Mihaela Valcovici

Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara

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Simona Drăgan

Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara

Ruxandra Christodorescu

Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara

Florina Buleu

Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara

Dana Emilia Velimirovici

Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara

Gheorghe Nicușor Pop

Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara

Anca Tudor

Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara

Nilima Rajpal Kundnani

Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara

MȘ

Maria-Corina Șerban

Institutul Oncologic Bucuresti

P. Y. Zinzius

Centre Hospitalier Régional et Universitaire de Nancy

Scipione Carerj

University of Messina

Cooperative Institutions

Hospices Civils de Lyon

274

Hôpital Louis Pradel

268

Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía

253

KU Leuven

247

Jessa Hospital

236

Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara

Centro Cardiologico Monzino

Oslo University Hospital

University Medical Center Utrecht

Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico

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Radial Artery Spasm—A Review on Incidence, Prevention and Treatment

Diagnostics (2024)

Adrian Sebastian Zus Simina Crișan Silvia Luca Daniel-Dumitru Nisulescu Mihaela Valcovici

Radial artery spasm (RAS) is a common complication associated with transradial access (TRA) for coronary interventions, particularly affecting elderly patients in whom radial access is preferred due to its benefits in reducing bleeding complications, improving clinical outcomes, and lowering long-term costs. This review examines the incidence, prevention, and treatment of RAS. Methods included an online search of PubMed and other databases in early 2024, analyzing meta-analyses, reviews, studies, and case reports. RAS is characterized by a sudden narrowing of the radial artery due to psychological and mechanical factors with incidence reports varying up to 51.3%. Key risk factors include patient characteristics like female sex, age, and small body size as well as procedural factors such as emergency procedures and the use of multiple catheters. Preventive measures include using distal radial access, hydrophilic sheaths, and appropriate catheter sizes. Treatments involve the intraarterial administration of nitroglycerine and verapamil as well as mechanical methods like balloon-assisted tracking. This review underscores the need for standardizing RAS definitions and emphasizes the importance of operator experience and patient management in reducing RAS incidence and improving procedural success.

10.3390/diagnostics14171897

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P3761Correlation between vascular stiffness and 25-OH vitamin D deficit in heart failure patients

European Heart Journal (2018)

Florina Buleu Stela Iurciuc Alexandru Caraba N Pop Mihaela Valcovici

10.1093/eurheartj/ehy563.p3761

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Assessment of the Impact of Alcohol Consumption Patterns on Heart Rate Variability by Machine Learning in Healthy Young Adults

Medicina (2021)

Gheorghe Nicușor Pop Ruxandra Christodorescu Dana Emilia Velimirovici Raluca Șoșdean Miruna Corbu

Background and Objectives: Autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction is present in early stages of alcohol abuse and increases the likelihood of cardiovascular events. Given the nonlinear pattern of dynamic interaction between sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and para sympathetic nervous system (PNS) and the complex relationship with lifestyle factors, machine learning (ML) algorithms are best suited for analyzing alcohol impact over heart rate variability (HRV), because they allow the analysis of complex interactions between multiple variables. This study aimed to characterize autonomic nervous system dysfunction by analysis of HRV correlated with cardiovascular risk factors in young individuals by using machine learning. Materials and Methods: Total of 142 young adults (28.4 ± 4.34 years) agreed to participate in the study. Alcohol intake and drinking patterns were assessed by the AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) questionnaire and the YAI (Yearly Alcohol Intake) index. A short 5-min HRV evaluation was performed. Post-hoc analysis and machine learning algorithms were used to assess the impact of alcohol intake on HRV. Results: Binge drinkers presented slight modification in the frequency domain. Heavy drinkers had significantly lower time-domain values: standard deviation of RR intervals (SDNN) and root mean square of the successive differences (RMSSD), compared to casual and binge drinkers. High frequency (HF) values were significantly lower in heavy drinkers (p = 0.002). The higher low-to-high frequency ratio (LF/HF) that we found in heavy drinkers was interpreted as parasympathetic inhibition. Gradient boosting machine learner regression showed that age and alcohol consumption had the biggest scaled impact on the analyzed HRV parameters, followed by smoking, anxiety, depression, and body mass index. Gender and physical activity had the lowest impact on HRV. Conclusions: In healthy young adults, high alcohol intake has a negative impact on HRV in both time and frequency-domains. In parameters like HRV, where a multitude of risk factors can influence measurements, artificial intelligence algorithms seem to be a viable alternative for correct assessment.

