Current Hypertension Reviews - Volume 2, Issue 4, 2006

The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are steadily increasing. This phenomenon is in part linked to the aging of the US population, in part to the increasing prevalence of obesity, diabetes and related renal diseases. Some believe that renal ischemia may be a frequent cause of CKD and ESRD, but the prevalence of this condition is difficult to ascertain due to limitations of ava Read More

Myocardial fibrosis has drawn an attention as the pathogenesis of impaired diastolic function in hypertensive hearts. However, the mechanisms whereby hypertension provokes myocardial fibrosis are not fully understood. Recently, we have demonstrated that Wistar rat with a suprarenal aortic constriction is a model of cardiac hypertrophy associated with preserved systolic, but impaired diastolic function. In this model, a r Read More

Isolated systolic hypertension (ISHTN) is rapidly rising in prevalence, largely due to the advancing age of the population and it will soon become the most common type of hypertension. Untreated patients with merely borderline ISHTN already have a 50% grater risk for cardiovascular complications. Several studies demonstrated that treating ISHTN is beneficial. However, such treatment could cause a potential harm by Read More

Hypertension is a chronic age-related disorder, affecting nearly 20% of all adult Europeans. This disease entails debilitating cardiovascular complications and is the leading cause for drug prescriptions in Europeans older then 50 years. Intensive research over the past two decades failed so far to identify common genetic polymorphisms with major impact on blood pressure or associated cardiovascular phenotypes, sugge Read More

Adrenomedullin (AM) is a bioactive peptide having a wide range of biological actions such as vasodilatation, natriuresis, diuresis and inhibition of aldosterone secretion. Various organs and tissues, including the myocardium, vascular wall and kidneys, produce AM, and AM is also present in the bloodstream. Plasma levels of AM were elevated in patients with essential or secondary hypertension as compared with normotensive c Read More

Tonic activation of the sympathetic nervous system is a major factor contributing to hypertension in patients with chronic renal failure. Besides its role in blood pressure regulation, sympathetic overactivity causes structural and functional alterations of the myocardium and large artery walls. Altogether, these factors contribute substantially to the increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic renal d Read More

The metabolic syndrome is a common generator of diseases in countries with western civilization lifestyles. Type 2 diabetes, atherosclerotic disease manifestations, hypertension, obesity, dyslipidaemia, hyperuricaemia, hyperinsulinaemia, dysfibrinolysis and microalbuminuria are considered to be established components of the metabolic syndrome. A clinical observation that obese and/or diabetic men appeared to have a greater p Read More

During pregnancy, the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays an important role in regulating the markedly expanded circulating blood volume in the uteroplacental circulation. RAS is activated during normal pregnancy; however, blood pressure decreases from the 1st trimester to the 2nd trimester. Vascular responsiveness to angiotensin II (AngII) decreases early in pregnancy; on the other hand, pregnant women who subs Read More

Pre-eclampsia (PE), a hypertensive disorder of human pregnancy, shares some similarities with atherosclerosis and some studies support the theory that PE may work as a marker of increased cardiovascular risk later in life. Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease and raised C-reactive protein (CRP) levels have emerged as a powerful marker in predicting cardiovascular events. PE may represent an exacerbated form of Read More

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) has been known to exert various actions on diverse target tissues such as kidney, heart, vascular system, and brain as well as blood pressure regulation and fluid homeostasis. In addition, various animal experiments and clinical studies suggested a role of RAS on the erythropoiesis. In RAS activated clinical situations such as posttransplant erythrocytosis, renin secreting tumors, and renal ar Read More