Introduction: Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) plays a key role in the regulation of vascular tone and protection of blood vessels against endothelial dysfunction. Since the mechanism of salt impairing H2S-induced vascular relaxation is not fully clear, therefore this study was designed to investigate the role of potassium (K+) channels in the vasodilatory effects of exogenous H2S in rat aortic rings.&nb...

A 48 year-old obese male with hypertension was admitted to our department because of severe right-dominant heart failure. His heart rhythm was 2:1 atrial flutter and the left ventricle was diffusely hypertrophic and hypokinetic. Primary aldosteronism was diagnosed based on severe hypokalemia (2.6 mEq/L) and a low renin-high aldosterone state with hypertension despite the use of an angiotensin-I...

The treatment of moderate or severe hypertension in most cases requires the contemporaneous use of multiple antihypertensive agents. The most available two-drug combinations have an agent that addresses renin secretion and another one that is statistically more effective in renin-independent hypertension. The practice of combining agents that counteract different mechanisms is the most likely e...

From the 1930s into the 1970s, the role of acetylcholine (ACh) in the carotid body's chemotransduction of hypoxia was debated. Since the late 1970s, the issue has been pursued only intermittently or not at all. The purpose of this study was to test again with a new preparation the hypothesis that ACh is an excitatory neurotransmitter in the cat carotid body's chemotransduction of hypoxia. We te...

It has been reported that both activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors and acid-sensing ion channels during cerebral ischemic insult contributed to brain injury. But which of these two molecular targets plays a more pivotal role in hypoxia-induced brain injury during ischemia is not known. In this study, the neuroprotective effects of an acid-sensing cation channel blocker and an N-methyl-...

Beta blockers provide both morbidity and mortality benefits for post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients. Despite this, beta blockers are still often underused or used at suboptimal dosages. This was a retrospective observational study with the objectives of estimating the proportion of post-MI patients who are receiving beta-blocker therapy in University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), assessing...

Techniques for one-lung ventilation (OLV) can be accomplished in two ways: The first involves the use of a double-lumen endotracheal tube (DLT). The second involves blockade of a mainstem bronchus (bronchial blockers). Bronchial blockade technology is on the rise, and in some specific clinical situations (e.g., management of the difficult airway during OLV or selective lobar blockade) it can of...

Background. The aim of this study was to validate the impact of type 2 diabetes (T2D) on the platelet reactivity in patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated with adenosine diphosphate (ADP) receptor blockers. Methods. A pilot prospective study was performed. Totally 67 patients were enrolled. 21 patients had T2D. Among all study population, 33 patients received clo...