Myocardial Recovery in Chronic Heart Failure

Chronic heart failure is a disease with poor prognosis and currently is a global epidemic. University of Utah Health investigator Stavros George Drakos, MD, and colleagues analyzed human heart tissue and produced evidence refuting the widely held notion that prolonged off-loading of the failing heart induced by cardiac assist devices results in disuse atrophy that further deteriorates heart function. Continue reading → Myocardial Recovery in Chronic Heart Failure

New Class of Therapy for Chronic Heart Failure

The lab directed by Robin Shaw (MD, PhD) and Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research & Training Institute (CVRTI) Investigators have identified an architectural protein (cBIN1) of heart muscle cells that organizes the intracellular signalizing network responsible for heart muscle contraction and relaxation. Continue reading → New Class of Therapy for Chronic Heart Failure

Mechanisms of Circulatory Abnormalities and Fatigue in Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases

Markus Amann, PhD, and colleagues recently discovered that both heart failure and hypertension impair an important neurocirculatory control mechanism in humans—specifically, a reflex loop mediated by neural feedback from muscles to the central nervous system. This impairment results in excessive sympathetic nervous system activity, and largely accounts for the circulatory abnormalities observed during physical activities. Continue reading → Mechanisms of Circulatory Abnormalities and Fatigue in Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases