Enhancement of noncoronary collateral circulation: the hypothesis of an alternative treatment for ischemic heart disease

Refractory angina pectoris: a 20-year (2003-2022) bibliometric analysis

Background

The increasing number of patients with refractory angina pectoris, combined with the aging population and improved survival rates among coronary heart disease patients, presents a significant challenge in contemporary cardiovascular medicine. The treatment of refractory angina has been an ongoing area of exploration, yet a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature on this topic is currently lacking. Therefore, this study aims to provide the first bibliometric analysis of publications related to refractory angina.

Methods

A systematic search was conducted in the Web of Science database to identify articles related to refractory angina published between 2003 and 2022. The inclusion criteria were limited to articles and reviews written in English. CiteSpace software was utilized to conduct a collaborative network analysis of countries/regions, institutions and authors, co-occurrence analysis of keywords, and co-citation analysis of authors and references.

Results

A total of 1,386 publications were identified, with an annual publication volume exhibiting fluctuation over time. American and European countries and institutions demonstrated a leading position in terms of research output. Henry TD emerged as the most prolific researcher in the field, while Mannheimer C received the highest number of citations. The primary research hotspot within this field focused on the treatment of refractory angina, with recent emphasis on emerging treatments such as stem cell therapy and the coronary sinus reducer. A significant number of clinical trials have been conducted, with a continuous focus on patient benefits, quality of life, and survival prognosis.

Conclusion

Significant progress has been made in the field of refractory angina pectoris in recent years. Novel treatment methods, including spinal cord stimulation, enhanced external counterpulsation, stem cell therapy, and the coronary sinus reducer, hold promising therapeutic prospects. However, further high-quality evidence-based research is essential to support these emerging interventions. Additionally, the development of comprehensive evidence-based guidelines for refractory angina treatment is crucial. Such guidelines would provide clinicians with a framework to navigate the complexities of treatment choices and optimize patient care in this challenging condition.

Heart disease prediction using hybrid fuzzy K-medoids attribute weighting method with DBN-KELM based regression model

Automated prediction can be offered for further treatment to make effective and relieve the difficulties in the diagnosis of heart condition of patient. In this paper, a hybrid method is proposed combining FKMAW and DBNKELM based ensemble method to enhance medical diagnosis process. Firstly, the input attributes are weighed using a fuzzy k-medoids clustering based attribute weighting (FKMAW) method. Subsequently, the medical data classification performance is improved by applying the weighing method and the linearly separable dataset is obtained with the transformation of non-linearly separable dataset. With the weighted attributes, a regression model based heart disease prediction scheme is proposed combining Deep belief Network and Extreme learning machine (DBNKELM), in which Extreme learning machine is the top layer of the deep belief network to work as a regression model. The results demonstrate that FKMAW + DBNKELM achieved good performance in rectifying the problems in medical data classification for all the six datasets.

Off-pump Techniques of Surgical Myocardial Revascularization

BACKGROUND

Before the advent of CABG, standardized in the late '60s by Favaloro and Effler, patients with myocardial ischemia underwent indirect and heterogeneous off-pump methods of myocardial revascularization.

METHODS & RESULTS

Indirect revascularization, such as periaortic nerve plexus interruption, Vineberg operation, Sen procedure and, less remotely, TMR Laser and stem cell transplantation, represented some of the ways to achieve myocardial revascularization. Nowadays, direct coronary revascularization is the only established technique and may be performed either on-pump or off-pump.

CONCLUSION

The comparison of off-pump and on-pump myocardial revascularization paved the way to an endless debate between the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. In this article, we review the old and current off-pump approaches of surgical myocardial revascularization.

Noncoronary Collateral Myocardial Blood Flow: The Human Heart's Forgotten Blood Supply

The “noncoronary collateral circulation” (NCCC) or “noncoronary collateral myocardial blood flow” (NCCMBF), reaches the heart through a micro-vascular network arising from the bronchial, esophageal, pericardial, diaphragmatic, and aortic arteries. The left and right internal thoracic arteries (ITAs) along with their collateral branches also serve as a source of NCCMBF-a feature seen in other mammals. Under certain circumstances the ITAs have a high potential for developing collateral branches. In the case of severe Leriche syndrome or with chronic obstruction of the abdominal aorta, the ITAs can serve as the main or even sole source of blood supply to the lower limbs. It is also possible for the ITAs to develop angiographically visible branches that directly connect with the coronary arteries. In ischemic conditions there is a functional, ischemia-reducing extracardiac coronary artery supply via natural ipsilateral ITA anastomosis. To date we know little about NCCMBF and its potential benefits in clinical applications, which makes this a challenging and intriguing field of research. This paper reviews all available data on noncoronary collateral blood supply to the human heart.