While authorship practices can vary across different disciplines, authorship should reflect the individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the research project, take public responsibility for the paper’s content, and agree to its submission for publication. In real life, the article is usually authored by at least one truly genuine author and some parasitic authors. The first author and the last author are especially important. The middle authors are less important, and their participation is often wrongly seen as an inconsequential decorative favor. The honorary author, a gift or guest author, is added as a bonus to please someone higher in the hierarchy than the submitting author. This practice is believed to enhance the chances of publication, but usually, the excess of honorary authors will make reviewers more critical. A ghost author contributed substantially but it does not appear in the list of authors to avoid declaring an overt conflict of interest. The gold author is someone paid by a third party in direct or indirect forms, and capable of writing and signing everything asked by the payer, including overstating the merits of a new drug or ignoring its drawbacks. A fake author does not exist, and while it may seem humorous it is a breach of scientific integrity and can lead to serious consequences for the individuals involved. With Chat-generative pre-trained transformer (Chat-GPT), artificial intelligence may contribute decisively to the article content and presentation. Overall, it is important to maintain high standards of integrity and transparency in authorship practices to ensure that research findings are trustworthy and reliable. The reputation of your work is in the hands of your coauthors, so choose them carefully and make sure they share your commitment to scientific integrity.

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is a relatively common mitral valvulopathy and the most common cause of isolated primary mitral regurgitation (MR) requiring surgical repair. It affects about 1–3% of the general population. Although MVP is viewed as a benign condition, the association between MVP and sudden cardiac death (SCD) has been proven. Patients with MVP have a three times higher risk of SCD than the general population. The underlying mechanisms and predictors of arrhythmias, which occur in patients with MVP, are still poorly understood. However, some echocardiographic features such as mitral annulus disjunction (MAD), bileaflet MVP (biMVP), and papillary muscle (PM) fibrosis were frequently linked with increased number of arrhythmic events and are referred to as “arrhythmogenic” or “malignant”. Arrhythmogenic MVP (AMVP) has also been associated with other factors such as female sex, polymorphic premature ventricular contraction (PVC), abnormalities of T-waves, and Pickelhaube sign on tissue Doppler tracing of the lateral part of the mitral annulus. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging and speckle tracking echocardiography are new tools showing significant potential for detection of malignant features of AMVP. This paper presents various data coming from electrocardiography (ECG) analysis, echocardiography, and other imaging techniques as well as compilation of the recent studies on the subject of MVP.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is known as a non-communicable disease (NCD) that affects more and more individuals. MetS is closely related to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), cardiovascular disease (CVD), obesity and inflammation. It is associated with T2DM due to the disturbance in insulin secretion/effect, eventually leading to insulin resistance (IR). The link between MetS and CVD is due to accelerated atherosclerosis in response to chronic inflammation. This literature review was based on a search in the PubMed database. All selected articles are written in English and cover a period of approximately 10 years (January 2014 to May 2023). The first selection used MeSH terms such as: “metabolic syndrome”, “type 2 diabetes mellitus”, “obesity”, “inflammation”, and “insulin resistance” and different associations between them. Titles and abstracts were analyzed. In the end, 44 articles were selected, 4 of which were meta-analysis studies. Currently, an individual is considered to have MetS if they present 3 of the following changes: increased waist circumference, increased triglycerides (TG), reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), increased fasting blood glucose and hypertension. We believe this can often lead to a false diagnosis. The objective of this paper is to compile what we consider to be an appropriate panel of MetS indicators. The markers that stand out in this review are the lipid profile, anti- and pro-inflammatory function and oxidative stress. Considering the research, we believe that a complete panel, to correlate the most characteristic conditions of MetS, should include the following markers: TG/HDL-C ratio, small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (SdLDL-C), lipid peroxidation markers, leptin/adiponectin ratio, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), activin-A and ferritin levels. Finally, it is important to expand research on the pathophysiology of MetS and confirm the most appropriate markers as well as discover new ones to correctly diagnose this condition.

The use of echocardiography, a straightforward and widely available technique, allows for a comprehensive assessment of the patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) under both resting and stress conditions. The true prevalence of HCM has been redefined over time by this imaging approach, which has also made it feasible to pinpoint parameters that clinicians may use to stratify patients at risk for adverse cardiovascular events. The current and emerging prognostic predictors in HCM, assessed with transthoracic echocardiography at rest and during provocation, are discussed in this review.

The deleterious consequences of alcohol consumption are extensively documented across various dimensions of human health, encompassing somatic disorders such as nervous system impairments, digestive system abnormalities, and circulatory dysfunctions, in addition to socio-psychological aspects. Within the domain of cardiology, a substantial portion of the ongoing scientific discourse centers on elucidating the toxic dose of alcohol. Presented herewith are the findings from a comprehensive review of the latest publications pertinent to this crucial issue.

Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is composed of a low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and glycoprotein (a)—apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)]. The size and concentration of Lp(a) in serum can vary among individuals and is determined by genetic factors. The environmental factors, diet, and physical activity have a negligible effect on Lp(a) level. Observational, epidemiological, and genetic studies improved that high levels of Lp(a) > 50 mg/dL (> 125 nmol/L) have been associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and calcific aortic valve stenosis (CAVS). It is recommended to measure Lp(a) at least once in adults to identify individuals with a high cardiovascular risk. This screening is particularly important in certain populations, including: youth with a history of ischemic stroke or a family history of premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD; ASCVD) or high Lp(a), individuals with recurrent cardiovascular events despite optimal hypolipemic treatment and no other identifiable risk factors or patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). Considering Lp(a) levels in the evaluation of cardiovascular risk can provide valuable information for risk stratification and management decisions. However, it’s important to note that the treatments of elevated level of Lp(a) are limited. In recent years, there has been ongoing research and development of new drugs targeting Lp(a): pelacarsen—antisense oligonucleotide (ASO), and olpasiran—a small interfering RNA (siRNA).

Congenital heart defects (CHD) represent the most frequent congenital anomalies among newborns, as well as the leading cause of spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, neonatal and infant death. CHD have been recognized as multifactorial diseases, with environmental contaminants as potential contributors to the etiopathogenesis of CHD. Toxic elements, such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) are known to be associated with adverse reproductive outcomes and certain congenital anomalies, however their association with the risk for CHD remains inconsistent. This review summarizes the updated evidence on the CHD-associated risk related to exposure to As, Cd, Hg, Pb during pregnancy, reporting the main findings from epidemiological and experimental studies and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Additionally, being diet the major source of these elements in the general population, after having identified the main vectors of toxic metals in food, possible remediation strategies to reduce diet-related risks are also described. Among these, a novel, consumer-centered approach in developing new foods is discussed, considering not only the nutritional characteristics of edible compounds foods are made up of, but also their organoleptic features, making the food even more appealing to the consumer. Overall, current data support the association of maternal exposure to As and Pb with increased risk for CHD, although significant associations have only been observed for total and/or specific subgroups. On the other hand, the evidence of association for Cd and Hg exposure in pregnancy with CHD in the offspring remains, yet, quite speculative. Further large prospective cohort studies and insights into the molecular and biomolecular processes of these relationships are warranted to further explore and/or verify these findings.