Cardiology is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects,coronary artery disease,heart failure,valvular heart disease,and electrophysiology. Physicians who specialize in this field of medicine are called cardiologists,a sub-specialty of internal medicine. Pediatric cardiologists are pediatricians who specialize in cardiology. Physicians who specialize in cardiac surgery are called cardiothoracic surgeons or cardiac surgeons,a specialty of general surgery.
Coronary artery disease (CAD),also called coronary heart disease (CHD),ischemic heart disease (IHD),myocardial ischemia,or simply heart disease,involves the reduction of blood flow to the cardiac muscle due to build-up of atherosclerotic plaque in the arteries of the heart. It is the most common of the cardiovascular diseases. Types include stable angina,unstable angina,and myocardial infarction.
Angioplasty,also known as balloon angioplasty and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA),is a minimally invasive endovascular procedure used to widen narrowed or obstructed arteries or veins,typically to treat arterial atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis,characterized by development of abnormalities called lesions in walls of arteries. This is a chronic inflammatory disease involving many different cell types,and driven by elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood. These lesions may lead to narrowing of the arterial walls due to buildup of atheromatous plaques. At onset there are usually no symptoms,but if they develop,symptoms generally begin around middle age. In severe cases,it can result in coronary artery disease,stroke,peripheral artery disease,or kidney disorders,depending on which body part(s) the affected arteries are located in the body.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes:coronary artery diseases,heart failure,hypertensive heart disease,rheumatic heart disease,cardiomyopathy,arrhythmia,congenital heart disease,valvular heart disease,carditis,aortic aneurysms,peripheral artery disease,thromboembolic disease,and venous thrombosis.
Paul M. Ridker is a cardiovascular epidemiologist and biomedical researcher. He is currently the Eugene Braunwald Professor of Medicine at Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital,where he directs the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. Ridker also holds an appointment as Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Troponin I is a cardiac and skeletal muscle protein family. It is a part of the troponin protein complex,where it binds to actin in thin myofilaments to hold the actin-tropomyosin complex in place. Troponin I prevents myosin from binding to actin in relaxed muscle. When calcium binds to the troponin C,it causes conformational changes which lead to dislocation of troponin I. Afterwards,tropomyosin leaves the binding site for myosin on actin leading to contraction of muscle. The letter I is given due to its inhibitory character. It is a useful marker in the laboratory diagnosis of heart attack. It occurs in different plasma concentration but the same circumstances as troponin T - either test can be performed for confirmation of cardiac muscle damage and laboratories usually offer one test or the other.
Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "the sum of activity and interventions required to ensure the best possible physical,mental,and social conditions so that patients with chronic or post-acute cardiovascular disease may,by their own efforts,preserve or resume their proper place in society and lead an active life". CR is a comprehensive model of care delivering established core components,including structured exercise,patient education,psychosocial counselling,risk factor reduction and behaviour modification,with a goal of optimizing patient's quality of life and reducing the risk of future heart problems.
Ticagrelor,sold under the brand name Brilinta among others,is a medication used for the prevention of stroke,heart attack and other events in people with acute coronary syndrome,meaning problems with blood supply in the coronary arteries. It acts as a platelet aggregation inhibitor by antagonising the P2Y12 receptor. The drug is produced by AstraZeneca.
Mary Ann McLaughlin is an American cardiologist,the author of multiple book chapters and an associate professor at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.
Annapoorna Kini is an American cardiologist. She is Professor of Cardiology and Interventional Director of Structural Heart Program at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
A myocardial infarction (MI),commonly known as a heart attack,occurs when blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart,causing infarction to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is retrosternal chest pain or discomfort that classically radiates to the left shoulder,arm,or jaw. The pain may occasionally feel like heartburn.
Jeremiah Stamler was an American scientist specializing in preventive cardiology and the study of the influence of various risk factors on coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases,and the role of salt and other nutrients in the etiology of hypertension and coronary heart disease. Stamler is credited with introducing the term "risk factors" into the field of cardiology. In 1988,he was awarded the Donald Reid Medal given by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for his contributions to epidemiology. He was professor emeritus of preventive medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago,Illinois. After his retirement from active teaching,he continued his research with his wife Rose until her death in 1998;in his later years he divided his time between Manhattan,Long Island,Chicago,and Pioppi in Southern Italy.
Jean-Claude Tardif is the Director of the Research Center at the Montreal Heart Institute and Professor of Medicine at the University of Montreal. He received his medical degree (MD) in 1987 from the University of Montreal and specialized in cardiology and research in Montreal and Boston until 1994. Dr. Tardif holds the Canada Research Chair in personalized medicine and the University of Montreal endowed research chair in atherosclerosis. He is also the Scientific Director of the Montreal Health Innovations Coordinating Center (MHICC).
Salim Yusuf is an Indian-born Canadian physician,the Marion W. Burke Chair in Cardiovascular Disease at McMaster University Medical School. He is a cardiologist and epidemiologist. Yusuf has criticized the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and disputes the scientific consensus on dietary sodium and saturated fat intake.
Rhian M. Touyz Koppel MBBCh,MSc (Med),PhD,FRCP,FRSE,FMedSci,FCAHS is a Canadian medical researcher. She is currently serving as the Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal,Canada,since 2021. A clinician scientist,her research primarily focuses on hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
Karen A. Matthews is an American health psychologist known for her research on the epidemiology and risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease,early signs of coronary heart disease risk in children,women's health and menopause,and connections between socioeconomic status and health. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Psychiatry and Professor Emerita of Psychology and Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh.
Cardiovascular disease in women is an integral area of research in the ongoing studies of women's health. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an umbrella term for a wide range of diseases affecting the heart and blood vessels,including but not limited to,coronary artery disease,stroke,cardiomyopathy,myocardial infarctions,and aortic aneurysms.
Anne Monique Nuyt is a Canadian paediatrician who is Professor of Neonatology and Canada Research Chair in Prematurity and Developmental Origins of Cardiovascular Health and Diseases at the Universitéde Montréal. Her research considers how perinatal oxidative stress can alter the structural development and function of the cardiovascular system.
Gemma Alexandra Figtree is an Interventional Cardiologist at Royal North Shore Hospital,Professor in Medicine at the University of Sydney,chair of the Federal Government's 10-year Mission for Cardiovascular Health,and co-leader of the Cardiovascular Theme for Sydney Health Partners.
