Effects of a Japanese Cuisine-Based Antihypertensive Diet and Fish Oil on Blood Pressure and Its Variability in Participants with Untreated Normal High Blood Pressure or Stage I Hypertension: A Feasibility Randomized Controlled Study.

Aim: The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is recommended for lowering blood pressure (BP). Our previous single-arm trial revealed that the Japanese cuisine-based DASH (J-DASH) diet (supplying NaCl 8.0 g per day) reduced BP and improved cardiometabolic biomarkers.

Clustering of cardiovascular risk factors and blood pressure control status in hypertensive patients.

Objective: Hypertensive patients have multiple risk factors such as chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hyperuricemia in addition to components of metabolic syndrome. The morbidity of cardiovascular diseases is expected to increase synergistically by clustering of them. In the present study, we assessed the clustering of cardiovascular risk factors and blood pressure (BP) control status in hypertensive patients.

Long-term compliance of salt restriction and blood pressure control status in hypertensive outpatients.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the long-term compliance with salt restriction and blood pressure (BP) control status in Japanese hypertensive outpatients. Subjects included 103 patients, 59 women and 44 men, mean age 67 +/- 9 years, who underwent successful 24-h home urine collection more than 10 times over an interval of 5 years. Urinary salt, potassium, and creatinine were measured.

Usefulness of self-monitoring of urinary salt excretion in hypertensive patients.

We investigated the usefulness of measuring urinary salt excretion by using a self-monitoring device. Subjects were 34 hypertensive patients who underwent successful 24-h home urine collection five times and 25 volunteers. Four volunteers were diagnosed as having hypertension based on home blood pressure (BP) readings.

Blood pressure and lipid control status in Japanese hypertensive patients.

Strict blood pressure (BP) as well as lipid control is important to prevent cardiovascular events. The purpose of this study was to evaluate BP and lipid control status in hypertensive patients. Subjects were a total of 717 hypertensive patients who had been followed at National Kyushu Medical Center in FuKuoka, Japan.

Home blood pressure measurement may lead to less strict control of office blood pressure.

Home blood pressure (HBP) measurement is useful for detecting morning hypertension, white coat as well as masked hypertension. However, target BP levels based on HBP remain unknown. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between HBP measurement and office BP control status in hypertensive patients.

Prevalence and lifestyle characteristics of hypertensive patients with metabolic syndrome followed at an outpatient clinic in fukuoka, Japan.

A new guideline on metabolic syndrome (MS) in Japanese was introduced in 2005. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and lifestyle characteristics of Japanese hypertensive patients with MS. Subjects were 290 patients (mean age: 64+/-11 years) who had been followed at our hospital.

Usefulness of the alpha1-blocker doxazosin as a third-line antihypertensive drug.

It has been reported that a substantial majority of hypertensives receive insufficient blood pressure (BP) control. As combination therapy for the treatment of hypertension, Ca channel blockers (CCBs), angiotensin II (AII) receptor blockers (ARBs), and/or AII-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are mainly prescribed, while the efficacy of alpha(1)-blockers in such combination therapy remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a low dose of an alpha(1)-blocker added to combination therapy with CCBs and either ARBs or ACE inhibitors for the treatment of hypertension.

A case of Gitelman's syndrome with decreased angiotensin II-forming activity.

Gitelman's syndrome (GS) is a variant of Bartter's syndrome (BS) characterized by hypokalemic alkalosis, hypomagnesemia, hypocalciuria and secondary aldosteronism without hypertension. A 31-year-old Japanese man who had suffered from mild hypokalemia for 10 years was admitted to our hospital. He had metabolic alkalosis, hypokalemia and hypocalciuria.

Long-term compliance with salt restriction in Japanese hypertensive patients.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the long-term compliance with salt restriction in Japanese hypertensive patients. Subjects included 389 patients, 230 women and 159 men, mean age 58+/-11 years, who underwent successful 24-h home urine collection more than three times over an interval of a year. Urinary salt, potassium, and creatinine were measured.

Anti-proteinuric effect of an N-type calcium channel blocker, cilnidipine.

The objective of the present study was to determine anti-proteinuric effect of an N-type calcium channel blocker-cilnidipine. Subjects were 43 essential or renal hypertensive subjects who had been taking calcium channel blockers other than cilnidipine for at least 6 months. All patients had proteinuria greater than 0.

Relationship between the awareness of salt restriction and the actual salt intake in hypertensive patients.

A 24-h home urine collection was conducted to estimate accurate salt intake in hypertensive outpatients. Using 24-h urinary creatinine excretion as a criterion for success, urine samples were obtained from 534 hypertensive patients. The urinary salt excretion of hypertensive outpatients ranged widely from 1.

Myocardial imaging with 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine in essential hypertension and renovascular hypertension.

Iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) myocardial imaging is considered to reflect cardiac sympathetic function. We performed myocardial MIBG scintigraphy and echocardiography in 27 patients with essential hypertension (EHT), 7 patients with renovascular hypertension (RVHT), and 8 normotensive subjects (NT) to investigate alterations in MIBG myocardial imaging in the presence of hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). EHT were divided into two groups based on LV wall thickness; EHT with LVH group (> or = 13 mm, n = 15) and EHT without LVH group (< 13 mm, n = 12).

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor prevents age-related endothelial dysfunction.

