The adaptive changes that occur in the left ventricle (LV) and vessels in response to hypertension, namely, muscle hypertrophy/hyperplasia, endothelial dysfunction, and extracellular matrix increase, do not depend solely on blood pressure elevation. These changes are in fact, maladaptive since they are forerunners of cardiac failure, stroke, and renal failure. Nitric oxide, an endogenous vasodi...

BACKGROUND There is controversy regarding the contribution of calcineurin activation to the development of pressure-overload left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and heart failure. The aim of this study was to explore whether the inhibition of calcineurin may prevent the transition to heart failure in hypertensive rats and, if so, to clarify in which developmental stage of LV hypertrophy calcineur...

To determine the extent to which the hypertrophied left ventricle responds to the chronotropic stress induced by graded atrial pacing rates, we studied conscious, chronically instrumented dogs with severe compensated pressure overload left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy induced by aortic banding in puppies 8-10 weeks of age. At 1-2 years, dogs with severe LV hypertrophy (LV free wall/body wt rati...

Background: breast cancer because of radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy causes cardiac disease, often it occurs on women just affected by hypertension and/or diabetes. All these conditions may affect left ventricular (LV) geometry, mass and diastolic function. The purpose of this study is to early detect these affections to improve heart failure prevention. Patients and methods: 134 women, affect...

Patients with hypertension often develop left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and deterioration of the cardiac and endothelial functions. Recent clinical trials have shown the added benefits of angiotensin II receptor blockers in hypertensive patients. Twenty-nine patients with hypertensive heart disease (HHD) underwent echocardiography, radionuclide ventriculography and the measurement of endothe...

Rationale: The transverse tubule (T-tubule) system is the ultrastructural substrate for excitation–contraction coupling in ventricular myocytes; T-tubule disorganization and loss are linked to decreased contractility in end stage heart failure (HF). Objective: We sought to examine (1) whether pathological T-tubule remodeling occurs early in compensated hypertrophy and, if so, how it evolves dur...

RATIONALE The transverse tubule (T-tubule) system is the ultrastructural substrate for excitation-contraction coupling in ventricular myocytes; T-tubule disorganization and loss are linked to decreased contractility in end stage heart failure (HF). OBJECTIVE We sought to examine (1) whether pathological T-tubule remodeling occurs early in compensated hypertrophy and, if so, how it evolves dur...

African Americans with hypertension are at high risk for adverse outcomes from cardiovascular and renal disease. Patients with stage 3 or greater chronic kidney disease have a high prevalence of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction. Our goal was to study prospectively the relationships of LV mass and diastolic function with subsequent cardiovascular and renal outcomes in ...

Calcineurin is a Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase that induces myocardial growth in response to several physiological and pathological stimuli. Calcineurin inhibition, induced either via cyclosporine or genetically, can decrease myocardial hypertrophy secondary to pressure overload without affecting left ventricular (LV) systolic function. Since hypertrophy can also affect LV dia...