Cardiovascular Biology

Aim

The course aims at communicating current understanding of the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, arrhythmias and heart failure. Modern pharmacological and interventional therapies for such pathologies will be discussed. LEARNING OUTCOMES After completion of the course the student will be able to: Knowledge and understanding -Describe the mechanisms involved in different cardiovascular pathologies -Understand the most commonly used clinical procedures in the evaluation of cardiovascular function Competence and skills -Analyze how therapeutical treatments contribute to cure or alleviate the extent of the different pathologies -Develop practical laboratory skills in manipulating and processing tissue samples from cardiac and vascular tissue Judgement and approach -Critically evaluate current research in the field of basic and clinical cardiovascular biology

Content

-Vascular tone and the vascular biology of hypertension -Endothelial dysfunction and nitric oxide -Genetic basis of hypertension -Abdominal aortic aneurysm -The biology of atherosclerosis: progress and challenges -Vascular Imaging -Plaque rupture, myocardial infarction and stroke -Pharmacological therapies of heart failure -Heart regeneration -Molecular mechanisms and clinical implications of angiogenesis -Pathophysiology of cardiac arrhythmias -Sudden death, long QT syndrome and HERG channels