BACKGROUND In adult Fontan patients, ventricular or arterial dysfunction may impact homeostasis of the Fontan circulation and predispose to heart failure. We sought to characterize ventricular-arterial (VA) properties in adult Fontan patients. METHODS AND RESULTS Adult Fontan patients (n=170), including those with right (SRV, n=57) and left (SLV, n=113) dominant ventricular morphology, were c...

In recent studies, aminoguanidine (AG), an inhibitor of advanced glycation endproducts, has been identified as a prominent agent that can prevent the age-related aortic stiffening and cardiac hypertrophy. The aim of this study was to determine whether AG had effects on the left ventricular (LV)-arterial coupling in aged Fisher 344 rats in terms of the ventricular and arterial chamber properties...

Background: We evaluated the bio-humoral and non-invasive haemodynamic correlates of renal congestion by Doppler venous flow (RVF) across heart failure (HF) spectrum, from asymptomatic subjects with cardiovascular risk factors (Stage A) structural disease B) to patients clinically overt HF C). Methods: Ultrasound evaluation, including echocardiography, lung ultrasound RVF, along blood urine sam...

Calcium sparks represent local, rapid, and transient calcium release events from a cluster of ryanodine receptors (RyRs) in the sarcoplasmic reticulum. In arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs), calcium sparks activate calcium-dependent potassium channels causing decrease in the global intracellular [Ca2+] and oppose vasoconstriction. This is in contrast to cardiac and skeletal muscle, where spati...

In this paper, a new measurement system for the noninvasive monitoring of the continuous blood pressure waveform in the radial artery is presented. The proposed system comprises a model-based fuzzy logic controller, an arterial tonometer and a micro syringe device. The flexible diaphragm tonometer registers the continuous blood pressure waveform. To obtain accurate measurement without distortio...

The assessment of arterial stiffness, a common feature of ageing, exacerbated by many common disorders such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, or renal diseases, has become an attractive tool for identifying structural and functional abnormalities of the arteries in the preclinical stages of the atherosclerotic disease. Arterial stiffness has been recognized as an important pathophysiological ...

Background Increased ventricular and arterial stiffness is associated with diastolic dysfunction (DDFx) in patients with heart failure and preserved systolic function. Limited information is available regarding the impact of aortic biomechanics and the ventricular-vascular coupling (VVC) on DDFx in those patients with advanced ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM). In addition, it is not known if cardi...

The aging population is increasing dramatically. Aging-associated stress simultaneously drives proinflammatory remodeling, involving angiotensin II and other factors, in both the heart and large arteries. The structural remodeling and functional changes that occur with aging include cardiac and vascular wall stiffening, systolic hypertension and suboptimal ventricular-arterial coupling, feature...