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.

Can brain natriuretic peptide predict outcome after cardiac arrest? An observational study.

Background: No accurate, independent biomarker has been identified that could reliably predict neurological outcome early after cardiac arrest. We speculated that brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) measured at hospital admission may predict patient outcome.

Methods: BNP-levels were measured in 155 comatose cardiac arrest survivors (108 male, 58 years [IQR 49-68]) (median time to ROSC 11min; IQR 20-30) during a 6-year study period.

Platelet function predicts myocardial damage in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Platelet activation is a hallmark of acute coronary syndromes. Numerous lines of evidence suggest a mechanistic link between von Willebrand factor or platelet hyperfunction and myocardial damage in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Thus, we assessed whether platelet function under high shear rates (collagen adenosine diphosphate closure times [CADP-CTs]) measured with the platelet function analyzer (PFA-100) may be enhanced in patients with myocardial infarction (MI) and whether it may predict the extent of myocardial damage as measured by creatine kinase (CK-MB) or troponin T (TnT) levels.

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.