Publications by authors named "Kazuhiko Sonoyama"

Data on the incidence of mid-term prognostic events in patients who developed acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the late 2010s are scarce. We retrospectively included and collected data for 889 patients with ACS (ST-elevation myocardial infarction [STEMI]/non-ST-elevation ACS [NSTE-ACS]) discharged alive from 2 tertiary hospitals in Izumo City, in rural Japan, between August 2009 and July 2018. Patients were divided into 3 time groups (T1: August 2009-July 2012; T2: August 2012-July 2015; T3: August 2015-July 2018).

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Background: An association between atrial high-rate episode (AHRE) and stroke has been reported, although data for the Asian population are limited. This study aimed to investigate the role of AHRE in ischemic and major bleeding events in patients who underwent a cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) procedure.

Methods and results: This single-center historical cohort study included 710 patients (age: 78±11 years, 374 women) who underwent a CIED-related procedure between October 2009 and September 2019 at Shimane Prefectural Central Hospital (median follow-up period: 4.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined acute coronary syndrome (ACS) cases in a non-epidemic COVID-19 area in Japan, involving 42 patients admitted during March to July 2020.
  • While the overall ACS incidence remained steady, there were notable increases in delayed admissions and severe cases compared to historical data from 2015-2019.
  • The results highlight the need to motivate patients experiencing ACS symptoms to seek medical attention quickly, particularly in regions not heavily affected by COVID-19.
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Article Synopsis
  • * Results showed that there is a significant increase in NSTEMI cases among elderly men (≥75 years) during the study period, along with an overall rise in NSTEMI's share of total ACS cases.
  • * The research suggests that the rising incidence of NSTEMI may be linked to the use of multiple medications for pre-existing conditions and improved diagnostic methods like high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays.
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Background: The incidence of cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infection is increasing worldwide. However, data regarding this phenomenon in Japan and information on factors associated with developing CIED infection are limited. Our aim was to compare the incidence of CIED infection between pre-current (past 10-20 years) and current (past 10 years) clinical settings and to investigate risk factors for CIED infection in current clinical settings in a Japanese population.

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Background: Damage to renal artery myogenic tone is universally associated with progressive kidney damage. Recently, we have observed that mutations in the beta adducin subunit are associated with proteinuria in the Milan rat. Because of the role of adducin as a component of the cytoskeleton we hypothesized that this mutation may be associated with changes in myogenic tone.

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Type 2 diabetes mellitus profoundly changes small artery remodeling in response to hypertension. Abnormal increases of both wall thickness and lumen diameter are associated with an increased mortality. Changes to small artery structure in response to blood pressure (BP) in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus have never been examined.

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Background: Inflammation in adipose tissue has been implicated in vascular dysfunction, but the local mechanisms by which this occurs are unknown.

Methods And Results: Small arteries with and without perivascular adipose tissue were taken from subcutaneous gluteal fat biopsy samples and studied with wire myography and immunohistochemistry. We established that healthy adipose tissue around human small arteries secretes factors that influence vasodilation by increasing nitric oxide bioavailability.

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At the level of the small artery, essential hypertension is associated with eutrophic inward remodeling. This involves reduction in lumen diameter by an increase in wall thickness. Previously thought to involve either hypertrophy or hyperplasia of the vascular smooth muscle cells in the media, it is now felt to be mediated by a functional property of the wall: myogenic tone.

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Background: The angiotensin receptor blocker losartan inhibited urate transporter 1 (URAT1) according to in vitro experiments. However, it is still unknown whether the inhibitory effect of losartan on URAT1 contributes to its uricosuric action in humans.

Methods: Thirty-two patients with hypertension and nine patients with idiopathic renal hypouricemia (five with and four without hypertension) were enrolled for this study.

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Hyperuricemia in hypertensive subjects has been considered one of risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. We investigated the status of uric acid management in 799 hypertensive subjects (432 females and 367 males; mean age 70.9 years) managed by 43 doctors (19 cardiologists and 24 noncardiologists; 25 private practice doctors and 18 hospital doctors).

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We examined the effects of angiotensin II (Ang II) on inward rectifier K+ currents (IK1) in rat atrial myocytes. [125I]Ang II-binding assays revealed the presence of both Ang II type 1 (AT1) and type 2 (AT2) receptors in atrial membrane preparations. Ang II inhibited IK1 in isolated atrial myocytes with an IC50 of 46 nmol/l.

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Background: The relationship between plasma uridine levels and blood pressure (BP), and indicators of muscular purine degradation and insulin resistance (IR) has been evaluated in hypertensive (HT) patients.

Methods And Results: In 36 HT patients and 10 normotensive subjects, seated BP was measured, and blood samples were drawn after overnight fast. In 18 of the HT patients, the semi-ischemic forearm test was performed to examine the release of hypoxanthine, ammonium and lactate.

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Angiotensin II (Ang II) has been reported to indirectly influence atrial electrical activity and to play a critical role in atrial arrhythmias in hypertensive patients. However, it is unclear whether Ang II has direct effects on the electrophysiological activity of the atrium affected by hypertension. We examined the effects of Ang II on the action potentials of atrial myocytes enzymatically isolated from spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHRs).

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Objectives: To investigate the clinical significance of coronary artery ectasia in Japanese patients.

Methods: Coronary artery ectasia was found in 54 of 3,778 (1.4%) consecutive patients who underwent coronary angiography.

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Hypertensives, in addition to requiring strict blood pressure control, need lipid management to prevent cardiovascular disease. To assess the current status of lipid management of hypertensives, we reviewed the profiles of 830 hypertensives. The quality of lipid management was assessed using the Japan Atherosclerosis Society (JAS) Guideline for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hyperlipidemia in Japanese Adults announced in 1997.

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To evaluate the current status of the management of hypertensive patients in Japan, we investigated 907 treated hypertensive patients (486 females and 421 males; mean age, 66.7 years) followed by cardiologists. According to the guidelines for the management of hypertensive patients in Japan in 2000 (JSH-2000), only 41.

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Objective: The acute effects of the angiotensin II receptor antagonist losartan on uric acid and oxypurine metabolism were evaluated.

Methods: Losartan (50 mg) was administered orally to 6 healthy males. Blood and urine samples for uric acid and oxypurine were collected before and up to 6 hours after losartan administration.

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The effects of moricizine on Na+ channel currents (INa) were investigated in guinea-pig atrial myocytes and its effects on INa in ventricular myocytes and on cloned hH1 current were compared using the whole-cell, patch-clamp technique. Moricizine induced the tonic block of INa with the apparent dissociation constant (Kd,app) of 6.3 microM at -100 mV and 99.

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