Evidence of a redox-dependent control of vascular function after muscle-damaging exercise in young adults: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Objective: High-intensity resistance exercise may temporarily induce vascular dysfunction mediated by pro-oxidant and pro-inflammatory pathways. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the possible protective effect of the antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) on vascular function after a bout of high-intensity resistance exercise.

Methods: In this randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled study, ten healthy male volunteers (mean age 24.

Beyond lipid levels: unraveling the hypertensive factor in familial hypercholesterolemia. The HELLAS-FH registry.

Arterial hypertension (AH) and familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) are major risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The extent to which the coexistence of AH and FH amplifies the ASCVD risk is not well known. We aimed to explore the effect of AH on the prevalence of ASCVD in patients with FH.

Imidazole propionate is a driver and therapeutic target in atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis is the main underlying cause of cardiovascular diseases. Its prevention is based on the detection and treatment of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. However, individuals at risk for early vascular disease often remain unidentified.

Machine learning in cardiovascular risk assessment: Towards a precision medicine approach.

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of global morbidity and mortality. Validated risk scores are the basis of guideline-recommended care, but most scores lack the capacity to integrate complex and multidimensional data. Limitations inherent to traditional risk prediction models and the growing burden of residual cardiovascular risk highlight the need for refined strategies that go beyond conventional paradigms.

Circulating amyloid beta 1-40 peptide as an associate of renal function decline.

Background: Recent evidence suggests that Alzheimer's amyloid-beta (1-40) (Αβ1-40), an emerging biomarker of cardiovascular disease, may be involved in the heart-brain-renal axis. We aimed to comprehensively explore the association between circulating Aβ1-40 levels and renal function and its clinical relevance.

Methods: Consecutively recruited subjects in the Athens Angiometabolic Registry with measured Aβ1-40 plasma levels (n = 811) were analysed.

Roadmap for alleviating the manifestations of ageing in the cardiovascular system.

Ageing of the cardiovascular system is associated with frailty and various life-threatening diseases. As global populations grow older, age-related conditions increasingly determine healthspan and lifespan. The circulatory system not only supplies nutrients and oxygen to all tissues of the human body and removes by-products but also builds the largest interorgan communication network, thereby serving as a gatekeeper for healthy ageing.

Amyloid-beta metabolism in age-related neurocardiovascular diseases.

Epidemiological evidence suggests the presence of common risk factors for the development and prognosis of both cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases, including stroke, Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, heart, and peripheral vascular diseases. Accumulation of harmful blood signals may induce organotypic endothelial dysfunction affecting blood-brain barrier function and vascular health in age-related diseases. Genetic-, age-, lifestyle- or cardiovascular therapy-associated imbalance of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide metabolism in the brain and periphery may be the missing link between age-related neurocardiovascular diseases.

The effect of lipid-lowering treatment on indices of MASLD in familial hypercholesterolemia patients.

Background & Aims: The effect of lipid-lowering treatment (LLT) on metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is unclear. This is relevant for patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) who are on lifelong LLT. We aimed to evaluate the effect of LLT on MASLD indices in this population.

Incremental Value of Blood-Based Markers of Liver Fibrosis in Cardiovascular Risk Stratification.

Context: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with advanced liver fibrosis is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Objective: This work aimed to examine if markers of vascular injury mediate the link between liver fibrosis noninvasive tests (LFNITs) and CVD events, and to compare the incremental predictive value of LFNITs over established CVD risk scores.

Methods: Consecutively recruited individuals (n = 1692) with or without clinically overt coronary artery disease (CAD) from the Athens Cardiometabolic Cohort, were analyzed.

Amyloid beta is associated with carotid wall echolucency and atherosclerotic plaque composition.

Circulating amyloid-beta 1-40 (Αb40) has pro-atherogenic properties and could serve as a biomarker in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). However, the association of Ab40 levels with morphological characteristics reflecting atherosclerotic plaque echolucency and composition is not available. Carotid atherosclerosis was assessed in consecutively recruited individuals without ASCVD (n = 342) by ultrasonography.

