Objective: This study compares microvascular reactivity (MR) in chronic Chagas disease (CD) patients with healthy individuals, matched for sex and age. In addition, we evaluated the association between MR and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in patients.
Methods: Acetylcholine iontophoresis was performed on the forearm skin, using laser speckle contrast imaging, to evaluate endothelium-dependent vasodilation. Clinical data were obtained from medical records.
Results: Thirty-six patients were compared to 25 healthy individuals (controls). Vasodilation was higher in controls, when compared to patients (p < .0001). There was a significant association between LVEF, stratified into quartiles, and MR (p-value for linear trend = .002). In addition, there was no difference in MR between patients with normal LVEF and the control group. In patients, MR was independent of the presence of arterial hypertension or diabetes.
Conclusions: We have shown for the first time that the reduction of MR is associated with a decrease of LVEF in a cohort of chronic CD patients. The results were not affected by comorbidities, such as hypertension or diabetes. The evaluation of systemic endothelial function may be useful to tailor therapeutic and preventive approaches, targeted at systolic left ventricular failure associated with chronic CD cardiomyopathy.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/micc.12664 | DOI Listing |
Pediatr Cardiol
January 2025
Department of Cardiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Approximately 1% of all live births in the USA are affected by congenital heart disease (CHD), the leading cause of congenital defect-related illness and infant death. Although technological innovations have improved CHD diagnosis in utero, variation among fetal cardiac counseling practices persists. Our study aims to evaluate physician counseling content based on cardiac defect complexity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFESC Heart Fail
January 2025
Division of Cardiology, Osaka Rosai Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
Aims: Dapagliflozin (DAPA), a sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor, has been shown to reduce cardiovascular mortality among patients with chronic heart failure. We aimed to evaluate the impact on a worsening renal function (WRF) by adding DAPA as compared to standard decongestive therapy with loop diuretics alone.
Methods And Results: We enrolled 114 consecutive acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of less than 50%.
Aims: Large-scale, real-world data on early initiation of sacubitril/valsartan in patients newly diagnosed (de novo) with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) are limited. We examined the effectiveness of sacubitril/valsartan versus angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi)/angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) on all-cause and cause-specific hospitalizations among patients with de novo HFrEF from the Optum® dataset in the United States.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study included adult patients with de novo HFrEF (diagnosed ≤30 days) with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤40% who were first prescribed with sacubitril/valsartan or ACEi/ARB from 1 January 2016 to 31 March 2020.
Exp Physiol
January 2025
Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
This study investigated how contraction frequency impacts the mechano-energetics of cardiac muscle performing mechanical work. Left-ventricular trabeculae were isolated from rat hearts and mounted in our work-loop calorimeter to assess their function at physiological temperature (37°C) across three stimulation frequencies, 2 Hz, 3.5 Hz and 5 Hz, in a randomised sequence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Cardiovasc Electrophysiol
January 2025
Division of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Background: Discrete prepotentials (DPPs) mapped inside aortic sinuses of Valsalva (ASVs) are deemed as reliable targets for ablation of premature ventricular contractions (PVCs). Nevertheless, ablation may still fail, necessitating further investigation. This study aimed to investigate the electrophysiological features and ablation approaches for PVCs with failed ablation inside ASVs, despite identified DPPs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!