Current Vascular Pharmacology - Volume 5, Issue 2, 2007

Evidence is emerging that disturbances in sleep and sleep disorders play a role in the morbidity of chronic conditions. However, the relationship between sleep processes, disease development, disease progression and disease management is often unclear or understudied. Numerous common medical conditions can have an affect on sleep. For example, diabetes or inflammatory conditions such as arthritis can lead to Read More

Despite the recent advances in medical therapy and coronary revascularization procedures, coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the major cause of morbidity and mortality in the developing countries. In patients with severe CAD, persistent myocardial ischemia in hibernated myocardium resulted in progressive loss of cardiomyocytes with development of heart failure. As a result, therapeutic approaches to en Read More

Wall shear stress is a fluid dynamic quantity that is gradually emerging as a potentially important factor of coronary atherosclerosis. Methods, therefore, of estimation of shear stress in the arterial system are of clinical relevance. The purpose of this review is to define wall shear stress, review the various methods that have been used for its assessment in human circulation, and examine the methodological limitations a Read More

Anticoagulant drugs are traditionally administered for the prevention and treatment of thrombosis. Besides multi-targeted, traditional anticoagulants, such as coumarins or heparins, the search for the optimal antithrombotic efficacy to bleeding risk ratio has prompted the development of a novel armamentarium of anticoagulant drugs, which is expected to be introduced in the market. These emerging dru Read More

Persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) is a disease characterised by the disruption of the transition from fetal to neonatal circulation with the persistence of high pulmonary vascular resistances and right-to left shunting. This condition, occurring in about 1-2 newborns per 1000 live births, causes severe hypoxemia. Despite significant improvements in treatment, the mortality of PPHN varies from 10 to 20 % of affected new Read More

Dual antiplatelet therapy (aspirin plus clopidogrel) is mandatory in patients treated with coronary stent implantation. This strategy is highly effective in prevention of stent thrombosis until its struts are covered with endothelium. However, a substantial number of patients still suffer from recurrent ischemic coronary events despite adequate antiplatelet therapy. These events fall into three categories: stent thrombosis, in stent reste Read More

Obesity and metabolic syndrome are increasing dramatically worldwide, contributing to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. There are currently few safe and efficacious therapeutics for obesity and most strategies are focused on appetite suppression. Thyroid hormones reduce adiposity via increased metabolic rate, but unfortunately they cause large changes in metabolic rate and direct cardiac acceleration, making them us Read More

The “pleiotropic” effects of statins have been the centre of a considerable research activity. Among the numerous experimental and clinical studies of this field, some focused on the effects of statins on blood pressure (BP), while others reported data on BP together with other parameters. Some of the animal or human studies do not show an association between statin treatment and BP changes, whereas others usually report mil Read More

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential substances for the development and function of human organism. They cannot be synthesized in humans, and consequently have to be acquired from food, almost exclusively from fish. Omega-3 fatty acids exert potent anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerotic actions by interfering with the metabolism of arachidonic acid, modifying lipid composition (mainly lowering triglycerides Read More