Estimated pulse wave velocity predicts mortality in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Objective: Estimated pulse wave velocity (ePWV), a newly established arterial stiffness (AS) parameter, predicts the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death in the general population or in patients with CVD risk factors. However, whether ePWV is associated with adverse outcomes in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients remains unknown. Our study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of ePWV on clinical outcomes in HFpEF.

Prognostic impact of abnormal sodium burden in heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction.

Background: Sodium abnormality is common in patients with heart failure (HF) and is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of abnormal sodium burden on long-term mortality and hospitalization in HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).

Methods: We analysed participants from the Treatment of Preserved Cardiac Function Heart Failure with an Aldosterone Antagonist (TOPCAT) trial with available baseline and follow-up data (n = 1717).

Hemoglobin to red cell distribution width ratio: A predictor of clinical outcome and diuretic response in patients with acute heart failure.

Background: Hemoglobin to Red Cell Distribution Width Ratio (HRR) is a novel inflammatory marker in the prognostic assessment of tumors. Nevertheless, its focus on the cardiovascular field is relatively limited, particularly regarding its correlation with diuretic responses and clinical outcomes.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of the Renal Optimization Strategies Evaluation (ROSE AHF) clinical trial.

Mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration and outcomes in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Aims: This study aims to evaluate the prognostic value of mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) on clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).

Methods And Results: We analysed HFpEF participants from the Americas in the Treatment of Preserved Cardiac Function Heart Failure with an Aldosterone Antagonist (TOPCAT) trial with available baseline data (n = 1747). Patients were grouped into hypochromia or non-hypochromia group according to a MCHC cut-off level of 330 g/L.

Attenuation of Myocardial Dysfunction in Hypertensive Cardiomyopathy Using Non-R-Wave-Synchronized Cardiac Shock Wave Therapy.

Cardiac shock wave therapy (CSWT) is a novel therapeutic procedure for patients with angina that is refractory to conventional therapy. We investigated the potential mechanism and therapeutic efficacy of non-R-wave-triggered CSWT to attenuate myocardial dysfunction in a large animal model of hypertensive cardiomyopathy. Sustained elevated blood pressure (BP) was induced in adult pigs using a combination of angiotensin-II and deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA).

Salt restriction and risk of adverse outcomes in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Background: The optimal salt restriction in patients with heart failure (HF), especially patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), remains controversial.

Objective: To investigate the associations of cooking salt restriction with risks of clinical outcomes in patients with HFpEF.

Methods: Cox proportional hazards model and subdistribution hazards model were used in this secondary analysis in 1713 participants with HFpEF from the Americas in the TOPCAT trial.

Prognostic significance of blood urea nitrogen/creatinine ratio in chronic HFpEF.

Background: The prognostic significance of blood urea nitrogen (BUN)/creatinine ratio specifically in chronic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients remained unclear. We aimed to evaluate the association of BUN/creatinine ratio (baseline level and visit-to-visit variation) with the risk of adverse clinical outcomes among patients with chronic HFpEF.

Methods And Results: This is a secondary analysis of the Treatment of Preserved Cardiac Function Heart Failure with an Aldosterone Antagonist (TOPCAT) trial.

Clinical Significance of Mean and Pulse Pressure in Patients With Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction.

It remains debated whether pulse pressure is associated with left ventricular traits and adverse outcomes over and beyond mean arterial pressure (MAP) in patients with heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction. We investigated these associations in 3428 patients with HF with preserved ejection fraction (51.5% women; mean age, 68.

Myocardial repair of bioengineered cardiac patches with decellularized placental scaffold and human-induced pluripotent stem cells in a rat model of myocardial infarction.

Background: The creation of a bioengineered cardiac patch (BCP) is a potential novel strategy for myocardial repair. Nevertheless, the ideal scaffold for BCP is unknown.

Objective: We investigated whether the decellularized placenta (DP) could serve as natural scaffold material to create a BCP for myocardial repair.

Immunomodulation by systemic administration of human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stromal cells to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of cell-based therapy for treatment of myocardial infarction.

Poor survival and engraftment are major hurdles of stem cell therapy in the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI). We sought to determine whether pre-transplantation systemic intravenous administration of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hiPSC-MSCs) could improve the survival of hiPSC-MSCs or hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) following direct intramyocardial transplantation in a mouse model of MI. Mice were randomized to undergo intravenous administration of saline or 5×10 hiPSC-MSCs one week prior to MI, induced by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery.

Establishing a Swine Model of Post-myocardial Infarction Heart Failure for Stem Cell Treatment.

Although advances have been achieved in the treatment of heart failure (HF) following myocardial infarction (MI), HF following MI remains one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity around the world. Cell-based therapies for cardiac repair and improvement of left ventricular function after MI have attracted considerable attention. Accordingly, the safety and efficacy of these cell transplantations should be tested in a preclinical large animal model of HF prior to clinical use.

Sex-specific pattern of left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Aims: Few prospective studies have evaluated sex-specific pattern, natural progression of left ventricular (LV) remodelling, and diastolic dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The aim of this study was to study the sex-specific prevalence, longitudinal changes of LV remodelling, and diastolic dysfunction in patients with T2DM. Further, the prognostic value of diastolic function in women and men was also evaluated.

A randomized controlled trial of the effects of non-surgical periodontal therapy on cardiac function assessed by echocardiography in type 2 diabetic patients.

