Risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) were not formally established until the initial findings of the Framingham Heart Study in the early 1960s.

Background

Alcohol consumed in large quantities for many years has long been recognized to induce an alcoholic cardiomyopathy. Clinically identical to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, alcoholic cardiomyopathy is a major form of secondary dilated cardiomyopathy in the Western world. 

Background

Brugada syndrome is a disorder characterized by sudden death associated with one of several electrocardiographic (ECG) patterns characterized by incomplete right bundle-branch block and ST elevations in the anterior precordial leads. See the image below.

In 1930, Wolff, Parkinson, and White described a series of young patients who experienced paroxysms of tachycardia and had characteristic abnormalities on electrocardiography (ECG). 

Practice Essentials

Long QT syndrome is a congenital disorder characterized by a prolongation of the QT interval on electrocardiograms and a propensity to ventricular tachyarrhythmias, which may lead to syncope, cardiac arrest, or sudden death. See the image below.

Varicose Vein Surgery

Background

The description of varicose veins as a clinical entity can be traced back as early as the fifth century BCE. 

Myocardial infarction (MI) (ie, heart attack) is the irreversible death (necrosis) of heart muscle secondary to prolonged lack of oxygen supply (ischemia). 

This section will first briefly discuss acute pericarditis, chronic pericarditis, and cardiac tamponade; then, several specific entities that cause pericarditis will be briefly reviewed.

Acute pericarditis is an inflammation of the pericardium characterized by chest pain, pericardial friction rub, and serial ECG changes. 

Study Population, End Points, and Cautionary Tales

Considering the appropriate target population for first clinical testing of a novel HF therapy is of utmost importance. In the CUPID trial, patients had to fulfill the criteria of stable, 

Although the goal of gene therapy in preclinical models is rather focused on the impact of the protein encoded by the delivered gene on phenotypic outcome in disease models, our aim must be understanding the effects of this change in protein expression on the overall molecular pathways involved to define quantitative and predictive biomarkers. 

During the past 2 decades, PK/PD data and models both for efficacy and for safety have been developed in almost all therapeutic areas, showing a clear benefit in the drug development process. There are areas, however, where PK/PD is still an exception, and one of those areas is gene therapy.