Gemma Cadby
Apr 1, 2020; 61:537-545
Patient-Oriented and Epidemiological Research

Genetic and genomic research has greatly advanced our understanding of heart disease. Yet, comprehensive, in-depth, quantitative maps of protein expression in hearts of living humans are still lacking. Using samples obtained during valve replacement surgery in patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP), we set out to define inter-chamber differences, the intersect of proteomic data with genetic or genomic datasets, and the impact of left atrial dilation on the proteome of patients with no history of atrial fibrillation (AF).  We collected biopsies from right atria (RA), left atria (LA) and left ventricle (LV) of seven male patients with mitral valve regurgitation with dilated LA but no history of AF. Biopsy samples were analyzed by high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS), where peptides were pre-fractionated by reverse phase high-pressure liquid chromatography prior to MS measurement on a Q-Exactive-HF Orbitrap instrument. We identified 7,314 proteins based on 130,728 peptides. Results were confirmed in an independent set of biopsies collected from three additional individuals. Comparative analysis against data from post-mortem samples showed enhanced quantitative power and confidence level in samples collected from living hearts. Our analysis, combined with data from genome wide association studies suggested candidate gene associations to MVP, identified higher abundance in ventricle for proteins associated with cardiomyopathies and revealed the dilated LA proteome, demonstrating differential representation of molecules previously associated with AF, in non-AF hearts. This is the largest dataset of cardiac protein expression from human samples collected in vivo. It provides a comprehensive resource that allows insight into molecular fingerprints of MVP and facilitates novel inferences between genomic data and disease mechanisms. We propose that over-representation of proteins in ventricle is consequent not to redundancy but to functional need, and conclude that changes in abundance of proteins known to associate with AF are not sufficient for arrhythmogenesis.

CVD is the leading cause of death worldwide, and genetic investigations into the human lipidome may provide insight into CVD risk. The aim of this study was to estimate the heritability of circulating lipid species and their genetic correlation with CVD traits. Targeted lipidomic profiling was performed on 4,492 participants from the Busselton Family Heart Study to quantify the major fatty acids of 596 lipid species from 33 classes. We estimated narrow-sense heritabilities of lipid species/classes and their genetic correlations with eight CVD traits: BMI, HDL-C, LDL-C, triglycerides, total cholesterol, waist-hip ratio, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure. We report heritabilities and genetic correlations of new lipid species/subclasses, including acylcarnitine (AC), ubiquinone, sulfatide, and oxidized cholesteryl esters. Over 99% of lipid species were significantly heritable (h²: 0.06–0.50) and all lipid classes were significantly heritable (h²: 0.14–0.50). The monohexosylceramide and AC classes had the highest median heritabilities (h² = 0.43). The largest genetic correlation was between clinical triglycerides and total diacylglycerol (r_g = 0.88). We observed novel positive genetic correlations between clinical triglycerides and phosphatidylglycerol species (r_g: 0.64–0.82), and HDL-C and alkenylphosphatidylcholine species (r_g: 0.45–0.74). Overall, 51% of the 4,768 lipid species-CVD trait genetic correlations were statistically significant after correction for multiple comparisons. This is the largest lipidomic study to address the heritability of lipids and their genetic correlation with CVD traits. Future work includes identifying putative causal genetic variants for lipid species and CVD using genome-wide SNP and whole-genome sequencing data.

Rhian M. Touyz
Jan 1, 2016; 65:19-21
Commentaries

REGGAE ARTISTE Isha Blender is still coming to terms with the loss of her son, Josiah, on January 5, a mere two days after she celebrated her birthday. The daughter of legendary crooner Everton Blender said the death of a child can be one of the...

Charles M. Alexander
May 1, 2003; 52:1210-1214
Complications

It was not the landing the Jamaicans who arrived at Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport on Wednesday evening would want again. The 43 Jamaican ship workers of the Marella Discovery 2 were among the 115 people aboard the TUI charter flight that touched down amid the Kingston breeze and evening sunset.

Inflammation contributes to ventricular remodeling after myocardial ischemia, but its role in nonischemic heart failure is poorly understood. Local tissue inflammation is difficult to assess serially during pathogenesis. Although ¹⁸F-FDG accumulates in inflammatory leukocytes and thus may identify inflammation in the myocardial microenvironment, it remains unclear whether this imaging technique can isolate diffuse leukocytes in pressure-overload heart failure. We aimed to evaluate whether inflammation with ¹⁸F-FDG can be serially imaged in the early stages of pressure-overload–induced heart failure and to compare the time course with functional impairment assessed by cardiac MRI. Methods: C57Bl6/N mice underwent transverse aortic constriction (TAC) (n = 22), sham surgery (n = 12), or coronary ligation as an inflammation-positive control (n = 5). MRI assessed ventricular geometry and contractile function at 2 and 8 d after TAC. Immunostaining identified the extent of inflammatory leukocyte infiltration early in pressure overload. ¹⁸F-FDG PET scans were acquired at 3 and 7 d after TAC, under ketamine-xylazine anesthesia to suppress cardiomyocyte glucose uptake. Results: Pressure overload evoked rapid left ventricular dilation compared with sham (end-systolic volume, day 2: 40.6 ± 10.2 μL vs. 23.8 ± 1.7 μL, P < 0.001). Contractile function was similarly impaired (ejection fraction, day 2: 40.9% ± 9.7% vs. 59.2% ± 4.4%, P < 0.001). The severity of contractile impairment was proportional to histology-defined myocardial macrophage density on day 8 (r = –0.669, P = 0.010). PET imaging identified significantly higher left ventricular ¹⁸F-FDG accumulation in TAC mice than in sham mice on day 3 (10.5 ± 4.1 percentage injected dose [%ID]/g vs. 3.8 ± 0.9 %ID/g, P < 0.001) and on day 7 (7.8 ± 3.7 %ID/g vs. 3.0 ± 0.8 %ID/g, P = 0.006), though the efficiency of cardiomyocyte suppression was variable among TAC mice. The ¹⁸F-FDG signal correlated with ejection fraction (r = –0.75, P = 0.01) and ventricular volume (r = 0.75, P < 0.01). Western immunoblotting demonstrated a 60% elevation of myocardial glucose transporter 4 expression in the left ventricle at 8 d after TAC, indicating altered glucose metabolism. Conclusion: TAC induces rapid changes in left ventricular geometry and contractile function, with a parallel modest infiltration of inflammatory macrophages. Metabolic remodeling overshadows inflammatory leukocyte signal using ¹⁸F-FDG PET imaging. More selective inflammatory tracers are requisite to identify the diffuse local inflammation in pressure overload.

