[Impact of CYP2C19 genotypes on antiplatelet therapy among Chinese patients with acute myocardial infarction after percutaneous coronary intervention].

To investigate the impact of CYP2C19 genetic variants on antiplatelet therapy in Chinese patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI), and compare the antiplatelet effect between clopidogrel and ticagrelor with various CYP2C19 genotypes. From June 2014 to May 2015, 347 patients with AMI who underwent PCI treatment at Fuwai Hospital were enrolled in this single center prospective study, 221 cases were in clopidogrel group and 126 patients were in ticagrelor group.Two candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (636 and 681 loci) of CYP2C19 gene were detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction endonuclease method.

Ablation of idiopathic ventricular arrhythmia using zero-fluoroscopy approach with equivalent efficacy and less fatigue: A multicenter comparative study.

The efficacy of a completely zero-fluoroscopy (ZF) approach for the catheter ablation of idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) and whether it has advantages over the conventional fluoroscopy (F) approach are still unknown. The aim of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy of a completely ZF approach with those of the conventional F approach in the ablation of idiopathic VAs.We conducted a prospective study involving 7 centers in China.

Molecular Mechanisms of Increased Heart Rate in Shenxianshengmai-treated Bradycardia Rabbits.

Background: The molecular mechanisms of Shenxianshengmai (SXSM), a traditional Chinese medicine, on bradycardia have been incompletely understood. The study tried to investigate the gene expression profile and proteomics of bradycardia rabbits' hearts after SXSM treatment.

Methods: Twenty-four adult rabbits were randomly assigned in four groups: sham, model, model plus SXSM treatment, and sham plus SXSM treatment groups.

The Effect of Wenxin Keli on the mRNA Expression Profile of Rabbits with Myocardial Infarction.

. The molecular mechanisms of Chinese traditional medicine Wenxin Keli (WXKL) were unknown. This study was aimed at exploring the effects of WXKL on the gene expression profile and pathological alteration of rabbits with myocardial infarction.

Hypertension types defined by clinic and ambulatory blood pressure in 14 143 patients referred to hypertension clinics worldwide. Data from the ARTEMIS study.

Objective: The Ambulatory blood pressure Registry TEleMonitoring of hypertension and cardiovascular rISk project was designed to set up an international registry including clinic blood pressure (CBP) and ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) measurements in patients attending hypertension clinics in all five continents, aiming to assess different daily life hypertension types.

Methods: Cross-sectional ABP, CBP and demographic data, medical history and cardiovascular risk profile were provided from existing databases by hypertension clinics. Hypertension types were evaluated considering CBP (≥140/90 mmHg) and 24-h ABP (≥130/80 mmHg).

Cerebral infarction caused by a heart-breaking needle: a case report.

Background: In this report, we describe a case of cerebral infarction caused by cardiac foreign body-induced infective endocarditis. We discuss the paradox of the treatment we used and highlight the need for careful examination of patients without histories and complaints of cardiac disease.

Case Presentation: Our patient was a 48-year-old Asian woman who presented with symptoms of cerebral infarction without any characteristic features of infective endocarditis.

The usefulness of age and sex to predict all-cause mortality in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy: a single-center cohort study.

Objective: Recent studies have shown that sex and age are associated with outcomes in patients with cardiomyopathy. The purpose of this study was to determine the all-cause mortality of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) by age and sex.

Methods And Results: The patients were divided into non-elderly (age <60 years, n=811) and elderly (age ≥60 years, n=331) groups.

Genetic and Functional Evidence Supports LPAR1 as a Susceptibility Gene for Hypertension.

Essential hypertension is a complex disease affected by genetic and environmental factors and serves as a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Serum lysophosphatidic acid correlates with an elevated blood pressure in rats, and lysophosphatidic acid interacts with 6 subtypes of receptors. In this study, we assessed the genetic association of lysophosphatidic acid receptors with essential hypertension by genotyping 28 single-nucleotide polymorphisms from genes encoding for lysophosphatidic acid receptors, LPAR1, LPAR2, LPAR3, LPAR4, LPAR5, and LPAR6 and their flanking sequences, in 3 Han Chinese cohorts consisting of 2630 patients and 3171 controls in total.

