Myocardial Injury

Although the gold standard treatment for acute myocardial infarction is reperfusion therapy, reperfusion itself can cause myocardial damage via induction of cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction. This can lead to increased myocardial infarct size, arrhythmias and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Recently, a newly discovered peptide, Humanin, has been shown to exert several beneficial effects including anti-oxidative and anti-apoptosis effects. We recently reported that a Humanin analogue (HNG, 84 μg/kg) given prior to cardiac ischemia exerted cardioprotection against I/R injury, but failed to do so when it was given after ischemia was induced...

Importance: Current comparative outcomes among black and white patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system are not known. Objective: To compare outcomes between black and white patients undergoing PCI in the VA health system. Design, Setting, and Participants: This study compared black and white patients who underwent PCI between October 1, 2007, and September 30, 2013, at 63 VA hospitals using data recorded in the VA Clinical Assessment, Reporting, and Tracking System for Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories (CART-CL) program...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Cardiometabolic diseases increasingly afflict our aging, dysmetabolic population. Complex signals regulating low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP) and frizzled protein family members - the plasma membrane receptors for the cadre of Wnt polypeptide morphogens - contribute to the control of cardiovascular homeostasis. RECENT FINDINGS: Both canonical (β-catenin-dependent) and noncanonical (β-catenin-independent) Wnt signaling programs control vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cell phenotypic modulation in cardiometabolic disease...

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI) after noncardiac surgery has traditionally relied on using relatively insensitive contemporary cardiac troponin (cTn) assays. We hypothesized that using a recently introduced novel high-sensitivity cTnT (hscTnT) assay would increase the detection rate of perioperative MI. METHODS: In this ancillary study of the Vitamins in Nitrous Oxide trial, readjudicated incidence rates of myocardial injury (new isolated cTn elevation) and MI were compared when diagnosed by contemporary cTnI versus hscTnT...

AIM: To define the role of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) by analyzing a particular group of patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and normal coronary angiogram. METHODS: From January 2009 to December 2015, we examined 220 patients with clinical suspicion of ACS, Troponin elevation [the threshold used to define a positive Troponin T test (TnT) was 0.1 ng/mL] and no significant coronary disease at angiography (the patients were considered to have significant angiographic disease only a 50% stenosis was detected in any of their coronary arteries)...

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a major health burden worldwide. Extracellular High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) regulates tissue healing after injuries. The reduced form of HMGB1 (fr-HMGB1) exerts chemotactic activity by binding CXCL12 through CXCR4, while the disulfide form, (ds-HMGB1), induces cytokines expression by TLR4. Here, we assessed the role of HMGB1 redox forms and the non-oxidizable mutant (3S) on human cardiac fibroblast (hcFbs) functions and cardiac remodeling after infarction. Among HMGB1 receptors, hcFbs express CXCR4...

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Renin is known as a secretory glycoprotein that ultimately leads to angiotensin II generation. In this way renin exerts pro-inflammatory effects and promotes cardiac injury. Additional transcripts have been identified encoding for a cytosolic renin isoform that - in contrast to secretory renin - exhibits cardioprotective effects under ischemic conditions. The promoter of these transcripts is unknown. METHODS: Using qRT-PCR and dual-luciferase reporter assay we examined the expression and promotor activity of cytosolic renin as well as the regulation by glucose starvation in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts...

(-)-Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) exerts multiple beneficial effects on cardiovascular performance. In this study, we aimed to examine the effects of EGCG on diabetic cardiomyopathy during myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. EGCG (100 mg/kg/day) was administered at week 6 for 2 weeks to diabetic rats following the induction of type 1 diabetes by streptozotocin (STZ). At the end of week 8, the animals were subjected to myocardial I/R injury. The EGCG-elicited structural and functional effects were analyzed...

Shexiang Tongxin Dropping Pill (STP) is an established traditional Chinese medicine that is widely used for the treatment of ischemic heart disease (IHD), although its mechanisms remain unclear. The present study investigated the protective effects of STP following pituitrin (PTT)‑induced myocardial ischemia in rats. ST‑segment elevation, blood rheology, and the serum levels of creatine kinase‑MB (CK‑MB) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured. Following heart excision, histological analysis using hematoxylin and eosin and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling were performed...

The present study aimed to investigate the protective effect of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy in combination with p38 mitogen‑activated protein (MAPK) inhibition against myocardial infarction (MI) injury in rats, and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. An MI model was established by ligation of the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery. The rats were divided into four groups: MSC transplantation, p38MAPK inhibitor (SB203580), MSC + SB203580 and model control group. HE staining and a TUNEL assay were performed to evaluate pathological changes and apoptosis...

The administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in cases of cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) has been associated with a significant reduction of myocardial cell death and an effective improvement in cardiac function. However, one major limiting factor in MSCs transplantation therapy is the low survival rate of the transplanted cells. The present study aimed to demonstrate that human amnion‑derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs) cultured with endothelial growth medium (EGM‑2) exhibited reduced apoptosis when exposed to serum‑free and hypoxic conditions; and that the expression of microRNA (miR)‑29a decreased significantly...

