Abstract Background: Obesity has been identified as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Objective: To evaluate the association of central obesity with the incidence of cardiovascular diseases and risk factors. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, carried out with patients treated at a metabolic syndrome outpatient clinic, with body mass index ≥ 24.9 kg/m2. Nutritional status, laboratory tests (lipid and glycemic profile) and blood pressure status were analyzed. Participants were stratified into groups regarding the presence or absence of […]

Abstract Chronic Chagas disease cardiomyopathy (CCC) is a result of low-intensity, but incessant, focal fibrosing myocarditis, caused by persistent T. cruzi infection associated with inflammation, mediated by adverse immune mechanisms. About 30 percent of infected individuals have developed throughout life the chronic cardiac form of Chagas’ disease with protean clinical manifestations, such as sudden death, signs and symptoms of heart failure, cardioembolic events, arrhythmia and angioid symptoms. Sudden death and the progression of heart failure (HF) are the most common […]

Introduction The endothelium is a monolayer of cells, called endothelial cells, that lines the interior of blood vessels, including arteries, veins and cardiac chambers, acting as a protective layer between circulating blood and other tissues. The endothelium is crucial for the control of vascular homeostasis, and is involved in the regulation of intracellular signaling, vascular tonus and permeability, coagulation cascade and angiogenesis, among others. One of the main activities of the endothelium is the release of autocrine and paracrine substances […]

Abstract Heart failure is one of the most important and challenging public health problems of the 21st century and is associated with hard outcomes, such as death and hospitalization. New treatments for heart failure, despite the decrease in mortality, have not contributed to the decrease in hospitalization rates. Patients admitted with heart failure have a high event rate (> 50%) with a mortality rate between 10 and 15% and a rehospitalization rate within 6 months after discharge of 30 to […]

Abstract Vitamin D is considered a steroid hormone with a broad spectrum of action in the human body. Its action arises from the binding of its active metabolite (1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D) to its receptor (VDR), which is present throughout the body, including vascular smooth muscle cells and cardiomyocytes. Initially, vitamin D deficiency was related only to changes in the musculoskeletal system, but in recent years, researchers have demonstrated its relationship with several pathologies related to other systems, such as cardiovascular diseases. […]

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is less frequent in young individuals (? 45 years) than in older ones (> 45 years). Young AMI patients differ from older AMI patients in different ways. This article aims to assess the differences between young and older AMI patients. A search was made in the database of Cochrane Library, PubMed, BioMed Central and Embase, sence their establishment to December 2016, using the key words: risk factors, clinical characteristics, acute myocardial infarction and young. Meta-analysis was […]

Abstract Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the main cause of mortality and it represents a significant percentage of hospitalizations. In the scenario of minimization of costs of the health system, methods that identify subclinical CVD would be important. Some guidelines include the measures of aortic stiffness and intima-media thickness of the carotid artery as methods to identify subclinical CVD in hypertensive patients. The pulse wave velocity (PWV) is the gold standard for the evaluation of arterial stiffness. In this review, we […]

Abstract Background: Heart failure is a highly prevalent disease, responsible for many admissions and high mortality rates in our country. The treatment influences patient’s mortality and quality of life. Objective: To identify and compare the clinical and epidemiological survivor’s and non-survivor’s profiles and treatment of patients hospitalized with heart failure with the international literature. Methods: Cross-sectional, retrospective study of 816 survivors and non-survivors with heart failure. All patients had their clinical and epidemiological, laboratory and echocardiographic data and treatment recorded. […]

Abstract Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are responsible for many deaths in Brazil and in the world, especially in the economically active population. Risk factors for these diseases include comorbidities such as high blood pressure (HBP), diabetes mellitus (DM) and dyslipidemia. Innovation of portable technology combined with the high prevalence of CVDs motivated the development of the ASCVD Risk Estimator by the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology. Objectives: Estimate the cardiovascular risk of patients hospitalized in the internal medicine wards […]

