Current Hypertension Reviews - Volume 3, Issue 4, 2007

Normal pregnancy is associated with changes in the cardiovascular system, including vascular remodeling of the uterine and systemic circulation in order to meet the metabolic demands of the developing fetus. These cardiovascular changes are due to alterations in the amount/activity of vascular mediators such as nitric oxide, prostacyclin and endothelin in the endothelium; calcium and protein kinase C in the smooth mus Read More

Hypertension has been associated with both decreased production of the potent vasodilator nitric oxide (NO) and vascular remodeling. L-arginine is the substrate for endogenous NO production by the NO synthases (NOS). Larginine is also the substrate for the arginases, which metabolize L-arginine to L-ornithine and urea. There are 2 described isoforms of arginase, arginase I and arginase II; both isoforms are inducible and Read More

In recent years, some epidemiological studies reported that coffee consumption was associated with increased in serum cholesterol and blood pressure and subsequently increased cardiovascular risk. Coffee is one of the most popular beverages consumed in a large amount in Western Countries. Coffee beverages contain several hundred different substances, but its effects of coffee on cardiovascular system have been Read More

Physical activity is a cost-effective way to decrease blood pressure since it possesses potential for having a major public health impact. Prospective studies, have demonstrated that moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity at baseline seem to be associated with a lower incidence of hypertension among white men regardless of body mass index. The data among women are controversial. Further, there is not enough Read More

Background: Asian Indians account for one-fifth of all cardiovascular deaths worldwide. It is well known that hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, but there has been no national survey for estimating the prevalence of hypertension in the Indian population. Hypertension in this ethnic group is less well studied than hypertension in blacks or Caucasians. Methods: We searched PubM Read More

The potential role of genetic variations in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases is a field of continuous investigation and the perception of the role of genes has dramatically changed during the last 20 years. The two more commonly used experimental designs, based on a candidate gene or a genome wide approach, have been somehow replaced by the possibility to build haplotypes in the context of a single gene usi Read More

Renal ischaemia due to renal artery stenosis (RAS) may be the cause of end-stage renal failure in a growing number of patients. In recent years, decisions taken on the optimal management of patients with renal artery stenosis have sparked controversy and debate among cardiologists, internists and nephrologists. The main reason underlying the ongoing controversy may be the heterogeneity of clinical entities that are Read More

Essential hypertension research faces daunting hurdles in gene identification and elucidating mechanisms underlying gene-gene interactions and genome regulations. Recent discoveries in experimental models of polygenic hypertension have revealed the genetic architecture and a functional hierarchy of genes influencing BP. These findings are potentially shedding new conceptual lights on complex genetic mechanisms contro Read More