Mechanisms of Vascular Inflammation and Potential Therapeutic Targets: A Position Paper From the ESH Working Group on Small Arteries.

Inflammatory responses in small vessels play an important role in the development of cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, stroke, and small vessel disease. This involves various complex molecular processes including oxidative stress, inflammasome activation, immune-mediated responses, and protein misfolding, which together contribute to microvascular damage. In addition, epigenetic factors, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and microRNAs influence vascular inflammation and injury.

Association of Lipoprotein(a) with arterial stiffness: A Mendelian randomization study.

Background: In this study we used Mendelian randomization (MR) to investigate the potential causal association of lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] levels with pulse wave velocity (PWV).

Methods: Genetic variants associated with Lp(a) were retrieved from the UK Biobank GWAS (N = 290,497). A non- overlapping GWAS based on a European cohort (N = 7,000) was used to obtain genetic associations with PWV (outcome) and utilized two different measures for the same trait, brachial-ankle (baPWV) and carotid-femoral (cfPWV) PWV.

Left ventricular myocardial work improves in response to treatment and is associated with survival among patients with light chain cardiac amyloidosis.

Aims: Complete haematologic response to treatment for light chain cardiac amyloidosis (AL-CA) may lead to improvement of myocardial function and better outcomes. We sought to evaluate the effect of response to treatment for AL-CA on echocardiographic indices of myocardial deformation and work and their prognostic significance.

Methods And Results: Sixty-one patients treated for AL were enrolled and underwent echocardiographic assessment at baseline and at 1 year.

Sexual function scores are associated with arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women.

Background: Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) has been suggested to be correlated with the burden of cardiovascular risk factors.

Aim: We aimed to evaluate the possible association between functional indices of vascular function and FSD scores in apparently healthy postmenopausal women.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 116 postmenopausal women who underwent assessment of endothelial function with measurement of flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the branchial artery and arterial stiffness estimation with measurement of the carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV).

Transthyretin amyloidosis cardiomyopathy in Greece: Clinical insights from the National Referral Center.

Background: Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with transthyretin amyloidosis cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) vary by region, necessitating the acquisition of country-specific evidence for proper management.

Methods: This is an observational study including sequential patients presenting in the Amyloidosis Reference Center of Greece, from 01/2014 to 12/2022. ATTR-CM was diagnosed by positive scintigraphy and exclusion of light-chain amyloidosis or positive biopsy typing.

Modification of the GRACE Risk Score for Risk Prediction in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes.

Importance: The Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk score, a guideline-recommended risk stratification tool for patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), does not consider the extent of myocardial injury.

Objective: To assess the incremental predictive value of a modified GRACE score incorporating high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) T at presentation, a surrogate of the extent of myocardial injury.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospectively designed longitudinal cohort study examined 3 independent cohorts of 9803 patients with ACS enrolled from September 2009 to December 2017; 2 ACS derivation cohorts (Heidelberg ACS cohort and Newcastle STEMI cohort) and an ACS validation cohort (SPUM-ACS study).

Effector T cell chemokine IP-10 predicts cardiac recovery and clinical outcomes post-myocardial infarction.

Background And Aims: Preclinical data suggest that activation of the adaptive immune system is critical for myocardial repair processes in acute myocardial infarction. The aim of the present study was to determine the clinical value of baseline effector T cell chemokine IP-10 blood levels in the acute phase of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) for the prediction of the left ventricular function changes and cardiovascular outcomes after STEMI.

Methods: Serum IP-10 levels were retrospectively quantified in two independent cohorts of STEMI patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Cardiorenal multimorbidity in hospitalized cardiology patients: The Hellenic Cardiorenal Morbidity Snapshot (HECMOS) study.

Purpose: Cardiovascular disease is commonly accompanied by renal dysfunction. Multimorbidity in hospitalized patients impacts unfavorably on prognosis and hospital stay. We aimed to illustrate the contemporary burden of cardiorenal morbidity across inpatient cardiology care in Greece.