Research

Area 2

Atherosclerosis and coronary disease

Team leader

Strategic objectives

1. Physiopathology and improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of acute coronary syndrome. Role of the vascular inflammation mechanisms and thrombosis.

  • Identification of different clinical signs and biomarkers of inflammation, necrosis and hemodynamic stress allowing improved diagnostic evaluation and risk stratification of patients with chest pain and negative troponin findings.
  • Evaluation of the role of different inflammatory biomarkers and thrombosis in the physiopathology and course of patients with myocardial infarction.

2. Prevention of ventricular dysfunction in patients subjected to chemotherapy. A randomized study evaluating different drugs in the prevention of ventricular dysfunction in oncological patients subjected to high-dose chemotherapy with drugs of known cardiotoxicity.

3. Control mechanisms of post-vascular lesion intimal hyperplasia and regulation of vascular tone:

  • Porcine model with femoral artery transplantation.
  • Graft vasculopathy model with aortic transplantation in the rat.
  • Model of femoral artery damage in the mouse.
  • Porcine model of intimal hyperplasia of the coronary arteries.

4. Post-infarction myocardial regeneration. Study of the mechanisms of implantation, differentiation and regeneration of pluripotent stem cells in a porcine model of acute myocardial infarction.

5. Determination of the mechanisms involved in the regulation of nitric oxide and superoxide anion systems through steroid receptors, and their role in regulating the development of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

6. Clinical evaluation of new devices for the treatment of ischemic and structural heart disease.

7. Evaluation of the efficacy of cellular therapy in patients with’refractory angina.

Main lines of research


1. Physiopathology and improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of acute coronary syndrome. Role of the vascular inflammation mechanisms and thrombosis. Evaluation of circulating endothelial cells and precursor endothelial cells.

2. Prevention of ventricular dysfunction in patients subjected to chemotherapy.

3. Study of theimpact of gender difference upon ischemic heart disease. Evaluation of the characteristics of cardiovascular diseases in women and the different factors influencing their prognosis.

4. Vascular biology. Study of the mechanisms underlying post-revascularization procedure intimal hyperplasia. Within this line of work we have different projects involving different vascular lesion models in both large animals (such as pigs) and in small mammals (rats and mice). Specifically, in the experimental cardiology laboratory we have a model of angioplasty and stent placement in pigs, a model of intimal hyperplasia development in mice - with which studies in genetically modified animals are made – and two vascular transplant models in pigs and rats.

5. Study of neurohormonal activation and the fibrotic process associated with ventricular remodelling in heart failure in idiopathic or ischemic dilatory myocardiopathies. We use molecular biological and immunohistochemical techniques in myocardial tissue and serum neurohormonal determinations. This line will allow us to gain in-depth knowledge of the physiopathological mechanisms and evolutive course of heart failure.

6. Study of neurohormonal activation and the fibrotic process associated with ventricular remodelling in heart failure in idiopathic or ischemic dilatory myocardiopathies. This line will allow us to gain in-depth knowledge of the physiopathological mechanisms and evolutive course of heart failure.

7. Investigation of the mechanisms by which aging and menopause affect the signaling pathways of the nitric oxide and superoxide anion systems, and their role in regulating cardiovascular function in both healthy individuals and in patients with pre-existing cardiovascular diseases.

8. Clinical studies for evaluating the efficacy and safety of intracoronary devices (stents)

9. Chronic total coronary artery occlusion in humans: from physiopathology to the clinical implications of successful recanalization via percutaneous coronary intervention

10. Cellular therapy in patients with refractory angina not amenable to recanalization

11. Structural heart disease: study of quality of life in patients subjected to TAVI

12. Mechanical circulatory assist devices. Ventricular assist as a bridge to transplantation.