OBJECTIVE: Prior studies have suggested a relationship between operative (Op) time and outcome after major vascular procedures. This study analyzed factors associated with Op time and outcome after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in the Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) registry. METHODS: Elective, primary CEAs without high anatomic risk or concomitant procedures from 2012 to 2015 in the VQI were analyzed (N = 26,327, performed by 1188 surgeons from 249 centers). Multivariable analysis was used to identify patient, procedure, and surgeon factors associated with Op time and major adverse events (MAEs), categorized as either technical (ipsilateral stroke, cranial nerve injury, reoperation) or cardiac (myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, dysrhythmia requiring treatment, surgical site infection, and death)...

INTRODUCTION: Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is frequently seen in emergency departments. Secondary injury, such as subarachnoid hemorrhage-associated myocardial injury (SAHMI), affects one third of survivors and contributes to poor outcomes. SAHMI is not attributed to ischemia from myocardial disease but can result in hypotension and arrhythmias. It is important that emergency nurses recognize which clinical presentation characteristics are predictive of SAHMI to initiate proper interventions...

Objective To observe the changes of mitochondria fusion protein 2 (Mfn2) and dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) in the cardioprotection of fasudil, and analyze the significance. Methods Hearts isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to ischemia for 30 minutes (occlusion of left anterior descending artery), and continuously perfusion for 120 minutes to establish myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury model. The rats were divided into 3 groups: sham group, I/R group and fasudil group. The left ventricular hemodynamics were continuously recorded; lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) content was measured during reperfusion; myocardial ultrastructure was observed by electron microscopy; the protein expression of phosphorylated protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 12A (p-PPP1R12A/p-MYPT1) was detected by immunohistochemistry; and the protein expressions of Mfn2, Drp1 and cleaved caspase-3 (c-caspase-3) were detected by Western blot analysis...

BACKGROUND: Metformin, the eldest and most widely used glucose lowering drug, is likely to be effective also on cardiac and vascular disease prevention. Nonetheless, uncertainty still exists with regard to its effects on the cardiovascular system as a whole and specifically on the myocardium, both at the organ and cellular levels. METHODS: We reviewed the available data on the cardiac and vascular effects of metformin, encompassing both in vitro, either tissue or isolated organ, and in vivo studies in experimental animals and humans, as well as the evidence generated by major clinical trials...

Fibrosis is a common process characterized by excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation after inflammatory injury, which is also a crucial cause of aging. The process of fibrosis is involved in the pathogenesis of most diseases of the heart, liver, kidney, lung, and other organs/tissues. However, there are no effective therapies for this pathological alteration. Annually, fibrosis represents a huge financial burden for the USA and the world. 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a pivotal energy sensor that alleviates or delays the process of fibrogenesis...

Late preconditioning (LPC) can be induced by volatile anesthetics and initiates cardioprotection against ischemia/reperfusion injury for three to four days. We investigated the possibility to extend the time window of sevoflurane-induced LPC by repeated sevoflurane administration. An in vivo rat model of regional myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury was used. Myocardial infarct size was determined by TTC staining at the end of the experiment. In the first series of experiments, male Wistar rats were randomized to five groups (each n=8)...

OBJECTIVE: To report a first case series of the Lotus valve (Boston Scientific) for the treatment of surgical aortic bioprosthesis failure. BACKGROUND: Valve-in-valve (VIV) transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an established management option for surgical aortic bioprosthesis failure. Although TAVI has proven efficacious, complications relating to suboptimal valve implantation have been reported in approximately 5% of patients. The Lotus valve is fully repositionable and retrievable, and therefore enables complete assessment of valve function prior to definitive deployment...

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Doxorubicin (DOX) and trastuzumab (TRA) are associated with cardiac dysfunction. METHOD: High-sensitivity troponin T (hs-TnT) and brain natriuretic peptide attached to the amino acid N-terminal fragment in the prohormone (NT-proBNP) were measured before and on days +1, +2, +3, and +7 during cycles 1 and 2 of therapy with DOX or TRA in breast cancer patients. RESULTS: Five of eleven DOX-treated women, compared with 2/11 TRA-treated women, had undetectable baseline hs-TnT...

INTRODUCTION: Pseudoaneurysms are a pulsatile hematoma caused by hemorrhage on soft tissues. It is an uncommon condition with many different etiologies. We report a case of a giant pseudoaneurysm caused by iatrogenic injury on the brachial artery. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 42 year-old male was submitted to our Vascular Surgery service with an enlargement of the right upper limb and a history of myocardial infarction. 60days before the patient reached our service, he was submitted to a cardiac catheterization performed by another medical team, since the catheter was placed on the right brachial artery near the cubital fossa, we suspected an iatrogenic pseudoaneurysm, which was confirmed by his clinical history and physical exam...