Study of the cardiac maladaptive response to common stressors and associated underlying molecular mechanisms in mice conceived by assisted reproductive technologies
Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have been shown to induce premature vascular aging in apparently healthy children, persisting in young adults and progressing into arterial hypertension. In mice, ART-induced premature vascular aging evolves into arterial hypertension. Furthermore, in mice, it could be shown that premature vascular aging evolves into arterial hypertension and that these changes are a result of epigenetic mechanism. These findings go along with the one in young ART adults. Given the young age of the human ART group, long-term sequelae of ART-induced alterations of the cardiovascular phenotype are unknown.
Association between Preeclampsia, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and postpartum Pulmonary Artery Pressure, Systemic Arterial Pressure and Cardiovascular Function. A single center retrospective and prospective cohort study.
Women who suffered from preeclampsia are at risk to develop various cardiovascular diseases later in life, including arterial hypertension, heart failure and atrial fibrillation. In collaboration with the University Clinic of Obstetric in Inselspital we aimed to understand the relationship between preeclampsia and development of cardiovascular diseases, in particular arterial hypertension.
enHEART study – Exploring full content of optical signals compared to Holter ECG
Cardiac arrhythmias have a prevalence of 3 to 6 % in elderly European and US populations. Due to asymptomatic and intermittent nature of several arrhythmias in their early stages, they are often diagnosed too late, therefore, the importance of long-term and continuous ambulatory monitoring of cardiac function (by plethysmography) is crucial for early arrhythmias detection and classification in order to provide proper diagnosis, treatment and reduce the risks of complications.
LongBP study- Longitudinal proof-of-concept study for the long-term monitoring of blood pressure
LONGBP intends to investigate the feasibility of monitoring mid- to long-term blood pressure (BP) and blood pressure variability (BPV) using photoplethysmography (PPG) signal analysis. Therefore, we are assessing the mid- and long-term BP and BPV obtained from raw PPG signals recorded in 2 populations with large BP variations (group A: arterial hypertension; group B: preeclampsia).
HAPE study - Cardiovascular function in subjects having suffered from high altitude pulmonary edema and their offspring
High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is a life-threating disease affecting otherwise healthy subject exposed to altitudes > 2500m. One of the main characteristics of HAPE is the presence of an exaggerated hypoxic pulmonary artery vasoconstriction due to endothelial dysfunction that also affects the systemic vasculature. We are studying the potential long-term consequences of endothelial dysfunction related to HAPE and the susceptibility to be transmitted to the next generation.
CROFT study - Cardiovascular risk of fertility treatment
The objective of the study is to demonstrate possible differences in cardiovascular health between children conceived after natural cycle in vitro fertilization (NC-IVF) and conventional in vitro fertilization (cIVF). Furthermore, we want to elaborate if the lower dosage of gonadotropins used nowadays leads to an improvement in offspring cardiovascular function.
