Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 23, Issue 31, 2017

Background: In patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) there is a clear association between blood pressure (BP) levels and macrovascular and microvascular complications. However, the BP targets that need to be achieved for optimal outcomes remain controversial. Methods: The purpose of this narrative review is to discuss BP targets and management in patients with DM. The subject of elevated heart rate, which has bee Read More

Background: Stroke represent one of the most devastating of all neurological diseases, affecting about 15 million people per year and is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and currently the leading cause of adult disability in developed countries. Blood pressure and heart rate may undergo several modifications in patients with both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke in fact raised blood pressure levels Read More

Background: Arterial hypertension (AH) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) frequently coincide. While significant attention is paid to AH, PAD is often underestimated. It is known that both AH and PAD present high cardiovascular risks for ischemic events. To date, the use of the most common anti-hypertensive drugs in PAD patients is still under debate. Methods: Data from studies of large populations and minor cohort Read More

Background: Hypertension is considered a major health problem in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) as approximately 80-85% of CKD patients’ suffer from hypertension in the United States. Hypertension is the second leading cause of CKD after diabetes and is strongly related to morbidity and mortality. It has been found that there is a relation among hypertension, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and creatinine le Read More

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a global health problem. Like most chronic diseases, HF also courses with acute exacerbations, which have been found to be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. A substantial proportion of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patients clinically present with volume overload. Methods: The goal of this work was to review the current literature and recent guidelines of Eur Read More

Background: New insights on the relationship between weight loss and hypertension and the role of the newly approved anti-obesity drugs on hypertension will be discussed Methods: Weight loss is a major factor to reduce blood pressure when a patient with excess weight is advised from the health care provider to change his lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle with reduction in body weight, reduction in caloric intake, increased fr Read More

Background: The importance of increased resting heart rate in hypertensive patients was highlighted in the European Society of Hypertension statement on the identification and management of hypertensive patient with elevated heart rate. Methods: Review of the available literature. Results: Increased heart rate is an independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality even after adjustment for other con Read More

Background: Clinic resting heart rate (RHR), is one of the cardiovascular parameters more easily measurable. In the general population RHR has been associated with total and cardiovascular mortality and higher rate of vascular events. Objective: The case of essential hypertension is in some ways peculiar: in the past decades has often been attributed to hypertensive subjects higher values of RHR than healthy controls as a re Read More

It was initially assumed that heart rate and arterial blood pressure were modulated by normal respiration and muscle contraction. The arterial baroreflex, an inverse relationship between blood pressure and heart rate, was later reported. Nonetheless, it was then assumed that those responses involved vagal modulation. We summarize available evidence on the modulation of heart rate by acute or chronic aerobic ex Read More

Objective: This review covers the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic of β-blockers, the rationale for their use, some recent controversies in its use for managing hypertension, as well as, the beneficial properties of the third-generation β-blockers beyond hypertension. Background: The efficacy and safety of β-blockers in the treatment of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases have been established during more Read More

Background: Results of previous clinical trials evaluating the effect of magnesium supplementation on inflammatory markers are controversial. Objective: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were performed to evaluating the effect of oral magnesium supplementation on plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations. Method: PubMed-Medline, SCOPUS, Web of Science and Google Sc Read More

Efforts to develop and refine percutaneous approaches to cardiac valve repair and replacement have advanced rapidly over the past several years, having exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. New innovations have been predominantly directed toward the most frequent form of valvular heart disease (VHD) in the industrialized world; aortic stenosis (AS). Approximately 250,000 transcatheter aortic valve implantati Read More

This review focuses on the biological role and clinical relevance of relatively poor studied enzymes known as sialidases. We describe structure and function of sialic acid, in particular as a component of gangliosides and plasma lipoproteins. Several types of sialidases are known in mammals, of which trans-sialidase is of special interest, since it is capable of removing sialic acid from low density lipoprotein (LDL) particles and tran Read More