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Special Issue "Heart Failure and Inflammation"

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A special issue of Medicina (ISSN 1648-9144).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2019) | Viewed by 15537

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Vasundhara Kain

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Guest Editor

Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
Interests: cardiorenal and spleno cardiac relationship; heart failure; metabolic signaling; immune kinetics; lipid mediators; metabolites; resolution of inflammation; lipoxygenase signaling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Heart failure (HF) is one of the most common disorders, impacting nearly 5.7 million adults in the United States. HF costs the nation an estimated $30.7 billion each year. This total includes the cost of health care services and medications to treat HF. Unresolved inflammation is one of the underlying causes of HF. In HF pathology, there is a consistent increase in the number of cytokines and chemokines that are hallmarks of chronic inflammation and kidney dysfunction. Thus, inflammation is one of the most critical causes in HF. The journal Medicina is launching a Special Issue entitled “Heart Failure and Inflammation” with the aim of gathering accurate and up-to-date scientific information which will further strengthen our knowledge about inflammation and HF. We are pleased to invite you and your co-workers to submit your original research articles reporting on the chemokine and molecular aspects of HF, including the pathophysiological mechanisms. We also encourage the submission of original manuscripts spanning basic and clinical research and focusing on dietary, lifestyle, and pharmacological interventions to prevent and ameliorate HF. We would also like to invite you to submit review articles aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of the recent advances in understanding the overall molecular mechanism in HF.

Prof. Vasundhara Kain
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Keywords

Heart failure
Inflammation
Resolution of inflammation
Chemokines Cytokines
Immune kinetics

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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Open AccessArticle

Epidemiology of Heart Disease of Uncertain Etiology: A Population Study and Review of the Problem

Alessandro Menotti

and

Paolo Emilio Puddu

Medicina 2019, 55(10), 687; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina55100687 - 14 Oct 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2288

Abstract

Background and objectives: Previous epidemiological studies have identified a group of heart diseases (here called heart diseases of uncertain etiology—HDUE) whose characteristics were rather different from cases classified as coronary heart disease (CHD), but frequently confused with them. This analysis had the purpose of adding further evidence on this issue based on a large population study. Materials and Methods: Forty-five Italian population samples for a total of 25,272 men and 21,895 women, free from cardiovascular diseases, were examined with measurement of some risk factors. During follow-up, CHD deaths were those manifested as myocardial infarction, other acute ischemic attacks, and sudden death of probable coronary origin, after reasonable exclusion of other causes. Cases of HDUE were those manifested only as heart failure, chronic arrhythmia, and blocks in the absence of typical coronary syndromes. Cox proportional hazards models were computed separately for CHD and HDUE, with 11 risk factors as possible predictors. Results: During an average of 7.4 years (extremes 1–16) there were 223 CHD and 150 HDUE fatal events. Male sex, age, smoking habits, systolic blood pressure, serum cholesterol, and plasma glucose were significantly and directly related to CHD events, while high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was so in an inverse way. The same risk factors were predictive of HDUE events except serum cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. Multivariable hazards ratio of serum cholesterol (delta = 1 mmol/L) was higher in the CHD model (1.24, 95% CI 1.11–1.39) than in the HDUE model (1.03, 0.5% C.I. 0.89–1.19) and the difference between the respective coefficients was statistically significant (p = 0.0444). Age at death was not different between the two end-points. Conclusions: CHD and HDUE are probably two different morbid conditions, only the first one is likely bound to gross atherosclerotic lesions of coronary arteries and linked to blood lipid levels. We reviewed the problem in epidemiological investigations and addressed inflammation as a potential cofactor to differentiate between CHD and HDUE. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heart Failure and Inflammation)

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Open AccessArticle

Does Colchicine Substitute Corticosteroids in Treatment of Idiopathic and Viral Pediatric Pericarditis?

