Cervanteshiggins9282

There was no difference in the rates of STEMI and population-based all-cause mortality across the examined time periods. The telephone survey demonstrated reduction of passive smoking, working hours, alcohol, junk food and salt consumption, and an increase in sleeping hours, mainly in participants with a lower burden of cardiovascular risk factors. Conclusions A significant decline in ACS admissions during the COVID-19 lockdown was noted, affecting mainly NSTEMI patients with a lower burden of cardiovascular risk factors. This was accompanied by significant lifestyle changes. Thus, it is tempting to speculate that to some extend the latter might be associated with the observed decline in ACS admissions.Background Atherosclerotic plaques are the major cause of coronary artery disease (CAD). Currently, computed tomography (CT) is the most commonly applied imaging technique in the diagnosis of CAD. However, the accurate extraction of coronary plaque geometry from CT images is still challenging. Summary of Review In this review, we focused on the methods in recent studies on the CT-based coronary plaque extraction. According to the dimension of plaque extraction method, the studies were categorized into two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) ones. Prostaglandin E2 In each category, the studies were analyzed in terms of data, methods, and evaluation. We summarized the merits and limitations of current methods, as well as the future directions for efficient and accurate extraction of coronary plaques using CT imaging. Conclusion The methodological innovations are important for more accurate CT-based assessment of coronary plaques in clinical applications. The large-scale studies, de-blooming algorithms, more standardized datasets, and more detailed classification of non-calcified plaques could improve the accuracy of coronary plaque extraction from CT images. More multidimensional geometric parameters can be derived from the 3D geometry of coronary plaques. Additionally, machine learning and automatic 3D reconstruction could improve the efficiency of coronary plaque extraction in future studies.Background We describe the association between longitudinal hemodynamic changes and clinical outcomes in patients with cardiogenic shock (CS) receiving acute mechanical circulatory support devices (AMCS) at a single center. We hypothesized that improved right atrial pressure is associated with better survival in CS. Methods Retrospective analysis of patients from Tufts Medical Center that received AMCS for CS. Baseline characteristics and invasive hemodynamics were collected, analyzed, and correlated against outcomes. Hemodynamics were recorded at different time intervals during index admission [pre-AMCS, 24 h after AMCS (post AMCS), and last available set of hemodynamics (final-AMCS)]. Logistic regression was performed to determine variables associated with in-hospital mortality. Results A total of 76 patients had longitudinal hemodynamics available. In hospital mortality occurred in 46% of the cohort. Mean baseline right atrial pressure (RAP) was significantly higher among non-survivors vs. survivors (19.5+ CS patients. These observations suggest the need for further study in larger retrospective and prospective cohorts of patients with varying degrees of CS severity.There is an incomplete understanding of the underlying pathophysiology in hypertensive emergencies, where severely elevated blood pressure causes acute end-organ injuries, as opposed to the long-term manifestations of chronic hypertension. Furthermore, current biomarkers are unable to detect early end-organ injuries like hypertensive encephalopathy and renal thrombotic microangiopathy. We hypothesized that circulating microRNAs (c-miRs) could identify acute and chronic complications of severe hypertension, and that combinations of c-miRs could elucidate important pathways involved. We studied the diagnostic accuracy of 145 c-miRs in Dahl salt-sensitive rats fed either a low-salt (N = 20 0.3% NaCl) or a high-salt (N = 60 8% NaCl) diet. Subclinical hypertensive encephalopathy and thrombotic microangiopathy were diagnosed by histopathology. In addition, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction was evaluated with echocardiography and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide; and endothelial dysfunction was ion fraction in receiver-operating-curve analyses (area-under-curve 0.75-0.88). Target prediction revealed an enrichment of genes related to several pathways relevant for cardiovascular disease (e.g., mucin type O-glycan biosynthesis, MAPK, Wnt, Hippo, and TGF-beta signaling). C-miRs could potentially serve as biomarkers of severe hypertensive end-organ injuries and elucidate important pathways involved.Vascular calcification frequently occurs in the process of chronic kidney disease, atherosclerosis and aging, resulting in an increased prevalence of cardiovascular events. Piperlongumine (PLG) is a natural product isolated from Piper longum L. Here, we aimed to explore the effect of PLG in high calcium- and phosphate-induced vascular calcification and the associated mechanism. Flow cytometry assays showed that PLG at concentrations 2.5 μM inhibited VSMCs proliferation. Thus, 2.5 μM PLG was selected for subsequent experiments. Alizarin red staining and ALP activity assays showed that PLG inhibited calcium deposition of VSMCs treated with high calcium/phosphate medium. PLG also decreased the expression of osteogenic genes and proteins, including Runx2, Bmp2, and OPN, as determined by qRT-PCR and western blotting. In a vitamin D-induced aortic calcification mouse model, a 5 mg/kg dose of PLG decreased calcium deposition in the aortic wall as well as Runx2 expression. With regard to the mechanism, we found that the levels of P53 mRNA and protein in both VSMCs and mouse aortic tissues were decreased in the calcification models, and we observed that PLG preserved the levels of P53 and its downstream gene PTEN. Concurrent treatment of VSMCs with P53 ShRNA and PLG blunted the anti-calcific effect of PLG. In conclusion, PLG attenuates high calcium/phosphate-induced vascular calcification by upregulating P53/PTEN signaling in VSMCs. PLG may act as a promising herbal extract for the clinical management of vascular calcification.