Lack of sex-specific differences in the associations between the dimensions of great vessels and exercise performance in amateur cyclists.

Background: Endurance training enhances exercise capacity and triggers cardiovascular adaptations in both males and females. We investigated the relationship between the dimensions of great vessels and exercise capacity in amateur cyclists while considering sex differences.

Methods: Using resting transthoracic echocardiography, we measured the dimensions of the main pulmonary artery (PA), aorta, and inferior vena cava (IVC) in 190 participants, who subsequently underwent a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) until exhaustion.

Sex differences in the associations between right heart structure and peak exercise capacity parameters in amateur cyclists.

Right heart changes and their association with exercise capacity, including sex differences, are still being investigated. We analysed right heart structure and its relationship with exercise capacity parameters in amateur cyclists. A cross-sectional study involving 215 consecutive adult amateur cyclists, who underwent resting transthoracic echocardiography and a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) to exhaustion was performed.

Interrelationships between Peak Strain Dispersion, Myocardial Work Indices, Isovolumetric Relaxation and Systolic-Diastolic Coupling in Middle-Aged Healthy Subjects.

In echocardiography, peak strain dispersion (PSD) is the standard deviation of the time to peak longitudinal strain for each left ventricular (LV) segment during systole. It assesses the coordination and synchrony of LV segment contractility. Global work efficiency (GWE) and global wasted work (GWW) quantify LV myocardial work and, if impaired, the coupling between LV systolic contraction and early relaxation.

Dependence of the Atrioventricular Conduction Time on the Conduction through the Atrioventricular Node and His-Purkinje System.

The electrical depolarization of the heart passes through various structures of the cardiac conduction system, which modify its conduction to different extents. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the atrioventricular conduction time (AV interval) and its contributors, the atrioventricular node (AVN) and the His-Purkinje system (HPS), as represented by the AH and HV intervals, respectively. We also compared sex differences in these intervals and their relations.

Comparison of Hemodynamic Response between Patients with Systolic Heart Failure Differing in Serum Aldosterone Concentrations during and after a 6-Minute Walk Test.

Aldosterone regulates hemodynamics, including blood pressure (BP), and is involved in the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases, including systolic heart failure (HF). While exercise intolerance is typical for HF, neither BP nor heart rate (HR) have specific characteristics in HF patients. This study compares BP and HR profiles during and after standardized exercise between patients with systolic HF with either lower or higher aldosterone concentrations.

First-Phase Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction as an Early Sign of Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease.

Left ventricular (LV) systolic function is often measured with echocardiography using LV ejection fraction (LVEF) or global longitudinal peak systolic strain (GLPSS). Global wasted work (GWW), global work efficiency (GWE), and first-phase ejection fraction (LVEF-1) are newer LV systolic function indices. We examined these parameters in 45 healthy individuals and 50 patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), normal LV contractility, and LVEF > 50%.

A Human Model of the Effects of an Instant Sheer Weight Loss on Cardiopulmonary Parameters during a Treadmill Run.

Exercise tolerance is limited in obesity and improves after weight reduction; therefore, we mutually compared the relative changes in exercise capacity variables during cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPET) in a 12 kg sheer weight reduction model. Twenty healthy male runners underwent two CPETs: CPET1 with the actual body weight, which determined the anaerobic threshold (AT) and respiratory compensation point (RCP); and CPET2 during which the participants wore a +12 kg vest and ran at the AT speed set during the CPET1. Running after body weight reduction shifted the CPET parameters from the high-mixed aerobic-anaerobic (RCP) to the aerobic zone (AT), but these relative changes were not mutually similar.

Cardiovascular Function in Different Phases of the Menstrual Cycle in Healthy Women of Reproductive Age.

Background: Sex hormones influence the cardiovascular (CV) function in women. However, it is uncertain whether their physiological variation related to the regular menstrual cycle affects the CV system. We studied changes in the hemodynamic profile and body’s water content and their relation to sex hormone concentration in healthy women during the menstrual cycle.

