1,721,027 research outputs found
The case for blood pressure control in risk groups.
No full textHypertension rarely occurs in isolation, and many hypertensives have additional risk factors for cardiovascular disease in addition to elevated blood pressure. Each patient's cardiovascular disease risk profile should be determined individually, and the treatment approach tailored to each case. Cardiovascular disease risk factors and high blood pressure are closely linked, suggesting that the ideal treatment should not only lower blood pressure, but also effectively lower overall risk. This is likely to require more than one drug, and one of the most effective and safe combinations is that of an angiotensin receptor blocker with a diuretic. The completion of one of the most important trials undertaken to explore risk factors and anti-hypertensive treatment, the Valsartan long-term evaluation trial (VALUE), will certainly enhance understanding for the role of combination treatment in high-risk patients, as well as contribute to the design of rational treatments for blood pressure control
Is it time to measure microalbuminuria in hypertension?
No full textFormer guidelines on hypertension never made a commitment to the detection of microalbuminuria for screening or follow-up of hypertensive patients. On the other hand, growing evidence support the contributory role of microalbuminuria in the prediction of absolute cardiovascular risk in hypertension and document the potential relevance of this parameter to the initial choice of antihypertensive treatment. Upcoming new guidelines and diagnostic algorithms in hypertension need to underscore the clinical positioning of microalbuminuria for stratification of risk and follow-up purposes
Comparison of Agents That Affect Aldosterone Action
No full textThe first aldosterone blocker, spironolactone, initially was used as a diuretic but was accompanied by a significant amount of side effects that necessitated the withdrawal of the drug in a relevant number of patients. The discovery of the many receptor-mediated actions of aldosterone in several different organs greatly contributed to expand the indications of aldosterone blockers. Eplerenone was the second component of this class of drugs and differed from spironolactone because of its significantly better safety, albeit this was accompanied by a lower potency when used at equinumeric doses. Although these two drugs were being used in clinical practice, the epithelial sodium channel blockers, amiloride and triamterene, with a similar antialdosterone action, continued to be used in clinical practice in combination with thiazides and loop diuretics. New members of the third and fourth generation of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists and aldosterone synthase inhibitors are in development. These new compounds, which include the new nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid-receptor antagonists and aldosterone synthase inhibitors, try to maintain adequate efficacy, avoiding the drawbacks of spironolactone and eplerenone. Ongoing studies will show the certainty of the capacities of these new compounds to override the virtues of the first mineralocorticoid-receptor spironolactone while avoiding the side effects leading so frequently to the withdrawal of the drug, including a significantly lower prevalence of hyperkalemia when chronic kidney disease is present
Combination therapy in hypertension
No full textArterial hypertension is the most important modifiable cardiovascular risk factor leading to death in general population. Optimal treatment strategies are continuously being debated and both the initiation and maintenance of a pharmacologic approach have been evaluated in the latest clinical trials. Although monotherapy is widely used as the initial therapy in most of the hypertensives, blood pressure-lowering drug combinations have offered some benefits in high-cardiovascular risk patients. It is part of common clinical experience that the vast majority of patients with stage 2 hypertension require 2 or more pharmacologic agents to obtain a satisfying control. Moreover, antihypertensive combinations should be considered in a number of clinical situations depending on the cardio-renal risk
Renal implications of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockade in heart failure.
No full textThe renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system actively participates in the derangement of renal function since the early stages of heart failure (HF). A diminished capacity to excrete sodium secondary to increased proximal tubular re-absorption and loss of the renal functional reserve are the two most relevant initial alterations of renal function in which angiotensin II has been proven to act directly. Meanwhile, the octapeptide contributes to maintain glomerular filtration rate (GFR) within normal limits through efferent arteriole vasoconstriction. Administration of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) or angiotensin receptor antagonists (ARA) may thus be accompanied by a functional fall in that parameter. Advanced age, higher initial serum creatinine, history of hypertension, diabetes and atrial fibrillation predict the onset of GFR impairment associated with blockade of the renin-angiotensin system. Concomitant administration of betablockers may help to protect renal function, and preliminary data indicate that the combination of ACEi and ARA is not accompanied by a higher renal risk. The good prognostic effects of aldosterone antagonists in HF does not seem to be related to intrarenal effects of these compounds with the exception of preventing potassium loss and hypokalemia. The systematic therapeutic use of drug(s) provided with beneficial renal effects, to treat arterial hypertension or myocardial ischemia, may contribute to delay of, or prevent the development of HF
The management of the type 2 diabetic patient with hypertension - too late and too little: suggested improvements.
No full textPatients with comorbid hypertension and type 2 diabetes are common, have a greatly increased risk of premature cardiovascular and renal morbidity and mortality, and are likely to increase substantially in number over the next 10-15 years. We suggest the need for more aggressive management strategies for these patients, regardless of their baseline blood pressure, including the early use of combination therapy with blockers of the renin-angiotensin system
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
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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