Summary

Hypertension is a major public health concern worldwide because of its rising prevalence and concomitant risks of cardiovascular diseases. Coping strategies may encompass a full spectrum of clinical, epidemiological, experimental, and technological factors to inspire front-line practices and shape critical thinking. This entry collection aims to assemble entries of wealthy topics related to clinical, therapeutic, and population sciences of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases that could inform research scientists and healthcare professionals.

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Entries
Topic Review
Toll-Like Receptors in Essential Hypertension
Essential hypertension (EH) is a highly heterogenous disease with a complex etiology. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have been implied as novel effectors in this inflammatory environment since they can significantly stimulate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, the migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), facilitating a low-intensity inflammatory background that is evident from the very early stages of hypertension. Furthermore, the net result of their activation is oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, vascular remodeling, and finally, vascular target organ damage, which forms the pathogenetic basis of EH. Importantly, evidence of augmented TLR expression and activation in hypertension has been documented not only in immune but also in several non-immune cells located in the central nervous system, the kidneys, and the vasculature which form the pathogenetic core systems operating in hypertensive disease.
  • 515
  • 18 May 2021
Topic Review
Familial Hypercholesterolaemia
Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is a common inherited cause of premature cardiovascular disease, but the majority of patients remain undiagnosed. 
  • 479
  • 15 May 2021
Topic Review
COVID-19 and Chagas Disease Patients
Chagas disease is considered a neglected tropical disease. The acute phase of Chagas disease is characterized by several symptoms: fever, fatigue, body aches, headache and cardiopathy’s. Chronic phase could be asymptomatic or symptomatic with cardiac compromise. Since the emergence of the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the cardiovascular involvement has been identified as a complication commonly reported in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Due to the lack of knowledge of the cardiac affectations that this virus could cause in patients with Chagas disease.
  • 548
  • 11 May 2021
Topic Review
Stereotactic Arrhythmia Radioablation
Ventricular tachycardia is a type of arrhythmia (heart rhythm disorder) characterized by fast heart rate (exceeding 100 beats per minute), originating from abnormal electrical impulse localized in heart ventricles. The electrophysiology-guided noninvasive cardiac radioablation, also known as STAR (stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation), is an emerging treatment method of non-invasive treatment for ventricular tachycardia persistent after conventional methods of ablation.
  • 531
  • 10 May 2021
Topic Review
Heart Disease and Metabolic Steatosis
The liver-heart axis is a growing field of interest owing to rising evidence of complex bidirectional interplay between the two organs. Recent data suggest non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has a significant, independent association with a wide spectrum of structural and functional cardiac diseases, and seems to worsen cardiovascular disease (CVD) prognosis.
  • 469
  • 28 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Empowered Echocardiography Interpretation
Echocardiography (Echo), a widely available, noninvasive, and portable bedside imaging tool, is the most frequently used imaging modality in assessing cardiac anatomy and function in clinical practice. Artificial-intelligence-empowered echo (AI-Echo) can potentially reduce inter-interpreter variability and indeterminate assessment and improve the detection of unique conditions as well as the management of various cardiac disorders.
  • 579
  • 28 Apr 2021
Topic Review
JDP2 in Cardiac Disease
Heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF) are two major life-threatening diseases worldwide. Causes and mechanisms are incompletely understood, yet current therapies are unable to stop disease progression. In our study, we focus on the contribution of the transcriptional modulator, Jun dimerization protein 2 (JDP2), and on HF and AF development. In recent years, JDP2 has been identified as a potential prognostic marker for HF development after myocardial infarction. This close correlation to the disease development suggests that JDP2 may be involved in initiation and progression of HF as well as in cardiac dysfunction.
  • 587
  • 28 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Cardio- and Neurometabolic Adipobiology
Abstract: Studies over the past 30 years have revealed that adipose tissue is the major endocrine and paracrine organ of the human body. Arguably, adiopobiology has taken its reasonable place in studying obesity and related cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs), including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which is viewed herein as a neurometabolic disorder. The pathogenesis and therapy of these diseases are multiplex at basic, clinical and translational levels. Our present goal is to describe new developments in cardiometabolic and neurometabolic adipobiology. Accordingly, we focus on adipose- and/or skeletal muscle-derived signaling proteins (adipsin, adiponectin, nerve growth factor, brain-derived neuroptrophic factor, neurotrophin-3, irisin, sirtuins, Klotho, neprilysin, follistatin-like protein-1, meteorin-like (metrnl), as well as growth differentiation factor 11) as examples of metabotrophic factors (MTFs) implicated in the pathogenesis and therapy of obesity and related CMDs. We argue that these pathologies are MTF-deficient diseases. In 1993 the “vascular hypothesis of AD” was published and in the present review we propose the “vasculometabolic hypothesis of AD.” We discuss how MTFs could bridge CMDs and neurodegenerative diseases, such as AD. Greater insights on how to manage the MTF network would provide benefits to the quality of human life.
  • 518
  • 25 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Subtype-Specific Cardiomyocytes
Cardiogenesis produces multiple cardiac muscle cell subtypes, including the contractile cardiomyocytes constituting the four heart chambers and the non-contractile cardiomyocytes forming the cardiac conduction system. The various cardiac cellular subtypes (e.g. atrial, ventricular, nodal) are highly specified, with each subtype expressing a unique set of structural proteins, ion channels and transcription factors. Stringent spatiotemporal molecular, transcriptomic, and electrophysiological regulation gives rise to the differentiation and maturation of the multiple cardiomyocyte subtypes. The precise generation of subtype-specific cardiomyocytes is necessary for translational applications of stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes for regenerative medicine.  
  • 953
  • 21 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation
Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an increasingly widespread percutaneous intervention of aortic valve replacement (AVR). The target population for TAVI is mainly composed of elderly, frail patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS), multiple comorbidities, and high perioperative mortality risk for surgical AVR (sAVR). These vulnerable patients could benefit from cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs after percutaneous intervention. To date, no major guidelines currently recommend CR after TAVI. However, emerging scientific evidence shows that CR in patients undergoing TAVI is safe, and improves exercise tolerance and quality of life. Moreover, preliminary data prove that a CR program after TAVI has the potential to reduce mortality during follow-up, even if randomized clinical trials are needed for confirmation. 
  • 511
  • 14 Apr 2021
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