Shunichi Homma

..These may be relatively more important risk factors for stroke among whites and Hispanics than among blacks...

..Effective treatment may require serial procedures, yet an imaging modality optimized to control cost and reduce radiation exposure in this predominantly pediatric population has not yet been identified...

..PFO closure, either surgical or percutaneous, may further reduce event rates; however, this remains to be demonstrated because no randomized trial to date has compared PFO closure with medical therapy...

..The purpose of this retrospective analysis from PFO in Cryptogenic Stroke Study (PICSS) database was to assess the effect of age on the risk of adverse events in medically treated cryptogenic stroke patients with PFO...

..The recurrent rate of adverse events in stroke patients with valvular strands has not been defined and, importantly, there are no randomized studies to evaluate efficacy of antithrombotic therapies in these patients...

..The present article will review the evidence regarding this association, the technical aspects of PFO detection, and the preventive options to decrease the risk of recurrent cerebral events...

..Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is associated with stroke, but there are no randomized studies to evaluate the efficacy of antithrombotic therapies...

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..16 +/- 0.04, p <0.0001) but not in men (beta -0.02 +/- 0.06, p = 0.72). This is the first study to demonstrate a gender-specific difference in endothelial function associated with body mass index...

..Our results suggest a critical role for ceramide accumulation in the pathogenesis of lipotoxic cardiomyopathy...

..The effect of LV geometry on stroke risk has not been defined. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether LVH and LV geometry are independently associated with increased ischemic stroke risk in a multiethnic population...

..CONCLUSIONS: LVD, even of mild degree, is independently associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke. The assessment of LV function should be considered in the assessment of the stroke risk...

..We sought to assess the risk of ischemic stroke from a patent foramen ovale (PFO) in the multiethnic prospective cohort of northern Manhattan...

..We sought to determine the magnitude of the association between mitral annular calcification (MAC) and vascular events in a multiethnic cohort...

..To assess the independent and combined effects of diabetes and hypertension on left ventricular (LV) diastolic function in a community-based cohort at high cardiovascular risk...

..The effects were more apparent for MI than for ischemic stroke; however, FBG was a strong predictor of ischemic stroke among African-American subjects...

..In conclusion, in vitro feasibility of mitral chordal cutting by HIFU depended on the diameter of chordae but was controllable by HIFU settings. (E-mail: abeyukio@aol.com)...

..We sought to evaluate whether inflammatory markers were independently associated with LVH in a multiethnic population in northern Manhattan...

..The objective of this study is to determine whether serological evidence of C pneumoniae infection is associated with risk of ischemic stroke...

..We sought to assess whether race-ethnic differences in diastolic function exist. Such differences may contribute to the observed disparities in cardiovascular outcomes...

..Increased left ventricular mass is a predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. It is not yet clear whether social isolation is a determinant of increased left ventricular mass...

..Acute loss of LPL decreased ejection fraction and increased mRNA levels for atrial natriuretic factor. Our studies show that acute loss of LPL can be produced and leads to rapid alteration in gene expression and cardiac dysfunction...

..These results further support the role of hyperglycemia in the pathogenesis of vascular dysfunction at different stages of diabetes development and the role of impaired fasting glucose as a risk factor for macrovascular disease...

..Whether FMD testing predicts cardiovascular events in asymptomatic, lower risk individuals from the general population is unknown...

..The aim of this study was to explore race-ethnic differences in the association between plasma lipid components and risk of incident myocardial infarction (MI)...

..The association between ECM turnover and right ventricular failure (RVF) development after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation in patients with advanced heart failure (HF) was investigated...

..The objective of this study was to determine whether endothelial dysfunction is independently associated with carotid plaque in a community of northern Manhattan...

..The accurate assessment of cardiac function in mice is challenging because of their small heart size and rapid heart rate...

..We tested the hypothesis that both MetS and endothelial dysfunction are vascular risk factors and provide additive prognostic values in predicting cardiovascular events in a multiethnic community sample...

..We tested the hypothesis that impaired flow-mediated vasodilatation (FMD) is associated with increased LV mass in a population-based multiethnic cohort...

..This finding may be relevant to the greater early and late morbidity and mortality observed in patients with both CAD and T2DM...

