BACKGROUND Diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) are accused of being responsible for the development of the cardiac fibrosis due to severe cardiomyopathy. METHODS Blood glucose (BG) test was carried out, lipid concentrations, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-2), collagen-I and collagen-III were measured in mal...

OBJECTIVE Introduction and measurement of human myocardial oxygen supply:demand ratio as a reference for quantification of coronary microvascular vasodilating drug effects in clinical studies. Myocardial oxygen consumption is the major determinant of coronary blood flow; therefore, the true vasodilating properties of coronary vasodilating drugs that may have an effect on oxygen consumption cann...

In an open study, 16 patients with moderate essential hypertension were treated with 5 or 10 mg felodipine daily for 3 months. Hemodynamic (HD) indices were assessed at rest and during isometric effort (IE) at days 0, 3 to 7, 30, 60, and 90. Treatment efficacy was evaluated by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring for (ABPM) 24 h and divided between awake and sleep periods. Left ventricular mass...

Objective—Introduction and measurement of human myocardial oxygen supply:demand ratio as a reference for quantification of coronary microvascular vasodilating drug effects in clinical studies. Myocardial oxygen consumption is the major determinant of coronary blood flow; therefore, the true vasodilating properties of coronary vasodilating drugs that may have an effect on oxygen consumption cann...

A considerable effort has been made in the last 15 years to evaluate the safety and efficacy of calcium channel blockers (CCBs) in the treatment of patients with chronic congestive heart failure (CHF). Available studies have provided strong evidence for a potential detrimental effect of the first-generation calcium antagonists in patients with CHF, indicating the need for great caution when the...