Vladislav Vukomanovic

and

Medicina 2019, 55(10), 609; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina55100609 - 20 Sep 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2077

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Recurrence of pericarditis (ROP) is an important complication of the acute pericarditis. The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of aetiology, clinical findings and treatment on the outcome of acute pericarditis. Methods: Data were retrospectively collected from medical records of patients treated from 2011 to 2019 at a tertiary referent heart paediatric center. Results: Our investigation included 56 children with idiopathic and viral pericarditis. Relapse was registered in 8/56 patients, 2/29 (7.41%) treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) and 6/27 (28.57%) treated with corticosteroids (CS) and NSAID. Independent risk factors for ROP were viral pericarditis (p = 0.01, OR 31.46), lack of myocardial affection (p = 0.03, OR 29.15), CS use (p = 0.02, OR 29.02) and ESR ≥ 50 mm/h (p = 0.03, OR 25.23). In 4/8 patients the first recurrence was treated with NSAID and colchicine, while treatment of 4/8 patients included CS. Children with ROP treated with CS had higher median number of recurrence (5, IQR: 2–15) than those treated with colchicine (0, IQR: 0–0.75). Conclusions: Independent risk factors for recurrence are CS treatment, viral aetiology, pericarditis only and ESR ≥ 50 mm/h. Acute pericarditis should be treated with NSAID. Colchicine and NSAID might be recommended in children with the first ROP. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heart Failure and Inflammation)

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Open AccessArticle

Using Soluble ST2 to Predict Adverse Postoperative Outcomes in Patients with Impaired Left Ventricular Function Undergoing Coronary Bypass Surgery

and

Medicina 2019, 55(9), 572; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina55090572 - 07 Sep 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1467

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of soluble ST2 (sST2) in predicting postoperative adverse events in patients with impaired left ventricular (LV) function undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Materials and Methods: This study included 80 consecutive patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and impaired LV function (ejection fraction ≤ 45%) undergoing on-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The patients were divided into the “high” or “low” group according to their ST2 levels (≥35 or <35 ng/mL). Results: Postoperative adverse events were more common in patients with high sST2 levels than in patients with low sST2 levels (100% vs 26%, p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis showed that sST2 level was an independent predictor of the presence of postoperative adverse events (OR: 1.117 (95% CI: 1.016–1.228), p = 0.022). The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis of sST2 revealed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.812 (95% CI: 0.710–0.913, p < 0.001) in predicting postoperative adverse events. An sST2 level of 26.50 ng/ml was identified as the optimal cut-off value, with a sensitivity and specificity of 74.1% and 75.3%, respectively. Conclusion: Higher sST2 levels were associated with adverse outcomes after CABG in patients with impaired LV and stable CAD. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heart Failure and Inflammation)

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Open AccessArticle

Association between the No-Reflow Phenomenon and Soluble CD40 Ligand Level in Patients with Acute ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Mustafa Begenc Tascanov

Zulkif Tanriverdi

Fatih Gungoren

Feyzullah Besli

Muslihittin Emre Erkus

Ataman Gonel

Ismail Koyuncu

and

Recep Demirbag

Medicina 2019, 55(7), 376; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina55070376 - 15 Jul 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1981

Abstract

Background and objectives: No-reflow (NR) phenomenon is defined as insufficient myocardial perfusion in coronary circulation in the absence of angiographic evidence of mechanical obstruction. The primary mechanisms of the NR occurrence are thought to be high platelet activity and thrombus burden. Soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L), which is released into the plasma following platelet activation, accelerates the inflammatory process and causes further platelet activation. The aim of our study is to investigate the relationship between the NR phenomenon and sCD40L level in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods: A total of 81 acute STEMI patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention and 40 healthy participants were included in this study. Acute STEMI patients were classified into two groups: 41 patients with the NR phenomenon (NR group) and 40 patients without the NR phenomenon (non-NR group). The serum sCD40L level was measured for all groups. Results: The serum sCD40L level was significantly higher in the NR group than in non-NR and control groups (379 ± 20 pg/mL, 200 ± 15 pg/mL and 108 ± 6.53 pg/mL, respectively; p < 0.001). Univariate regression analysis demonstrated that male sex, age, Gensini score and sCD40L level were the possible factors affecting the occurrence of the NR phenomenon. In multivariate regression analysis, age (odds ratio [OR], 1.091; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.023–1.163; p < 0.008) and serum sCD40L (OR, 1.016; 95% CI, 1.008–1.024; p < 0.001) remained the independent predictor of the presence of NR. Conclusions: Our study showed that serum sCD40L level was an independent predictor of the NR phenomenon occurrence. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heart Failure and Inflammation)

