1,721,231 research outputs found
ADRENERGIC MECHANISM IN THE CONTROL OF ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION
Full text linkThere is considerable evidence that many disease are associated with endothelial dysfunction and
reduced nitric oxide production such as hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemias, diabetes, heart failure,
atherosclerosis. Notably these conditions are also characterized by alteration in the adrenergic tone.
Whether these two mechanisms are just epiphenomenal each other or there is a functional link, it is
still to be established. A starting ground to establish this issue is that vascular endothelium plays an
important role in the function of cardiovascular system and that adrenergic receptors on endothelial
cells contribute to the regulation of vasomotor tone. The aim of this excerpt is to review current
knowledge on the physiology of endothelial adrenergic receptors to contribute to the basis for newer
and better approaches to endothelial dysfunction in the setup of cardiovascular conditions
The Role of the Transcription Factor Nuclear Factor Kappa B in the Regulation of Cardiac Hypertrophy
No full textCardiovascular Risk Profile in 14.513 patients with essential hypertension followed by Italian specialist physicians
No full textBackground: Recent data clearly demonstrated that in Western countries control of blood pressure and modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in the hypertensive population is rather poor and far from being satisfactory.
Aim: The Observational Pressure Survey (OPS) was planned to assess control of blood pressure and the major modifiable risk factors within a large Italian hypertensive population, aged ≥60 years, followed by hypertension specialists.
Results: Systolic blood pressure was controlled below 140mm Hg in only 30.2% of males and 29.9% of females, while diastolic blood pressure was controlled below 90mm Hg in 63.9% of males and 67.8% of females. According to the most recent classification of the European guidelines on hypertension, only 4.8% of the patients had optimal to normal control, whereas 9.7% had high-normal level of blood pressure, and 70% had grade 1–3 hypertension, despite treatment. Also, the control of cardiovascular modifiable risk factors associated with hypertension appeared rather poor in the study. In particular, total cholesterol levels were found to be <200 mg/ dL in approximately 30% of the overall population.
Conclusions: The results of the present OPS survey, performed in a hypertensive population routinely followed by specialist physicians, confirm and extend the existing data obtained in other studies, and highlight the need for specific and effective actions directed to modify this negative situation and improve the level of blood pressure control in Italy. Accordingly, this survey suggests that guidelines for treatment of hypertension and cardiovascu- lar risk need to be substantially implemented, not only at the level of general practitioners, but also at the level of specialist physicians
Cardiovascular Risk Profile in 14.513 patients with essential hypertension followed by Italian specialist physicians
No full textBackground: Recent data clearly demonstrated that in Western countries control of blood pressure and modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in the hypertensive population is rather poor and far from being satisfactory.
Aim: The Observational Pressure Survey (OPS) was planned to assess control of blood pressure and the major modifiable risk factors within a large Italian hypertensive population, aged ≥60 years, followed by hypertension specialists.
Results: Systolic blood pressure was controlled below 140mm Hg in only 30.2% of males and 29.9% of females, while diastolic blood pressure was controlled below 90mm Hg in 63.9% of males and 67.8% of females. According to the most recent classification of the European guidelines on hypertension, only 4.8% of the patients had optimal to normal control, whereas 9.7% had high-normal level of blood pressure, and 70% had grade 1-3 hypertension, despite treatment. Also, the control of cardiovascular modifiable risk factors associated with hypertension appeared rather poor in the study. In particular, total cholesterol levels were found to be <200 mg/dL in approximately 30% of the overall population.
Conclusions: The results of the present OPS survey, performed in a hypertensive population routinely followed by specialist physicians, confirm and extend the existing data obtained in other studies, and highlight the need for specific and effective actions directed to modify this negative situation and improve the level of blood pressure control in Italy. Accordingly, this survey suggests that guidelines for treatment of hypertension and cardiovascular risk need to be substantially implemented, not only at the level of general practitioners, but also at the level of specialist physicians
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Angiotensin II receptor blockers and myocardial infarction: an updated analysis of randomized clinical trials
Full text linkOBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of treatments based on angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) on the risk of myocardial infarction (MI), cardiovascular and all-cause death, as compared with conventional treatment or placebo. METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis of all available major international, randomized clinical trials (20 trials, n = 108 909 patients, mean age 66.5 +/- 4.1 years), published by 31 August 2008, comparing ARBs with other drugs or conventional therapies (placebo) and reporting MI incidence. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 3.3 +/- 1.1 years, a total of 2374/53 208 and 2354/53 153 cases of MI were recorded in ARB-based groups and in comparator arms, respectively [odds ratio (OR) 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.008 (0.950-1.069)]. Risks of MI were not different when tested in different clinical conditions, including hypertension, high cardiovascular risk, stroke, coronary disease, renal disease and heart failure. No significant differences in the risk of MI between treatment with ARBs versus placebo [OR 95% CI 0.944 (0.841-1.060)], beta-blockers and diuretics [OR 95% CI 0.970 (0.804-1.170)], calcium channel blockers [OR 95% CI 1.112 (0.971-1.272)], or angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors [OR 95% CI 1.008 (0.926-1.099)] were observed. Analysis of trials comparing combination therapy based on ARBs plus ACE inhibitors versus active treatments or placebo showed equivalent MI risk [OR 95% CI 0.996 (0.896-1.107)]. CONCLUSION: The present meta-analysis indicates that the risk of MI is comparable with use of ARBs and other antihypertensive drugs in a wide range of clinical conditions
Clinical Management of Coronary Heart Disease in Hypertension : Practical recommendations from the Italian Society of Hypertension (SIIA).
No full text[No abstract available
- …
