[Disease management for heart failure patients: role of wireless technologies for telemedicine. The ICAROS project].

Healthcare costs for heart failure are increasing. The need for a better care, however, has to be matched with a policy of cost containment. A way to improve the cost-effectiveness of heart failure care is the disease management approach, in which therapy, education and follow-up are tailored for each patient by a multidisciplinary team.

The relationship between systolic blood pressure and cardiovascular risk--results of the Brisighella Heart Study.

We examined the relationship of systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, and pulse pressure to coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease risk in a prospective population-based European cohort. The Brisighella Heart Study included 2939 men and women between the ages of 14-84 without prior coronary heart disease or cerebrovascular disease and not taking antihypertensive therapy at baseline. Cox regression was used to obtain hazard ratios (HRs) for coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease as a function of baseline blood pressure parameters over a 23-year follow-up.

Systolic and pulse blood pressures (but not diastolic blood pressure and serum cholesterol) are associated with alterations in carotid intima-media thickness in the moderately hypercholesterolaemic hypertensive patients of the Plaque Hypertension Lipid Lowering Italian Study. PHYLLIS study group.

Objective: The Plaque Hypertension Lipid Lowering Italian Study (PHYLLIS), is the first study in patients with hypertension (diastolic blood pressure (DBP) 95-115 mmHg; systolic blood pressure (SBP) 150-210 mmHg), moderate hypercholesterolaemia (LDL-cholesterol 4.14-5.17 mmol/l (160-200 mg/dl) and initial carotid artery alterations (maximum intima-media thickness (IMT) Tmax > or = 1.

Intima-media thickness after pravastatin stabilizes also in patients with moderate to no reduction in LDL-cholesterol levels: the carotid atherosclerosis Italian ultrasound study.

The Carotid Atherosclerosis Italian Ultrasound study (CAIUS), a multicenter, double-blind clinical trial, performed in 305 asymptomatic, moderately hypercholesterolemic patients, clearly demonstrated beneficial effects of pravastatin on the carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) progression. The database of the CAIUS study was examined in order to investigate the presence of a relationship, if any, between the activity of pravastatin on IMT progression rate and its hypocholesterolemic effect. Quantitative B-mode ultrasound imaging was used to quantify the individual mean maximum IMT progression rate in 3 years.

Effect of the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors on blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension and primary hypercholesterolemia.

Certain hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, ie, statins, may cause vasodilation by restoring the endothelial dysfunction that frequently accompanies hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. Several studies have found that a blood pressure reduction is associated with the use of statins, but conclusive evidence from controlled trials is lacking. After an 8-week placebo and diet run-in period, 30 persons with moderate hypercholesterolemia and untreated hypertension (total cholesterol 6.

Short- and long-term effects of early fosinopril administration in patients with acute anterior myocardial infarction undergoing intravenous thrombolysis: results from the Fosinopril in Acute Myocardial Infarction Study. FAMIS Working Party.

Background: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors are used in patients who have myocardial infarction with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Few data are available in patients whose LV function is within the normal range.

Methods And Results: The Fosinopril in Acute Myocardial Infarction Study was a 2-year, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study of 285 patients with anterior acute myocardial infarction and was designed to investigate the effects of the early (<9 hours) administration of fosinopril and thrombolysis on (1) changes in echocardiographically evaluated LV volumes at 3 months and (2) long-term occurrence of death and congestive heart failure.

Optimizing the assessment of the elderly patient with borderline hypertension: the Hypertension and Ambulatory Recording in the OLD (HAROLD) study.

This article describes the objectives and protocol of the HAROLD study, a trial designed to assess whether home blood pressure (BP), 24-hour ambulatory BP, left ventricular structure and function, and albumin excretion rate are more accurate predictors of outcome than traditional sphygmomanometric BP in elderly subjects with borderline hypertension. Development of sustained hypertension (BP > or = 160/95 mmHg) and incidence of morbid events over a 5-year follow-up are considered soft and hard endpoints, respectively. Patients with blood pressure values between 140/90 and 159/94 mmHg after three months of observation and who have never been treated, are eligible for the study; these subjects must be 60 to 79 years old, and free from other important risk factors for atherosclerosis.

Post acute myocardial infarction: the Fosinopril in Acute Myocardial Infarction Study (FAMIS).

Many studies have clearly documented the beneficial effects of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The Fosinopril in Acute Myocardial Infarction Study (FAMIS) was a 2-year randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter study investigating the hemodynamic and clinical effects of early (< 9 h from onset of symptoms) administration of fosinopril in 285 patients with anterior AMI undergoing thrombolysis within 6 h of symptom onset. The objective of the study was twofold: 1) to estimate changes in left ventricular (LV) volumes and function over 3 months by a series of echocardiographic evaluations, and 2) to clinically assess mortality and the occurrence of congestive heart failure (CHF) over 2 years.

An effective approach for treating elderly patients with isolated systolic hypertension: results of an Italian multicenter study with fosinopril.

Cardiovascular diseases are the most common causes of mortality, and hypertension is the most common cardiovascular disease in all ages. The Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program (SHEP) trial has shown that the pharmacologic reduction of isolated systolic hypertension can significantly reduce the incidence of cardiovascular complications. The aim of the Italian multicenter study reported here is to compare the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of fosinopril, a novel angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor with a dual route of excretion, with chlorthalidone, the diuretic administered in the SHEP study, in 312 elderly patients with isolated systolic hypertension.

Evaluation of regression of left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive patients treated with captopril as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to assess left ventricular mass (LVM) in 20 mild to moderate essential hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (LVM > 120 g/m2), treated with captopril alone or combined with hydrochlorothiazide. MRI examination was performed at the beginning (T0) and after 3 months (T3) of active treatment, by using a Philips Gyroscan S15 superconducting system, operating at 1.5 Tesla.

[Efficacy and tolerability of a preconstituted combination of captopril 50 mg + hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg in aged subjects with isolated systolic hypertension].

In this study we evaluated in open the efficacy and tolerability of the preconstituted association Captopril 50 mg + Hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg, for a six-month period, in a population of 201 aged patients affected by isolated systolic hypertension. The results showed a good antihypertensive efficacy of the association Captopril-Hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg and also an optimal safety of use.