Background: Periodontitis significantly increases the risk of diabetic complications. This clinical trial investigated the effects of periodontal therapy on cardiac function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and periodontitis.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-eight subjects with T2DM and periodontitis were randomly allocated to Treatment Group (n = 29) receiving non-surgical periodontal therapy, and Control Group (n = 29) having only oral hygiene instructions with delayed periodontal treatment until completion of this 6-month study.

Catheter-Based Splanchnic Denervation for Treatment of Hypertensive Cardiomyopathy.

Emerging preclinical data suggest that splanchnic sympathetic nerve activation may play an important role in the pathophysiology of hypertension. We sought to determine the potential therapeutic application of catheter-based splanchnic denervation in a clinically relevant large animal model of hypertensive cardiomyopathy (hCMP). Sustained elevated blood pressure was induced in adult pigs using a combination of intravenous infusion of Ang II (angiotensin II) and subcutaneous implantation of deoxycorticosterone acetate pellets to establish a large animal model of hCMP.

Cumulative Rheumatic Inflammation Modulates the Bone-Vascular Axis and Risk of Coronary Calcification.

Background Rheumatic diseases are related to both abnormal bone turnover and atherogenesis, but a mechanistic link was missing. Methods and Results We investigated the effect of cumulative rheumatic inflammation ( CRI ) on risk of coronary calcification in a retrospective cohort of 145 rheumatoid arthritis patients. A time-adjusted aggregate CRI score was derived by conglomerating all quarterly biomarker encounters of serum C-reactive protein over 60 months immediately preceding computed tomography coronary angiography.

Osteogenic circulating endothelial progenitor cells are linked to electrocardiographic conduction abnormalities in rheumatic patients.

Background: Osteogenic circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) play a pathogenic role in cardiovascular system degeneration through promulgating vasculature calcification, but its role in conduction disorders as part of the cardiovascular degenerative continuum remained unknown.

Aim: To investigate the role of osteocalcin (OCN)-expressing circulating EPCs in cardiac conduction disorders in the unique clinical sample of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) susceptible to both abnormal bone metabolism and cardiac conduction disorders.

Methods: We performed flow cytometry studies in 134 consecutive asymptomatic patients with rheumatoid arthritis to derive osteogenic circulating OCN-positive (OCN+) CD34+KDR+ vs.

Potent immunomodulation and angiogenic effects of mesenchymal stem cells versus cardiomyocytes derived from pluripotent stem cells for treatment of heart failure.

Background: Optimal cell type as cell-based therapies for heart failure (HF) remains unclear. We sought to compare the safety and efficacy of direct intramyocardial transplantation of human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hiPSC-MSCs) in a porcine model of HF.

Methods: Eight weeks after induction of HF with myocardial infarction (MI) and rapid pacing, animals with impaired left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were randomly assigned to receive direct intramyocardial injection of saline (MI group), 2 × 10 hESC-CMs (hESC-CM group), or 2 × 10 hiPSC-MSCs (hiPSC-MSC group).

Periodontitis links to exacerbation of myocardial dysfunction in subjects with type 2 diabetes.

Background And Objective: Subjects with diabetes and periodontitis are at high risk of cardiovascular events, while the subclinical alterations of cardiac function in this cohort remain unclear. This cross-sectional study investigated the association of periodontitis with left ventricle (LV) structural and functional abnormalities in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Material And Methods: A total of 115 subjects with T2DM were divided into Control group (n = 32) with no or mild periodontitis, and the rest with moderate to severe chronic periodontitis (CP) were further categorized into CP-1 (n = 41) and CP-2 (n = 42) based on disease severity.

Impact of obesity on longitudinal changes to cardiac structure and function in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Aims: Few prospective studies have evaluated the natural progression of left ventricular (LV) remodelling in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of obesity on longitudinal cardiac structural and functional changes in patients with T2DM.

Methods And Results: This study comprised of 274 patients with T2DM (mean age, 62.

Periodontal disease increases the risk for onset of systemic comorbidities in dental hospital attendees: An 18-year retrospective cohort study.

Background: Periodontal disease closely links to various systemic diseases. This l8-year retrospective cohort study investigated whether poor periodontal condition may increase the risk for onset of systemic comorbidities.

Methods: A total of 488 individual dental folders from 17 400 dental hospital attendees registered from 1996 to 1998 were randomly selected, and these participants were free of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, stroke, cognitive impairment, hypertension, and dyslipidemia in the Clinical Management System.

Clinical Benefit of Valvular Surgery in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.

Concomitant chronic kidney disease (CKD) is common in patients with significant valvular heart disease (VHD). This study sought to evaluate the clinical benefit of valvular surgery in patients with concomitant CKD.We evaluated 349 patients with significant VHD who were referred for surgery.

Haemin attenuates intermittent hypoxia-induced cardiac injury via inhibiting mitochondrial fission.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) characterized by intermittent hypoxia (IH) is closely associated with cardiovascular diseases. IH confers cardiac injury via accelerating cardiomyocyte apoptosis, whereas the underlying mechanism has remained largely enigmatic. This study aimed to explore the potential mechanisms involved in the IH-induced cardiac damage performed with the IH-exposed cell and animal models and to investigate the protective effects of haemin, a potent haeme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) activator, on the cardiac injury induced by IH.