In recent years, the increase in knowledge about the functioning of the immune system has revealed not only its importance in the defense against external agents such as pathogens or toxins, but also in the control of tumor cells and the importance of the processes of inflammation or immunological tolerance. On the one hand, all this knowledge has allowed a better understanding of the putative pathogenic consequences of immune system dysfunction, which includes inflammatory, autoimmune and immunosuppressive diseases, among others. On the other hand, current knowledge about immunoregulation has paved the way to better prevent or control transplantation rejection. However, such mechanisms underlying immune dysregulation are highly variable depending on the type of pathology (systemic chronic inflammatory diseases, autoinflammatory diseases, autoimmune disorders, immunosuppression) and on characteristics of the host such as sex, genetics, nutritional status, etc. Given the wide variety of pathologies that are a consequence of excessive, inefficient or inadequate induction of immune responses, the study of factors involved in the dysregulation of the immune system has gained great attention during the last decades.

This book reviews all aspects of the diagnosis and management of heart disease in women, covering areas such as gender differences in metabolic syndrome, hypertension and atherogenesis. Gender differences in cardiovascular diseases are widespread, but while gender medicine takes into account the effects of sex and gender on the health of women and men, traditionally, women have been underrepresented in cardiovascular clinical trials, in management of different cardiac diseases and drug use. Gender Differences in the Pathogenesis and Management of Heart Disease deals with the gender-specific differences in cardiac physiology and diseases and brings into perspective the critical significance of gender in management of cardiovascular disease presentations and management. As such it is of enormous use to all clinical staff who manage women with cardiovascular disease.

This issue of Heart Failure Clinics, guest edited by Drs. Giuseppe Pacileo, Daniele Masarone, Francesco Grigioni and Luciano Potena, will cover key topics in Advanced Heart Failure: From Pathophysiology to Clinical Management. This issue is one of four issues selected each year by our series consulting editor, Dr. Eduardo Bossone. Topics discussed in this issue include (but are not limited to): Pathophysiology of advanced heart failure: what I need to know for clinical management?, Advanced heart failure: definition, epidemiology and clinical course, Echocardiography in advanced heart failure: beyond diagnosis, Disease modifier drugs in patients with advanced heart failure: How to optimize their use?, Congestion in patients with advanced heart failure: Assessment and treatment, Inotropes in patients with advanced heart failure: Not only palliative care, Cardiac resynchronization therapy and cardiac contractility modulation in patients with advanced heart failure: How to select the right candidate?, Mitral and tricuspid valves percutaneous repair in patients with advanced heart failure: Panacea, or Pandora's box?, Left ventricular assist device: Indication, timing and management, Listing criteria for heart transplant: Role of cardiopulmonary exercise test and of prognostic scores, Right heart catheterization in patients with advanced heart failure: when to perform, how to interpreter?, Advanced heart failure in special population: Cardiomyopathies, Advanced heart failure in special population: Pediatric age, Advanced heart failure in special population: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and Treatment of advanced heart failure: What future holds?. - Provides in-depth, clinical reviews on advanced heart failure, providing actionable insights for clinical practice. - Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field; Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create these timely topic-based reviews.

Almost nine months since the first recorded case, the novel betacoronovirus; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has now passed 18 million confirmed cases. The multi-disciplinary work of researchers worldwide has provided a far deeper understanding of COVID-19 pathogenesis, clinical treatment and outcomes, lethality, disease-spread dynamics, period of infectivity, containment interventions, as well as providing a wealth of relevant epidemiological data. With 27 vaccines currently undergoing human trials, and countries worldwide continuing to battle case numbers, or prepare for resurgences, the need for efficient, high-quality pipelines for peer-reviewed research remains as crucial as ever.

Systemic autoimmune diseases are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by humoral and cell-mediated immune responses against various self-constituents. In specific cases, the heart and cardiovascular (CV) system are the primary organs targeted by the disease. On the other hand, several systemic autoimmune conditions are linked to enhanced atherosclerosis, with a consequently high CV morbidity and mortality rates. Persistent low-grade inflammation in the vascular wall is described to be important in the physiopathology of CV events. At first, inflammation is linked to endothelial dysfunction supporting the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells with subsequent vascular remodeling. Furthermore, the infiltration of innate and adaptive immune cells promotes a milieu of molecules that contributes to the perpetuation of inflammation itself. Although CV risk assessment should be part of routine care in patients with autoimmune diseases, no disease-specific models are currently available for this purpose. The main pillars of CV risk reduction are pharmacological and nonpharmacological management of cardiovascular CV risk factors, as well as tight control of disease activity.

The Rose-Mackay Textbook of Autoimmune Diseases, Seventh Edition is a comprehensive reference that emphasizes the "3 P's" of 21st Century medicine: precision, prediction, and prevention. Topics cover the modern systems approach to biology that involves large amounts of personalized, ongoing physiologic data ("omics") coupled with advanced methods of analysis, new tests of genetic engineering, such as CRISPR, auto inflammatory diseases, autoimmune responses to tumor immunotherapy, and information on normal immune response and disorders. Each of the major autoimmune disorders is discussed by researchers and clinical investigators experienced in dealing with patients. This new edition continues its success with 75% of the content revised, updated, or completely new. This edition is a valuable resource to clinicians involved in the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune disease, as well as to scientists who want to follow developments in the field. - Provides new research on autoimmune diseases, their diagnosis, prevention, and therapy - Covers a complete range of all common, rare and new autoimmune diseases, including cancer and COVID - Extensively revised with 75% new material based on autoimmunity, developments in the different diagnosis and therapies for these autoimmune diseases, and a completely updated description of the different diseases - Supplemented with a website that hosts a Podcast per chapter

Calcific aortic valve stenosis is the most frequent valvular heart disease in Western countries, affecting up to 13% of individuals over 75 years. The disease is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. It is characterized by fibro-calcification of aortic valve cusps and concomitant left ventricular remodelling due to chronic pressure overload, which can evolve into overt heart failure. It progresses very slowly until the onset of symptoms, the indication for aortic valve replacement. Today, about 300,000 aortic valve replacements are performed annually worldwide, either via surgery or transcatheter implantation. This is the only treatment shown to improve survival. There is no pharmacological treatment to prevent or slow disease progression. Major risk factors include older age, congenital anomalies of the aortic valve (bicuspid valve), male gender, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, smoking, and diabetes. However, how these factors contribute to the disease in unclear. Due to the disease itself, patients are at increased risk of both thrombosis and bleeding, which, in addition to advanced age and comorbidities, makes antithrombotic management of these patients difficult. Regarding valve prostheses, the ideal prosthesis either mechanical or biological still does not exist. Clinically available prostheses can lead to major complications, thrombosis or infection, which necessitate reoperation or cause death in 50-60% of patients within 10 years post-implantation. Hence, there are major unmet medical needs in CAVS and more basic and translational research is definitely required. Our Research Topic depicts major challenges and research paths that could be followed to address these major health needs.