Advances in Pathophysiology and Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Coronary No-Reflow Phenomenon.

Coronary no-reflow (CNR) is the failure of blood to reperfuse ischemic myocardial tissue after restoration of the vasculature. CNR poses a significant clinical challenge in the treatment of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), as it increases mortality and the risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs). Myocardial ischemia with subsequent reperfusion results in severe damage to the cardiac microcirculation.

High Serum Adrenomedullin and Mid-Regional Pro-Atrial Natriuretic Peptide Concentrations in Early Pregnancy Predict the Development of Gestational Hypertension.

Objectives: Adrenomedullin (AM) and natriuretic peptide levels are elevated in pre-eclampsia. The aim of the present study was to determine AM and natriuretic peptide concentrations before 20 weeks of pregnancy in women who later developed gestational hypertension and in normal pregnancies.

Methods: 95 pregnant Caucasian women were included in the study.

MEDICATION ADHERENCE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY AFTER ST-SEGMENT ELEVATION MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION: THE RESULTS OF THE UKRAINIAN STIMUL REGISTRY.

Objective: The aim: The present study aimed to evaluate the adherence to medications prior and within a two-year period after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and to estimate its impact on the average lifespan of patients after STEMI.

Patients And Methods: Materials and methods: 1,103 patients with STEMI were enrolled in the prospective Ukrainian STIMUL registry with 24-month follow-up. The relationship between adherence to medical treatment and average lifespan was evaluated.

Multiple Aspects of Inappropriate Action of Renin-Angiotensin, Vasopressin, and Oxytocin Systems in Neuropsychiatric and Neurodegenerative Diseases.

The cardiovascular system and the central nervous system (CNS) closely cooperate in the regulation of primary vital functions. The autonomic nervous system and several compounds known as cardiovascular factors, especially those targeting the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), the vasopressin system (VPS), and the oxytocin system (OTS), are also efficient modulators of several other processes in the CNS. The components of the RAS, VPS, and OTS, regulating pain, emotions, learning, memory, and other cognitive processes, are present in the neurons, glial cells, and blood vessels of the CNS.

Evaluation and Comparison of the STIMUL Extended and Simplified Risk Scores for Predicting Two-Year Death in Patients Following ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

The management of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) requires a patient's long-term risk to be estimated. The objective of this study was to develop extended and simplified models of two-year death risk estimation following STEMI that include and exclude cardiac troponins as prognostic factors and to compare their performance with each other. : Extended and simplified multivariable logistic regression models were elaborated using 1103 patients with STEMI enrolled and followed up in the STIMUL (ST-segment elevation Myocardial Infarctions in Ukraine and their Lethality) registry.

Complementary Role of Oxytocin and Vasopressin in Cardiovascular Regulation.

The neurons secreting oxytocin (OXY) and vasopressin (AVP) are located mainly in the supraoptic, paraventricular, and suprachiasmatic nucleus of the brain. Oxytocinergic and vasopressinergic projections reach several regions of the brain and the spinal cord. Both peptides are released from axons, soma, and dendrites and modulate the excitability of other neuroregulatory pathways.

Interaction of Orexin A and Vasopressin in the Brain Plays a Role in Blood Pressure Regulation in WKY and SHR Rats.

BACKGROUND Orexin A (OXA) and vasopressin (AVP) exert a central hypertensive effect due to an increase in sympathetic nerve activity. To date, little is known about the interaction of these 2 neuropeptides in the central regulation of blood pressure. The present study compared the consequences of infusion into the left cerebral ventricle (ICV) of OXA on mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) in normotensive (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) rats, and explored whether the central pressor action of OXA in these 2 strains depends on activation of brain AVP V1a receptors (V1aR).

Increased oxytocinergic system activity in the cardiac muscle in spontaneously hypertensive SHR rats.

Introduction: The present study aimed to determine whether the presence of cardiac hypertrophy due to arterial hypertension is associated with a change in the activity of the oxytocinergic system in cardiomyocytes.

Material And Methods: The experiments were performed on male, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR, = 10) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY, = 12). Blood samples were collected from both SHR and WKY animals to asses plasma oxytocin (OT) concentration; the rats were sacrificed by decapitation.

Increased Activity of the Intracardiac Oxytocinergic System in the Development of Postinfarction Heart Failure.

The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that the development of postinfarction heart failure is associated with a change of activity of the intracardiac oxytocinergic system. Experiments were performed on male Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to myocardial infarction or sham surgery. Four weeks after the surgery, blood samples were collected and the samples of the left ventricle (LV) and right ventricle (RV) were harvested for evaluation of the mRNA expression (RT-PCR) of oxytocin (OT), oxytocin receptor (OTR), natriuretic peptides, and the level of OT and OTR protein (ELISA).

Increased sensitivity of prolonged P-wave during exercise stress test in detection of angiographically documented coronary artery disease.

Background: A retrospective study was designed to investigate P-wave duration changes in exercise stress test (EST) for the prediction of angiographically documented substantial coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: We analyzed 265 cases of patients, who underwent EST and subsequently coronary angiography. Analysis of P-wave duration was performed in leads II, V5 at rest, and in the recovery period.

[Metabolic treatment of stable coronary artery disease – the present and perspectives].

Trimetazidine, a piperazine analogue, is a metabolic agent that selectively inhibits beta-oxidation. The effect of trimetazidine is to block fatty free acids and subsequently to enhance glucose oxidation. The results of both experimental and clinical researches provided evidences for antianginal effects and for improvement of coronary flow reserve with trimetazidine treatment.

High-fat diet and chronic stress reduce central pressor and tachycardic effects of apelin in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Central application of apelin elevates blood pressure and influences neuroendocrine responses to stress and food consumption. However, it is not known whether the central cardiovascular effects of apelin depend also on caloric intake or chronic stress. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of intracerebroventricular administration of apelin on blood pressure (mean arterial blood pressure) and heart rate in conscious Sprague-Dawley rats consuming either a normal-fat diet (NFD) or high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks.

[Patient with sudden cardiac arrest, peripartum cardiomyopathy and pulmonary embolism].

Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a type of dilatated cardiomyopathy, occuring with symptoms of heart failure (HF) during last month of pregnancy or within 5 months after labour. Authors are presenting the case of patient admitted to hospital primary with diagnosis of non-high risk pulmonary embolism 6 weeks after delivery, who developed episode of sudden cardiac death followed by symptoms of cardiogenic shock. Peripartum cardiomyopathy was additionally diagnosed.

[Recurrent effusive pericarditis in the course of adult-onset Still's disease--case reports of two patients].

Pericardial effusion is caused by various pathological agents. In differential diagnosis infectious as well as non-infectious factors have to be considered. Adult-onset Still disease (AOSD)--relatively uncommon systemic inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology--is among possible diagnosis.

Central oxytocin modulation of acute stress-induced cardiovascular responses after myocardial infarction in the rat.

The present study was aimed at determining the role of centrally released oxytocin in regulation of blood pressure and heart rate (HR) under resting conditions and during an acute air-jet stress in rats with a myocardial infarction and controls infarcted. Four weeks after ligation of a coronary artery or sham surgery, conscious Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to one of the following intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusions: (1) 0.9% NaCl (control), (2) oxytocin, (3) oxytocin receptor antagonist {desGly-NH(2)-d(CH(2))(5)[D-Tyr(2)Thr(4)]OVT}(OXYANT).

Differential sensitisation to central cardiovascular effects of angiotensin II in rats with a myocardial infarct: relevance to stress and interaction with vasopressin.

The purpose of the present study was to elucidate if rats with myocardial infarction manifest altered responsiveness to central cardiovascular effects of low doses of angiotensin II (ANG II), and if ANG II and vasopressin (VP) cooperate in the central regulation of cardiovascular functions at rest and during stress. Conscious Sprague-Dawley rats with myocardial infarction induced by left coronary artery ligation, or sham-ligated (SL) controls were infused intracerebroventricularly with artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF), ANG II, ANG II + VP or ANG II + V1a receptor antagonist (V1ANT) 4 weeks after cardiac surgery. In the infarcted but not in the SL rats, the resting mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) was significantly elevated by infusions of ANG II and ANG II + VP, while infusion of ANG II + V1ANT was not effective.