Cardiovascular Science Research Articles

Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions 2018.

Among its 16 councils, the Basic Cardiovascular Sciences (BCVS) Council of the American Heart Association (AHA) is leading the way, with strong membership and increasing popularity of its annual summer scientific sessions. The 2018 Scientific Sessions were held in San Antonio, Texas, between July 29 and August 2, 2018 with a focus on innovations in cardiovascular research. This theme predominated the scientific and early career sessions, as well as the women in science breakfast, poster sessions, council dinner, joint Academy of Cardiovascular Research Excellence and the Acta Pharmacologica Sinica satellite symposium. The present report summarizes the 2018 BCVS Scientific Sessions.

Special issue of selected papers from the 4th European Section Meeting of the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences held in Pécs, Hungary, on 28–30 September 2017

Special issue of selected papers from the 4th European Section Meeting of the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences held in Pécs, Hungary, on 28<b>–</b>30 September 2017

Professional Societies Should Abstain From Authorship of Guidelines and Disease Definition Statements.

Professional Societies Should Abstain From Authorship of Guidelines and Disease Definition Statements.

Stress and Inflammation in Coronary Artery Disease: A Review Psychoneuroendocrineimmunology-Based.

Recent findings have deeply changed the current view of coronary heart disease, going beyond the simplistic model of atherosclerosis as a passive process involving cholesterol build-up in the subintimal space of the arteries until their final occlusion and/or thrombosis and instead focusing on the key roles of inflammation and the immune system in plaque formation and destabilization. Chronic inflammation is a typical hallmark of cardiac disease, worsening outcomes irrespective of serum cholesterol levels. Low-grade chronic inflammation correlates with higher incidence of several non-cardiac diseases, including depression, and chronic depression is now listed among the most important cardiovascular risk factors for poor prognosis among patients with myocardial infarction. In this review, we include recent evidence describing the immune and endocrine properties of the heart and their critical roles in acute ischaemic damage and in post-infarct myocardial remodeling. The importance of the central and autonomic regulation of cardiac functions, namely, the neuro-cardiac axis, is extensively explained, highlighting the roles of acute and chronic stress, circadian rhythms, emotions and the social environment in triggering acute cardiac events and worsening heart function and metabolism in chronic cardiovascular diseases. We have also included specific sections related to stress-induced myocardial ischaemia measurements and stress cardiomyopathy. The complex network of reciprocal interconnections between the heart and the main biological systems we have presented in this paper provides a new vision of cardiovascular science based on psychoneuroendocrineimmunology.

David M. Ryba: Pushing the Field Forward.

In pursuit of the academic science lifestyle, David M. Ryba promotes collaborative efforts to push the field forward. He earned his BS degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Illinois in Chicago, where he also earned a PhD in Physiology and Biophysics comentored by R. John Solaro and Beata M. Wolska. David began his postdoctoral research in the Daniel P. Kelly laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. In 2017, David won the International Society for Heart Research’s Junior Early Career Investigation award. I just arrived last week (in mid-May), spent some time exploring, and started work on Monday. There’s a lot to do in Philly even though the area is small. Choosing a lab to do my postdoctoral training in was difficult. There are so many wonderful people working in cardiovascular sciences. However, after coming to Penn to interview, and spending some time with Dan Kelly, the lab, and the city, it felt like the right fit. David M. Ryba I’ve been fortunate to have quite a few projects in John Solaro’s lab back in Chicago. My main work has revolved around dilated cardiomyopathy.1–3 In layman’s terms, this is where the heart muscle weakens and eventually gets so large and the walls thin that it cannot sufficiently pump blood to the rest of the body. We utilized novel compounds …

Scientists on the Spot: The past, present, and future of the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science.

Scientists on the Spot: The past, present, and future of the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science.

