Association of home and ambulatory blood pressure variability with left ventricular mass index in chronic kidney disease patients.

Increased blood pressure (BP) variability is associated with the development of target organ damage. However, the optimal type and index of BP variability (BPV) regarding their prognostic significance is unclear. The aim of our study was to compare the association of ambulatory and home BPV with the left ventricular mass index (LVMI) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Hypertension: An immune related disorder?

Hypertension is a multifactorial disorder with serious complications and unknown etiology. Among potential contributors, immune dysregulation has been also proposed. The study population included 61 consecutive hypertensive patients and 55 healthy individuals of similar age and sex distribution.

A functional supervised learning approach to the study of blood pressure data.

In this work, a functional supervised learning scheme is proposed for the classification of subjects into normotensive and hypertensive groups, using solely the 24-hour blood pressure data, relying on the concepts of Fréchet mean and Fréchet variance for appropriate deformable functional models for the blood pressure data. The schemes are trained on real clinical data, and their performance was assessed and found to be very satisfactory.

Association of Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring parameters with the Framingham Stroke Risk Profile.

The Framingham Stroke Risk Profile (FSRP) is a novel and reliable tool for estimating the 10-year probability for incident stroke in stroke-free individuals, while the predictive value of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) for first-ever and recurrent stroke has been well established. We sought to evaluate cross-sectionally the association of ABPM parameters with FSRP score in a large sample of 2343 consecutive stroke-free individuals (mean age: 56.0±12.

Differential associations of systolic and diastolic time rate of blood pressure variation with carotid atherosclerosis and plaque echogenicity.

In the current study, the authors sought to assess whether the time rate of systolic and diastolic blood pressure variation is associated with advanced subclinical stages of carotid atherosclerosis and plaque echogenicity assessed by gray scale median. The authors recruited 237 consecutive patients with normotension and hypertension who underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and carotid artery ultrasonography. There was an independent association between low 24-hour systolic time rate and increased echogenicity of carotid plaques (adjusted odds ratio for highest vs lower tertiles of gray scale median, 0.

Muscle microcirculation alterations and relation to dipping status in newly diagnosed untreated patients with arterial hypertension-A pilot study.

Objective: The importance of abnormalities observed in the microcirculation of patients with arterial hypertension (AH) is being increasingly recognized. The authors aimed to evaluate skeletal muscle microcirculation in untreated, newly diagnosed hypertensive patients with NIRS, a noninvasive method that evaluates microcirculation.

Methods: We evaluated 34 subjects, 17 patients with AH (13 males, 49±13 years, BMI: 26±2 kg/m ) and 17 healthy controls (12 males, 49±15 years, BMI: 25±3 kg/m ).

Brain Oscillations Elicited by the Cold Pressor Test: A Putative Index of Untreated Essential Hypertension.

Objective: Essential hypertension is associated with reduced pain sensitivity of unclear aetiology. This study explores this issue using the Cold Pressor Test (CPT), a reliable pain/stress model, comparing CPT-related EEG activity in first episode hypertensives and controls.

Method: 22 untreated hypertensives and 18 matched normotensives underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM).

White-Coat Isolated Systolic Hypertension Is a Risk Factor for Carotid Atherosclerosis.

The clinical importance of white-coat hypertension (WCH) remains a controversial issue. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of isolated systolic, isolated diastolic, and systolic/diastolic WCH with common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT) and to compare each subgroup of WCH against other blood pressure (BP) phenotypes in terms of CCA-IMT values. A total of 1382 consecutive patients underwent 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring and carotid artery ultrasonographic measurements.

The APOE E4 Allele Confers Increased Risk of Ischemic Stroke Among Greek Carriers.

Background: Although several studies in various countries have indicated that the presence of the E4 allele of the apolipoprotein-E (APOE) gene is a risk factor for ischemic cerebrovascular disease, the strength of this association still remains a matter of debate.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of the APOE E4 allele and various other gene polymorphisms in in a well-characterized sample of Greek patients and to evaluate the potential associations with the risk of ischemic stroke (IS) and coronary heart disease (CHD).

Material And Methods: A total of nine gene variants/polymorphisms - F5 (Leiden - R5 06Q, rs6025), F2 (20210G > A, rs1799963), F13A1 (V34L, rs5985), MTHFR (677C > T - A222V, rs1801133), MTHFR (1298A > C - E429A, rs1801131), FGB (-455G > A -c.

Untreated newly diagnosed essential hypertension is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in a population of a hypertensive center.

Purpose: Recent studies have demonstrated that hypertension (HTN) is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in treated hypertensive patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between newly diagnosed essential HTN and NAFLD in untreated hypertensive patients.

Patients And Methods: A consecutive series of 240 subjects (143 hypertensives and 97 normotensives), aged 30-80 years, without diabetes mellitus were enrolled in the study.

Resource utilization and costs for treatment of stroke patients in an acute stroke unit in Greece.

Background: Stroke comprises the leading cause of death in Greece, and more than 40% of the overall lifetime cost for stroke care, represents the acute phase hospitalization. The aim of the present study was to assess the resource utilization and estimate the costs for treatment of stroke patients in an Acute Stroke Unit (ASU).

