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Nutrients Sep 2021Alcohol consumption has been shown to have complex, and sometimes paradoxical, associations with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Several hundred epidemiological studies... (Review)
Review
Alcohol consumption has been shown to have complex, and sometimes paradoxical, associations with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Several hundred epidemiological studies on this topic have been published in recent decades. In this narrative review, the epidemiological evidence will be examined for the associations between alcohol consumption, including average alcohol consumption, drinking patterns, and alcohol use disorders, and CVDs, including ischaemic heart disease, stroke, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, cardiomyopathy, and heart failure. Methodological shortcomings, such as exposure classification and measurement, reference groups, and confounding variables (measured or unmeasured) are discussed. Based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses, the evidence seems to indicate non-linear relationships with many CVDs. Large-scale longitudinal epidemiological studies with multiple detailed exposure and outcome measurements, and the extensive assessment of genetic and confounding variables, are necessary to elucidate these associations further. Conflicting associations depending on the exposure measurement and CVD outcome are hard to reconcile, and make clinical and public health recommendations difficult. Furthermore, the impact of alcohol on other health outcomes needs to be taken into account. For people who drink alcohol, the less alcohol consumed the better.
Topics: Alcohol Drinking; Animals; Biomarkers; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; Cardiovascular System; Diagnosis, Differential; Disease Susceptibility; Ethanol; Health Impact Assessment; Humans; Risk Factors
PubMed: 34684419
DOI: 10.3390/nu13103419 -
Cell Aug 2022The surprising discovery that the diatomic gas nitric oxide (NO) is generated by mammalian cells and serves to regulate a multitude of physiological processes has... (Review)
Review
The surprising discovery that the diatomic gas nitric oxide (NO) is generated by mammalian cells and serves to regulate a multitude of physiological processes has continued to fascinate biologists for almost four decades. The biochemistry of NO is complex, and novel insights into the control of NO biosynthesis and mechanisms of signal transduction are continuously emerging. NO is a key regulator of cardiovascular function, metabolism, neurotransmission, immunity, and more, and aberrant NO signaling is a central feature of many major disorders including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Here, we discuss the basics of NO biology emphasizing recent advances in the field including novel means of increasing NO bioactivity with therapeutic and nutritional implications.
Topics: Animals; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; Humans; Mammals; Nitric Oxide; Nitrites; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 35931019
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.06.010 -
Science (New York, N.Y.) Oct 2019Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), a metabolic product of cell membrane sphingolipids, is bound to extracellular chaperones, is enriched in circulatory fluids, and binds to... (Review)
Review
Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), a metabolic product of cell membrane sphingolipids, is bound to extracellular chaperones, is enriched in circulatory fluids, and binds to G protein-coupled S1P receptors (S1PRs) to regulate embryonic development, postnatal organ function, and disease. S1PRs regulate essential processes such as adaptive immune cell trafficking, vascular development, and homeostasis. Moreover, S1PR signaling is a driver of multiple diseases. The past decade has witnessed an exponential growth in this field, in part because of multidisciplinary research focused on this lipid mediator and the application of S1PR-targeted drugs in clinical medicine. This has revealed fundamental principles of lysophospholipid mediator signaling that not only clarify the complex and wide ranging actions of S1P but also guide the development of therapeutics and translational directions in immunological, cardiovascular, neurological, inflammatory, and fibrotic diseases.
