pressure forecasting in Intensive Care Unit.

Background And Objective: Vital sign monitoring in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is crucial for enabling prompt interventions for patients. This underscores the need for an accurate predictive system. Therefore, this study proposes a novel deep learning approach for forecasting Heart Rate (HR), Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), and Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) in the ICU.

Electrospun compliant heparinized elastic vascular graft for improving the patency after implantation.

The low patency rate after artificial blood vessel replacement is mainly due to the ineffective use of anticoagulant factors and the mismatch of mechanical compliance after transplantation. Electrospun nanofibers with biomimetic extracellular matrix three-dimensional structure and tunable mechanical strength are excellent carriers for heparin. In this work, we have designed and synthesized a series of biodegradable poly(ester-ether-urethane)ureas (BEPU), following compound with optimized constant concentration of heparin by homogeneous emulsion blending, then spun into the hybrid BEPU/heparin nanofibers tubular graft for replacing rats' abdominal aorta in situ for comprehensive performance evaluation.

Development of an interactive web dashboard to facilitate the reexamination of pathology reports for instances of underbilling of CPT codes.

Current Procedural Terminology Codes is a numerical coding system used to bill for medical procedures and services and crucially, represents a major reimbursement pathway. Given that pathology services represent a consequential source of hospital revenue, understanding instances where codes may have been misassigned or underbilled is critical. Several algorithms have been proposed that can identify improperly billed CPT codes in existing datasets of pathology reports.

Evaluation of electrospun PCL diol-based elastomer fibers as a beneficial matrix for vascular tissue engineering.

The main reason for the failure of artificial blood vessel transplantation is the lack of mechanically matched materials with excellent blood compatibility. The electrospun biodegradable polyurethane (BPU) fibers with micro to nanoscale topography and high porosity similar to the natural extracellular matrix (ECM) is one of the most suitable options for vascular graft. In our recent study, we prepared a series of PCL-based BPU fibers by combining two-step solution polymerization and electrospinning.

A novel deletion mutation accompanied by a point mutation in Lamin A/C gene: Screened from a dilated cardiomyopathy family.

Background: There are 30%-40% of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) having genetic causes, among which Lamin A and C gene (LMNA) mutation is the second most frequent DCM-related mutation, and Lamin A/C may be involved in the pathogenesis of DCM through the regulation of gene transcription or the direct effect of cell structure. Methods: Echocardiography and electrocardiogram were used to diagnose DCM and arrhythmia in a DCM family. Then, linked mutations on LMNA were screened out by high-throughput sequencing and verified by Sanger sequencing in all research individuals.

Circulating soluble receptor of advanced glycation end product is associated with bicuspid aortic aneurysm progression via NF-κB pathway.

Objectives: Patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) have a high risk of aortic dilation and adverse vascular events. Previous studies had reported soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) to compete with receptor of advanced glycation end products (RAGE) for ligand binding and inhibit the activation of nuclear-factor kappa-B (NF-κB) pathway and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) transcription. Thus, sRAGE serum levels may contribute to the clinical diagnosis and monitoring of ascending aorta aneurysm in patients with BAV.

Long-Term Outcomes of Surgical Treatment for Acute Type-A Aortic Dissection with Coronary Artery Involvement.

The surgical strategies for acute type-A aortic dissection (aTAAD) with coronary artery involvement have been controversial, and its prognosis remains unclear. Thus, in this study, we aim to determine the characteristics, surgical strategies, and prognosis of patients with coronary artery involvement due to aTAAD.Retrospective analysis of 65 consecutive aTAAD patients with coronary artery involvement between September 2005 and January 2012 was performed.

MicroRNAs involve in bicuspid aortic aneurysm: pathogenesis and biomarkers.

The incidence of bicuspid aortic valves (BAV) is high in the whole population, BAV-related thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) is accompanied by many adverse vascular events. So far, there are two key points in dealing with BAV-related TAA. First is fully understanding on its pathogenesis.

Identification of Differently Expressed mRNAs in Atherosclerosis Reveals CDK6 Is Regulated by circHIPK3/miR-637 Axis and Promotes Cell Growth in Human Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells.

Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of heart disease and stroke, and one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. The phenotypic transformation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) plays an important role in the pathological process of atherosclerosis. The present study aimed to identify differently expressed mRNAs in atherosclerosis by analyzing GSE6088 database.

