Tag Archives: Heart

CPET: an overview of “the cardiac cycle” The breathless patient with heart failure and comorbidity can pose a diagnostic conundrum: is the dyspnoea cardiac or respiratory (or something else entirely)? Dr Christopher Boos (Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust) outlined the role of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in such situations. CPET integrates a broad range of variables related to cardiorespiratory function, including oxygen uptake and expiratory ventilation, along with blood pressure and electrocardiogram (ECG) tracing. It provides objective information on physiological performance under stress: key output data include peak VO2

Cause or effect The meeting set off to a stimulating start with Dr Alan Jardine (Consultant Nephrologist, Western Infirmary, Glasgow) providing an interesting epidemiological overview on cardiorenal disease. The increasing prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) comes hand-in-hand with a growing cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden. Patients with progressive renal disease are known to have an increased risk of CVD. However, the pattern of outcomes and the relationship with risk factors are somewhat different from the general population. CVD accounts for 50% of mortality in endstage renal disease (ESRD). While there have been several studies

Kellogg’s Optivita and H·E·A·R·T UK, the cholesterol charity, have teamed up to work together on a programme of joint actions. This will include educational initiatives to support healthcare professionals, particularly practice nurses and dietitians who see people everyday at risk of heart disease due to factors such as high cholesterol, and the provision of practical advice for consumers to help them lower their cholesterol. Optivita has been specifically developed with oat beta-glucan, which has been shown in many studies to help to lower cholesterol.

New computer simulation The ‘Virtual Heart’, funded by London Innovation – London Development Agency, will be an anatomically accurate, beating and interactive three-dimensional model of the human heart, which will run on a standard desktop computer. It will be used to help trainee cardiologists and cardiac surgeons in developing skills in interventional and electrophysiology procedures, such as cardiac ablation and pacing. Doctors interested in being involved in the  Virtual Heart project should contact Laurie Wiseman Primal on 020 7637 1010 or at [email protected]. The other simulation will be the Virtual Anatomy Trainer for

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