Cardiovascular Diseases Commons^™

Seeing The Invisible: Revealing Atrial Ablation Lesions Using Hyperspectral Imaging Approach, Narine Muselimyan, Luther Swift, Huda Asfour, Tigran Chahbazian, Ramesh Mazhari, Marco Mercader, Narine Sarvazyan

Pharmacology and Physiology Faculty Publications

Background

Currently, there are limited means for high-resolution monitoring of tissue injury during radiofrequency ablation procedures.

Objective

To develop the next generation of visualization catheters that can reveal irreversible atrial muscle damage caused by ablation and identify viability gaps between the lesions.

Methods

Radiofrequency lesions were placed on the endocardial surfaces of excised human and bovine atria and left ventricles of blood perfused rat hearts. Tissue was illuminated with 365nm light and a series of images were acquired from individual spectral bands within 420-720nm range. By extracting spectral profiles of individual pixels and spectral unmixing, the relative contribution of ablated …

Leukocyte Telomere Length In Relation To 17 Biomarkers Of Cardiovascular Disease Risk: A Cross-Sectional Study Of Us Adults, David Rehkopf, Belinda L. Needham, Jue Lin, Elizabeth Blackburn, Ami R. Zota, Janet Wojcicki, Elissa Epel

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Background

Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a putative biological marker of immune system age, and there are demonstrated associations between LTL and cardiovascular disease. This may be due in part to the relationship of LTL with other biomarkers associated with cardiovascular disease risk. However, the strength of associations between LTL and adiposity, metabolic, proinflammatory, and cardiovascular biomarkers has not been systematically evaluated in a United States nationally representative population.

Methods and Findings

We examined associations between LTL and 17 cardiovascular biomarkers, including lipoproteins, blood sugar, circulatory pressure, proinflammatory markers, kidney function, and adiposity measures, in adults ages 20 to 84 …

Irisin Lowers Blood Pressure By Improvement Of Endothelial Dysfunction Via Ampk‐Akt‐Enos‐No Pathway In The Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat, Jinjuan Fu, Yu Han, Jialiang Wang, Yukai Liu, Shuo Zeng, Lin Zhou, Pedro A. Jose, Chunyu Zeng

Medicine Faculty Publications

Background Exercise is a major nonpharmacological treatment for hypertension, but its underlying mechanisms are still not completely elucidated. Irisin, a polypeptide containing 112 amino acids, which is secreted mainly by skeletal muscle cells during exercise, exerts a protective role in metabolic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and obesity. Because of the close relationship between irisin and metabolic diseases, we hypothesized that irisin may play a role in the regulation of blood pressure.

Methods and Results Blood pressures of male Wistar‐Kyoto (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were monitored through the carotid artery. Our study found that acute intravenous injection …

Cardiac Arrest In An Adolescent With Uhl’S Anomaly: Two Unusual Cardiac Arrhythmia Mechanisms, Jeffrey P. Moak, Gail D. Pearson, Bradley Clark, Charles I. Berul, Russell R. Cross, Dilip S. Nath

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Targeted Echocardiographic Screening For Latent Rheumatic Heart Disease In Northern Uganda: Evaluating Familial Risk Following Identification Of An Index Case., Twalib Aliku, Craig Sable, Amy Scheel, Alison Tompsett, Peter Lwabi, Emmy Okello, Robert Mccarter, Marshall Summar, Andrea Beaton

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Echocardiographic screening for detection of latent RHD has shown potential as a strategy to decrease the burden of disease. However, further research is needed to determine optimal implementation strategies. RHD results from a complex interplay between environment and host susceptibility. Family members share both and relatives of children with latent RHD may represent a high-risk group. The objective of this study was to use echocardiographic family screening to determine the relative risk of RHD among first-degree relatives of children with latent RHD compared to the risk in first-degree relatives of healthy peers.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Previous school-based screening data were …

Optimizing Electrocardiogram Interpretation And Catheterization Laboratory Activation In St-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarct, Alexander E. Sullivan, Mortada Shams, Marco A. Mercader, Jacob Varghese, Abudureyimu Shajidan, Bassel Hassouna, Vimala V. Jayanthi

GW Research Days 2016 - 2020

Background: To achieve the 90-minute reperfusion goal in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) care, providers must diagnose STEMIs from electrocardiograms (ECGs) obtained upon emergency room arrival and appropriately activate the catheterization lab. To enhance early STEMI care, we sought to improve medical student STEMI recognition and diagnostic accuracy with a teaching module we designed and developed.