Associations between heart rate asymmetry expression and asymmetric detrended fluctuation analysis results.

The relation between recently established asymmetry in Asymmetric Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (ADFA) and Heart Rate Asymmetry is studied. It is found that the ADFA asymmetric exponents are related both to the overall variability and to its asymmetric components at all studied time scales. We find that the asymmetry in scaling exponents, i.

The serum concentration of brain‑derived neurotrophic factor is lower in ambulatory and clinically stable patients with more advanced systolic heart failure.

Introduction: Brain‑derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is decreased in heart failure (HF), but whether serum BDNF concentration is related to the severity of HF with reduced left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (LVEF) below 50% is uncertain.

Objectives: We aimed to compare cardiac structure and function in ambulatory and clinically stable patients with HF and LVEF below 50% for lower and higher BDNF serum concentrations.

Patients And Methods: A total of 361 ambulatory patients with a compensated HF and LVEF below 50% underwent cardiac evaluation and measurement of serum BDNF and N‑terminal pro-B‑type natriuretic peptide (NT‑proBNP).

The Effect of Antihypertensive Drugs on NADH in Newly Diagnosed Primary Hypertension.

Background: Some antihypertensive medications alter cellular energy production, presumably by modification of the mitochondrial function. In vivo studies of such effects are challenging in humans. We applied a noninvasive forearm skin measurement of the 460-nm fluorescence specific for the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) to study the 6-week effects of four different antihypertensive medications on mitochondrial function using the Flow-Mediated Skin Fluorescence (FMSF).

Preclinical atherosclerosis in cystic fibrosis: Two distinct presentations are related to pancreatic status.

Background: Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are exposed to overlapping cardiovascular risk factors. We hypothesized that CF is characterized by increased arterial stiffness and greater intima-media thickness (IMT).

Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed the digital volume pulse arterial stiffness index (SI) using photopletysmography, measured intima-media complex thickness (IMT) at the common carotid artery, and obtained an extended set of clinical and atherosclerosis-related laboratory parameters.

Non-invasive in vivo human model of post-ischaemic skin preconditioning by measurement of flow-mediated 460-nm autofluorescence.

Aims: Transient ischaemia and reperfusion (TIAR) induce early ischaemic preconditioning (IPC) in different tissues and organs, including the skin. IPC protects tissues by modifying the mitochondrial function and decreasing the amount of the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). Skin 460-nm autofluorescence is proportional to the NADH content and can be non-invasively measured during TIAR.

Cardiovascular, anthropometric, metabolic and hormonal profiling of normotensive women with polycystic ovary syndrome with and without biochemical hyperandrogenism.

Purpose: Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) present with or without biochemical hyperandrogenism (HAPCOS or non-HAPCOS, respectively). Cardiometabolic and hormonal abnormalities have been reported in women with PCOS, particularly those with hypertension. However, no direct comparison between normotensive (blood pressure <140/90 mmHg) patients with HAPCOS and non-HAPCOS has been made.

Association of muscular strength with pulsatile and steady hemodynamics in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Introduction: Grip strength and blood pressure are strongly interrelated. Blood pressure is an essential component of arterial load, which modulates cardiac output.

Objectives: We aimed to asses the correlation between grip strength and both steady and pulsatile components of arterial load in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Grip strength is associated with markers of central hemodynamics.

Reduced muscular strength (measured by grip strength) has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular complications. Further research is needed to identify how muscular strength is associated with various markers of cardiovascular function to provide at least some mechanistic explanation for observed interrelations. We, therefore, addressed the question of whether handgrip (HG) strength is associated with descriptors of peripheral and central hemodynamics in the population of healthy individuals.

Cardiovascular Function in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients with Controlled Hypertension.

This study investigated hemodynamic characteristics of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) accompanied by hypertensive disease in obese men, in whom blood pressure was pharmacologically controlled within the normal range, not exceeding 140/90 mmHg. There were 21 severe OSA patients (mean age 54.1 ± 9.