This thesis investigated the impact of pubertal maturation and sex on cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) and arterial properties of the common carotid artery (CCA), and the relationship between CCA arterial properties and BRS. This thesis also investigated the effect of orthostatic stress on arterial properties of the CCA and carotid sinus (CS), as well as their impact on BRS in response ...

OBJECTIVE This study was aimed at assessing the contribution of the autonomic nervous system to adjustments of cardiovascular function in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). METHODS In 18 AS patients (mean age: 34.9; mean disease duration: 6.4 years) and 13 healthy controls (mean age: 31.7) the changes of heart rate (HR) with deep breathing (E/I ratio) and standing up (30/15 ratio) wer...

SUMMARY In this account an attempt has been made to identify integrative interactions in the control of the cardiovascular system. Three main sites of such interaction have been considered, the nucleus of the tractus solitarius (NTS), the vagal preganglionic supply to the heart and sympathetic pre-ganglionic neurones. In the case of the NTS the extent and range of afferent inputs from cardiovas...

Six male patients with narcolepsy for several years, were studied without and with amphetamine in order to evaluate possible abnormalities in autonomic control of the cardiovascular system. Studies were made of (1) heart rate and blood flow in the resting forearm during contralateral isometric handgrip, (2) respiratory sinus arrhythmia and (3) heart rate response to the Valsalva manoeuvre. The ...

The manner in which general anesthesia affects circulatory control was studied by examining the effects of commonly employed anesthetics on left ventricular function and distribution of cardiac output, and the extent to which responses to physiological and pharmacological stimuli are modified by general anesthesia. While commonly employed anesthetics affect almost every aspect of the circulator...

Cardiovascular disease accounts for nearly 70% of morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus. Strides made in diabetes care have indeed helped prevent or reduce the burden of microvascular complications in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. However, the same cannot be said about macrovascular disease in diabetes. Several prospective trials so far have failed to provide conclusive ...

Transcriptional regulation of thousands of genes instructs complex morphogenetic and molecular events for heart development. Cardiac transcription factors choreograph gene expression at each stage of differentiation by interacting with cofactors, including chromatin-modifying enzymes, and by binding to a constellation of regulatory DNA elements. Here, we present salient examples relevant to car...

It has been considered whether during whole body exercise the increase in cardiac output is large enough to support skeletal muscle blood flow. This review addresses four lines of evidence for a flow limitation to skeletal muscles during whole body exercise. First, even though during exercise the blood flow achieved by the arms is lower than that achieved by the legs (∼160 vs. ∼385 ml·min(-1)·1...

The objective of this study is to design a robust direct model reference adaptive controller (DMRAC) for a nonlinear cardiovascular model over a range of plant parameters representing a variety of physical conditions. The direct adaptive controllers used in thisd study require the plant to be almost strictly positive real (ASPR) that is, for a plant to be controlled there must exist a feedback ...