Association between epicardial adipose tissue and cardiac dysfunction in subjects with severe obesity.

Aim: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) plays a role in obesity-related heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. However, the association of EAT thickness with the development of cardiac dysfunction in subjects with severe obesity without known cardiovascular disease is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the association between EAT thickness and cardiac dysfunction and describe the potential value of EAT as an early marker of cardiac dysfunction.

Optimized electrocardiographic criteria for the detection of left ventricular hypertrophy in obesity patients.

Background: Despite a generally high specificity, electrocardiographic (ECG) criteria for the detection of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) lack sensitivity, particularly in obesity patients.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the accuracy of the most commonly used ECG criteria (Cornell voltage and Sokolow-Lyon index), the recently introduced Peguero-Lo Presti criteria and the correction of these criteria by body mass index (BMI) to detect LVH in obesity patients and to propose adjusted ECG criteria with optimal accuracy.

Methods: The accuracy of the ECG criteria for the detection of LVH was retrospectively tested in a cohort of obesity patients referred for a transthoracic echocardiogram based on clinical grounds (test cohort, n = 167).

Intrinsic versus laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy for coronary atherosclerosis: a generational comparison model for testing diagnostic accuracy.

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy (IFS) have been used experimentally for diagnosing coronary atherosclerosis. In this study, we demonstrated the diagnostic superiority of IFS at 342-nm excitation (IFS(342)) versus LIF (LIF(342)) and described a protocol for head-to-head comparison of old (LIF) versus new (IFS) generations of similar diagnostic methods, labeled as "generational comparison model". IFS(342) and LIF(342) were modeled with basis spectra of media, fibrous caps, and superficial foam cells and of their correspondent chemicals (elastin, collagen, and lipoproteins).

Effects of amlodipine, atorvastatin and combination of both on advanced atherosclerotic plaque in APOE*3-Leiden transgenic mice.

Combined treatment of statins and calcium channel blockers has been suggested to be superior to statin therapy alone. We quantified the anti-atherosclerotic potential of amlodipine, atorvastatin and their combination on existing atherosclerotic plaques in the aorta of APOE*3-Leiden transgenic mice. Sixty-two mice were fed a high cholesterol containing diet for 18 weeks.

Imaging of atherosclerosis. Raman spectroscopy of atherosclerosis.

Raman spectroscopy can provide detailed, quantitative information about the chemical composition of an atherosclerotic plaque. Recent development of compact clinical Raman systems and specially developed Raman catheters allow the remote, intravascular application of the technique. This shows prospects for the detection of coronary plaques that are prone to rupture and for the quantitative study of atherosclerosis in terms of chemical composition.

Raman spectroscopic investigation of atorvastatin, amlodipine, and both on atherosclerotic plaque development in APOE*3 Leiden transgenic mice.

Raman spectroscopy allows quantitative, non-destructive evaluation of entire, intact atherosclerotic plaques. We quantified the anti-atherosclerotic effects of atorvastatin and amlodipine on progression of atherosclerosis using post-mortem Raman spectroscopic plaque imaging in 28 APOE*3 Leiden transgenic mice who were fed a high fat/high cholesterol diet for 28 weeks. Mice were assigned to a control group receiving the diet alone or to groups that received the diet with either 0.