Niveles de lípidos y de presión arterial en población mapuche de la Región de la Araucanía, en Chile / Blood pressure and serum lipid levels in Chilean aboriginal populations (Mapuche) living in the Chilean region of Araucania

Background: Chilean aboriginal populations (Mapuche) predominantly live in the region of Araucanía, in the southern part of the country. Their cardiovascular risk factors have not been systematically assessed. Aim: To study the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in the Mapuche population. Subjects and methods: Blood pressure, weight, height, dietary habits, fasting serum total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides were measured in 1.948 adults living in 28 Mapuche communities. Results: Thirteen percent of males and 16 percent of females had high blood pressure. Body mass index was 25.5 kg/m2 in males and 28.1 kg/m2 in females. Forty five percent of women and 24 percent of men were classified as obese. Mean serum total cholesterol was 186.7ñ9.6 mg/dl, HDL cholesterol was 58.7ñ30.7 mg/dl, total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol was 3.4ñ2 and triglycerides were 155.2ñ91.2 mg/dl. Twenty eight percent of males and 9.6 percent of females smoked. Conclusions: Mapuche individuals have higher levels of HDL cholesterol, a better total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio and lower frequency of smoking than non aboriginal Chileans subjects

La digoxina es efectiva en el tratamiento de pacientes con insuficiencia cardíaca y ritmo sinusal / Digoxin is effectiveness in the treatment of cardiac failure and sinus rhythm patients

Due to differences in treatment effect in studies on the effectiveness of digoxin in patients with congestive heart failure in sinus rhythm, a cross-over placebo-controlled randomized double blind clinical trial was performed. Thirty one patients, without previous treatment with digoxin, in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II to IV, with a dilated left ventricle and/or ventricular systolic dysfunction were included. Patients received digoxin, adjusted for blood levels, or placebo, during an 8 week period, prior to crossing over to the other treatment for another 8 weeks. The order of tretments was randomly allocated. Outcome measurement were performed at the end of each 8 week period. Digoxin, compared with placebo, improved NYHA class, 6,9 por ciento vs 41.4 por ciento (p=0.013) and increased the treadmill exercise time, 406 ñ 204 s vs 484 ñ 185 s (p=0.003). During the digoxin treatment the left ventricular and systolic diameter was reduced from 52.9 ñ 8.9 to 50.1 ñ 9.7 mm (p=0.009). No significant difference was observed in the left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVED) of the left ventricle and in a estimation of quality of life. In conclusion, digoxin treatment produced a significant improvement in functional capacity, exercise time and left ventricular performance