Volume 13 Issue 7, July 2016

Many patients who undergo doxorubicin chemotherapy develop cardiac complications later in life. Patient-derived cardiomyocytes can be used to predict individual susceptibility to drug-induced cardiotoxicity, as evidenced by enhanced doxorubicin responses in cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells of patients who developed heart failure after chemotherapy.

Newly published data recovered from a large, randomized, controlled trial conducted >4 decades ago show no difference in mortality between individuals with a diet rich in saturated fat and those with a diet rich in linoleic acid, despite the cholesterol-lowering effect of the latter. These findings challenge the widely accepted diet–heart hypothesis.

Mitochondria provide energy for specialized functions at the cellular and organ level. The remarkable symbiotic relationship between mitochondria and the cell touches on every aspect of cell biology. Recent studies in mitochondrial biology have uncovered ways in which mitochondria affect human disease and have identified new targets for clinical intervention.

In this Review, Parati et al. outline the complex interactions between heart failure and sleep alterations, with a focus on sleep-disordered breathing, and describe the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of these sleep disorders. In the context of increasing evidence from clinical trials, the authors aim to raise awareness among clinicians of the importance of sleep-disordered breathing in heart failure management.

This Review summarizes the existing knowledge on the effects of vitamin D on cardiovascular diseases and the associated risk factors. Pilz and colleagues provide an update on clinical studies on vitamin D and cardiovascular risk, discuss ongoing vitamin D research, and consider the management of vitamin D deficiency from the perspective of cardiovascular health.

Distal embolization of thrombus resulting in microvascular obstruction can result in incomplete myocardial reperfusion after primary percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. In this Review, Mahmoud and Zijlstra discuss the use of thrombus aspiration to enhance myocardial reperfusion, and how this technique has improved our understanding of the pathophysiology of acute myocardial infarction.

Multivalvular disease is common among patients with valvular disease, and has a complex pathophysiology. In this Review, Unger et al. discuss the mechanisms, diagnosis, and percutaneous and surgical treatment of multivalvular disease, focusing on the combinations of valve pathologies that are most often encountered in clinical practice.