Construction and performance evaluation of Hep/silk-PLCL composite nanofiber small-caliber artificial blood vessel graft.

To meet the growing clinical demand for small-caliber blood vessel grafts to treat cardiovascular diseases, it is necessary to develop safe and long-term unobstructed grafts. In this study, a biodegradable graft made of composite nanofibers is introduced. A composite nanofiber core-shell structure was prepared by a combination of conjugate electrospinning and freeze-dry technology.

Simplified, minimally invasive, beating-heart technique for redo isolated tricuspid valve surgery.

Background: Redo isolated tricuspid valve surgery is associated with a high morbidity and mortality, and its optimal timing remains controversial. Hence, here we reviewed the early and midterm results of simplified, minimally invasive, beating-heart technique for redo isolated tricuspid valve surgery in patients at high risk.

Methods: A total of 32 consecutive patients underwent a redo isolated tricuspid valve surgery using minimally invasive, beating-heart technique through a right lateral thoracotomy in our center between June 2016 and April 2020.

LncRNA LOXL1-AS is up-regulated in thoracic aortic aneurysm and regulated proliferation and apoptosis of aortic smooth muscle cells.

Long non-coding RNA LOXL1-AS is up-regulated in several types of cancers. The present study was carried out to explore the potential interactions between LOXL1-AS and lncRNA Giver in thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA). We found that LOXL1-AS was up-regulated in TAA patients than in healthy controls in aortic media specimens.

Electrospun Bilayer Composite Vascular Graft with an Inner Layer Modified by Polyethylene Glycol and Haparin to Regenerate the Blood Vessel.

In this study, we prepared a composite vascular graft with two layers. The inner layer, which was comprised of degradable Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)/Collagen (PC) nanofibers modified by mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN), was grafted with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and heparin to promote cell proliferation and to improve blood compatibility. The outer layer was comprised of polyurethane (PU) nanofibers in order to provide mechanical support.

Preparation and evaluation of poly(ester-urethane) urea/gelatin nanofibers based on different crosslinking strategies for potential applications in vascular tissue engineering.

Due to the brittleness of gelatin, the resulting absence of mechanical performance restricts its applications in vascular tissue engineering. In this research, the fabrication of poly(ester-urethane) urea/gelatin (PU75) nanofibers an electrospinning technique, followed by different crosslinking methods, resulted in the improvement of its mechanical properties. Poly(ester urethane) urea (PEUU) nanofibrous scaffolds and PU75-based nanofibrous scaffolds were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXRD), a mechanical properties test, a cytocompatibility assay, a hemolysis assay, and a histological analysis.

A Method for Preparation of an Internal Layer of Artificial Vascular Graft Co-Modified with Salvianolic Acid B and Heparin.

Studies have shown that salvianolic acid B (SAB), which is derived from Chinese salvia ( Salvia miltiorrhiza), a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine, can promote the proliferation and migration of endothelial cells. The inner layer of an artificial vascular graft was fabricated using the coaxial electrospinning method and was loaded with the anticoagulant heparin and SAB. The release of heparin and SAB was sustained for almost 30 days and without an initial burst release of SAB.

hsa-miR-320d and hsa-miR-582, miRNA Biomarkers of Aortic Dissection, Regulate Apoptosis of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells.

Abnormal expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been associated with aortic dissection (AD). Next-generation sequencing was performed to identify the differentially expressed miRNAs in aortic tissue samples between AD and nondiseased individuals. Selected miRNAs, which showed significant variation between the 2 groups, were then transfected into human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells, and assessed for effects on cell migration and induced apoptosis.

Risk factors associated with perioperative morbidity and mortality following isolated tricuspid valve replacement.

Background: Reports of isolated tricuspid valve replacement (iTVR) are relatively rare. The present study aimed to evaluate independent risk factors of perioperative morbidity and mortality after iTVR.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 118 consecutive patients (42 males; mean age, 49.

Atypical Case of Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection Misdiagnosed as Primary Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

In this case report, we present the delayed diagnosis of an atypical partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection, which was initially misdiagnosed as primary pulmonary arterial hypertension. It was difficult to make a conclusive diagnosis using transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), because the two high right superior pulmonary veins drained into the superior vena cava and limited the shunt of patent foramen ovale. Preoperative TTE only showed right heart volume overload, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and severe tricuspid valve insufficiency.