Resveratrol Upregulates Cardiac SDF-1 in Mice with Acute Myocardial Infarction through the Deacetylation of Cardiac p53.

Aims: We previously demonstrated that resveratrol (RSV) administration causes cardiac stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1 upregulation and can enhance the mobilization of stem cells in mice with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, the upstream signal transduction involved in SDF-1 regulation in the setting of AMI and RSV administration remains unclear. Because RSV is a sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) activator and SIRT proteins act as deacetylases, we investigated the role of SIRT1 in SDF-1 upregulation and its subsequent effects.

Effects of metabolic syndrome with or without obesity on outcomes after coronary artery bypass graft. A cohort and 5-year study.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and obesity are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, however, it remains unclear about effects of MetS with or without obesity on perioperative and long-term morbidity and mortality after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG).

Methods: An observational cohort study was performed on 4,916 consecutive patients receiving isolated primary CABG in Fuwai hospital. Of all patients, 1238 patients met the inclusion criteria and were divided into three groups: control, MetS with obesity and MetS without obesity (n = 868, 76 and 294 respectively).

Sequential vein bypass grafting is not associated with an increase of either in-hospital or mid-term adverse events in off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.

Background: The impact of sequential vein bypass grafting on clinical outcomes is less known in off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). We aimed to evaluate the effects of sequential vein bypass grafting on clinical outcomes in off-pump CABG.

Methods: From October 2009 to September 2013 at the Fuwai Hospital, 127 patients with at least one sequential venous graft were matched with 127 patients of individual venous grafts only, using propensity score matching method to obtain risk-adjusted outcome comparison.

Plasma levels of microRNA-499 provide an early indication of perioperative myocardial infarction in coronary artery bypass graft patients.

Background: Recent studies indicated that microRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) were important for many biological and pathological processes, and they might be potential biomarkers for cardiovascular diseases. The present study aims to determine the release patterns of miRNAs in cardiac surgery and to analyze the ability of miRs to provide early prediction of perioperative myocardial infarction (PMI) in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

Methodology/principal Findings: Thirty on-pump CABG patients were recruited in this study; and miR-499, miR-133a and miR-133b, cardiac troponin I (cTnI) were selected for measurement.

Serum C-reactive protein level but not its gene polymorphism is associated with Takayasu arteritis.

Takayasu arteritis (TA) patients with active disease often have elevated serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, which usually decline with the disease remission. The serum CRP concentration has been showed to be related to CRP gene polymorphisms in previous studies. The present study aims to investigate the associations of serum level of CRP and CRP polymorphisms with TA.

The effect of homocysteine-lowering therapy with folic acid on flow-mediated vasodilation in patients with coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Objective: High level of homocysteine induces injury of endothelial cells and predicts adverse cardiovascular events. The objective was to assess the effect of homocysteine-lowering therapy with folic acid on flow-mediated vasodilation in patients with coronary artery disease.

Methods And Results: We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials identified from PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library.

Burden of total and cause-specific mortality related to tobacco smoking among adults aged ≥ 45 years in Asia: a pooled analysis of 21 cohorts.

Background: Tobacco smoking is a major risk factor for many diseases. We sought to quantify the burden of tobacco-smoking-related deaths in Asia, in parts of which men's smoking prevalence is among the world's highest.

Methods And Findings: We performed pooled analyses of data from 1,049,929 participants in 21 cohorts in Asia to quantify the risks of total and cause-specific mortality associated with tobacco smoking using adjusted hazard ratios and their 95% confidence intervals.

Low rate of resistant hypertension in Chinese patients with hypertension: an analysis of the HOT-CHINA study.

Objective: The rate of resistant hypertension in China is unknown. This is an analysis of resistant hypertension based on Hypertension Optimal Treatment Study in China.

Methods: The study was conducted in 148 cities in mainland China from April 2001 to February 2002, which included 54,590 hypertensive patients (≥18 years of age), and used a five-step treatment programme.

The training and learning process of transseptal puncture using a modified technique.

