11 research outputs found
Modify, don't stop! Time to reconsider the 'relative' and 'absolute' contraindications to physical activity in pregnancy: an opinion piece
Bioimpedance cardiography in pregnancy: A longitudinal cohort study on hemodynamic pattern and outcome
Sympathetic Nervous System Regulation in Human Normotensive and Hypertensive Pregnancies
Functional hemodynamic testing in pregnancy: recommendations of the International Working Group on Maternal Hemodynamics
In the general population, functional hemodynamic testing, such as that during submaximal aerobic exercise and isometric handgrip, and the cold pressor test, has long been utilized to unmask abnormalities in cardiovascular function. During pregnancy, functional hemodynamic testing places additional demands on an already stressed maternal cardiovascular system. Dysfunctional responses to such tests in early pregnancy may predict the development of hypertensive disorders that develop later in gestation. For each of the above functional hemodynamic tests, these recommendations provide a description of the test, test protocol and equipment required, and an overview of the current understanding of clinical application during pregnancy
Recording and quantifying sympathetic outflow to muscle and skin in humans: methods, caveats and challenges
Pregnancy and cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease complicates 1-4% of pregnancies - with a higher prevalence when including hypertensive disorders - and is the leading cause of maternal death. In women with known cardiovascular pathology, such as congenital heart disease, timely counselling is possible and the outcome is fairly good. By contrast, maternal mortality is high in women with acquired heart disease that presents during pregnancy (such as acute coronary syndrome or aortic dissection). Worryingly, the prevalence of acquired cardiovascular disease during pregnancy is rising as older maternal age, obesity, diabetes mellitus and hypertension become more common in the pregnant population. Management of cardiovascular disease in pregnancy is challenging owing to the unique maternal physiology, characterized by profound changes to multiple organ systems. The presence of the fetus compounds the situation because both the cardiometabolic disease and its management might adversely affect the fetus. Equally, avoiding essential treatment because of potential fetal harm risks a poor outcome for both mother and child. In this Review, we examine how the physiological adaptations during pregnancy can provoke cardiometabolic complications or exacerbate existing cardiometabolic disease and, conversely, how cardiometabolic disease can compromise the adaptations to pregnancy and their intended purpose: the development and growth of the fetus
A common variant mapping to <i>CACNA1A </i>is associated with susceptibility to exfoliation syndrome
Author manuscript available from PMC http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4605818/Exfoliation syndrome (XFS) is the most common recognizable
cause of open-angle glaucoma worldwide. To better understand
the etiology of XFS, we conducted a genome-wide association
study (GWAS) of 1,484 cases and 1,188 controls from Japan
and followed up the most significant findings in a further
6,901 cases and 20,727 controls from 17 countries across
6 continents. We discovered a genome-wide significant
association between a new locus (CACNA1A rs4926244)
and increased susceptibility to XFS (odds ratio (OR) = 1.16,
P = 3.36 × 10−11). Although we also confirmed overwhelming
association at the LOXL1 locus, the key SNP marker (LOXL1
rs4886776) demonstrated allelic reversal depending on the
ancestry group (Japanese: ORA allele = 9.87, P = 2.13 × 10−217;
non-Japanese: ORA allele = 0.49, P = 2.35 × 10−31). Our findings
represent the first genetic locus outside of LOXL1 surpassing
genome-wide significance for XFS and provide insight into
the biology and pathogenesis of the disease