Methods: Patients with first-ever stroke treated in the ASU of an academic hospital in Athens during 2003-2009 were included in the analysis.

The impact of nocturnal hypertension and nondipping status on left ventricular mass: a cohort study.

Objective: Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring provides a unique tool in the evaluation of night-time blood pressure (BP), having a critical role in the detection of a blunted nocturnal fall and of elevated night-time BP. Both nondipping status and nocturnal hypertension are associated with increased cardiovascular risk and target organ damage. The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of both nondipping status and nocturnal hypertension on left ventricular mass (LVM), assessed by means of echocardiography in a consecutive cohort of untreated participants.

Circulating levels of TNF-like cytokine 1A correlate with reflected waves and atherosclerosis extent and may predict cardiac death in patients with stable coronary artery disease.

Background: TNF-like cytokine 1A (TL1A)-mediated interactions are involved in atheromatic plaque formation. In stable coronary artery disease (CAD) we examined whether circulating TL1A levels correlate with coronary and/or peripheral atherosclerosis extent and predict future cardiovascular events.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, peripheral vascular studies and TL1A serum measurements were performed in 122 consecutive patients with angiographically confirmed CAD who were followed for a median of 41.

Impact of masking effect on subclinical carotid atherosclerosis in normotensives and untreated masked hypertensive and hypertensive patients.

Objectives: The masking effect (ME) is present in masked hypertensive patients; however, both normotensive and hypertensive individuals may show a similar phenomenon. Previous studies have shown that ME has been associated with left ventricular hypertrophy and microalbuminuria in treated hypertensive patients. The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between the magnitude of systolic ME and the extent of common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT) development in normotensive individuals and untreated masked hypertensive and hypertensive patients.

Association of isolated systolic, isolated diastolic, and systolic-diastolic masked hypertension with carotid artery intima-media thickness.

Masked hypertension (MH) is associated with advanced target organ damage. However, patients with MH constitute a group of individuals with heterogeneous characteristics concerning their ambulatory blood pressure (BP) status. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of isolated systolic MH, isolated diastolic MH, and systolic/diastolic MH with carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT).

Pleiotropic effects of the acute and chronic inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system in hypertensives.

Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibition may exert beneficiary pleiotropic effects on heart hemodynamics in hypertensive patients. We aimed to assess these effects on coronary flow reserve (CFR) and left ventricular (LV) filling pressure after acute and long-term treatment. Thirty-nine patients (48.

Glucose and arterial blood pressure variability in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome.

Introduction: Current evidence supports an association between Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS), insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and cardiovascular disorders. The relationship is complex and still remains poorly understood.

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the potential correlation of sleep characteristics with glucose and arterial pressure values variability in non - diabetic, non-hypertensive patients with OSAS.

Brain edema formation is associated with the time rate of blood pressure variation in acute stroke patients.

Objectives: Both brain edema and increased blood pressure (BP) variability are associated with poor outcome after stroke. The aim of the present study was to evaluate a possible association between edema formation and a relatively new index of BP variability defined as time rate (TR) of BP variation.

Patients And Methods: A total of 128 first-ever acute stroke patients underwent 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring within 24 h from onset of stroke.

A study of ERα PvuII polymorphism in female patients with acute stroke: no associations with disease severity and early outcome.

Several studies have examined the association of the PvuII polymorphism of the estrogen receptor alpha gene with the risk of stroke. Data linking the polymorphism with the severity and outcome of cerebrovascular disease are lacking. In this study, we evaluated 285 postmenopausal Caucasian patients suffering an acute stroke, hospitalized in two tertiary hospitals over a period of 2 years, and searched for associations between the PvuII polymorphism and the one-month outcome and the neurological severity on admission.

Effects of chronic anaerobic training on markers of sub-clinical atherosclerosis.

Introduction: Although several cardiovascular adaptations in response to different types of exercise are already known, data comparing the effects of the type of exercise training on early markers of atherosclerosis are limited.

Methods: Forty-nine tennis players, 28 weightlifters and 20 non-trained healthy volunteers were recruited for the study. Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) and intima-media thickness (IMT) in the carotid and femoral arteries were measured in all volunteers for assessment of endothelial function and vascular remodelling, respectively.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in acute stroke: pathophysiology of the time rate of blood pressure variation and association with the 1-year outcome.

Objectives: Time rate of blood pressure (BP) variation is a measure of the speed of BP fluctuations derived from a computerized analysis of ambulatory BP monitoring. The aim of this study was to identify pathophysiological differences in the time rate of BP variation between stroke subtypes, on the basis of the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment criteria, in the acute phase and to examine the impact of time rate of BP variation on outcome at 1 year after stroke.

Patients And Methods: A consecutive series of 109 first-ever stroke patients, who fulfilled our inclusion criteria, underwent 24 h ambulatory BP monitoring within 24 h after the onset of stroke.

Effect of CPAP treatment on endothelial function and plasma CRP levels in patients with sleep apnea.

Background: Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most effective method for treating obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and alleviating symptoms. Improved sleep quality with effective CPAP therapy might also contribute to attenuated systemic inflammation and improved endothelial function, with subsequent reduction of cardiovascular risk. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of 3-month CPAP therapy on brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in patients with OSAS.