Safety of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in patients with bilateral renal artery stenosis following successful renal artery stent revascularization.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) are contraindicated in patients with bilateral renal artery stenosis due to risk of azotemia resulting from preferential efferent arteriolar vasodilation in the renal glomerulus due to inhibition of angiotensin II. Patients with renal artery stenosis who can derive survival benefit from ACE inhibition, therefore, may not receive ACEI therapy. We evaluated the safety of ACEI therapy in patients with bilateral renal artery stenosis following successful revascularization using renal artery stenting.

Importance of early diagnosis and therapy of acute meningococcal myocarditis: a case report with review of literature.

Acute meningococcemia is a clinical syndrome resulting from Neisseria meningitides infection. The clinical presentation is varied, but when associated with myocardial dysfunction, it carries a poor prognosis. We report a case of meningococcal myocarditis causing severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction that improved over a 4-day period after appropriate antimicrobial treatment following prompt diagnosis.

Validation of a new formula for mean arterial pressure calculation: the new formula is superior to the standard formula.

Mean arterial pressure (MAP) has traditionally been derived from systolic and diastolic pressures, weighted 1/3 systolic and 2/3 diastolic. No correction is made for the increasing time dominance of systole with increasing heart rates. In a previous study, we developed a new and more accurate heart rate-corrected MAP formula from central aorta pressure determinations in a large number of patients: MAP = DP + [0.

Prevalence of renal artery stenosis requiring revascularization in patients initially referred for coronary angiography.

To evaluate the prevalence of clinically significant renal artery stenosis (RAS) in patients referred for coronary angiography, we analyzed data on 2,439 consecutive patients. Patients underwent selective renal angiography in conjunction with coronary angiography if refractory hypertension (blood pressure > 140/90 on two drugs) or flash pulmonary edema was present. A total of 1,089 renal arteries of 534 patients were evaluated.