1,721,023 research outputs found

    Gender differences in hemodynamic regulation and cardiovascular adaptations to dynamic exercise

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    Exercise is a major challenge for cardiovascular apparatus since it recruits chronotropic, inotropic, pre-load, and afterload reserves. Regular physical training induces several physiological adaptations leading to an increase in both cardiac volume and mass. It appears that several gender-related physiological and morphological differences exist in the cardiovascular adjustments and adaptations to dynamic exercise in humans. In this respect, gender may be important in determining these adjustments and adaptations to dynamic exercise due to genetic, endocrine, and body composition differences between sexes. Females seem to have a reduced vasoconstriction and a lower vascular resistance in comparison to males, especially after exercise. Significant differences exist also in the cardiovascular adaptations to physical training, with trained women showing smaller cardiac volume and wall thickness compared with male athletes. In this review, we summarize these differences

    ARE SUSCEPTIBILITY to INFECTIVE ENDOCARDITIS and EFFECTIVENESS of ANTIBIOTIC PROPHYLAXIS LINKED to FLUCTUATIONS of the IMMUNE SYSTEM? A NOVEL HYPOTHESIS

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    Introduction: An amendment incorporated into the 2007 AHA and 2009 ESC guidelines on infective endocarditis led to a substantial restriction in indications for the administration of antibiotic prophylaxis. This may have resulted in a subsequent steady increase in the number of cases of infective endocarditis worldwide. Methods: It has been hypothesised that susceptibility to infective endocarditis, together with effectiveness of antibiotic prophylaxis, may be linked to fluctuations of the immune system. Throughout a person’s lifetime, individual susceptibility to infective endocarditis may vary in an identical situation of risk. As a consequence, a personalised targeted approach should be adopted when prescribing antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent onset of endocarditis, taking into account a series of factors including age, comorbidities, cortisol levels, and ethnicity. Children affected by bicuspid aortic valve and injection drug users are amongst the newly-emerging higher risk populations. Conclusion: This up-to-dated narrative review summarizes all the available scientific evidence concerning the variable influence of the immune system on susceptibility to infective endocarditis

    Patent ductus arteriosus in the preterm infant: new insights into pathogenesis and clinical management.

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    Postnatal closure of the ductus arteriosus is crucial in the circulatory adaptation of the newborn to extrauterine life. In recent years, many studies have been performed to improve our understanding of both the physiology of the ductus arteriosus in the fetus and newborn, and the mechanisms underlying persistent ductal patency in the preterm infant. The pharmacological treatment of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) remains a controversial issue. This article reviews the recent literature on the pathogenesis and clinical management of PDA in the preterm infant

    Multimodality imaging diagnosis of multiple ventricular thrombosis and massive stroke after gemcitabine and cisplatin chemotherapy for Urothelial Cancer

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    Cancer and chemotherapy are known to be risk factors for developing coagulative disorders, venous thrombosis, adverse cardiovascular events, and cardiotoxicity. Combined modality gemcitabine-cisplatin chemotherapy is often administered to treat a few solid tumors. We report the unusual case of a man suffering from urothelial cancer and admitted for chemotherapy, who developed an ischemic stroke after the last chemotherapeutical cycle. During his hospital stay, at echocardiographic examination, left ventricular transient hypokinesia and two intraventricular thrombi were detected, without evidence of acute coronary syndrome. Multimodality imaging approach (i.e., transthoracic echo, transoesophageal echo, computed tomography, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging) played a pivotal role for a clear diagnosis and prompt decision-making. This is the first report of an intraventricular-related arterial thromboembolic event in a patient treated with the combination gemcitabine-cisplatin
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