Search results for "Dysfunction"
showing 10 items of 1129 documents
Pathophysiology, diagnosis and prognostic implications of endothelial dysfunction
2008
Endothelial dysfunction (ED) in the setting of cardiovascular risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic smoking as well as in patients with heart failure has been shown to be at least in part dependent on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide and the subsequent decrease in vascular bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO). Methods to quantify endothelial dysfunction include forearm plethysmography, flow-dependent dilation of the brachial artery, finger-pulse plethysmography, pulse curve analysis, and quantitative coronary angiography after intracoronary administration of the endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine. S…
Vascular aging in women: is estrogen the fountain of youth?
2012
Aging is a physiological process associated with structural and functional changes in vasculature, including endothelial dysfunction, arterial stiffening and remodeling, impaired angiogenesis, and defective vascular repair, and with an increasing prevalence of atherosclerosis. The risk of cardiovascular disease differs between men and women, remaining lower in women during their fertile years and reaching values similar to their male peers after menopause. Menopause is marked by the loss of endogenous estrogen production. Therefore, estrogens have been implicated in premenopausal protection from cardiovascular disease, an assumption supported by experimental and some clinical studies, where…
Mechanisms of hypertension in the cardiometabolic syndrome
2009
Arterial hypertension is often part of a constellation of anthropometric and metabolic abnormalities that occur simultaneously to a higher degree than would be expected by chance alone, supporting the existence of a discrete disorder, the so-called metabolic syndrome. It is the result of interactions among a large number of interconnected mechanisms, which eventually lead to both an increase in cardiovascular and renal risk, and the development of diabetes. Mechanisms involved in the metabolic syndrome are obesity, insulin resistance, and a constellation of independent factors, which include molecules of hepatic, vascular, and immunologic origin with pro-inflammatory properties. At each of …
Targeting Heme-Oxidized Soluble Guanylate Cyclase
2007
Increased peripheral vascular resistance is a hallmark of advanced chronic congestive heart failure (CHF) and contributes to the phenomenon of increased afterload that complicates that condition. Multiple factors have been proposed to contribute to this phenomenon, such as increased sodium water content of the vasculature, increased activation of neurohormonal vasoconstrictor forces, and intrinsic abnormalities of the vasculature. During the past decade, it has also been shown that CHF is associated with a severe degree of endothelial dysfunction in experimental animals, as well as in humans. Given that the endothelium, as well as endothelium-dependent vasodilation, plays a crucial role in …
Sirolimus-Induced Vascular Dysfunction
2008
Objectives This study sought to analyze mechanisms that mediate vascular dysfunction induced by sirolimus. Background Despite excellent antirestenotic capacity, sirolimus-eluting stents have been found to trigger coronary endothelial dysfunction and impaired re-endothelialization. Methods To mimic the continuous sirolimus exposure of a stented vessel, Wistar rats underwent drug infusion with an osmotic pump for 7 days. Results Sirolimus treatment caused a marked degree of endothelial dysfunction as well as a desensitization of the vasculature to the endothelium-independent vasodilator nitroglycerin. Also, sirolimus stimulated intense transmural superoxide formation as detected by dihydroeth…