Choosing Wisely Campaign – Innovations in Cardiovascular Science and The United States Healthcare System

The United States (US) is the third most expensive health care system in the world, but despite that, the US ranked last in the top 50 countries of the world when it comes to the performance measures, such as healthcare efficiency, life expectancy, health care costs, and gross domestic product (GDP) percentage. The spending health care cost keeps increasing and most of the healthcare costs go to waste. Due to this reason, it is therefore extremely important to focus on improving the quality and to bring the costs in appropriate control. To avoid this issue, the Choosing Wisely Campaign (CWC) came into being in 2012. The CWC encourages discussions between providers and patients regarding the care based on the evidence base, free from harm, duplicative or redundant tests/procedures that the patient already received, and whether medications, tests, or procedures are really necessary. Although diagnostic tests or procedures are highly valued for decision-making, unnecessary testing creates harmful health services and an economic impact on the healthcare system. The CWC has spread widely throughout the world but has many challenges which are limiting the CWC in further adoption and spread in the US. To overcome challenges in implementing and spreading the CWC, the government, physicians, social media, and mass media play an important role.

Progress in heart failure treatment in Germany.

Acute and chronic heart failure is still a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Europe. Nevertheless, significant progress has been made in diagnosis and treatment of heart failure as well as in unraveling its molecular causes. Here, we focus on some relevant contributions to these achievements by German cardiovascular clinicians and scientists.

Integrating basic science in academic cardiology training: two international perspectives on a common challenge

Political bodies and professional societies acknowledge that translational research benefits from researchers trained in both, clinical medicine and basic science. Yet, few physicians undergoing clinical training in cardiology seek this dual career (Milewicz et al. J Clin Invest 125:3742–3747, 2015). The reasons are likely manifold, but with cardiology having become increasingly interventional and facing economic pressure, how much attention, credit, and encouragement is given to physicians interested in basic cardiovascular science? Having studied and worked in hospitals and laboratories, in both Germany and the USA, we aim to compare in this article how basic science education is currently integrated into cardiology training at German and US university hospitals, from medical school to more advanced career stages. By doing so, we hope to provide some outside perspectives to young physicians and decision makers alike, that may inspire changes to curricula in the respective countries and around the world.

Anthony Fairclough Lever

Anthony Fairclough Lever (“Tony”), who was the director and driving force of the Medical Research Council blood pressure unit in Glasgow, Scotland, between 1967 and 1994, and, latterly, professor emeritus...

Career Development of Young Physician-Scientists in the Cardiovascular Sciences: Perspective and Advice From the Early Career Committee of the Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, and Resuscitation Council of the American Heart Association.

Based on our collective early career experiences, we will provide the key elements in a road map for a successful physician-scientist. Discussion includes the importance of mentoring, establishing successful collaboration, time management, work-life balance, and submitting a successful grant.

Historic Odyssey: The Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences: Past, Present, and Future.

The Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences (ICS) at St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Center is located in the heart of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. This multidisciplinary organization has been a driving force of cardiovascular research, training, and education since its inception in 1987. The ICS has attained international recognition for its research on heart failure, oxidative stress, diabetes mellitus, cardio-oncology, women’s health, tissue engineering, vascular disease, and fibrosis. Our faculty members are dynamically engaged in both the local and international cardiovascular communities through our many public outreach programs. Thus, it is no surprise that the ICS is both the founding home and editorial office for many international journals and book series and the headquarters of the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences. The ICS proudly fosters innovation and excellence in research, education, and patient care. Cultural diversity, a rich heritage, and people unified by arts, sports, and history make Winnipeg one of the most vibrant cities in all of Canada. Winnipeg, whose name was adapted from the Cree word win-nipi meaning muddy water, was first settled by indigenous people at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, where the ICS prominently stands today.1 Although the fourth largest city in Canada, Winnipeg is arguably one of the most dynamic. We have the largest French-speaking population outside of Quebec, which is celebrated annually at our winter Festival du Voyageur. The Winnipeg Art Gallery is home to the largest collection of contemporary Inuit art, and Rainbow Stage is Canada’s oldest outdoor theater. Our frozen rivers that comprise the longest skating trails in the world are warmly complimented by our love for winter sports. Winnipeg’s cultural mosaic society has played an instrumental role in its development since the founding of the city in the early 1870s.1 The Sisters of Charity of Montreal, also known …