19 December 2019

The immigrant population in the Kansas City region has grown rapidly over the past 25 years, contributing to overall population growth in the area. This fact sheet describes immigrants in the metro area, examining their origins, industries of employment, income and poverty levels, English proficiency, educational attainment, and more.

Caroline S. Fox
Sep 1, 2015; 38:1777-1803
Scientific Statement

Sarah D. de Ferranti
Oct 1, 2014; 37:2843-2863
Scientific Statement

Kalevi Pyörälä
Mar 1, 1979; 2:131-141
Proceedings of the Kroc Foundation International Conference on Epidemiology of Diabetes and its Macrovascular Complications

T A Welborn
Mar 1, 1979; 2:154-160
Proceedings of the Kroc Foundation International Conference on Epidemiology of Diabetes and its Macrovascular Complications

American Diabetes Association
Sep 1, 1998; 21:1551-1559
Consensus Development Conference Report

Sarah D. de Ferranti
Oct 1, 2014; 37:2843-2863
Scientific Statement

Gregory G. Schwartz
May 1, 2020; 43:1077-1084
Emerging Therapies: Drugs and Regimens

Poverty and poor or non-existent health insurance coverage might worsen the effects of heart failure, the American Heart Association said Thursday.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the effects of dapagliflozin in patients with heart failure (HF) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on left ventricular (LV) remodeling using cardiac MRI.

OBJECTIVE

Although blood pressure variability is increasingly appreciated as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, its relationship with heart failure (HF) is less clear. We examined the relationship between blood pressure variability and risk of HF in two cohorts of type 2 diabetes participating in trials of glucose and/or other risk factor management.

In 1935, researchers from Columbia University fanned out around the city of Allentown, Pa., and handed out leaflets ahead of local and state elections. What residents did not know was that they were part of an experiment in political persuasion -- an experiment whose results came to mind last week...

This book is a biography of Sandy and her great grand fathers life journey, through an inspirational spiritual connection, involving cellular memory and genetic DNA. It entails a story of forced assimilation on a culture, still not identified in the countries constitution. Survival, deception, manipulation and confusion regarding Colonisation. This is on a scale of mass deception from a democracy that claims, equality and equity to all. The letter of Patent making South Australia a Province in 1836, shows that Consciousness Raising is evolving through the resilience and visualisation of the' Original peoples' of this ancient land, seen through the eyes of Sandy.

Stroud, G. J. (Gabrielle J.), 1977-

Grandmothers -- Death -- Fiction.

Rentzenbrink, Cathy -- Family.

Mayor, Thomas -- Travel -- Australia.

United Kingdom, c.1939.

United Kingdom, c.1939.

[1946?]

[1946?]

London : J. Churchill, 1845.

[Edinburgh] : [publisher not identified], [1862]

[Edinburgh?] : [publisher not identified], [1901?]

Edinburgh : printed by J. Stark, [1836?]

London : British Medical Journal, 1906.

Is the Bruins' most recent exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs also their most heartbreaking? Joe Haggerty counts down the biggest playoff disappointments, including way too many losses against the B's archrivals, the Montreal Canadiens.

London : Cleanair, Smoke-free Environment (33 Stillness Rd, London, SE23 1NG), [198-?]

London : Cleanair (33 Stillness Rd, London, SE23 1NG), [1989?]

London : Cleanair (33 Stillness Rd, London, SE23 1NG), [198-?]

London : Cleanair (33 Stillness Rd, London, SE23 1NG), [198-?]

London : Cleanair (33 Stillness Rd, London, SE23 1NG), [198-?]

London : Cleanair (33 Stillness Rd, London, SE23 1NG), [198-?]

A St. John's cardiologist says public health restrictions put in place under the COVID-19 pandemic, while justified, may be harming cardiac patients whose procedures have been postponed indefinitely as well as heart patients who are avoiding hospitals.

Melissa Tancredi and Rhian Wilkinson were pillars of the Team Canada for nearly two decades. Together, they've lived the highs and lows of the women's national soccer program - from the awe of their first Games in Beijing 2008, the heartbreak and redemption in London 2012, and finally, solidifying Canada's reputation as a soccer world power in Rio 2016. It's been a rollercoaster they'd ride over and over again.

Mayor Jane Castor has issued a letter of apology after Tampa didn't exactly give the best of welcomes to one of its newest and most famous residents when NFL superstar Tom Brady was ejected from a downtown park while working out.

After 10 years in North Africa, an OM worker sees a change in the hearts of neighbours and friends.

Their desire to help leads a Love Moldova outreach team to a woman whose loss of her toes leads to the salvation of her soul.

An Albanian man's heart is forever changed after suffering a heart attack and meeting Jesus in his recuperation.