Assessment of flow-mediated dilation reproducibility: a nationwide multicenter study.

Objective: Impaired flow-mediated dilation (FMD) is associated with cardiovascular risk factors and provides prognostic information. Despite the noninvasive nature of this technique, a major limitation to its widespread use is low reproducibility. The aim of this study was to evaluate impact of methodological standardization among different investigation sites on brachial artery FMD reproducibility.

Independent association of ECG abnormalities with microalbuminuria and renal damage in hypertensive patients without overt cardiovascular disease: data from Italy-Developing Education and awareness on MicroAlbuminuria in patients with hypertensive Disease study.

Objectives: Renal abnormalities are strongly associated with cardiac damage in essential hypertension. Detection of preclinical cardiac and renal abnormalities is a key clinical step in hypertension management. This study investigated the relationship between ECG abnormalities and microalbuminuria (MAU) in hypertensive patients without overt cardiovascular disease.

Impact of fasting glycemia and regional cerebral perfusion in diabetic subjects: a study with technetium-99m-ethyl cysteinate dimer single photon emission computed tomography.

Background And Purpose: Diabetes mellitus increases the risk of ischemic stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and changes in regional cerebral perfusion (CP) in subjects with DM.

Methods: CP was assessed in 24 subjects (mean age 44+/-2.

[Vascular medicine: the near future].

During the last 20 years new insights on the pathophysiology of vascular diseases has led to the development of new therapeutic strategies. Their potential benefits are being increasingly appreciated by clinicians today, providing a solid background for a growing use in the near future. In this review we focus our attention on three different issues: endothelial dysfunction as a prognostic marker of cardiovascular events, stem cells and their therapeutic role, and percutaneous carotid stenting as an alternative promising treatment of carotid stenosis.

Nitric oxide release is impaired in hypertensive individuals with familial history of stroke.

Background: A genetic origin of cerebrovascular accidents has long been suspected on the basis of epidemiologic evidence and familial aggregation. Nevertheless, the final phenotype is largely influenced by concomitant risk factors. We aimed to investigate whether impairment of endothelium-dependent vasodilation can be used as an informative intermediate vascular phenotype in hypertensive patients with familial history of stroke.