Treatment-associated change in apelin concentration in patients with hypertension and its relationship with left ventricular diastolic function.

Objective: We examined the change in apelin concentration and its relationship with left ventricular diastolic function in patients treated for hypertension.

Methods: Ninety treatment-naive patients with newly diagnosed hypertension and 33 age- and sex-matched control subjects were prospectively enrolled. Patients with hypertension were randomized to treatment either with telmisartan 80 mg or amlodipine 10 mg.

An extremely rare combination: pneumopericardium, pneumoperitoneum, and subcutanous emphysema-a case report.

Pneumopericardium, an accumulation of air in the pericardial cavity, occurs very rarely as compared to pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum. Clinical presentation is variable, patients are frequently asymptomatic, and mild cases usually resolve spontaneously. However, it may lead to pericardial tamponade, which requires rapid diagnosis and treatment that can be lifesaving.