Prevalence and short-term prognosis of heart failure: An in hospital prevalence study

Despite the magnitude of the burden of heart failure, effective new therapies capable of reducing the prevalence, early mortality or rehospitalisation have not been developed over the last decade. The incidence and prevalence estimates of heart failure are unreliable in India because of the lack of surveillance systems to adequately capture relevant data. Aim of the studyTo ascertain the prevalence & prognosis of hospitalised heart failure patients. Materials and methodsThe study was conducted in Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, SCB Medical College, Cuttack over a period of 5 years from September 2009 to September 2013. The patients having heart failure were included in the study. The detailed history, clinical findings and investigations were retrieved from the department archives and were studied in detail. ResultsOut of 23,987 hospitalised patients heart failure was diagnosed in 2641 (11%) cases. Out of 2641 patients, dilated cardiomyopathy was diagnosed in 34% (900) of cases, valvular heart disease(VHD) in 29.5% (781) cases, coronary artery disease in 18.3% of cases. Other causes include hypertension with left ventricular failure (6.8%), postpartum cardiomyopathy (7%), myocarditis (2.3%) and congenital heart disease (2.1%). The overall in hospital mortality was 14.2% and the mortality among patients with cardiogenic shock was 62.4%. The median hospital stay was 8 days. ConclusionHeart failure occurs at a younger age in Indians compared to the western countries. The most common etiology is DCM followed by VHD. Since this is a retrospective analysis and has its own limitations, community based heart failure study taking a clue from the present study can be done to achieve invaluable data.

Brain Microvascular Endothelial Derived Microparticles as a Non‐Invasive Diagnostic Tool for Multiple Sclerosis

BackgroundMultiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune‐neurodegenerative disease, exhibits features of neurovascular inflammation including endothelial activation and shedding of microparticles (MPs). While the brain lacks ‘classical’ lymphatics, we previously reported expression of venous‐lymphatic endothelial markers (LYVE‐1, podoplanin, prox‐1, VEGFR‐3, VEGF‐C, VEGF‐D) in both brain tissue and sera, with altered expression of these proteins in MS. Based on differential expression of these markers in brain tissue, we propose that these markers may originate within brain microvascular endothelium and undergo changes in disease which can be analyzed diagnostically.ObjectivesTo validate the neurolymphatic biomarker matrix as a novel, non‐invasive and cost‐effective tool for diagnosing MS and discriminating MS subtypes.MethodsNeurolymphatic biomarker expression was determined in human cerebral microvascular endothelial cells (hCMECs) following 24–48 hours of TNF‐α (20 ng/ml) exposure +/− IFN‐γ (1000 U/ml) using western blotting. MPs from these cells were visualized using scanning electron microscopy. Human sera were analyzed by flow cytometry, western and dot blotting to characterize relative partitioning of neurolymphatic biomarkers in MP.ResultshCMECs released MPs that contain lymphatic and junctional markers as well as caveolin‐1. Plasma MPs were seen to liberate soluble (non‐particulate) neurolymphatic biomarkers upon storage, indicating that serum represents a more stable MP‐derived pool of these markers. MP flow analysis of intracellular actin revealed that permeabilization destabilizes phosphatidylserine‐Annexin V interaction which is used to designate MP identity, suggesting that flow cytometry of MPs may require more judicious interpretation. All neurolymphatic markers so far tested were able to distinguish MS from healthy control serum samples; FOXC2 expression can further distinguish subtypes of MS: RRMS from SPMS.ConclusionLymphatic biomarkers in plasma and sera are expressed by brain microvascular endothelial cells and exhibit changes in expression in response to inflammatory stimuli (cytokines). Such alterations parallel transfer of these markers into caveolin‐1 ‐enriched microparticles, which represent a circulating ‘snapshot’ of the vascular surface that can be analyzed by several immune approaches, particularly following storage‐dependent solubilization of these biomarkers.Support or Funding InformationSupported by the Annette Funicello Research Fund for Neurological Diseases and the Malcolm Feist Predoctoral Fellowship from Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences, LSU Health Sciences Center‐ShreveportThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Influences of Ethanol on Inflammation and Apoptosis Following Transient Focal Cerebral Ischemia

