Women's Cardiovascular Disease

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
2. Department of Cardiology, Sutherland Cardiology Clinic, Memphis, TN 38128, USA
3. Department of Cardiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
4. Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
5. Department of Genetics, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Interests: heart failure; cardiomyopathy; genetics; cardio-oncology; artificial intelligence; outcomes; gene therapy; regenerative medicine

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Interests: atherosclerosis; coronary artery disease; vascular aging; congenital heart disease; genetics; molecular biology; DNA biomarkers; medical ionizing exposure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite the fact that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women, gender-related differences in pathophysiological mechanisms, disease presentation, and comorbidities still remain under-represented in cardiovascular clinical research. Additionally, the gender gap in cardiology is not exclusive to female patients but substantially impacts the cardiology profession, where women continue to be under-represented in leadership positions.

This Special Issue welcomes contributions, in the form of both original research articles and high-quality reviews, in the field of women and cardiac disease to improve the diagnosis and treatment of female patients as well as to encourage the training of female cardiologists and promote women’s inclusion in leadership.

Prof. Dr. John Lynn Jefferies
Dr. Maria Grazia Andreassi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • women
  • cardiology
  • gender
  • risk factors

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

10 pages, 307 KiB  
Review
The Importance of Inflammatory and Angiogenic Markers in the Evaluation of Early Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Women with Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy
by Tatjana Maselienė, Emilija Struckutė, Rūta Breivienė, Diana Ramašauskaitė and Vilma Dženkevičiūtė
J. Cardiovasc. Dev. Dis. 2023, 10(10), 407; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd10100407 - 22 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1627
Abstract
Background: Women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) have a significantly higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases later in life. The stratification of this risk using biomarkers during pregnancy can help to identify these women and apply early prevention. Objective: We aimed to [...] Read more.
Background: Women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) have a significantly higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases later in life. The stratification of this risk using biomarkers during pregnancy can help to identify these women and apply early prevention. Objective: We aimed to determine proinflammatory cytokines and angiogenic markers, echocardiographic parameter changes after delivery and predict early cardiovascular disease risk in women with arterial hypertension and its complications during pregnancy. Methods: We conducted a literature search using the PubMed database for the last ten years. A total of 17 articles were included to our study and full text reviewed. Results: Four out of six studies found higher postpartum Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in women with HDP. IL–6 correlated positively with waist circumference, body mass index, and triglycerides, and negatively with high density lipoproteins (HDL). Two out of four studies found higher postpartum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) levels in women with HDP but later concentration equalizes. One out of eight studies found higher placental growth factor (PlGF) and two out of eight found more elevated soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) in women with HDP. With decreasing PlGF and increasing sFlt-1, common carotid artery intima and media thickness, aortic root diameter, left atrial diameter, left ventricle mass, systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure increased, whereas HDL decreased. One out of four studies found higher sFlt-1/PlGF. Conclusion: IL-6 remains significantly higher after delivery. Few studies found higher TNF-α, sFlt-1, PlGF and their ratio postpartum. All studies found a correlation between angiogenic factors, IL-6, and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Women's Cardiovascular Disease)
13 pages, 889 KiB  
Review
Quality and Content Concordance of International Clinical Guidelines on Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy Using the AGREE II Instrument: An Updated Systematic Review
by Alessandra N. Bazzano, Alexandra Keenan, Sara Woltz, Advaith Subramanian, Onome Akpogheneta, Jorge Coronado Daza and Lydia A. L. Bazzano
J. Cardiovasc. Dev. Dis. 2023, 10(7), 295; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd10070295 - 11 Jul 2023
Viewed by 2030
Abstract
Utilization of high-quality clinical practice guidelines has the potential to positively impact health outcomes. This study aimed to assess the quality and content concordance of national and international recommendations on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs). Searches were conducted of the MEDLINE database and [...] Read more.
Utilization of high-quality clinical practice guidelines has the potential to positively impact health outcomes. This study aimed to assess the quality and content concordance of national and international recommendations on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs). Searches were conducted of the MEDLINE database and reference lists generated from national and international agencies. Covidence software was used for the management of the systematic review process, the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) tool was used to assess guidelines for quality, and three reviewers independently screened records. The research team identified and screened a total of 399 records of which 10 were deemed high quality. Guidelines were assessed and compared regarding the treatment, prevention, and categorization of disorders. The quality of guidelines varied across different domains, with significant variation in domain scores even within individual guidelines. Not all recommendations showed a high level of methodologic rigor, and the highest-rated guidelines were from the American Heart Association, the World Health Organization, and South Africa national guidelines. Classification of hypertension differed among the guidelines, particularly in defining chronic hypertension, severe hypertension, and preeclampsia. Prevention modalities varied across guidelines, with recommendations for aspirin, calcium supplementation, and against the use of certain approaches. Treatment modalities highlighted the importance of delivery as the definitive way to terminate hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, with other management strategies provided for symptom control. The variability in guidelines and consensus statements across different contexts may reflect regional differences in healthcare practices, available resources, and research evidence. There is potential to harmonize guidelines for HDP globally while considering the unique needs of individual countries. Where guidelines may be synthesized and condensed into an accessible format, doing so could improve their use in clinical decision-making. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Women's Cardiovascular Disease)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop