Modeling complex organs, such as the human heart, requires a detailed understanding of the geometric and mechanical properties of that organ. Similarly, the model is only as accurate as the precision of the underlying properties allow. Hence, it is of great importance that accurate measurements of the geometric configuration are available. This paper describes the different steps that are neces...

Heart disease and atherosclerosis are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The lack of suitable autologous grafts has produced a need for artificial grafts; however, current artificial grafts carry significant limitations, including thrombosis, infection, limited durability and the inability to grow. Tissue engineering of blood vessels, cardiovascular structures and whole or...

Invertebrate cardiovascular systems have historically been viewed as sluggish, poorly regulated, and “open”, where blood bathes the tissues directly as it moves through a system of ill-defined sinuses and/or lacunae without an endothelial boundary. When examining cardiovascular/circulatory morphology and physiology in a broader evolutionary context, one can question the very nature of the defin...

Coronary heart diseases are the major cause of deaths in the United States as well as in most other countries. Approximately 16.7 million people die from heart diseases every year according to estimates of the World Health Organization (WHO). Recent studies show that common methods of treatment, such as bypass surgery, do not necessarily help to avoid coronary heart disease. Consequently, there...

Aging-related cardiovascular diseases are a rapidly increasing problem worldwide. Cardiac aging demonstrates progressive decline of diastolic dysfunction of ventricle and increase in ventricular and arterial stiffness accompanied by increased fibrosis stimulated by angiotensin II and proinflammatory cytokines. Reactive oxygen species and multiple signaling pathways on cellular senescence play m...

There is an urgent clinical need to develop new therapeutic approaches to treat heart failure, but the biology of cardiovascular regeneration is complex. Model systems are required to advance our understanding of biological mechanisms of cardiac regeneration as well as to test therapeutic approaches to regenerate tissue and restore cardiac function following injury. An ideal model system should...