BackgroundInflammation and apoptosis are two key elements involved in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Ethanol is one of the most commonly and regularly used chemical substances. We determined the influences of chronic ethanol consumption on inflammation and apoptosis following transient focal cerebral ischemia.MethodsMale C57/BL6J mice were divided into 6 groups and gavage fed with 0.175, 0.35, 0.7, 1.4, 2.8 g/kg/d ethanol or volume‐matched water once a day for eight weeks. Cerebral I/R injury, adhesion molecules, microglial activation, neutrophil infiltration, pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory cytokines/chemokines, MMPs, cleaved caspase‐3‐positive neurons, and TUNEL‐positive neurons were evaluated at 24 hours after a 90‐minute unilateral middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).ResultsCerebral I/R injury was only significantly reduced in 0.7 g/kg/d ethanol group (peak blood ethanol concentration: 9 mM) and increased in 2.8 g/kg/d ethanol group (peak blood ethanol concentration: 37 mM). Baseline and post‐ischemic upregulation of ICAM‐1 and E‐selectin were suppressed in all ethanol groups. Post‐ischemic microglial activation and neutrophil infiltration were significantly alleviated in 0.175–1.4 g/kg/d ethanol groups but dramatically exacerbated in 2.8 g/kg/d ethanol group. Ethanol tends to dose‐dependently increase both baseline pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory cytokines/chemokines, but dose‐dependently suppressed post‐ischemic increase in pro‐inflammatory cytokines/chemokines. Surprisingly, 2.8 g/kg/d ethanol strengthened post‐ischemic increase in anti‐inflammatory cytokines/chemokines. Furthermore, although baseline MMP‐9 activity was reduced in 0.7 g/kg/d ethanol group, the magnitude of post‐ischemic increase in MMP‐9 activity was significantly less in 2.8 g/kg/d ethanol group. Both cleaved caspase‐3‐positive neurons and TUNEL‐positive neurons were significantly less in 0.7 g/kg/d ethanol group.ConclusionsLight alcohol consumption protects against cerebral I/R injury by suppressing post‐ischemic inflammation and apoptosis, whereas heavy alcohol consumption may exacerbate cerebral I/R injury via an inflammation‐ and apoptosis‐independent mechanism.Support or Funding InformationThis study was supported by a National Institutes of Health Grant (AA023610) and funds from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center‐Shreveport to HS, a postdoctoral fellowship to CL and a predoctoral fellowship to KDM from the Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences, Louisiana State University Health Science Center‐Shreveport.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

TRIPLE VERSUS DUAL ANTIPLATELET THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE CORONAY SYNDROME UNDERGOING PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION (PCI) IN SCB MEDICAL COLLEGE, CUTTACK, ODISHA, INDIA.

14Mar 2018 TRIPLE VERSUS DUAL ANTIPLATELET THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE CORONAY SYNDROME UNDERGOING PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION (PCI) IN SCB MEDICAL COLLEGE, CUTTACK, ODISHA, INDIA. Routray S. N. , Parida N. R. , Patnaik U. K. , Satpathy C , Mohanty N. K and Dash B. K. Professor, Institute of cardiovascular sciences, Dept. of Cardiology, S.C.B.Medical College, Cuttack, Odisha, India. Resident, Institute of cardiovascular sciences, Dept. of Cardiology, S.C.B.Medical College, Cuttack, Odisha, India. Associate professor, Institute of cardiovascular sciences, Dept. of Cardiology, S.C.B.Medical College, Cuttack, Odisha, India. Assistant professor Institute of cardiovascular sciences, Dept. of Cardiology, S.C.B.Medical College, Cuttack, Odisha, India.

My Life, My Heart, and My(osin) Binding Protein-C.

