Journal of the American Heart Association
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Natriuretic peptides promote natriuresis, diuresis, and vasodilation. Experimental deficiency of natriuretic peptides leads to hypertension (HTN) and cardiac hypertrophy, conditions more common among African Americans. Hospital-based studies suggest that African Americans may have reduced circulating natriuretic peptides, as compared to Caucasians, but definitive data from community-based cohorts are lacking. ⋯ African Americans have lower levels of plasma NTproBNP than Caucasians, which may be partially owing to genetic variation. Low natriuretic peptide levels in African Americans may contribute to the greater risk for HTN and its sequalae in this population.
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Animal study results point to oxidative stress as a key mechanism triggering postoperative atrial fibrillation (PoAF), yet the extent to which specific biomarkers of oxidative stress might relate to PoAF risk in humans remains speculative. ⋯ URL: Clinicaltrials.gov Unique identifier: NCT00970489.
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Although research has demonstrated that depressive symptoms predict stroke incidence, depressive symptoms are dynamic. It is unclear whether stroke risk persists if depressive symptoms remit. ⋯ In this cohort, persistently high depressive symptoms were associated with increased stroke risk. Risk remained elevated even if depressive symptoms remitted over a 2-year period, suggesting cumulative etiologic mechanisms linking depression and stroke.
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Cardiac resynchronization therapy using bi-ventricular pacing is proven effective in the management of heart failure (HF) with a wide QRS-complex. In the absence of QRS prolongation, however, device-based resynchronization is reported unsuitable. As an alternative, the present study tests a regenerative cell-based approach in the setting of narrow QRS-complex HF. ⋯ In narrow QRS HF, a regenerative approach demonstrated functional and structural benefit, introducing the prospect of device-autonomous resynchronization therapy for refractory disease.