Aims: As the transseptal (TS) puncture has become an integral part of many types of cardiac interventional procedures, its technique that was initial reported for measurement of left atrial pressure in 1950s, continue to evolve. Our laboratory adopted a modified technique which uses only coronary sinus catheter as the landmark to accomplishing TS punctures under fluoroscopy. The aim of this study is prospectively to evaluate the training and learning process for TS puncture guided by this modified technique.

Effect of one-stop hybrid coronary revascularization on postoperative renal function and bleeding: a comparison study with off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.

Objectives: Although 1-stop hybrid coronary revascularization offers potential benefits for selected patients with multivessel coronary artery disease, the exposure to contrast dye and potent antiplatelet drugs could increase the risk of postoperative acute kidney injury and coagulopathy. The goal of the present study was to compare the measures of renal function, postoperative bleeding, and transfusion requirements in patients undergoing hybrid revascularization compared with off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data from 141 consecutive patients who had undergone 1-stop hybrid coronary revascularization from June 2007 to January 2011.

The autopsy study of 553 cases of sudden cardiac death in Chinese adults.

Despite a recent epidemiological study reporting a lower incidence of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in China as compared with that in Western countries, the exact causes of SCD are still unknown. Using a uniform review protocol and diagnostic criteria, a retrospective autopsy study identified 553 cases of SCD in 14,487 consecutive autopsies from eight regions in China representing different geographic and population features. Their ages ranged from 18 to 80 years (median 43.

Atorvastatin enhance efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells treatment for swine myocardial infarction via activation of nitric oxide synthase.

Background: In a swine model of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), Statins can enhance the therapeutic efficacy of mesenchymal stem cell (MSCs) transplantation. However, the mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims at assessing whether atorvastatin (Ator) facilitates the effects of MSCs through activation of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), especially endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), which is known to protect against ischemic injury.

Effect of pre-procedural statin therapy on myocardial no-reflow following percutaneous coronary intervention: a meta analysis.

Background: Successful revascularization of coronary artery disease, especially ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), does not always mean optimal myocardial reperfusion in a portion of patients because of no-reflow phenomenon. We hypothesized that statins might attenuate the incidence of myocardial no-reflow when used before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The purpose of this study was to summarize the evidence of pre-procedural statin therapy to reduce myocardial no-reflow after PCI.

Original rat model of high kinetic unilateral pulmonary hypertension surgically induced by combined surgery.

Objectives: The characteristic morphologic lesions observed in the lungs of patients with congenital cardiac anomalies have not been closely modeled in rat shunt-related models, except for the reversible grade 1 changes. The present study reported an original rat model of unilateral pulmonary hypertension surgically induced by combined surgery to reproduce more advanced pulmonary vascular lesions.

Methods: The right pulmonary artery was ligated through a right posterolateral thoracotomy, and a cervical shunt was established 1 week later.

Cardiac progenitor/stem cells on myocardial infarction or ischemic heart disease: what we have known from current research.

Stem cell therapy has become a promising method for many diseases, including ischemic heart disease and heart failure. Several kinds of stem cells have been studied for heart diseases. Of them, bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs), which have been used in many clinical trials, are the most understood one.

The association of a nucleobindin 2 gene (NUCB2) variant with childhood adiposity.

Nucleobindin 2 (NUCB2) is a precursor of nesfatin-1, a hypothalamic anorectic neuropeptide. The association between variants of the NUCB2 gene and adiposity was examined. 142 severely obese Chinese children in Singapore, and 384 normal weight Chinese children from a longitudinal cohort from Da Qing, China, were studied.

Statin administration does not improve the mobilization of very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) in contrast to resveratrol treatment in a murine model of acute myocardial infarction.

We have found that short-term statin treatment plus stem cell transplantation in acutely infarcted hearts improves cardiac function because statins promote the efficacy of cellular cardiomyoplasty. Autologous Sca-1(+)Lin(-)CD45(-)(CXCR(+)) very small embryonic-like stem cell (VSEL) mobilization in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) correlates with the preservation of cardiac function. Whether short-term atorvastatin (Ator) can enhance the mobilization or recruitment of VSELs in AMI is still unclear.