Although I currently lead a team of cardiovascular investigators at the University of Cincinnati, my beginnings were humble as I came from a farming family in a small village in the southernmost part of India. The path I traveled was arduous, and it involved significant struggles, but I’ve finally realized many of my career goals. My story recapitulates the essence of some of the common career hurdles that many early-career cardiovascular scientists must overcome these days, and in this article, these career hurdles are discussed, as well as some strategies to overcome them. This article presents common hurdles encountered by developing and early-career cardiovascular scientists and outlines some effective strategies to overcome these challenges. Students, whether at the undergraduate level or beyond, often do not establish clearly defined career goals, and even established long-term plans can encounter daunting, unforeseen stumbling blocks. It is convenient to blame our failure to succeed on a lack of resources, including family support or time constraints. Sometimes, however, our lack of success may simply depend on not being at the right place at the right time. Yet, fundamentally, it is the lack of resourcefulness, not resources, that poses the greatest barrier to achieving our goals. Resourcefulness is defined as the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties. Resourcefulness involves optimizing the resources available to you by finding alternative ways to push forward. In the recesses of our minds, we all have an idea of our potential. In this sense, we are all obligated to create, make, or change our environment, academic, or otherwise so that we can achieve our potential. Therefore, we must all strive to find the environment that will best nourish our innate abilities. I grew up in a village named Pattiveeranpatti located in the state of Tamil Nadu in …

Rotimi Mesubi: Time Well Spent.

Olurotimi (Rotimi) Mesubi is currently a Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where he also completed his postdoctoral fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease. Originally from Nigeria, where he earned both a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Ilorin, Rotimi continued gaining an impressive amount of experience in the United States. He earned his Master of Public Health at Harvard University and residency and internships at MetroHealth Medical Center (Case Western Reserve University). It is his research as a Cardiovascular Disease Fellow at the University of Iowa—initiated under his mentor, Dr. Mark Anderson, before they moved to Johns Hopkins University—that earned Rotimi the American Heart Association BCVS (Basic Cardiovascular Sciences) Melvin L. Marcus Young Investigator Award. Rotimi Mesubi As the first of 4 children, I was fortunate to grow up in a nurturing environment. My dad, a college chemistry professor, and mom, a high school chemistry teacher, encouraged my siblings and me to be curious about the world and pursue our dreams. The seeds of my interest in science were sown in elementary school, when I would spend after school hours in my dad’s chemistry lab and interact with his graduate students. Later, I was attracted to medical school, which I attended in Nigeria. One of the reasons I moved to the United States was to pursue postgraduate training; I always dreamed of being at the cutting edge of scientific discovery at the best institutions in the world. I felt then, and still do today, that the US is a unique place that offers such opportunities to someone like me from a foreign country. I began my internship and residency training in internal medicine and pediatrics at MetroHealth Medical Center (Case Western Reserve University) with a plan to become an infectious disease—HIV—specialist. …

Editorial introductions

Editorial introductions

A Re-Engineered Software Interface and Workflow for the Open-Source SimVascular Cardiovascular Modeling Package.

Patient-specific simulation plays an important role in cardiovascular disease research, diagnosis, surgical planning and medical device design, as well as education in cardiovascular biomechanics. simvascular is an open-source software package encompassing an entire cardiovascular modeling and simulation pipeline from image segmentation, three-dimensional (3D) solid modeling, and mesh generation, to patient-specific simulation and analysis. SimVascular is widely used for cardiovascular basic science and clinical research as well as education, following increased adoption by users and development of a GATEWAY web portal to facilitate educational access. Initial efforts of the project focused on replacing commercial packages with open-source alternatives and adding increased functionality for multiscale modeling, fluid-structure interaction (FSI), and solid modeling operations. In this paper, we introduce a major SimVascular (SV) release that includes a new graphical user interface (GUI) designed to improve user experience. Additional improvements include enhanced data/project management, interactive tools to facilitate user interaction, new boundary condition (BC) functionality, plug-in mechanism to increase modularity, a new 3D segmentation tool, and new computer-aided design (CAD)-based solid modeling capabilities. Here, we focus on major changes to the software platform and outline features added in this new release. We also briefly describe our recent experiences using SimVascular in the classroom for bioengineering education.