Does weight force application to the lower torso have an influence on inferior vena cava and cardiovascular parameters?

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether weight force application to the lower torso can lead to impairment of inferior vena cava (IVC) and cardiovascular parameters.

Methods: Using ultrasound sonography and impedance cardiography, the effects of a weight force application of 5, 10, 15, and 25 kg to the lower torso, placed in prone position, on IVC diameter and maximal blood flow, mean artery pressure, stroke volume, heart rate, cardiac index, cardiac output, oxygen saturation (SpO(2)), and acceleration index were investigated in 6 healthy volunteers.

Results: The following parameters showed a statistically significant correlation with the amount of weight force applied: IVC diameter: r=-0.

Association between hypertensive urgencies and subsequent cardiovascular events in patients with hypertension.

Objective: To determine whether patients with hypertensive urgency have a higher risk for subsequent cardiovascular events compared with hypertensive patients without this event.

Methods: Overall, 384 patients with hypertensive urgency and 295 control patients were followed up for at least 2 years. Hypertensive urgency was defined as a systolic blood pressure above 220 mmHg and/or a diastolic blood pressure above 120 mmHg without any evidence of acute end-organ damage.

Effects of candesartan and lisinopril on the fibrinolytic system in hypertensive patients.

The effects of the angiotensin II receptor blocker candesartan and the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor lisinopril on the fibrinolytic system were investigated in a double-blinded, prospective, randomized study. Seventy-seven hypertensive patients taking candesartan (n=41) and lisinopril (n=36) with a systolic blood pressure >130 mm Hg and/or a diastolic blood pressure >80 mm Hg obtained by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurement were included in the study. Blood pressure, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), and the molar ratio of PAI-1/tPA were determined before treatment and 6 weeks later.

Wine ingestion has no effect on lipid peroxidation products.

Objective: Moderate alcohol consumption has been associated with beneficial effects on coronary heart disease. This positive effect has been partly attributed to the flavonol contents which promote vasodilatory, anti-aggregatory and antioxidative effects and protect low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol from oxidation. Thus, the present study was carried out to determine the acute effects of different wines on LDL oxidization in healthy volunteers.

Association between course of blood pressure within the first 24 hours and functional recovery after acute ischemic stroke.

Study Objective: The relation between course of blood pressure within the first 24 hours after acute stroke and early neurologic outcome remains a matter of dispute. We investigate this relation with adjustment for other influencing variables.

Methods: Three hundred seventy-two patients with the diagnosis of ischemic stroke were included to evaluate the relation between blood pressure course and early neurologic outcome.

Is fasting blood glucose a reliable parameter for screening for diabetes in hypertension?

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of a combination of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) for screening for diabetes in hypertensive patients. The oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) served as a gold standard for the detection of diabetes.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was performed in the Hypertension Unit of the Department of Emergency Medicine in the General Hospital of Vienna between January 1999 and July 2001.

Factors influencing the accuracy of oscillometric blood pressure measurement in critically ill patients.

Objective: Comparison of oscillometric blood pressure measurement with two different devices (M3000A using a new algorithm and M1008A using an established algorithm, both Hewlett Packard) and evaluation of current recommendations concerning the relation between cuff size and upper arm circumference in critically ill patients.

Design: Prospective data collection.

Setting: Emergency department in a 2000-bed inner-city hospital.

Classification of blood pressure levels by ambulatory blood pressure in hypertension.

Whereas clinic blood pressure (CBP) above normality is divided into stages, no corresponding classifications are available for 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP). We conducted a study (1) to define stages of hypertension by ABP corresponding to CBP stages and (2) to evaluate if these stages have prognostic impact similar to CBP stages. Seven hundred thirty-six hypertensive patients were included.

Predictors of survival in unselected patients with acute myocardial infarction requiring continuous catecholamine support.

Background: Several predictors of survival have been described in selected subgroups of patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction. However, data on unselected patients with acute myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock, including patients with out-of hospital cardiac arrest, are missing. We aimed to assess predictors of survival for an unselected cohort of patients representative of clinical practice who experienced acute myocardial infarction and required continuous catecholamine support for circulatory failure.

Severe accidental hypothermia with or without hemodynamic instability: rewarming without the use of extracorporeal circulation.

Background: The optimal rewarming technique for patients in deep accidental hypothermia with core temperatures below 28 degrees C is not established. Several authors believe that extracorporeal rewarming is essential, especially for patients with hemodynamic instability. Others believe that invasive rewarming ought to be reserved for patients in cardiac arrest.

Ramipril prior to thrombolysis attenuates the early increase of PAI-1 in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

In a placebo-controlled, double-blinded, randomized study we evaluated the effect of ramipril prior to thrombolysis on the course of PAI-1 plasma levels and on the frequency of postinfarct ischemic events in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Fifty-one out of 99 patients received 2.5 mg ramipril orally prior to thrombolysis and 12 h later.

Intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation in the emergency department: a 7-year review and analysis of predictors of survival.

Background: Intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) counterpulsation in cardiogenic shock (CS) is suggested as bridging therapy to definite emergency revascularization, heart transplantation and acute valvular repair. Data concerning the use of IABP counterpulsation in an emergency department (ED) are rare.

Patients And Methods: We reviewed retrospectively the charts of patients who had been treated by IABP counterpulsation in the ED of a tertiary care university hospital during a 7-year period.

Increased levels of transforming growth factor-beta1 in essential hypertension.

Background: Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a multifunctional cytokine that has been linked to vascular remodeling processes, myocardial hypertrophy, and renal fibrosis. Recently a correlation between serum levels of TGF-beta1 and blood pressure (BP) levels in patients with end-stage renal disease was shown. In addition, it is not clear whether TGF-beta1 is a causative factor in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension and associated with hypertensive target organ damage (TOD).

Active epistaxis at ED presentation is associated with arterial hypertension.

Epistaxis and hypertension are frequent in the general population, but an association is still controversial. Aim of this retrospective cohort study was to test if active epistaxis at emergency department (ED) presentation is associated with hypertension. Patients with active epistaxis at ED presentation (n = 271; 73%) were compared with controls without active bleeding (n = 101; 27%).

Microalbumin measurement alone or calculation of the albumin/creatinine ratio for the screening of hypertension patients?

Background: Spot urine sampling seems to be a reliable screening method for the detection of microalbuminuria in hypertensive patients. It remains unclear whether microalbumin measurement alone or calculation of the albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) are more reliable for the detection of microalbuminuria in non-selected hypertensive patients.

Methods: Following collection of a spot, midstream urine sample, urine was collected for 24 h for the measurement of microalbumin in 264 hypertensive patients.