Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) present with high morbidity and mortality when they occasionally rupture. No medical therapy has successfully been proven to reduce AAA growth, though both metformin and statins have been identified as potential treatments in multiple meta-analysis. This study aimed to investigate a potential relationship between statin use and AAA growth rates and risk of undergoing repair, rupture, or death.

Direct reprogramming of fibroblasts to cardiomyocytes is a potentially curative strategy for ischemic heart disease. However, current reprogramming strategies require excessive factors due to epigenetic barriers of adult mouse and human fibroblasts. Recently, we identified the epigenetic factor PHF7 from a screen of gene-regulatory factors as the most potent activator of adult fibroblast-to-cardiomyocyte reprogramming in vitro.

The increasing demand for donor hearts presents both a critical challenge and a significant opportunity for innovation in cardiac transplantation. Advancements in immunosuppressive regimens and genetic engineering have reignited recent interest in xenotransplantation. Notably, 2 human patients have received genetically modified pig hearts under expanded-access authorization. They survived for 40 and 60 days, with xenograft failure preceding death in both cases. Concurrently, decedent studies have focused on monitoring the short-term physiological function of genetically modified cardiac xenografts in legally brain-dead recipients, representing a novel experimental paradigm for preclinical testing to help bridge the gap between nonhuman primate studies and clinical trials. These contemporary achievements build on a large body of exploratory efforts in cardiac xenotransplantation in nonhuman primates. Despite significant progress in overcoming hyperacute rejection, adaptive cellular and humoral immunological barriers remain. This review aims to critically evaluate the current advancements in xenotransplantation, to explore ongoing challenges, and to discuss the future potential of this innovative approach in addressing the growing demand for donor organs in cardiac transplantation.

Coronary artery calcification (CAC) provides robust prediction for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), but current techniques disregard plaque distribution and protective effects of high CAC density. We investigated whether a novel CAC-dispersion and density (CAC-DAD) score will exhibit superior prognostic value compared with the Agatston score (AS) for MACE prediction.

This study evaluates clinical trends and mid-term waitlist and posttransplant outcomes following the 2018 heart allocation policy change.

Assessment of medication changes in heart failure trials and registries is complex and may not capture the entirety of care. A comprehensive and standardized method is needed. We used different methods to assess the use of guideline-directed medical therapies (GDMT) and verified the association between GDMT intensity score with the STRONG-HF trial (Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of Rapid Optimization, Helped by NT-proBNP Testing of Heart Failure Therapies) clinical outcomes.

Prior work suggests modifiable cardiovascular risk factors (CRFs) account for 80% to 90% of the risk for incident myocardial infarction. The contributions of genetic and other novel CRFs have not been simultaneously assessed in contemporary data sets.

The determinants of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) hemodynamic severity remain to be established. We explored the hemodynamic correlates of right atrial (RA) pressure and stroke volume (SV) in patients with and without TR, and assessed the reliability of the indirect Fick method in relation to TR severity.