Vascular relaxation via endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) declines in association with aging and also with hypertension, and antihypertensive treatment improves the endothelial dysfunction connected with hypertension. We tested whether the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor improves EDHF-mediated responses in normotensive rats, with special reference to the age-related process. Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) were treated with either 20 mg.

Renin-angiotensin system blockade improves endothelial dysfunction in hypertension.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor improves the impaired hyperpolarization and relaxation to acetylcholine (ACh) via endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) in arteries of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). We tested whether the angiotensin type 1 (AT(1)) receptor antagonist also improves EDHF-mediated responses and whether the combined AT(1) receptor blockade and ACE inhibition exert any additional effects. SHR were treated with either AT(1) receptor antagonist TCV-116 (5 mg.

Natriuretic effect of barnidipine, a long-acting dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker, in patients with essential hypertension.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of barnidipine hydrochloride, a long-acting dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker on urinary sodium excretion in patients with essential hypertension.

Patients: Twelve patients (2 males, 10 females) with mild to moderate essential hypertension.

Methods: A single-blinded study.

Effects of adrenomedullin and PAMP on membrane potential and neurotransmission.

The effects of adrenomedullin (AM) and proadrenomedullin N-terminal 20 peptide (PAMP) on membrane potential and sympathetic neurotransmission were studied in rat mesenteric arteries by using microelectrodes. AM (10(-7) M) but not PAMP (10(-6) M) produced membrane hyperpolarization, which was abolished by high K solution or by glibenclamide, an ATP-sensitive K(+) (KATP) channel blocker. Neither AM nor PAMP affected excitatory junction potentials, a measure of sympathetic, purinergic neurotransmission.

Effects of salt-loading on membrane potentials in mesenteric arteries of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Although salt intake and blood pressure are correlated, with hypertensives tending to exhibit higher blood pressure sensitivity to salt than normotensives, the precise mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. This study aimed to determine whether salt-loading affects arterial membrane properties of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). SHR and age-matched Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) received either an 8% high salt diet or standard rat chow from 6 to 16 wk of age.

Impaired isoproterenol-induced hyperpolarization in isolated mesenteric arteries of aged rats.

Stimulation of vascular beta-adrenoceptors leads to membrane hyperpolarization, presumably via the beta-adrenoceptor/G(s) protein/adenylate cyclase signaling cascade; the ionic mechanisms of this phenomenon remain unclear. beta-Adrenoceptor-mediated vascular relaxation is impaired with aging; however, little is known concerning whether beta-adrenoceptor-mediated hyperpolarization is altered with aging. We sought to determine the ionic mechanisms of isoproterenol-induced hyperpolarization in the rat mesenteric resistance artery, as well as the age-related changes in isoproterenol-induced hyperpolarization and their underlying mechanisms.

Chaos and spectral analyses of heart rate variability during head-up tilting in essential hypertension.

To investigate nonlinear and linear components of heart rate variability (HRV) in essential hypertension (EHT), we analyzed HRV by chaos and spectral analyses in patients with EHT (n = 18) and normotensives (n = 10) during head-up tilting. We used the correlation dimension (CD) and Lyapunov exponents as the parameters of chaos. The CD, an index of complexity, was lower at rest in EHT group than in normotensives, and did not change in EHT group in response to head-up tilting, but decreased in normotensives.

Eicosanoids and membrane properties in arteries of aged spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Objective: The arteries of aged spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) exhibit spontaneous electrical activity together with membrane depolarization. Vascular eicosanoid production is increased in SHR, which is further accelerated with aging. We tested the hypothesis that eicosanoids are involved in spontaneous electrical activity, membrane depolarization or both in mesenteric arteries of aged SHR.

Regression of carotid wall thickening after corticosteroid therapy in Takayasu's arteritis evaluated by B-mode ultrasonography: report of 2 cases.

We describe 2 young Japanese female patients with active Takayasu's arteritis whose diagnosis was mainly based on the characteristic ultrasonographic finding, that is, a circumferential vascular wall thickening in common carotid arteries. Following corticosteroid therapy, serial ultrasonographic examination documented the improvement of their thickened carotid walls (in Case 1 from 1.4 to 0.

Comparative efficacies of a calcium antagonist and an alpha1 blocker in elderly hypertensive patients with stroke.

We compared the effects of nilvadipine, a calcium antagonist, and terazosin. an alpha1 blocker, on the hemodynamics and quality of life (QOL) in 12 elderly hypertensive patients with stroke. Following a washout period of 2 weeks.

Troglitazone, an insulin sensitizer, increases forearm blood flow in humans.

To test whether troglitazone, a thiazolidinedione insulin sensitizer, increases the peripheral blood flow, the changes in forearm blood flow (FBF) were evaluated by venous occlusion plethysmography in 11 lean healthy male volunteers (age range, 24 to 39 years) after a single oral dose of 200 mg of troglitazone. Forearm vascular resistance (FVR) was calculated from FBF and blood pressure. Two hours after the dose, FBF increased from 3.

Antihypertensive treatment improves endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization in the mesenteric artery of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Background: The vascular endothelium releases endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF). The mesenteric arteries of 6- to 8-month-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) exhibit an impairment of the hyperpolarization induced by acetylcholine via EDHF.

Methods And Results: We determined whether antihypertensive treatment can improve EDHF-mediated responses in SHRs.