PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Castro Beiras

Publications and source records attributed to A Castro Beiras.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

[The polymorphism of the angiotensin I-converting enzyme gene and its association with ischemic cardiopathy].

The role played by angiotensin in the development of coronary heart disease is a subject of increasing interest. This interest is due to the results of several trials suggesting that treatment with angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitors decrease the incidence of clinical manifestations of coronary heart disease. The relationship between angiotensin and coronary heart disease is being analyzed both from basic and clinical approaches. As a result of such investigations, a polymorphism in the angiotensin converting enzyme gene has been described and the role of this polymorphism as a possible risk factor for coronary heart disease has been reported. In this paper the current knowledge about the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene is reviewed and its relationship with coronary heart disease is discussed.

Humans↗
PubMed1995

[Controversies in the treatment of arterial hypertension: other drugs as the first step (calcium antagonists, ACE inhibitors and alpha-blockers)].

This paper is the written version of the conference that under the same title was presented in the XXX Congreso Nacional de la Sociedad Española de Cardiología. In the paper, the use of the most recent antihypertensive drugs is advocated as first line therapy. The defence is based in cardiac and non cardiac considerations. Among the former, there are certain advantages of the new drugs in areas as regression of left ventricular hypertrophy and improvement of coronary flow and coronary reserve. Among the non cardiac considerations there are some metabolic factors (non adverse effect on the lipid profile), as well as a positive effect on some endocrine-metabolic cascades like the insulin-resistance syndrome and a very important role in certain special situations as coexistence with other diseases and individual characteristics of the patient (pregnancy or elderly for example).

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists↗
PubMed1995

[The relationship between clinical events and the angiographic lesions in coronary atherosclerosis. Hypolipemic treatment and plaque stabilization].

Secondary prevention studies have shown that lipid-lowering therapy improve angiographic outcome and reduce mortality and incidence of ischemic clinical events in patients with coronary artery disease. The mechanism responsible for the improvement in prognosis seem to be subtle as this improvement cannot be explained by changes in the angiographic diameter of coronary arteries. Atherosclerotic plaque rupture and subsequent thrombosis are the central features in the pathogenesis of acute coronary events: unstable angina, myocardial infarction and sudden death. Cholesterol lowering might decrease the risk of plaque rupture and its thrombogenicity, as well as normalise the impaired endothelial function in hypercholesterolemic patients. In this report, the effects of lipid-lowering therapy on angiographic outcome and incidence of clinical events, in patients suffering from coronary artery disease, are reviewed, and the mechanisms that might explain these findings are discussed.

Arteriosclerosis↗
PubMed1994

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a rarely identified entity whose exact incidence, etiology, pathogenesis, medium-term evolution, and optimal treatment have not yet been firmly established. This article describes five new cases with additional specific characteristics. Five of 2,241 coronary arteriograms taken between September 1989 and November 1992 showed angiographic signs of coronary dissection. Three of the patients were treated pharmacologically, and two were operated on. All were evaluated angiographically 10-18 months after diagnosis and followed up clinically for > or = 20 months. Three patients exhibited acute myocardial infarction, one showed effort angina and the fifth unstable angina. In four cases, coronary dissection was associated with coronary atherosclerosis, but in the fifth the coronary tree was apparently healthy except for the dissection. Dissection affected the right coronary artery in three cases and the left in two. Angiographic evolution varied among the five and was uncorrelated with treatment. Dissection disappeared in three; it persisted, with total obstruction of the artery in the middle of the dissected segment in one case; and advanced to affect the whole left coronary tree in the fifth. After an 18-month follow-up, none of the five patients experienced symptoms. These cases provide a good illustration of the variability of spontaneous coronary dissection as regards etiology, clinical presentation, treatment, and evolution. Coronary dissection is always caused by hemorrhage in the media of the arterial wall; its variability in evolution and in optimal treatment may be derived from the cause of the hemorrage, which possibly was not the same in all cases.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Changes in left ventricular mass and filling after renal transplantation are related to changes in blood pressure: an echocardiographic and pulsed Doppler study.

To examine changes in left ventricular (LV) mass and function (diastolic and systolic) after successful renal allograft transplantation (RT), we prospectively studied 30 patients (19 men, 11 women, aged 37 +/- 13 years) by M-mode, two-dimensional and pulsed Doppler echocardiography at the time of surgery and 10 +/- 1.8 months later. At the time of transplantation all patients had been undergoing dialysis (4 peritoneal dialysis, 26 hemodialysis) for 2.5 +/- 3.2 years. A hematocrit of < or = 30% was present in 26 patients. After RT the mean hematocrit increased from 26 +/- 4 to 40 +/- 7 (p < 0.01), whereas systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure (BP) remained unchanged. The LV mass index (LVMI) decreased from 201 +/- 56 to 171 +/- 41 g/m2, (p < 0.01); LV diastolic diameter corrected by body surface area (LVDDI) decreased from 298 +/- 38 to 279 +/- 35 (p < 0.01) and the LV end-diastolic volume index (LVEDVI) from 72 +/- 18 to 63 +/- 15 (p < 0.01). There were no changes in LV fractional shortening or LV end systolic wall stress. Peak late transmitral velocity (A wave) decreased from 77 +/- 16 to 68 +/- 12 cm/s (p < 0.01) with no changes in other Doppler-derived indexes of diastolic function. No fistula patency influence on changes in LV mass and function was found. After RT, BP decreased in 21 patients from 150 +/- 20 to 132 +/- 15 (p < 0.001; group I) and increased in 9 patients from 130 +/- 14 to 153 +/- 16 (p < 0.05, group II). Patients in group I suffered a reduction in LVMI (p < 0.001), LV end-diastolic diameter (p < 0.05), LVDDI (p < 0.001); LV end-diastolic volume (p < 0.05); LVEDVI (p < 0.01); cardiac index (p < 0.05), and peak late transmitral velocity (p < 0.01), but no changes in group-II patients were observed. We concluded that BP is a major determining factor with regard to changes in LV hypertrophy and function following RT. LV mass and volumes can be expected to decrease after RT in patients with BP reduction.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and coronary arteriovenous fistula].

We present a case of association of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy of the Japanese type and coronary arteriovenous fistula in a 56-year-old male who presented with anginal symptoms. Both cardiopathies can produce myocardial ischemia and angina, and their association could aggravate the ischemia. In our patient the symptoms were adequately controlled with Verapamil. The coexistence of these two rare entities in the same patient has recently been described in 2 other cases, allowing us to speculate on a possible etiological relation between the 2 abnormalities, probably both been originated in a common developmental error.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

[Situation and new aspects in arterial hypertension in Spain].

This paper briefly presents the situation of high blood pressure in Spain, both its prevalence in different parts of the country and its relevance as a cardiovascular risk factor and its relationship with demographic characteristics and other not removable risk factors. The association high blood pressure/hypercholesterolemia is discussed in greater detail, offering a multifactorial and quantitative approach of risk factors in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Age Factors↗