Editorial Commentary: Nonvalvular Cardiovascular Device–Related Infections

Nonvalvular cardiovascular device-related infections.

More than a century ago, Osler took numerous syndrome descriptions of cardiac valvular infection that were incomplete and confusing and categorized them into the cardiovascular infections known as infective endocarditis. Because he was both a clinician and a pathologist, he was able to provide a meaningful outline of this complex disease. Technical advances have allowed us to better subcategori...

editorial commentary: prophylaxis for surgical site infections

Editorial Commentary: Prophylaxis for Surgical Site Infections

Despite many attempts to prevent surgical site infections (SSIs), these complications are not uncommon in most hospitals while the precise determination of the burden of these infections in our country has not been performed but crude data in hospitals shows a significant cost of managements. With an estimated 27 million surgical procedures annually, and near 2– 5% rate of SSIs, approximately 3...

Editorial Commentary Role of Body Size on Cardiovascular Function

Physiological comparisons of cardiovascular (CV) structure/function among individuals or groups of individuals are often difficult because of differences in body dimensions. To have meaningful clinical and scientific comparisons, differences in body size must be accounted for. Although there is a plethora of data demonstrating that body size is an important determinant of CV structure/function,...

Editorial Commentary

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease.1,2 However, unlike traditional Framingham risk factors, SES does not directly impact the cardiovascular system but exerts its cardiovascular effects via a complex interaction of biobehavioral factors, such as exercise and diet (Figure). Because these mediating behavioral factors are potentially modifiable, elucidating...