Stress ECG and stress imaging studies are widely used noninvasive procedures that provide important information on cardiac function and the presence of hemodynamically significant coronary artery disease (CAD). The correct use of stress testing is critically important for the cost-effective…
Technical Aspects Chest radiography was one of the first clinical studies to use x-rays, which were discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen. X-rays are typically generated by passing a current across a diode, which results in the generation of…
It is now >100 years since the Dutch physiologist Willem Einthoven recorded the first ECG in humans. Although the number of recording leads has increased from 3 leads to at least 12 leads, and the recording instruments have evolved into…
Myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, despite great therapeutic achievements in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The inability of the heart to regenerate lost cardiac muscle, coupled with a robust fibrotic…
Cardiovascular epidemiology studies the determinants and distribution of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The overarching goal of CVD epidemiology is to reduce the incidence and prevalence of CVD within the population. Cardiovascular epidemiology has provided vital bidirectional connections between basic mechanistic science…
Although there has been a 25.3% decline in cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality between 2004 and 2014, coronary heart disease (CHD) is still the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the United States. It is estimated that >92 million American…
In 1953, Watson and Crick published their landmark paper on the molecular structure of nucleic acids and a particularly prescient comment was made: “It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible…
The ability to determine whether disease is present or absent—and how that patient should be treated—is the ultimate goal for clinicians who evaluate patients with suspected heart disease. Despite the number of diagnostic tests available, the importance of a careful…
Origins of Cardiac Precursor Populations Heart development begins as the primary germ layers—ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm—are induced and progressively changed to various cell types during the morphogenetic process of gastrulation. Combinatorial networks of intercellular signaling events cooperate with massive tissue…