OBJECTIVE To evaluate aortic function and its relation to left ventricular diastolic function in patients with hypertension, diabetes, or both, without coronary artery disease. METHODS Study groups were composed of 27 healthy participants and 25 patients with hypertension, 24 with diabetes, and 18 with hypertension and diabetes. Coronary artery disease was excluded in all of the study partici...

BACKGROUND Patients with chronic kidney disease have an increased cardiovascular risk that is not fully explained by traditional risk factors but appears to be related to increased arterial stiffness. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is associated with increased cardiovascular risk although the mechanisms for this are unknown. We examined whether CMV seropositivity was associated with increased ...

In spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), carotid and aortic distensibilities measured at operational blood pressure (BP) are reduced. Increased body weight and mean arterial pressure (MAP) are both known to reduce distensibility independently. However, whether, after adjustment to body weight and mean BP, distensibility remains reduced in SHR has never been investigated. Carotid and abdominal ...

BACKGROUND Aortic enlargement and impaired bioelasticity are of interest in several cardiac and non-cardiac diseases as they can lead to cardiovascular complications. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is increasingly accepted as a noninvasive tool in cardiovascular evaluation. Assessment of aortic anatomy and bioelasticity, namely aortic distensibility and pulse wave velocity (PWV), by CM...

AIM To assess reference values in the literature for esophageal distensibility and cross-sectional area in healthy and diseased subjects measured by the functional lumen imaging probe (FLIP). METHODS Systematic search and review of articles in Medline and Embase pertaining to the use of FLIP in the esophagus was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Cross-sectional area and dist...

OBJECTIVE To determine how parturient women tolerate the use of a perineal distensibility assessment technique using the EPI-NO device. METHODS An observational study with a total of 227 full-term parturient women was performed. During the evaluation with EPI-NO, parturient patients were asked about their sensation of discomfort. The degree of discomfort was measured using the Visual Analogue...

Forced expiratory volume in one second strongly predicts mortality from cardiovascular disease. FEV(1) has been associated with aortic stiffness a strong independent predictor of cardiovascular mortality. However, the anatomical site and possible mechanisms linking aortic stiffness and lung function are unknown. We therefore examined if FEV(1) and CT percent emphysema were associated with calci...

The decline in carotid distensibility with age is steeper in women than in men, however, the correlates of this sex difference are not known. We examined the association of bioavailable testosterone, estradiol, dehydroepiandrosterone, and sex hormone-binding globulin, in 2783 postmenopausal women and 2987 men aged 45 to 84 years at the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis baseline examination....

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relationship between long-term glycemia, traditional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, and ascending aortic stiffness in type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Eight hundred seventy-nine subjects in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT)/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) study were evaluated. The stiffness/dis...

Objective: To evaluate aortic function and its relation to left ventricular diastolic function in patients with hypertension, diabetes, or both, without coronary artery disease. Methods: Study groups were composed of 27 healthy participants and 25 patients with hypertension, 24 with diabetes, and 18 with hypertension and diabetes. Coronary artery disease was excluded in all of the study partici...