1/81. The use of antioxidants in retarding atherosclerosis: fact or fiction?The proposal that antioxidants may retard the progression of atherosclerosis is not new. Published studies examining the effect of antioxidants on experimental antioxidants extend back to 1940. The results have all been inconsistent. However, the data regarding the beneficial effects of retarding atherosclerotic progression are strong enough to warrant continued research on the lipoprotein oxidation theory or atherosclerosis. However, caution is needed to avoid embracing a concept without proof. It should be noted that the National cholesterol education Program does not recommend the use of antioxidant vitamin supplements to reduce CAD. Atherogenesis is produced by multiple factors. To believe that all such factors are mediated by uncontrolled oxidative events is, to say the least, naive. Finally, should antioxidants prove to be effective in retarding coronary atherosclerosis, their place on the therapeutic ladder of CAD prevention would be low. The overwhelmingly proven evidence favors the following factors that have been proven to lower morbidity and mortality due to atherosclerosis: (a) treatment of hypertension, (b) cessation of tobacco use, (c) treatment of dyslipidemia, (d) achieving a normal weight, (e) regular exercise, (f) treatment of homocystinuria, especially in cases with renal disease, and (g) antioxidants.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = hypertension (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/81. University of Miami Division of Clinical pharmacology Therapeutic Rounds: ischemic renal disease.Ischemic renal disease (IRD) is defined as a significant reduction in glomerular filtration rate and/or loss of renal parenchyma caused by hemodynamically significant renal artery stenosis. IRD is a common and often overlooked clinical entity that presents in the setting of extrarenal arteriosclerotic vascular disease in older individuals with azotemia. IRD is an important cause of chronic renal failure and end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and many patients with a presumed diagnosis of hypertensive nephrosclerosis may actually have undiagnosed ischemic nephropathy as the cause of their ESRD. The primary reason for establishing the diagnosis of IRD is the hope that correction of a renal artery stenosis will lead to improvement of renal function or a delay in progression to ESRD. There are six typical clinical settings in which the clinician could suspect IRD: acute renal failure caused by the treatment of hypertension, especially with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors; progressive azotemia in a patient with known renovascular hypertension; acute pulmonary edema superimposed on poorly controlled hypertension and renal failure; progressive azotemia in an elderly patient with refractory or severe hypertension; progressive azotemia in an elderly patient with evidence of atherosclerotic disease; and unexplained progressive azotemia in an elderly patient. It is important for the clinician to identify IRD, because IRD represents a potentially reversible cause of chronic renal failure in a hypertensive patient.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 16.253072829036keywords = renovascular, hypertension (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/81. Successful Wallstent implantation for extensive iatrogenic renal artery dissection in a patient with fibromuscular dysplasia.PURPOSE: To describe a case of renal artery stenosis with fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) and extensive iatrogenic dissection treated with Wallstent implantation. methods AND RESULTS: An 83-year-old woman with a history of coronary artery disease and hypertension presented at another facility with exertional angina and poorly controlled hypertension. Renal arteriography uncovered a critical right renal artery stenosis with severe FMD. However, angioplasty resulted in extensive dissection of the renal artery, for which the patient was referred to our institution. The renal artery was recanalized via the left brachial approach with restoration of flow using a Wallstent and a Palmaz stent. The patient's blood pressure was controllable after this procedure, and follow-up duplex imaging with flow velocities at 6 months showed patent right renal artery stents. CONCLUSIONS: Owing to its length and flexibility, the Wallstent endoprosthesis was a useful treatment modality in this case of extensive renal artery dissection.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = hypertension (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/81. Intramural hematoma of the thoracic aorta in octogenarians: is non operation justified?OBJECTIVE: The prognostic factors and treatment options for thoracic aortic intramural hematoma are controversial. The purpose of this study was to determine the most suitable treatment of this condition in very elderly patients. methods: In a review of the world literature, eight octogenarians with thoracic aortic intramural hematoma were found; to these the three cases reported here must be added. The descending thoracic aorta was involved in eight cases and the ascending/arch in three. RESULTS: In spite of patients' poor general conditions, the medical treatment group showed survival rates of 85.7% (descending) and 66.6% (ascending/arch), respectively. CONCLUSION: Extensive atherosclerotic changes of the aortic wall in the elderly, combined with control of hypertension, may probably prevent thoracic aortic intramural hematoma from progressing to dissection, with a favourable outcome. An earlier and more accurate preoperative diagnosis by modern diagnostic techniques, including spiral computed tomography (CT), as were performed in our own patients, will allow optimal treatment and increased patient survival.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = hypertension (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/81. Coexistence of atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis with primary hyperaldosteronism.The discovery of two forms of secondary hypertension in the same patient is unusual and suggests similar pathophysiological mechanisms, a predisposition to one type in the presence of the other or a chance occurrence. We describe two patients with renal artery stenosis who after successful correction of the stenotic lesions were discovered to have primary hyperaldosteronism associated with bilateral adrenal hyperplasia. Initially prior to revascularisation of the renal artery stenosis, the diagnosis of primary hyperaldosteronism was not evident. Both patients were subjected to further diagnostic evaluation after the appearance of hypokalaemia in one patient and continued resistant hypertension in both patients. The addition of spironolactone therapy reduced blood pressure impressively in both patients. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility that these two forms of secondary hypertension may be present in the same patient and that optimal blood pressure control requires diagnostic assessment and intervention for both disorders.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = hypertension (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/81. Geriatric ureteropelvic junction obstruction: the possible role of an arteriosclerotic lower pole branch of renal artery: report of two cases.An 83-year-old woman presented with left flank pain and high grade fever. After left ureteral catheterization and intensive chemotherapy with hemoperfusion, surgical exploration revealed the lower pole branches of the renal vessels were obstructing the ureteropelvic junction (UPJ), and dissection of the vessels released the obstruction. An 82-year-old man presented with right flank pain. angiography demonstrated UPJ obstruction caused by the lower pole branch of the renal artery. Arterial dissection with dismembered pyeloplasty resulted in improvement of obstruction. In both cases, the patients had a long history of hypertension with mild to severe arteriosclerosis. arteriosclerosis associated with fixation of the UPJ, may be one of the important factors leading to progressive hydronephrosis in geriatric patients.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = hypertension (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/81. Stanford type A aortic dissection in a hypertensive patient with atherosclerosis of aorta and aortitis.dissection of aorta is a serious condition; the main factors are hypertension and diseases of the connective tissue or of collagen. aortitis syndrome in combination with hypertension and atherosclerosis in association with ascending aortic dissection is rarely seen. We present the case of a 53-year-old hypertensive patient whose ascending aortic dissection was associated with pericardial effusion without rupture of the aorta and with pleural effusion. Several unusual aspects of transesophageal echocardiography are described. The intraoperative biopsy revealed inflammatory aortitis with mural hematoma, without giant cells. The literature concerning aortic dissection and aortitis is reviewed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = hypertension (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/81. Primary hyperaldosteronism without suppressed renin due to secondary hypertensive kidney damage.Primary hyperaldosteronism is characterized by high plasma and urinary aldosterone and suppressed PRA. renin suppression is due to aldosterone-dependent sodium retention and mild extracellular volume expansion. We observed three patients with primary hyperaldosteronism, severe refractory hypertension, and normal to high normal PRA levels whose aldosterone/renin ratios were still elevated because of disproportionately high aldosterone levels. All available medical data on the patients as well as publications on the aldosterone/renin relationship in primary hyperaldosteronism were reviewed to explain the unusual findings. In one patient, histologically proven renal arteriolosclerosis was the probable cause of the escape of PRA from suppression by an aldosterone-producing adenoma. In the other two patients, hypertensive kidney damage due to primary hyperaldosteronism was the most likely explanation for the inappropriately high PRA, as in patient 1. All patients had high normal or slightly elevated serum creatinine levels and responded to 200 mg spironolactone/day with increased serum creatinine and hyperkalemia. hyperkalemia was probably due to a decreased filtered load of sodium and a spironolactone-induced decrease in mineralocorticoid function. Two patients were cured of hyperaldosteronism by unilateral adrenalectomy but still need some antihypertensive therapy, whereas one patient has probable bilateral adrenal disease, with normal blood pressure on a low dose of spironolactone. In patients with severe hypertension due to primary hyperaldosteronism, PRA can escape suppression if hypertensive kidney damage supervenes. An increased aldosterone/PRA ratio is still useful in screening for primary hyperaldosteronism. These patients may respond to spironolactone therapy with a strong increase in serum creatinine and potassium. Early specific treatment of primary hyperaldosteronism is therefore indicated, and even a patient with advanced hypertension will profit from adrenalectomy or cautious spironolactone treatment.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = hypertension (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/81. Successful transcatheter embolization of penetrating aortic ulcer using interlocking detachable coils.A 54-year-old man with persistent chest pain was hospitalized for hypertension and DeBakey type IIIb aortic dissection. The false lumen of the dissection was almost completely thrombosed; however, a penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer (PAU) was observed 5 weeks later. At that time, we successfully embolized the PAU with a microcatheter and interlocking detachable coils (IDCs). The patient is well with no episodes of relapse in 20 months of follow-up. This case suggests the utility of the microcatheter and IDC system as an alternative to surgery.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = hypertension (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/81. Super long-term surviving two renal grafts with severe arteriolosclerosis and glomerulosclerosis.Two long-term renal transplant survivors, for about 20 yr, with unusual histological features in the allograft kidney are reported. In both cases, marked hyalinosis was observed in the arterioles of the transplanted kidney, despite never having been administered cyclosporine or tacrolimus. The cause remains unknown at the present time, but we think that the changes could be multifactorial in origin, including due to aging of the graft, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and chronic rejection. We conclude that histological analysis of the allograft kidney must be performed in long-term renal transplant survivors, in order to understand the histological changes in the chronic phase after kidney transplantation and to predict the prognosis of the graft.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = hypertension (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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