[An increase in the knowledgeability of the population on the problem of arterial hypertension as a result of conducting a secondary prevention program in a nonorganized rural population]. / Povyshenie osvedomlennosti naseleniia po probleme arterial'noi gipertonii v rezul'tate provedeniia programmy vtorichnoi profilaktiki v neorganizovannoi sel'skoi populiatsii.

The paper is concerned with evaluating the efficacy of sanitary and health measures carried out within the framework of the program of secondary prophylaxis of arterial hypertension (AH) in an open rural population in terms of changes in the information of the community about hypertension. The program included regular radio transmissions, talks and lectures pertaining to the problems of essential hypertension prevention and treatment. During 4 years, the information of the respondents about hypertensive action of table salt increased 4-fold (from 8 to 32.3%), especially among persons suffering from AH. The number of persons who referred to overweight as one of AH causes rose 6-fold (from 2.6 to 18.1%). The information did not depend on the sex, age, or the presence of hypertensive factors in the examinees. Alterations were recorded in the attitude of the examinees to AH and its treatment: the portion of those who took hypotensive drugs increased more than 2-fold (from 10.9 to 23.4%) whereas the percentage of subjects treated successfully from 6.8 to 10.1%. The data obtained attest to a high enough efficacy of sanitary and health measures in relation to AH in the rural population.

[The prevalence of arterial hypertension among the inhabitants of a rural locality in contact with pesticides]. / Rasprostranennost' arterial'noi gipertonii sredi zhitelei sel'skoi mestnosti, kontaktiruiushchikh s pestitsidami.

Standard epidemiological methods were used for a random choice and subsequent study of men and women (age: 30-35 years) inhabiting rural localities. It was established that contact of rural population in conditions of agricultural production with chemical poisons did not influence the frequency of development of arterial hypotension and pathological changes of the electrocardiogram.

[Secondary prevention of arterial hypertension in rural population of Moldavia]. / Vtorichnaia profilaktika arterial'noi gipertonii sredi sel'skogo naseleniia Moldavii.

The results of the third year of nondrug and pharmacological prevention of arterial hypertension according to the steppedcare scheme of WHO are provided. A low rate of response (46%) to annual check-up was noted among rural residents with arterial hypertension detected by screening which hampers the preventive intervention. During the third year of preventive campaign 9.3 percent of people were covered by regular hypertensive treatment, 20.61 percent--by irregular treatment and 24.4 percent with elevated blood pressures detected by screening never received any treatment. Among women the proportion of those receiving hypertensive treatment (both regular and irregular) was larger. An analysis was made of mean levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure at the beginning and at the end of the third year of observation in groups of patients with different attitude to treatment. At the third year of implementing the programme of secondary prevention the number of hypertonic patients receiving effective treatment increased 8-fold compared with baseline data. Persons with higher levels of arterial blood pressure were more often applying for treatment. The normalization of arterial blood pressure was noted in 39% of persons applying for regular treatment, 31%--for irregular treatment and in 26% of non-treated hypertonic patients.

[Knowledge of the rural population on factors promoting the emergence of arterial hypertension]. / Osvedomlennost' sel'skogo naseleniia o faktorakh, sposobstvuiushchikh vozniknoveniiu arterial'noi gipertonii.

A random sample of the rural community (two villages) were examined by means of questionnaire. Seventy-four percent of the community could not denote any risk factors of arterial hypertension. A very low percentage were informed of the role played by sodium chloride in the genesis of hypertension. Moreover, the community was very poorly informed of the adverse effects of overweight, tobacco smoking, and alcohol abuse. Excess use of sodium chloride was likely to be one of the causes promoting high prevalence of arterial hypertension. Some of the people were of opinion that arterial blood pressure might be influenced by definite nutritional and non-nutritional factors. The data obtained point to a low enough level of hygienic knowledge of the rural community regarding arterial hypertension risk factors. It is concluded that high prevalence of arterial hypertension risk factors and the low level of information of those factors provide evidence in favour of carrying out large-scale measures aimed at primary prophylaxis of arterial hypertension in the rural community. It is stressed that one should begin with the raising of the hygienic knowledge standards of the community.

[Plasma renin activity and aldosterone concentration of patients with congestive cardiomyopathy]. / Aktivnost' renina i kontsentratsiia al'dosterona v plazme bol'nykh zastoinoi kardiomiopatiei.

Blood plasma aldosterone concentration and renin plasma activity were studied in 30 patients with congestive cardiomyopathy and in 41 patients with congestive heart failure resulting from CHD or valvular heart disease using a radio-immunoassay. In congestive cardiomyopathy as well as in congestive heart failure of another etiology an increase in plasma renin activity was noted in single cases in stages IIA and IIB and in most patients with stage III congestive heart failure. Changes in plasma aldosterone concentration with relation to stages of congestive heart failure were unidirectional in both groups of examinees. There was no correlation between plasma renin activity and aldosterone concentration. The study has shown that in congestive cardiomyopathy shifts in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system are of the same nature as in patients with congestive heart failure of another etiology.

[Prognostic importance of a positive test of myocardial 99mTc-Sn-pyrophosphate accumulation in patients with stable stenocardia]. / Prognosticheskoe znachenie polozhitel'nogo testa akkumuliatsii miokardom 99mTc-Sn-pirofosfata u bol'nykh so stabil'noi stenokardiei.

The paper reports the results of a retrospective study of the frequency of complications of chronic coronary disease in 51 patients with stable angina subjected to myocardial 99mTc-Sn-pyrophosphate scintigraphy at rest at first screening. In the group with positive scintigraphic results, myocardial infarction and death from cardiac causes was five times as frequent within the next five years as it was in the group where myocardial incorporation of the drug was not observed. The frequency of complications was higher in cases where positive scintigraphic results were combined with cardiomegaly and electrocardiographic signs of transitory ischemia. Positive scintigraphic test with 99mTc-Sn-pyrophosphate can indicate future aggravation of the disease in patients with stable angina pectoris.

[Correlation between the degree of coronary artery lesion and the change in left ventricular diastolic relaxation in ischemic heart disease]. / Sootnoshenie mezhdu stepen'iu porazheniia koronarnykh arterii i izmeneniem diastolicheskogo rasslableniia levogo zheludochka u bol'nykh ishemicheskoi bolezn'iu serdtsa.

The time indices and the indices of changes in left ventricular diameter in accordance with the phases of diastolic relaxation were studied by simultaneous recording of the echo-, electro-, phono-, and apexcardiograms in 24 patients with ischemic heart disease and in 8 individuals with no affection of the coronary arteries. The findings were compared with the results of selective coronaroangiography. The dependence of the degree of the disturbed left ventricular diastolic relaxation on the extent of coronary atherosclerosis is shown.