Abstract Chronic Chagas disease cardiomyopathy (CCC) is a result of low-intensity, but incessant, focal fibrosing myocarditis, caused by persistent T. cruzi infection associated with inflammation, mediated by adverse immune mechanisms. About 30 percent of infected individuals have developed throughout life the chronic cardiac form of Chagas’ disease with protean clinical manifestations, such as sudden death, signs and symptoms of heart failure, cardioembolic events, arrhythmia and angioid symptoms. Sudden death and the progression of heart failure (HF) are the most common […]

Abstract Background The new American Heart Association guidelines for hypertension (HT) proposed a reduction of the diagnostic cut-off point, leading to a substantial increase in the prevalence of HT. Objectives To assess the prevalence of HT determined by the traditional criteria, the AHA criteria, and home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) in a population of young adults attending a primary healthcare unit, and its association with cardiovascular risk. Methods A cross-sectional population study on adults aged from 20 to 50 years […]

A new kid on the Block in POCUS: “LISA” Transesophageal echocardiography (TTE) and computed tomography angiography (CTA) are methods of choice for definitive diagnosis and prognostic stratification of acute aortic syndromes (AAS). Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has important applications in the initial workup of these patients in the emergency room (ER), ruling out other potential causes of chest pain and allowing a faster diagnosis, although conventional transthoracic echocardiographic acoustic windows do not allow for imaging of some segments of the thoracic […]

Abstract Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mainly affects the respiratory system, while the most common extrapulmonary complication of COVID-19 is cardiovascular involvement. Objective: To identify the frequency of electrocardiographic changes and cardiac arrhythmias in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, including patients aged >18 years with diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in a high-complexity hospital in Santiago de Cali, Colombia, from March to September 2020. A descriptive analysis with an analytical […]

Abstract Background Left ventricular apical thrombus (AT) is generally associated with ischemic and non-ischemic cardiomyopathies. The thrombo-inflammatory process plays an important role in the pathophysiology of acute coronary syndromes and post-myocardial thromboembolic complications. Mean platelet volume (MPV) has been linked to poor prognosis following myocardial infarction. Recently, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) has emerged as a new marker of worse outcomes linking inflammation and thrombosis. Objective We aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of the marker – mean platelet volume to lymphocyte […]

Abstract Background: There have been scattered reports indicating the possibility that applied magnetic fields can lower human blood viscosity, which has been considered as encouraging for decreasing blood pressure as a result of greater fluidity. Additional motivation comes from partial studies in animals showing some response of vascular variables to magnetic fields. Recently developed FeNbB magnets enable topical application to appropriate sites of much stronger permanent magnetic fields than previously available. Objectives: To establish whether powerful magnetic fields permanently applied […]

Abstract Background: Tobacco use and hypertension are leading preventable causes of death globally. Tobacco is presented as smoked or smokeless tobacco (ST). ST use has been related to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and cancer. In Venezuela, chimó is the most common ST preparation, and its relationship with hypertension is unknown. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between chimó use and hypertension in a population with a high prevalence of ST use in Venezuela. Methods: From 2013-2014, a total of […]

Abstract Heart failure is one of the most important and challenging public health problems of the 21st century and is associated with hard outcomes, such as death and hospitalization. New treatments for heart failure, despite the decrease in mortality, have not contributed to the decrease in hospitalization rates. Patients admitted with heart failure have a high event rate (> 50%) with a mortality rate between 10 and 15% and a rehospitalization rate within 6 months after discharge of 30 to […]

Abstract The development of cardiovascular diseases with atherosclerotic origin is associated with a severe inflammatory process. Neutrophils and lymphocytes are cells sensitive to this type of disorder and their ratio, known as the NLR (neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio), has shown to be useful in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to assess the role of NLR in cardiovascular disease risk assessment. We carried out a literature review in the PubMed databases searching for articles published between 2001 to 2017 and […]