Binge drinking

10.3390/medicina57090956

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PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS AND PATTERNS OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN YOUNG ADULTS FROM WESTERN ROMANIA

Romanian Journal of Legal Medicine (2020)

Gheorghe Nicușor Pop FD Bodog Ruxandra Christodorescu FV Mekeres C Tudoran

Consumption

10.4323/rjlm.2020.269

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Beneficial Effects of Multicomponent Functional Foods in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome

Simona Drăgan Georgiana Damian Dana Emilia Velimirovici Maria Rada Delia Berceanu

The ANTIATERO-ALIM study was a randomized, parallel design nutritional trial testing functional food (FF) diets against the usual diet recommended in the metabolic syndrome. Functional meals included balsamic vinegar from apples and honey and grape juice enriched with polyphenols from seeds of red grapes. 300 patients with metabolic syndrome were randomized into 4 groups: gr.1: FF + Ω-3 supplements, gr.2: FF, gr.3: Ω-3 supplements, gr.4: control. IRHOMA insulin resistance, plasma lipids and oxidative stress were assessed at inclusion and at 6 months. After 6 months there was a very significant decrease of oxidative stress in group 3, followed by a significant decrease in groups 1 and 2.

Functional food

10.20944/preprints201811.0015.v1

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PP.02.09

Journal of Hypertension (2015)

Mihaela Valcovici Florina Buleu Anca Tudor Vladiana Turi Gheorghe Stoichescu-Hogea

Objective: Chemotherapy is associated with increased incidence of hypertension and heart failure. We assessed the contribution of pre-existent cardiovascular risk to severity of cardiotoxicity in breast cancer. Design and method: The study was prospective and included 72 female breast cancer patients on trastuzumab therapy with: 1) left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)> 50% at inclusion, 2) no history of myocardial infarction 3) no identified cause of LVEF decrease besides chemotherapy. Blood pressure and lipids, waist circumference and body mass index were determined in all patients. Cardiovascular risk was calculated by applying the SCORE risk chart with HDL, for high-risk populations. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed according to the International Diabetes Federation criteria. Cardiotoxicity was diagnosed by decrease of LVEF, according to the Seidman criteria recommended by the 2012 ESMO guidelines. Correlations were made between evolution of risk factors, LVEF, number of trastuzumab cycles and associations with chemotherapeutic agents, at baseline and after 12 months. Results: The mean age of patients at inclusion was 55.4 ± 11.80 years. At inclusion, hypertension was present in 43.1% (n = 31) patients and increased with 4.9% at 12 months (x2 test, p < 0.001).The Wilcoxon test for paired values showed no significant increase of systolic blood pressure (SBP) at 12 months (p = 0.537). Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was significantly increased at 12 months (p = 0.019). There was a significant negative correlation at 12 months between SBP and LVEF (r = - 0.364, p = 0.002), respectively DBP and LVEF (r = -0.400, p = 0.001). The Spearman test showed significant correlations between the decrease of LVEF with 5–10% and >10% and the total number of chemotherapy cycles (x2 test, p = 0,023). There was a significant correlation between SCORE risk and decrease of LVEF < 55% at 12 months (x2 test, p = 0,001). Severe cardiotoxicity and death occurred in 2 patients with very high SCORE risk. Conclusions: Chemotherapy in breast cancer needs a close collaboration between oncologists and cardiologists. Cardiovascular risk should be determined and managed carefully in all patients.

Cardiotoxicity

10.1097/01.hjh.0000467749.64691.12

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Benefits of Using Smartphones and Other Digital Methods in Achieving Better Cardiac Rehabilitation Goals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Medical Science Monitor (2023)

Miruna Popovici Sorin Ursoniu Horéa Feier Mihaela Mocan Otilia Mihaela G. Tomulescu

BACKGROUND:The importance of introducing digital technology as an alternative to classical cardiac rehabilitation has been discussed in several reviews. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to analyze the effectiveness of digital technology use in cardiac rehabilitation to determine whether digital methods like use of smartphones, compared to traditional rehabilitation methods, can improve the overall quality of life and exercise capacity of cardiac patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS:PubMed, EMBASE, and ScienceDirect were systematically searched in a randomized manner, resulting in 11 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that met all the inclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria were patients with coronary heart disease, valvular surgery, or post- myocardial revascularization that were in a technology-assisted cardiac rehabilitation program vs traditional standard physical follow-up protocol. RESULTS:Seven eligible trials including a total of 802 participants examined the effect of interventions on VO2 peak. One of the studies comprised 2-stage analysis for this parameter. We found that VO₂ peak was significantly higher in the intervention group. Three studies analyzed the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) results; significant differences were reported, with better results in the interventional group. CONCLUSIONS:The results of our meta-analysis support conducting further randomized trials, considering that the development of technology is on the rise. In the past decade there has been an immense increase in the use of smartphones, which can widely be used in healthcare, with promising benefits in having efficient home-based monitoring of the patients and in reducing financial burden.

