A Detailed Study to Discover the Trade between Left Atrial Blood Flow, Expression of Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels and Valvular Atrial Fibrillation

Background: The present study aimed to explore the correlation between calcium-activated potassium channels, left atrial flow field mechanics, valvular atrial fibrillation (VAF), and thrombosis. The process of transforming mechanical signals into biological signals has been revealed, which offers new insights into the study of VAF. Methods: Computational fluid dynamics simulations use numeric analysis and algorithms to compute flow parameters, including turbulent shear stress (TSS) and wall pressure in the left atrium (LA). Real-time PCR and western blotting were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression of IKCa2.3/3.1, ATK1, and P300 in the left atrial tissue of 90 patients. Results: In the valvular disease group, the TSS and wall ressure in the LA increased, the wall pressure increased in turn in all disease groups, mainly near the mitral valve and the posterior portion of the LA, the increase in TSS was the most significant in each group near the mitral valve, and the middle and lower part of the back of the LA and the mRNA expression and protein expression levels of IKCa2.3/3.1, AKT1, and P300 increased (p < 0.05) (n = 15). The present study was preliminarily conducted to elucidate whether there might be a certain correlation between IKCa2.3 and LA hemodynamic changes. Conclusions: The TSS and wall pressure changes in the LA are correlated with the upregulation of mRNA and protein expression of IKCa2.3/3.1, AKT1, and P300.

Obesity Related Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction: From Basic to Clinical Practice

Obesity related coronary microvascular disease is a medical entity which is not yet fully elucidated. The pathophysiological basis of coronary microcirculatory dysfunction consists of a heterogeneous group of disorders with individual morphologic/functional/clinical presentation and prognosis. Coronary microcirculatory changes include mechanisms connected with vascular dysfunction, as well as extravascular and vasostructural changes in responses to neural, mechanical, and metabolic factors. Cardiometabolic changes that include obesity, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus type II, and hypertension are associated with atherosclerosis of epicardial coronary arteries and/or microvascular coronary dysfunction, with incompletely understood underlying mechanisms. In obesity, microvascular disease is mediated via adipokines/cytokines causing chronic, subclinical inflammation with (a) reduced NO-mediated dilatation, (b) changed endothelial- and smooth muscle-dependent vasoregulating mechanisms, (c) altered vasomotor control with increased sympathetic activity, and (d) obesity related hypertension with cardiomyocytes hypertrophy and impaired cardiac vascular adaptation to metabolic needs. From a clinical point of view it can present itself in acute or chronic form with different prognosis, as a practice problem for real-life diagnosis and treatment.