The cardiovascular effects of adimolol, a new, potent, long acting beta-adrenoceptor blocking drug were investigated in three studies. In the first study blood pressure and heart rate were measured in five male volunteers before and at 2, 4, 6, 8, 24, 32, 48, 72 and 96 h after single oral doses of adimolol. All doses of adimolol reduced supine, standing and exercise heart rates in a dose depend...

The antihypertensive effect of labetalol, a new alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor inhibiting agent, was studied in 20 patients in a double-blind crossover trial. A dose of 300 mg daily reduced blood pressure only moderately in the supine position, though in the sitting and standing positions the effect was more pronounced. A dose of 600 mg daily produced statistically significant and clinically rele...

Hypertension in pregnancy is associated with increased maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity. About 8 % of all pregnancies are complicated with hypertensive disorders. There is concordance that severe hypertension should be treated without delay to reduce maternal risks of acute cerebrovascular complications. Intravenous labetalol and oral nifedipine are as effective as intravenous hydrala...

1 Eighty-five women with severe hypertension complicating pregnancy were treated with oral labetalol (Trandate). Six of these had a twin pregnancy and 54 had proteinuria. 2 Effective control of the blood pressure was achieved in all but six patients. The maximum dose of labetalol prescribed was 1200 mg daily. There were no significant maternal or foetal side-effects. 3 Foeto-placental function ...

A 67-year-old man took labetalol (Trandate) 400 mg thrice daily and clonidine 0 3 mg daily from June 1977 for hypertension. Methyldopa had been withdrawn because of diarrhoea, and propranolol and clonidine had proved ineffective. Twelve weeks after beginning labetalol he developed an itchy eruption on his penis, which spread to the trunk and limbs. When he attended hospital 10 weeks later the e...

BACKGROUND Cardiac dysfunction after brain death has been documented, but its mechanisms remain unclear. Myocardial ischemia has been suggested as a possible cause. The aim of the present study was to investigate the existence of an imbalance between myocardial oxygen delivery and demand as a possible cause of myocardial dysfunction in brain-dead pigs. METHODS AND RESULTS Interstitial myocard...

OBJECTIVE Beta-blocking therapy is the standard therapy in non-operated Marfan patients, however its efficacy after entire aortic replacement is unknown. The aim of this study was to describe the influence of (nearly) entire aortic replacement and beta-blocking therapy on blood pressure and wave reflections in Marfan patients. METHODS Four Marfan patients (mean age 31+/-3 years) and 8 age mat...

BACKGROUND Pregnant and postpartum women with severe hypertension are at increased risk of stroke and require blood pressure (BP) reduction. Parenteral antihypertensives have been most commonly studied, but oral agents would be ideal for use in busy and resource-constrained settings. OBJECTIVES To review systematically, the effectiveness of oral antihypertensive agents for treatment of severe...

OBJECTIVE To review outcomes in randomised controlled trials comparing hydralazine against other antihypertensives for severe hypertension in pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN Meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (published between 1966 and September 2002) of short acting antihypertensives for severe hypertension in pregnancy. Independent data abstraction by two reviewers. Data were entered in...