Methods: Through a literature review, we identified evidenced-based criteria for classic STEMI patterns, STEMI-equivalents with non-classic STEMI patterns including hyperacute T-waves, STEMI with existing left bundle branch block (LBBB) and Wellens’ syndrome and non-ischemic STEMI-mimics such as known LBBB, pericarditis, ventricular aneurysm, …

Trimethylamine N-Oxide: The Good, The Bad And The Unknown, Manuel T. Velasquez, Ali Ramezani, Alotaibi Manal, Dominic S. Raj

Medicine Faculty Publications

Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is a small colorless amine oxide generated from choline, betaine, and carnitine by gut microbial metabolism. It accumulates in the tissue of marine animals in high concentrations and protects against the protein-destabilizing effects of urea. Plasma level of TMAO is determined by a number of factors including diet, gut microbial flora and liver flavin monooxygenase activity. In humans, a positive correlation between elevated plasma levels of TMAO and an increased risk for major adverse cardiovascular events and death is reported. The atherogenic effect of TMAO is attributed to alterations in cholesterol and bile acid metabolism, activation …

Coronary Flow Reserve In Adults With Systemic Right Or Single Ventricles, Laura J. Olivieri, Li-Yueh Hsu, Anitha S. John, Karen S. Kuehl, Andrew Arai

Pediatrics Posters and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Overweight Predicts Poorer Exercise Capacity In Congenital Heart Disease Patients, Karen Kuehl, Alicia Tucker, Munziba Khan, Paula Goldberg, E. Anne Greene, Megan Smith

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Background

Overweight (OW) and obesity (OB) are endemic in the United States and affect adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD). Defining the burden of excess weight on the cardiovascular system in ACHD is the goal of this study. Limitation of exercise capacity due to overweight or obesity might be reversible with weight loss and improve quality of life for ACHD adults.

Methods

Exercise tests performed using a Bruce protocol and measurement of maximum oxygen consumption were retrospectively reviewed on 418 CHD patients. OW and OB were defined as the 85–95 or > 95 percentile respectively for age and gender …

Race And Ethnicity, Obesity, Metabolic Health, And Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease In Postmenopausal Women, Michelle D. Schmiegelow, Haley Hedlin, Rachel H. Mackey, Lisa W. Martin, Mara Z. Vitolins, Marcia L. Stefanick, Marco V. Perez, Matthew Allison, Mark A. Hlatky

Medicine Faculty Publications

Background It is unclear whether obesity unaccompanied by metabolic abnormalities is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk across racial and ethnic subgroups.

Methods and Results We identified 14 364 postmenopausal women from the Women's Health Initiative who had data on fasting serum lipids and serum glucose and no history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes at baseline. We categorized women by body mass index (in kg/m²) as normal weight (body mass index 18.5 to P=0.05). Obese black women without metabolic syndrome had higher adjusted risk (HR 1.95) than obese white women (HR 1.07; interaction P=0.02). Among women with …

Statin Use And Risk Of Haemorrhagic Stroke In A Community-Based Cohort Of Postmenopausal Women: An Observational Study From The Women's Health Initiative, Elena Salmoriago-Blotcher, Kathleen M. Hovey, Christopher A. Andrews, Jennifer G. Robinson, Karen C. Johnson, Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, Sybil Crawford, Lisa W. Martin, Judith Ockene, Joann E. Manson

Medicine Faculty Publications

Objectives To determine whether statin treatment is associated with increased risk of haemorrhagic stroke (HS) in older women. A secondary objective was to evaluate HS risk in users of combined statin and antiplatelet treatment.

Design Observational study: secondary data analysis from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) clinical trials.

Setting Women were recruited from 40 participating sites.

Participants Cohort of 68 132 women followed through 2005 (parent study) and for an additional 5 years in the extension study.

Main outcome measures Statin use was assessed at baseline and at follow-up visits (1, 3, 6 and 9 years). Women brought medications in …