ABSTRACT
A new coefficient of elasticity is proposed that relates to the elastic state of the blood vessels. This measure is proposed as a result of the realization, from personal experience as well as from the international literature, of the difficulty in measuring the thickness of the blood vessels in vivo with acceptable precision. The measurement of E being dependent on the measurement of the thickness of the vessels becomes a highly unreliable proposition. Its relation to E (Young modulus) and to the pulse wave velocity (PWV) is established. We give three examples showing how the proposed coefficient can be measured.
Subject(s)
Arteries/diagnostic imaging , Arteries/physiology , Blood Pressure/physiology , Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted/methods , Models, Cardiovascular , Plethysmography/methods , Algorithms , Elasticity , Humans , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and Specificity , UltrasonographyABSTRACT
Hypertensive patients are likely to have an exaggerated blood pressure (BP) response during physical exertion. When moderate aerobic exercise was added to medical antihypertensive therapy in patients with severe hypertension, excessive elevations in BP during physical exertion were attenuated even with a modest reduction in BP at rest.
Subject(s)
Antihypertensive Agents/therapeutic use , Black People , Blood Pressure , Exercise Therapy , Hypertension/physiopathology , Hypertension/therapy , Adult , Aged , Combined Modality Therapy , Drug Therapy, Combination , Enalapril/therapeutic use , Exercise Therapy/methods , Humans , Hypertension/ethnology , Indapamide/therapeutic use , Male , Middle Aged , Verapamil/therapeutic useABSTRACT
The effect cilazapril (CLZ) treatment on serum lipids and fibrinogen was studied in 114 hypertensive patients for 18 weeks. Blood pressure, heart rate, lipid profile and fibrinogen were measured before and at the end of the study in all patients. Satisfactory blood pressure control was seen in 68% of the patients (group A) after 4 weeks of treatment with 5 mg CLZ monotherapy, while a single dose of chlorthalidone, 25 mg daily, was added to the therapeutic regimen of the remaining 32% of patients (group B) to achieve blood pressure control. We conclude that CLZ has a slight beneficial effect on the lipid profile and a significantly beneficial effect on fibrinogen, but its combination with a diuretic reverses this beneficial effect.
Subject(s)
Antihypertensive Agents/therapeutic use , Cilazapril/therapeutic use , Fibrinogen/drug effects , Lipids/blood , Antihypertensive Agents/pharmacology , Blood Pressure , Chlorthalidone/pharmacology , Chlorthalidone/therapeutic use , Cilazapril/pharmacology , Drug Therapy, Combination , Female , Heart Rate , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Isradipine, a new dihydropyridine calcium antagonist, was compared to nifedipine in the treatment of 11 male patients with angina and coronary artery disease in a randomised, double-blind cross-over study. Patients received 5 mg nifedipine three times a day rising to 20 mg three times a day in three dosage increments over six weeks or 2.5 mg isradipine three times a day rising to 7.5 mg three times a day in three dosage increments over six weeks, and then received the alternate preparation. There were no significant differences between the drugs in terms of the frequency and severity of angina attacks or the consumption of glyceryl trinitrate. The increases in systolic blood pressure and the double product during exercise were significantly less with isradipine than with nifedipine. There was a similar trend in heart rates. There was no difference between the treatments in respect of exercise induced ST-segment depression or diastolic blood pressure. We conclude that isradipine and nifedipine have similar anti-anginal effects and that isradipine may be a useful new anti-anginal agent.