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Review

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Open AccessReview

Radiation-Induced Heart Diseases: Protective Effects of Natural Products

Ahmed Eleojo Musa

and

Dheyauldeen Shabeeb

Medicina 2019, 55(5), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina55050126 - 09 May 2019

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 3257

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) account for the majority of deaths worldwide. Radiation-induced heart diseases (RIHD) is one of the side effects following exposure to ionizing radiation (IR). Exposure could be from various forms such as diagnostic imaging, radiotherapy for cancer treatment, as well as nuclear disasters and nuclear accidents. RIHD is mostly observed after radiotherapy for thoracic malignancies, especially left breast cancer. RIHD may affect the supply of blood to heart muscles, leading to an increase in the risk of heart attacks to irradiated persons. Due to its dose-limiting consequence, RIHD has a negative effect on the therapeutic efficacy of radiotherapy. Several methods have been proposed for protection against RIHD. In this paper, we review the use of natural products, which have shown promising results for protection against RIHD. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heart Failure and Inflammation)

Other

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Open AccessCase Report

Benefits of a Pre-Treatment Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in a Rare Case of Gemella Haemolysans Endocarditis in an 86-Year-Old Patient and a Review of the Literature

and

Medicina 2019, 55(6), 292; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina55060292 - 20 Jun 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1776

Abstract

Infective endocarditis is a serious condition, which is associated with high mortality in elderly patients. Gemella haemolysans (GH) is a microorganism from the Streptococcus family, rarely involved in infective endocarditis. Here, we present a case of Gemella haemolysans endocarditis in an 86-year-old patient, successfully treated by antibiotics and surgery following a pre-treatment comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). This case is discussed in the context of a review of all published cases of Gemella haemolysans endocarditis. We illustrate the benefit of a systematic pre-treatment comprehensive geriatric assessment in elderly patients with infective endocarditis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heart Failure and Inflammation)

Open AccessCase Report

Gastric Adenocarcinoma Associated with Acute Endocarditis of the Aortic Valve and Coronary Artery Disease in a 61-Year-Old Male with Multiple Comorbidities—Combined Surgical Management—Case Report

and

Medicina 2019, 55(6), 242; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina55060242 - 03 Jun 2019

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2382

Abstract

The case of a 61-year-old male with a recent total gastrectomy for a hemorrhagic gastric tumor is presented, with the important co-morbidities of type II diabetes mellitus requiring insulin, chronic hepatitis C with liver dysfunction, stage II essential hypertension, chronic stage III renal disease peripheral type II aorto-iliac disease with stage II ischemia of both legs, and chronic anemia. About one month following the gastrectomy, the patient presented with fever and acute inflammatory syndrome. Severe aortic insufficiency, aortic valvular vegetations, and positive blood cultures with Staphylococcus saprophytic were found. The diagnosis of infectious endocarditis on the aortic valve was established (positive blood cultures with echocardiographic features of vegetations, fever), and antibiotic treatment with Levofloxacin and Vancomycin was initiated. The evolution was favorable with the remission of the inflammatory syndrome and quick cessation of fever. However, the hemodynamic aspect showed progressive heart failure with acute pulmonary edema. The transesophageal echocardiographic examination confirmed the existence of severe aortic insufficiency and valvular vegetations with a left ventricular ejection fraction of 38%. The coronary angiography revealed double vessel disease. The calculated Euroscore II was 33.4%. Aortic valve replacement with porcine xenograft and double coronary artery bypass graft surgery was performed. The patient had a favorable postoperative course remaining afebrile and out of heart failure, with the markers of inflammation largely within normal limits. The left ventricular ejection fraction increased to 50%. The successful outcome of this case, represented by a rare association of cancer, endocarditis, and coronary disease, reveals the importance of the multidisciplinary teams involved in this case: gastroenterology, general surgery, cardiology, infectious diseases, cardiac surgery, and intensive care. Therefore, in such cases with high risk, complex patients, a strong collaboration between all specialties is needed to overcome all of the limitations of the patient’s co-morbidities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heart Failure and Inflammation)

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