Topics: Animals; Apolipoproteins M; Autoimmune Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; Cardiovascular System; Central Nervous System; Drug Development; Fibrosis; Homeostasis; Humans; Immune System Phenomena; Lysophospholipids; Mice; Molecular Chaperones; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Signal Transduction; Sphingosine; Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptors
PubMed: 31624181
DOI: 10.1126/science.aar5551 -
Nature Reviews. Cardiology Feb 2024Oxygen is vital for cellular metabolism; therefore, the hypoxic conditions encountered at high altitude affect all physiological functions. Acute hypoxia activates the... (Review)
Review
Oxygen is vital for cellular metabolism; therefore, the hypoxic conditions encountered at high altitude affect all physiological functions. Acute hypoxia activates the adrenergic system and induces tachycardia, whereas hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction increases pulmonary artery pressure. After a few days of exposure to low oxygen concentrations, the autonomic nervous system adapts and tachycardia decreases, thereby protecting the myocardium against high energy consumption. Permanent exposure to high altitude induces erythropoiesis, which if excessive can be deleterious and lead to chronic mountain sickness, often associated with pulmonary hypertension and heart failure. Genetic factors might account for the variable prevalence of chronic mountain sickness, depending on the population and geographical region. Cardiovascular adaptations to hypoxia provide a remarkable model of the regulation of oxygen availability at the cellular and systemic levels. Rapid exposure to high altitude can have adverse effects in patients with cardiovascular diseases. However, intermittent, moderate hypoxia might be useful in the management of some cardiovascular disorders, such as coronary heart disease and heart failure. The aim of this Review is to help physicians to understand the cardiovascular responses to hypoxia and to outline some recommendations that they can give to patients with cardiovascular disease who wish to travel to high-altitude destinations.
Topics: Humans; Altitude Sickness; Altitude; Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; Hypoxia; Cardiovascular Diseases; Oxygen; Heart Failure; Myocardium; Tachycardia
PubMed: 37783743
DOI: 10.1038/s41569-023-00924-9 -
Experimental Gerontology Aug 2018Aging is associated with significant changes in both cardiac and vascular structure and function that lower the threshold for clinical signs and symptoms, making older... (Review)
Review
Aging is associated with significant changes in both cardiac and vascular structure and function that lower the threshold for clinical signs and symptoms, making older people more susceptible to cardiovascular diseases, morbidity and mortality. Understanding of age-related cardiovascular changes is necessary for effective and efficient prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease in older people. Cardiac aging is associated with left ventricular remodelling marked by increased mass-to-volume ratio and accompanied by systolic and diastolic myocardial dysfunction, and reduced sensitivity to sympathetic stimuli that compromises myocardial contractility and pumping ability in older people. The vascular age-related remodelling is associated with increased arterial wall thickness, arterial stiffness, and an impaired endothelial vasoreactivity. Over the previous three decades of intensive research in cardiovascular aging, it became apparently clear that lifestyle factors such as physical activity and exercise play an important role in attenuating cardiovascular function decline with aging. This review highlights the effect of age on cardiac and vascular changes and their adaptations to exercise, providing physiological, molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie diminished cardiovascular response in older age. It further describes cardiovascular differences between the individuals who maintain a physically active lifestyle, and who undergo exercise interventions in later life.
Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Aging; Blood Vessels; Exercise; Heart; Humans; Vascular Remodeling; Vascular Stiffness; Ventricular Remodeling
PubMed: 28546086
DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2017.05.016 -
American Journal of Physiology.... May 2018Environmental stress such as extremely warm or cold temperature is often considered a challenge to human health and body homeostasis. However, the human body can adapt... (Review)
Review
Environmental stress such as extremely warm or cold temperature is often considered a challenge to human health and body homeostasis. However, the human body can adapt relatively well to heat and cold environments, and recent studies have also elucidated that particularly heat stress might be even highly beneficial for human health. Consequently, the aim of the present brief review is first to discuss general cardiovascular and other responses to acute heat stress, followed by a review of beneficial effects of Finnish sauna bathing on general and cardiovascular health and mortality as well as dementia and Alzheimer's disease risk. Plausible mechanisms included are improved endothelial and microvascular function, reduced blood pressure and arterial stiffness, and possibly increased angiogenesis in humans, which are likely to mediate the health benefits of sauna bathing. In addition to heat exposure with physiological adaptations, cold stress-induced physiological responses and brown fat activation on health are also discussed. This is important to take into consideration, as sauna bathing is frequently associated with cooling periods in cold(er) environments, but their combination remains poorly investigated. We finally propose, therefore, that possible additive effects of heat- and cold-stress-induced adaptations and effects on health would be worthy of further investigation.
Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Animals; Body Temperature Regulation; Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; Cold Temperature; Cold-Shock Response; Health Status; Heat-Shock Response; Hemodynamics; Hot Temperature; Humans; Steam Bath
PubMed: 29351426
DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00115.2017 -
The Journal of Physiology Oct 2019Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in both men and women in developed societies. Age is the greatest risk factor for CVD... (Review)
Review
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in both men and women in developed societies. Age is the greatest risk factor for CVD due largely to adverse changes to arteries that include stiffening of the large elastic arteries (aortic and carotid arteries) and endothelial dysfunction. Vascular ageing is driven by oxidative stress, which reduces nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and stimulates changes in the extracellular matrix. In women, reductions in circulating oestrogens with menopause interact with ageing processes to induce vascular dysfunction. Regular aerobic exercise is the most evidence-based strategy for reducing CVD risk with ageing in both men and women. Much of this cardiovascular-protective effect of aerobic exercise is likely due to its vascular health-enhancing influence. Large elastic artery stiffening with advancing age is attenuated in healthy adults engaged in aerobic exercise training, and aerobic exercise interventions improve arterial stiffness in previously sedentary middle-aged and older men and postmenopausal women. Regular aerobic exercise also enhances endothelial function with ageing in men (by reducing oxidative stress and preserving NO bioavailability), but not consistently in oestrogen-deficient postmenopausal women. In postmenopausal women, treatment with oestradiol appears to restore the ability of aerobic exercise to improve NO-mediated endothelial function by reducing oxidative stress. Several research gaps exist in our understanding of potential sex differences in the vascular adaptations to regular aerobic exercise. More information is needed on the factors that are responsible for sex differences, including the role of circulating oestrogens in transducing the aerobic exercise training 'stimulus'.
Topics: Aging; Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; Exercise; Female; Humans; Male; Oxidative Stress
PubMed: 31077372
DOI: 10.1113/JP277764 -
Nutrients May 2023Magnesium (Mg) has many physiological functions within the body. These include important roles in maintaining cardiovascular functioning, where it contributes to the... (Review)
Review
Magnesium (Mg) has many physiological functions within the body. These include important roles in maintaining cardiovascular functioning, where it contributes to the regulation of cardiac excitation-contraction coupling, endothelial functioning and haemostasis. The haemostatic roles of Mg impact upon both the protein and cellular arms of coagulation. In this review, we examine how Mg homeostasis is maintained within the body and highlight the various molecular roles attributed to Mg in the cardiovascular system. In addition, we describe how nutritional and/or disease-associated magnesium deficiency, seen in some metabolic conditions, has the potential to influence cardiac and vascular outcomes. Finally, we also examine the potential for magnesium supplements to be employed in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disorders and in the management of cardiometabolic health.
Topics: Humans; Magnesium Deficiency; Magnesium; Dietary Supplements; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena
PubMed: 37242238
DOI: 10.3390/nu15102355 -
Cardiovascular Journal of Africa 2016Physiological changes occur in pregnancy to nurture the developing foetus and prepare the mother for labour and delivery. Some of these changes influence normal... (Review)
Review
Physiological changes occur in pregnancy to nurture the developing foetus and prepare the mother for labour and delivery. Some of these changes influence normal biochemical values while others may mimic symptoms of medical disease. It is important to differentiate between normal physiological changes and disease pathology. This review highlights the important changes that take place during normal pregnancy.
Topics: Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; Cardiovascular System; Delivery, Obstetric; Female; Heart Rate; Humans; Kidney; Labor, Obstetric; Pregnancy
PubMed: 27213856
DOI: 10.5830/CVJA-2016-021 -
Revista Medica de Chile Feb 2019This review analyzes the effects of high intensity interval training (HIIT) on muscle and cardiovascular fitness and body composition in teenagers. A search was carried... (Review)
Review
This review analyzes the effects of high intensity interval training (HIIT) on muscle and cardiovascular fitness and body composition in teenagers. A search was carried out in international databases, finding 145 papers and selecting five for analysis. In all the reviewed manuscripts, peak oxygen uptake improved after HIIT. In the three manuscripts that measured muscle strength, it also increased. We conclude that HIIT improves muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness in school age children. A 12 weeks protocol with three 12-minute sessions per week would be ideal.
Topics: Adolescent; Body Composition; Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic; Female; High-Intensity Interval Training; Humans; Male; Muscle Strength; Oxygen Consumption
PubMed: 31095171
DOI: 10.4067/s0034-98872019000200221