Horizons In World Cardiovascular Research

Diabetic Cardiomyopathy, Insulin Resistance and Microangiopathy: Considerations on Treatment and Rehabilitation Part 1

Abstract There is increasing evidence that diabetes causes both anatomical and functional pathological changes in the myocardium. Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DC) is a myocardial disease caused by diabetes mellitus, which is unrelated to vascular pathology or systemic arterial hypertension and can occur in asymptomatic patients with diabetes alone. The coexistence of hypertension, diabetic cardiomyopathy, and myocardial […]

Diabetic Cardiomyopathy, Insulin Resistance and Microangiopathy: Considerations on Treatment and Rehabilitation Part 2

Insulin Resistance Cellular insulin resistance may presage frank diabetes by a decade or more and requires compensatory increases in plasma insulin levels to maintain glucose homeostasis in the face of impaired cellular insulin action, principally in skeletal muscle and liver [46]. Systemic hyperinsulinemia may accentuate cellular insulin action in insulin responsive tissues, such as the […]

Diabetic Cardiomyopathy, Insulin Resistance and Microangiopathy: Considerations on Treatment and Rehabilitation Part 3

Treatment In the treatment of the diabetic cardiomyopathy is of basic importance the control of the DM in accordance with the directives in force, the control of the physical weight, the healthy food and the physical regular activity, besides the rigorous control of associate diseases, principally arterial high blood pressure, coronary disease and cholesterol. Many […]

Tako-Tsubo Cardiomyopathy Part 1

Abstract Cardiomyopathy is a generic term for any heart disease in which the heart muscle is involved and functions abnormally. Recent developments and ongoing research in cardiology have led to descriptions of previously less recognized and/or incompletely characterized cardiomyopathies. These entities are being increasingly noticed in adult patient populations. Primary care providers, hospitalists, emergency medicine […]

Tako-Tsubo Cardiomyopathy Part 2

Epidemiology Stress cardiomyopathy is still rarely diagnosed. Over the last few years, however, the number of published reports of patients presenting with this syndrome has steadily increased. Serial case studies coming from Japan reveal a prevalence of 1.2-2.0% among patients with acute coronary syndrome. [26] In a recent US study, stress cardiomyopathy was diagnosed in […]

Cardiac Autonomic Function and Sports Activity Part 1

Abstract The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays an important role in the pathophysiology of arrhythmogenesis due to increased sympathetic activity and reduced vagal tone. Traditional time and frequency heart rate variability (HRV) parameters have gained importance in recent years as techniques employed to explore the ANS. Available data support conclusions that decreased HRV is a […]

Cardiac Autonomic Function and Sports Activity Part 2

Behaviour of HRV During Exercise During the performance of an exercise test HR and blood pressure increase constantly which is presumed to be due to higher sympathetic tone associated to withdrawal of the parasympathetic input. When using spectral HRV parameters during an acute physical effort, it would be expected to assist to an increase of […]

Diagnosis of Cardiomyopathies and Rare Diseases: From "Phenocopy" to "Genocopy" Era Part 1

Abstract Cardiomyopathies are included in an heterogeneous group of diseases, characterized by different signs and symptoms, natural history, clinical outcome, and different pattern of inheritance. The genetics of cardiomyopathies has born in 1989 with a single gene theory (one gene=one disese), but the complexity and wide heterogeneity of the disease has moved toward a different […]

Diagnosis of Cardiomyopathies and Rare Diseases: From "Phenocopy" to "Genocopy" Era Part 2

One Disease or Many Diseases? From " Phenocopy" to " Genocopy" Genomic medicine has entered clinical practice, and the recognition of the diagnostic utility of genetic testing for cardiomyopathies (particularly, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) is growing. With expanding knowledge of the genetic background of these diseases, primary cardiomyopathies have recently been subclassified into genetic, mixed, and acquired […]

Inequalities in the Training and Implementation of Cardiac Rehabilitation in the United Kingdom

Abstract Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United Kingdom (UK) and although the UK mortality rate has steadily declined since the early 1970′s, the rate of premature death has fallen less than other European countries. Following a cardiac event, it is common for patients to experience debilitating physiological and […]

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