The plasma proteome is linked with left ventricular and left atrial function parameters in patients with chronic heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Examining the systemic biological processes in the heterogeneous syndrome of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), as reflected by circulating proteins, in relation to echocardiographic characteristics, may provide insights into HF pathophysiology. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the link of 4210 repeatedly measured circulating proteins with repeatedly measured echocardiographic parameters, as well as with elevated left atrial pressure (LAP), in HFrEF patients, to provide insights into underlying mechanisms. METHODS: In 173 HFrEF patients, we performed six-monthly echocardiography and trimonthly blood sampling during a median follow-up of 2.7(IQR:2.5-2.8) years. We investigated circulating proteins in relation to echocardiographic parameters of left ventricular (left ventricular ejection fraction[LVEF], global longitudinal strain[GLS]), and left atrial function (left atrial reservoir strain[LASr]) and elevated LAP(E/e' ratio >15), and used gene enrichment analyses to identify underlying pathophysiological processes. RESULTS: We found 723, 249, 792 and 427 repeatedly measured proteins, with significant associations with LVEF, GLS, LASr and E/e' ratio, respectively. Proteins associated with LASr reflected pathophysiological mechanisms mostly related to the extracellular matrix (ECM). Proteins associated with GLS reflected cardiovascular biological processes and diseases, whereas those associated with LVEF reflected processes involved in the sympathetic nervous system. Moreover, 49 proteins were associated with elevated LAP; after correction for LVEF, three proteins remained: Cystatin-D, Fibulin-5 and HSP40. CONCLUSION: Circulating proteins show varying associations with different echocardiographic parameters in HFrEF patients. These findings suggest that pathways involved in atrial and ventricular dysfunction, as reflected by the plasma proteome, are distinct.

Peripheral arterial tonometry cannot detect patients at low risk of coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Endothelial dysfunction precedes coronary artery disease (CAD) and can be measured by peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT). We examined the applicability of PAT to detect a low risk of CAD in a chest pain clinic. METHODS: In 93 patients, PAT was performed resulting in reactive hyperaemia (RHI) and augmentation (AIx) indices. Patients were risk classified according to HeartScore, Diamond and Forrester pretest probability (DF), exercise testing (X-ECG), and computed tomography calcium scoring (CCS) and angiography (CTA). Correlations, risk group differences and prediction of revascularisation within 1 year were calculated. RESULTS: RHI correlated with HeartScore (r = - 0.21, p = 0.05), AIx with DF (r = 0.26, p = 0.01). However, both were not significantly different between normal and ischaemic X-ECG groups. In addition RHI and AIx were similar between low risk as compared with intermediate-to-high risk, based on risk algorithms (RHI: 1.98 (0.67) vs 1.94 (0.78); AIx: 0.0 (21) vs 5.0 (25); p = NS), or CCS and CTA (RHI: 1.99 (0.58) vs 1.89 (0.82); AIx: - 2.0 (24) vs 4.0 (25); p = NS). Finally, RHI and AIx failed to predict revascularisation (RHI: OR 1.42, CI 0.65-3.1; AIx: OR 1.02, CI 0.98-1.05). CONCLUSIONS: PAT cannot detect a low risk of CAD, possibly because RHI and AIx versus X-ECG, CCS and CTA represent independent processes.

The impact of Fourier-Domain optical coherence tomography catheter induced motion artefacts on quantitative measurements of a PLLA-based bioresorbable scaffold.

Intracoronary Fourier-Domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) enables imaging of the coronary artery within 2-4 seconds, a so far unparalleled speed. Despite such fast data acquisition, cardiac and respiratory motion can cause artefacts due to longitudinal displacement of the catheter within the artery. We studied the influence of longitudinal FD-OCT catheter displacement on serial global lumen and scaffold area measurements in coronary arteries of swine that received PLLA-based bioresorbable scaffolds. In 10 swine, 20 scaffolds (18 × 3.0 mm) were randomly implanted in two epicardial coronary arteries. Serial FD-OCT imaging was performed immediately after implantation (T1) and at 3 (T2) and 6 months (T3) follow-up. Two methods for the selection of OCT cross-sections were compared. Method A did not take into account longitudinal displacement of the FD-OCT catheter. Method B accounted for longitudinal displacement of the FD-OCT catheter. Fifty-one OCT pullbacks of 17 scaffolds were serially analyzed. The measured scaffold length differed between time points, up to one fourth of the total scaffold length, indicating the presence of longitudinal catheter displacement. Between method A and B, low error was demonstrated for mean area measurements. Correlations between measurements were high: R2 ranged from 0.91 to 0.99 for all mean area measurements at all time points. Considerable longitudinal displacement of the FD-OCT catheter was observed, diminishing the number of truly anatomically matching cross-sections in serial investigations. Global OCT dimensions such as mean lumen and scaffold area were not significantly affected by this displacement. Accurate co-registration of cross-sections, however, is mandatory when specific regions, e.g. jailed side branch ostia, are analyzed.

Endothelial dysfunction after drug eluting stent implantation.

Endothelial dysfunction has been implicated in the pathological process of coronary artery disease as well as an adverse event after coronary drug eluting stent (DES) implantation. In this review, an overview will be given of the evidence to date regarding the effects of coronary DES on endothelial function obtained from both clinical and experimental studies. Stenting in general and DES seem to impair several aspects of endothelial function: provision of a permeable barrier function; modulation of adhesion, thrombosis and inflammation; and regulation of vascular tone. However, new insights show that the effects of DES can extend beyond the stent and peri-stent area: the vascular bed distal to the stent, starting with the distal conduit vessels up to the distal microvasculature, might be at risk. In addition, insight into the mechanism of DES induced endothelial dysfunction has been gained. To finalize this review, clinical complications and solutions of DES associated endothelial dysfunction will be discussed.

Neointimal hyperplasia and endothelial function after percutaneous coronary intervention.

Percutaneous coronary revascularisation has become much safer and efficacious since its introduction more than 25 years ago. Currently, the need for surgical backup is small and the rate of late complications is lower than 10%. Further improvements are being studied, especially directed towards more biocompatible stents, using pharmacological principles with wider therapeutic windows and enhancing the vascular healing response/reendothelialisation. This article reviews several activities within the ICIN theme group `Vessel Wall'.