Health Technology

10.12659/msm.939132

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Poster Session: Right ventricular systolic function

European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Imaging (2012)

M. Altman Cyrille Bergerot Hélène Thibault A. Aussoleil E. S. Davidsen

Background: Area tracking (AT,%) is a novel three-dimensional parameter of myocardial deformation that incorporates longitudinal and circumferential shortening and delineates deformation of the endocardial surface area.The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between AT and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and to assess its accuracy in predicting normal LVEF (.55%) and systolic dysfunction (LVEF ,45%).Methods: 152 patients (pts) were evaluated with the use of 3-D echocardiography (Artida, Toshiba).Since 19 pts were excluded for suboptimal image quality ( 16) and rhythm disturbances (3), the final cohort involved 133 ptsincluding ischaemic cardiomyopathy (41%), hypertensive heart disease (30%), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (7%), heart failurewith preserved LVEF(17%) and controls (5%).Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed for AT for the proper identification of LVEF ,45% and .55%.Results: 3D LVEF ranged between 20 and 75% (mean value: 57+9%).AT highly correlated with LVEF (r=0.83,p,0.001).AT was shown to be accurate at predicting LVEF.55% with area under the curve (AUC) equating 0.96[0.93-99],p,0.05.Cut-off value was established at 236.4% with sensitivity and specificity being 90% and 89%, respectively.Similarly, AT accurately identified systolic dysfunctionwith AUC=0.99 [0.98-00], p,0.05.Cut-off values for LVEF,45% was established at -29.3% with sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 96%.Conclusions: Area tracking is a new parameter of myocardial deformation provided exclusively by 3D echocardiography.In this large range of LVEF values, it proved to be extremely accurate at predicting systolic dysfunction with high levels of sensitivity and specificity.

Ventricular Function

10.1093/ehjci/jes268

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Importance of H-FABP in Early Diagnosis of Acute Myocardial Infarction

International Journal of General Medicine (2024)

A. Pavel Nilima Rajpal Kundnani Stelian I. Morariu Anca Tudor Dana Emilia Man

Over the years, troponins have aced the para-clinical tests for confirming the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. However, the rise in their levels is entirely time-dependent, which can cause a delay in the initiation of treatment protocols. Heart fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) can serve comparatively as a better biological marker for overcoming this flaw of troponins, as it is quickly released into the bloodstream once the myocardial injury occurs due to decreased blood supply. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of this marker as well as establish the specificity and sensitivity of testing the H-FABP, if it adds to early diagnosis and can be relied upon in the future.

10.2147/ijgm.s476736

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In Vitro Toxicological Profile of Labetalol-Folic Acid/Folate Co-Administration in H9c2(2-1) and HepaRG Cells

Medicina (2022)

Robert Rednic Iasmina Marcovici Răzvan Drăgoi Iulia Pînzaru Cristina Dehelean

Background and Objectives: The consumption of dietary supplements has increased over the last decades among pregnant women, becoming an efficient resource of micronutrients able to satisfy their nutritional needs during pregnancy. Furthermore, gestational drug administration might be necessary to treat several pregnancy complications such as hypertension. Folic acid (FA) and folate (FT) supplementation is highly recommended by clinicians during pregnancy, especially for preventing neural tube birth defects, while labetalol (LB) is a β-blocker commonly administered as a safe option for the treatment of pregnancy-related hypertension. Currently, the possible toxicity resulting from the co-administration of FA/FT and LB has not been fully evaluated. In light of these considerations, the current study was aimed at investigating the possible in vitro cardio- and hepato-toxicity of LB-FA and LB-FT associations. Materials and Methods: Five different concentrations of LB, FA, FT, and their combination were used in myoblasts and hepatocytes in order to assess cell viability, cell morphology, and wound regeneration. Results: The results indicate no significant alterations in terms of cell viability and morphology in myoblasts (H9c2(2-1)) and hepatocytes (HepaRG) following a 72-h treatment, apart from a decrease in the percentage of viable H9c2(2-1) cells (~67%) treated with LB 150 nM−FT 50 nM. Additionally, LB (50 and 150 nM)−FA (0.2 nM) exerted an efficient wound regenerating potential in H9c2(2-1) myoblasts (wound healing rates were >80%, compared to the control at 66%), while LB-FT (at all tested concentrations) induced no significant impairment to their migration. Conclusions: Overall, our findings indicate that LB-FA and LB-FT combinations lack cytotoxicity in vitro. Moreover, beneficial effects were noticed on H9c2(2-1) cell viability and migration from LB-FA/FT administration, which should be further explored.

Viability assay

10.3390/medicina58060784

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Citations (1)