..Aortic arch plaques are a risk factor for ischemic stroke. Although the stroke mechanism is conceivably thromboembolic, no randomized studies have evaluated the efficacy of antithrombotic therapies in preventing recurrent events...

..3 g/m2.7 for blacks, 0.0 g/m2.7 for whites, and 1.0 g/m2.7 for Hispanics. Lower SES is an independent predictor of increased LVM among hypertensive and normotensive blacks...

..We conducted a cross-sectional analysis in a population-based sample to evaluate the possible association between alcohol consumption and aortic atherosclerotic plaque (AAP), which is associated with increased stroke risk...

..Our findings identify the Hispanic population with increased LVM as a high-risk subgroup...

..The purpose of this study was to compare coronary flow reserve (CFR) in a group of premenopausal women with SLE and a group of age-, sex-, and race-matched healthy control subjects...

..We sought to determine whether AV thickness differs by race-ethnicity in a large multiethnic population-based cohort...

..In this sample, reduced FMD was not an independent predictor of hypertension incidence, suggesting that impaired endothelial function does not play a major role in the development of hypertension...

..In the intermediate FRS category, FRS appears to underestimate the coronary risk more in women than in men and more in whites and especially in blacks than in Hispanics...

..It is unclear whether cardiovascular disease is present in primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT)...

..In conclusion, the proposed optical flow-based surface tracking method is very efficient and accurate, providing dynamic "interpolation" of segmented endocardial surfaces...

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..Whether increased wave reflection is inversely associated with left-ventricular (LV) systolic function in individuals without heart failure is not clear...

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..We conclude that 3DFS is an objective, quantitative measure of wall motion that localizes acutely ischemic regions as accurately as wall motion scoring while providing superior quantification of ischemic region size...

..This technology may prove useful for ablation of focal intramyocardial lesions such as arrhythmogenic foci and the hypertrophic left ventricular septum in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy...

..We aimed to establish the prevalence of carotid bruits and the diagnostic accuracy of auscultation for detection of hemodynamically significant carotid stenosis, using carotid duplex as the gold standard...

..SIM reverses these abnormalities and prevents the development of primary cardiac hypertrophy as well as hypertrophy secondary to L-NAME-induced hypertension...

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..The aim of this study was to investigate this association in an elderly asymptomatic cohort and to assess the possibility of using CIMT to predict the presence or absence of large aortic arch plaques...

..We sought to evaluate the feasibility of RT3D for the assessment of MVP segments when compared with transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and intraoperative findings...

..More than 47 million individuals in the United States meet the criteria for the metabolic syndrome. The relation between the metabolic syndrome and stroke risk in multiethnic populations has not been well characterized...

..Non-Hispanic blacks have higher rates of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality from hypertension and are more likely to have ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) that remains high at night (nondipping)...

..However, this association in the general population is unclear. We sought to assess whether proximal aortic plaques are associated with vascular events in a community-based cohort...

..Electrocardiographic results can provide independent information for left ventricular myocardial changes and should be considered together with echocardiographic results to fully assess the risk of ischemic stroke...

..Leukocyte count has been associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease in several studies. We hypothesized that white blood cell count is associated with endothelial reactivity...

..We sought to assess the association between the presence of a septal pouch in the left atrium and ischemic stroke...

..The purpose of this study was to assess the independent effect of increased body size on left ventricular (LV) diastolic function...

..It is difficult to distinguish the contribution of cardiomyocyte lipid accumulation from the contribution of global metabolic defects to the increased incidence of sudden death and electric abnormalities...

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..We sought to determine the association between stroke location and cardiac death or MI in a multiethnic community-based cohort...

..The importance of genetic contribution to FMD and baseline brachial artery diameter has not been shown in Hispanic populations. The purpose of this study was to estimate the heritability of FMD...

..Thus, while PPARgamma agonists appear to have multiple beneficial effects, their direct actions on the myocardium have the potential to lead to deterioration in heart function...

..Understanding the gene environment interaction is the critical next step toward the development of new and unique approaches to disease prevention and interventions...

..We conducted a cross-sectional analysis in a population-based cohort to compare the strength of the associations among various lipid parameters and the presence of atherosclerotic plaque in the proximal thoracic aorta...

..In anticipation of future clinical applications, multiple lesions were created by brief HIFU pulses in calf myocardial tissue ex vivo...

..These data implicate PKCbeta in I/R-mediated myocardial injury, at least in part via phosphorylation of JNK, and suggest that blockade of PKCbeta may represent a potent strategy to protect the vulnerable myocardium...

..RT3D dobutamine contrast stress echocardiography is feasible, greatly improves image quality compared with noncontrast images, and quickly acquires full data sets for subsequent analysis...

..This suggests that aortic stiffness by TEE may add prognostic information when assessing the risk of ischemic stroke in the elderly...

..If similar effects are found in humans, such treatment could improve clinical outcome in diabetic patients...

..There are not enough data currently to support surgical or percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale for stroke prevention...

..PFO closure, either surgical or percutaneous, may further reduce event rates; however, this remains to be demonstrated because no randomized trial to date has compared PFO closure with medical therapy...

..Recommending PA may be a nonpharmacologic tool to reduce the stroke risk, especially among patients with increased LVM...

..Leukocyte count has been associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, including carotid plaque thickness, in several studies. We hypothesized that white blood cell count is associated with aortic arch plaque thickness (AAPT)...

..This article reviews the current understanding of cardiac embolism as a mechanism for stroke, and the preventive options that are currently adopted to decrease the stroke risk...

..Improvement in tissue characterization and three-dimensional capabilities may further improve the diagnostic accuracy of TEE for aortic plaque detection and evaluation...

..Also, associated conditions that may guide the therapeutic choices are being investigated...

..A 61-year-old woman supported with VAD with LV apical cannulation had a mobile LV thrombus adjacent to the inflow cannula diagnosed by transesophageal echocardiography...

..In conclusion, thigh compliance measured with a simple-to-use, fully automated device independently predicts aerobic fitness in patients with a wide range of cardiovascular risk but without CHD...

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..Also, we find that DTBT in patients presenting with an ST-segment elevation AWMI does not affect the incidence of LV thrombus formation. Increased age, however, does appear to increase the risk of LV thrombus development...

..Cardiovascular prognostic significance of relative wall thickness (RWT) in patients with diabetes has not been reported although concentric hypertrophy is common in diabetic patients...

..Treatment of hypertension and other cardiometabolic risk factors of MetS is also required. This article reviews the treatment of the metabolic syndrome with a focus on the importance of lifestyle changes and treatment of hypertension...

..11 mm. The lesions were slightly discolored and coagulation of tissue around the perforation was observed. HIFU was successful in perforating cardiac valves. With further refinement, HIFU may prove useful for valvulotomy or valvuloplasty...

..Lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is highly prevalent and strongly associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The ankle-brachial index used to screen for PAD is not routinely performed in primary care settings...

..This study sought to determine the effect of lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), levels and apolipoprotein(a), or apo(a), sizes on endothelial function and to explore ethnic differences in their effects...

..Our goal was to assess the effect of hypercoagulability on the risk of stroke in patients with aortic plaques...

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..These results suggest that perinatal cocaine exposure may lead to decreased responsiveness to inotropic drugs during the early neonatal period...

..Presence of T2DM increased the risk of LV hypertrophy by about 1.5-fold, and it possibly interacted with central obesity...

..58; 95% CI, 0.20 to 1.65; P=0.0008). CONCLUSIONS: ECG-LAA can supplement 2D echocardiography in assessing the risk of ischemic stroke, especially in subjects with increased left ventricular mass...

..This review aims to provide an overview of the basic concept of coronary flow reserve and its different modalities of measurement, as well as its utility in cardiovascular research...

..transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is used as the primary imaging modality to guide this procedure and is essential to its success...

..The objective of this study was to examine the association between PFO and migraine among stroke-free individuals in an urban, population-based, multiethnic cohort...

..0002). These findings indicate excess coronary and carotid atherosclerosis at ABI values below 1.10 (men) and 1.00 (women) and may imply increased risk of cardiovascular events in persons with borderline and low-normal ABI...

..CONCLUSIONS: TTDE revealed that acute hyperglycemia induced by oral glucose loading suppresses CFVR in healthy young male subjects. This result suggests that acute hyperglycemia may have adverse effects on coronary microcirculation...

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