Tag Archives: heart
Rethinking drugs’ development in acute heart failure?
Acute heart failure (AHF) affects 1-2% of adults in developed countries. It strikes mainly people above the age 60, peeking in those older than 85 (prevalence ~ 17.4%). AHF is a life threatening medical event, with gradual
Can the heart get cancer? Quite rare, but yes
To many, the heart seems as an unusual location for cancer. In fact, most tumors that affect the heart are metastatic in origin (start in other organs and disseminate to the heart). Primary cardiac tumors (tumors that
The silent effects of heart surgery: voice and swallowing
Heart disease is a leading cause of death worldwide. Heart surgeries saves thousands of lives a year but can be lengthy and complex. During surgery, many patients require prolonged periods of intubation and coronary bypass (mechanical support
Body composition and left ventricular hypertrophy in athletes: the role of body cell mass
Cardiac adaptation to intense physical training is determined by many factors including age, lifestyle, body size, training load, ethnicity and sex. Females show a lower cardiac mass than males, the main causes are a lower blood volume
Statins: Good for the heart, but do they impact the brain?
High cholesterol, termed hyperlipidemia, is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Therefore, keeping cholesterol levels low through diet and exercise has proven benefits for reducing heart disease risk. For adults who cannot meet their cholesterol targets through
Surgical strategies to preserve the right heart function during tetralogy of Fallot repair
Tetralogy of Fallot is a congenital heart defect which consists of 4 components: the aorta overriding both ventricles of the heart, a hole between both ventricles, narrowing of the right ventricle outlet and thickening of the right
Keyhole heart valve surgery after previous heart transplantation
Advances in heart transplant techniques and medication that control rejection and infections resulted in improved survival and quality of life. These improved long term outcomes are unfortunately paralleled by a variety of associated coronary-, mitral- and tricuspid
Early sepsis does not stimulate reactive oxygen species production and does not reduce cardiac function despite an increased inflammation status
Sepsis is due to bacterial infection. If it is sustained for several days, it can trigger severe abnormalities of cardiac function which leads to death in 50% of cases. This probably occurs through activation of toll-like receptors
Antithrombotic therapy duration after coronary stenting: finding the sweet-spot with a novel clinical risk score
Coronary atherosclerosis is still the principal cause of morbidity and mortality in western countries, by inducing ischemia or infarction of the myocardium. Percutaneous treatment of atherosclerotic lesions is nowadays the most common form of treatment of such
Why are skeletal muscles not depleted of energy during intense exercise?
ATP is a universal carrier of energy in a form easily accessible for different reactions in the cell. Its hydrolysis to ADP and Pi (inorganic phosphate) drives processes that cannot occur spontaneously and require energy, for instance
A personalised operation to stabilise aortic root aneurysms
Personalised External Aortic Root Support (or PEARS) is the name given to a very specific operation. By taking the exact measurement of the individual person’s aorta from a CT or MRI scan, a replica of their own
Silk patches to repair hearts
The heart is a very sensitive organ. Once it’s “broken”, it doesn’t quite function the same way again. Biologically speaking, a common way of getting your heart broken is when you suffer a heart attack. When the
Depression severity is related to the development of heart disease in previously cardiac health subjects
Depression is a disabling, high-prevalence psychiatric condition. It is well established that depression is linked with physiological changes that can contribute to an unfavorable outcome in cardiac patients. As depressed patients exhibit impairments in the autonomic nervous
Nerves are required to repair the injured heart
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), such as heart attack, are responsible for approximately 18 million deaths each year, which accounts for more than 30% of all deaths worldwide. CVD is the single greatest cause of death in humans killing
Evaluation of heart rate measurements in clinical studies – Which way to do it right?
100.000 times a day – this is the daily number of heart beats in human beings. This huge workload normally will pass by unobserved in a healthy being, but in a patient with heart disease any alteration
Lymphatic drainage of the heart
Someone once said that each man is his own island. I would make the analogy that our body is a country, where each organ is a city, each cell a building or factory in the city, and
Jurassic siphon
The sauropod dinosaurs were the tallest animals to ever stalk the earth. The fossilised remains of sauropods indicate that some had necks as long as 12 m. Sauropods are often depicted with their heads held high –
Infections in right-sided heart valves often leave doctors with no right answer
A normal human heart has four chambers and four valves. When these valves are working well, they stop blood from flowing backwards and are essential to good heart function. Two valves are in the right side of
Coronary ostoplasty for congenital atresia of the left main coronary artery ostium in a teenage boy
Coronary artery abnormalities are reported as the third largest cause of sudden death in young athletes. Because patients usually do not have any apparent abnormality on medical examination, it is difficult to detect this before some events.
Heart defects before birth: Why are most cases still being missed (and what can we do about it)
Heart defects occur in roughly 1 in 100 live births—far more than any other kind of birth defect. Over the past decade, it has become increasingly clear that babies with major forms of heart disease have must
