Phosphoproteomics and molecular cardiology: Techniques, applications and challenges

Protein phosphorylation has been widely documented as a key regulatory and signaling mechanism associated with many cardiac diseases. Recent advances in phosphoproteomic technologies such as phosphopeptide enrichment, novel mass spectrometry applications, and bioinformatic tools have resulted in high-throughput identification and quantitation of protein phosphorylation in a global manner. This review summarizes mainstream phosphoproteomic workflows and highlights the most recent applications of phosphoproteomics used in a range of molecular cardiology research.     

Embolization therapy in pediatric cardiology

Transcatheter embolization therapy has assumed an important role in the management of patients with congenital heart disease. A variety of embolization materials, most commonly steel coils, is available to treat or palliate patients with aortopulmonary collateral vessels or surgical shunts, arteriovenous malformations, and anomalous venovenous connections (common after surgical intervention for the univentricular heart). At many centers, coil occlusion has recently become the treatment of choice for patients with a restrictive patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). This article describes the materials and techniques of embolization therapy, as well as the common indications encountered in the practice of pediatric interventional cardiology.     

Balloon-expandable stenting in pediatric cardiology

Intravascular stent placement in Pediatric Cardiology has provided one of the most interesting and effective means of catheter treatment of congenital lesions. In the 5 years since it has been performed, balloon-expandable stent placement has provided relief of many previously untreatable vascular stenoses and has resulted in improvement of blood flow, reduction of right ventricular pressure and, in many cases, dramatic improvement of symptoms. In this article, the background of balloon-expandable stent placement is discussed, and specific observations are offered regarding the technique of implantation. The generally excellent results are presented and a number of novel problems and pitfalls are outlined. Finally, a brief summary of the wide ranging applicability of stent implantation is discussed, along with some of the important and imaginative new directions for the therapy.     

History of German pediatric cardiology

Due to the isolation of German medicine in World War II accompanied by the destruction of many hospitals, German pediatricians did not show any serious interest in the treatment of children with congenital heart diseases, nor did they take notice of the progress achieved by Helen Taussig, Alfred Blalock and other cardiologists and surgeons in the western world. This problem was even worse in East Germany. Only a few German internists and forward-looking surgeons were able and ready to take care of this group of principally operable children in places like Bonn/Düsseldorf, Marburg/Munich, Berlin, and Hamburg. However, in the early 1950s some directors of pediatrics at university hospitals--largely motivated by the cardiac surgeons--allowed or even encouraged younger colleagues to concentrate on pediatric cardiology and to begin application of heart catheterization and angiocardiography. In 1960 a group of colleagues interested in pediatric cardiology met for the first time in Frankfurt and became the nucleus of the future "working group" (1969) and finally the "German Society of Pediatric Cardiology" (1974). By 1972 pediatric cardiology had been approved as an independent (sub)specialty. Colleagues and friends from surrounding countries (Austria, Great Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands) and also from the US and some eastern countries were either members or regular guests during or between the meetings. Pediatric cardiology is now represented in Germany by specialized practitioners, trainees and assistants who work in both community and university hospitals, and in specialized departments. Due to the foresightedness of the Chief of Pediatrics, Prof. G. Joppich, the first Chair of Pediatric Cardiology was founded in G?ttingen in 1960 under the direction of A. Beuren. Another model of interdisciplinary cooperation between pediatric cardiologists, bioengineers, mathematicians and computer scientists was established in Kiel in 1966. In other places pediatric and adult cardiologists were brought together in "Heart Centers" with cardiovascular surgeons. The first of these Heart Centers was founded in 1974 in Munich under the directorship of K. Bühlmeyer and comparable centers were later established in Bad Oeynhausen (1985) and Berlin (1986). Following reunification in 1990, pediatric cardiologists from the east and west came together. Thus, within the last three to four decades German pediatric cardiology gradually caught up with international standards and in some fields of cardiovascular research even assumed a leading role. The care of the growing numbers of surviving patients with congenital heart disease has become a new challenge that has to be met by experienced cardiologists. To maintain the level of competence, future activities should however, not only concentrate on the optimal care of patients with congenital heart disease but also be responsible for cardiovascular research.     

Exercise testing in pediatric cardiology.

Exercise testing in pediatric patients differs in many aspects from the tests performed in adults. Diseases that are associated with myocardial ischemia are very rare in children. Their cardiovascular response to exercise presents different characteristics, particularly maximal heart rate and blood pressure response, which are essential in interpreting hemodynamic data. The main indications for exercise testing in children are evaluation of exercise capacity and identification of exercise-induced arrhythmias. There are many testing protocols, but the Bruce protocol is widely used in many pediatric cardiac centers. In this article the authors describe the main indications for exercise testing in children with congenital heart disease, the contraindications for exercise testing and the indications for terminating an exercise test.     

Magnetic resonance tomography in pediatric cardiology

Magnetic resonance imaging (MR) is a relatively new non-invasive imaging method that has not been used as a routine procedure in pediatric cardiology. To evaluate MR in pediatric cardiology we performed 110 examinations in 91 children during the period from December, 1984, to November, 1987. The children were divided into the following groups: 1) Diseases of the great vessels (54 examinations in 39 children); 2) Cardiac diseases (42 examinations in 39 children); 3) Diseases of the pericardium (four examinations in three children); 4) Ten children without cardiovascular diseases (imaging of the heart in conjunction with examination of other organs). The ages of the children ranged from five weeks to 19 years in the following distribution: 13% infants, 20% children 2-5 years, 30% children 6-14 years, 37% adolescents from 15 to 19 years. On the basis of our experiences we conclude that MR can be used as an additional diagnostic tool in pediatric cardiology, especially for imaging of areas that are not well visualized by echocardiography, i.e., the great vessels and their branches and in addition, the right ventricle, in older children.     

Privileging and credentialing for interventional cardiology procedures

Local institutional‐specific credentialing and privileging for procedures is an important process for ensuring the quality of care provided by interventional cardiologists. Recently revised standards for coronary intervention and the blossoming of structural heart disease programs have generated controversy over these processes. How standards are set for credentialing and privileging is poorly understood by most interventional cardiologists, including those responsible for credentialing and privileging. Requirements from The Joint Commission dictate how credentialing and privileging is performed at hospitals they accredit. Physicians must be recredentialed every 2 years at each hospital, with privileges renewed at that time. Hospitals must review quality of physicians even more frequently using Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations. Hospitals must also evaluate the performance of physicians when they join a hospital staff or when they begin performing new procedures using Focused Professional Practice Evaluations. Cardiology department directors and catheterization laboratory directors are responsible for recredentialing and reprivileging members of their departments. Individual physicians are responsible for cooperating with these processes, and for periodic recertification with specialty boards and governmental agencies. We provide specific guidance to help physicians navigate these processes. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.