Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 9, Issue 13, 2003

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Western society. Extracellular matrix turnover is important in many cardiovascular pathologies, such as arterial remodeling, plaque rupture, restenosis, aneurysm formation and heart failure. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) belong to a group of zinc and calcium dependent proteases and cause breakdown of the extracellular matrix. MMP inhibitors have been Read More

Cardiovascular atherosclerotic diseases remain leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. Despite the significant progress that has been made in the management of these diseases using medical, surgical and percutaneous therapies over the last three decades, there remains a significant population of patients who are not optimal candidates for surgical or percutaneous revascularization.Substantial research has Read More

Arterial stiffness is the most important cause of increasing systolic and pulse pressure, and for decreasing diastolic pressure with ageing. Many measures can be applied to quantify arterial stiffness, but all are approximations only, on account of the nonhomogenous structure of the arterial wall, its variability in different locations, at different levels of distending pressure, and with changes in smooth muscle tone. This article s Read More

Activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system is associated with unsatisfactory outcomes in patients with hypertension and heart failure in that activation of this system is correlated strongly with both the incidence and extent of end-organ damage. Despite the availability of the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) and the angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB), unblocked aldosterone levels remain an im Read More

Coronary artery stents have emerged as the preferred tool for percutaneous coronary interventions during the past decade by eliminating abrupt vessel closure and reducing restenosis compared with balloon angioplasty. While coronary artery stents prevent constrictive arterial remodeling and elastic recoil, the implantation is associated with more severe arterial vascular injury than balloon angioplasty alone. The arterial inj Read More