Articles in 2009

In this extensive Review, Stefan Pilz and colleagues discuss the potential mechanisms by which vitamin D might affect blood pressure and explore the clinical evidence for an association between vitamin D and arterial hypertension. The authors also make recommendations for vitamin D supplementation in patients with hypertension and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels below target values.

Consumption of fruit and vegetables has been associated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease. This Review discusses epidemiological studies of the association between fruit and vegetable consumption and coronary heart disease, and assesses the significance of the findings.

There are concerns about long-term outcomes associated with drug-eluting stent implantation in high-risk and 'real world' patients, and few data from these settings have been published. Two new papers add to our knowledge on drug-eluting stent use in acute myocardial infarction and for off-label indications.

Drug-eluting stents are an established treatment option for coronary artery disease, although they are not without their problems. The MAHOROBA^® stent attempts to harness the theoretical advantages of both tacrolimus and polymer degradation, but has proved not to be effective in the treatment of de novo coronary lesions.

Patients with venous thromboembolism receive anticoagulants after a thrombotic episode, usually for a fixed period. Discontinuing treatment could lead to recurrence, but prolonged therapy can cause serious bleeding. Ideally, treatment duration should be tailored to individual patients but can this be achieved with ultrasonography, as proposed by the AESOPUS group?

With the aging of the population, the frequency of acute myocardial infarction is rising most rapidly among the elderly, a subgroup at high risk of a fatal outcome. Lorgis et al. observe that N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, combined with a simple clinical risk score, provides an accurate estimate of prognosis.

Atrial fibrillation is a growing problem worldwide. Lee, Kruse and McCarthy review surgical options for the treatment and cure of atrial fibrillation. They discuss the classic maze procedure, new technologies that have allowed minimally invasive modifications of this procedure, and the future directions of surgical therapy for atrial fibrillation.

The underlying cause of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy remains unknown, although studies have suggested a genetic component or involvement of inflammatory and autoimmune responses. Several studies have also shown that vascular dysfunction is present in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Roura and Bayes-Genis review these studies and suggest a reinterpretation of the pathophysiology in terms of the vascular changes.

Traditional and nontraditional factors increase cardiovascular risk in patients with kidney disease. In this Review, Dr. van der Zee and colleagues highlight important cardiovascular risk factors in patients with varying degrees of kidney function and discuss therapeutic strategies for reducing cardiovascular risk in these patients.

Currently available imaging techniques provide anatomical definition and functional information and have limited ability to report on disease processes at the molecular level. Molecular imaging techniques can, however, supply information about specific proteins, biomolecules, biological pathways or cellular processes. Here, Stanley Shaw discusses molecular imaging targets used in cardiovascular research and emerging approaches to the discovery or application of new molecular imaging probes.