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Biomedical subjects

D G Beevers

Publications and source records attributed to D G Beevers.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Blood-pressure screening and supervision in general practice.

Since April 1975 all men aged 35-69 years registered with four general practices in west central Scotland have had their blood pressure checked whenever they visit the surgery. Although the practice locations range from rural to city centre and observers comprise receptionists, nurses, and doctors, a standard procedure has been adopted for the examination, recording, follow-up, and management of high blood pressure. The results confirm that raised blood pressure is common and often goes undetected. Even when hypertension is known, casual blood pressure readings often exceed accepted normal levels. The findings also show that a population may be routinely examined through normal contact with the family doctor, and that this can provide a convenient, acceptable, and effective means of detecting and reducing raised blood pressure.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Divergent views of hospital staff on detecting and managing hypertension.

A questionnaire about detecting and managing hypertension was answered by 76 out of 110 (69%) doctors and 116 out of 195 (63%) qualified nurses in a large hospital. There was no general agreement on the method of taking diastolic blood pressures or on the level of hypertension requiring treatment. Most of the clinicians treated mild hypertension, although no proof exists that such treatment is beneficial. Almost everyone questioned agreed that measuring blood pressure in all patients attending hospital is important. Agreement should be reached, however, on which phase of diastolic blood pressure should be used.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1979

Malignant hypertension and cigarette smoking.

The smoking habits of 48 patients with malignant hypertension were compared with those of 92 consecutive patients with non-malignant hypertension. Thirty-three of the patients with malignant and 34 of the patients with non-malignant hypertension were smokers when first diagnosed. This difference was significant, and remained so when only men or black and white patients were considered separately. Results suggest that malignant hypertension is yet another disease related to cigarette smoking.

Female↗
PubMed1979

Factors influencing blood pressure in chronic alcoholics.

1. Of 96 alcoholics admitted for detoxification, 48% were hypertensive (systolic blood pressure greater than 140 mmHg and/or diastolic pressure greater than 90 mmHg). 2. Elevation of both systolic and diastolic blood pressures was related to the severity of alcohol-withdrawal symptoms. 3. After these symptoms had abated only 9% of patients remained hypertensive. 4. Blood pressure remained normal if patients abstained from alcohol after discharge but rose in those who started drinking again. 5. Hypertension was not consistently related to the presence or severity of alcoholic liver disease. 6. Alcohol-related hypertension may be the result of the alcohol-withdrawal syndrome; increased noradrenergic activity is suggested as the likely mechanism.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Mild hypertension: to treat or not to treat?

In the second half of this century, morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease has reached epidemic proportions. The major risk factor associated with cardiovascular disease has been found, from various epidemiological studies, to be elevated blood pressure. Therefore, a lot of energy has been expended in prospective therapeutic trials in attempting to detect whether treatment of high blood pressure is beneficial. In severe hypertension, where the risk to the individual is considerable, this benefit has been demonstrated with relative ease. However, it has not yet proven possible to show conclusive benefit of treatment in the mild group of hypertensives, which form the vast majority of patients seen in general practice. A different approach has been advocated where account is taken of other coincidental cardiovascular risk factors; their presence or absence should help the clinician decide whether to treat or not to treat in the individual case.

Aging↗
PubMed1979

The effect of thiazide diuretics on coronary risk factors.

Benzothiadiazine diuretics (thiazides) were introduced twenty years ago (Hollander and Wilkins, 1957), and remain the most commonly used type of antihypertensive drug. Their long term use alone provides smooth control of blood pressure in mild to moderate hypertensives (Beevers, Hamilton and Harpur, 1971), and they are also valuable as adjuvant therapy with other antihypertensive drugs. Whilst thiazides are virtually free of any clinical side effects, they do cause many biochemical changes, the significance of which is uncertain. Many of these biochemical abnormalities are possible risk factors for the development of coronary heart disease (C.H.D.), or other serious conditions. The magnitude and importance of these changes are discussed in this review.

Aged↗
PubMed1978

Relation between prognosis and the blood pressure before and during treatment of hypertensive patients.

1. A study was conducted amongst 1247 treated hypertensive patients to determine the predictive power of untreated baseline and achieved treated blood pressures in the development of the complications of hypertension. In addition the relative importance of systolic and diastolic pressures was calculated. 2. Statistical analysis was done by calculating univariate differences in blood pressure between cases with and without complications. The higher the univariate distance, the greater the predictive power. 3. Blood pressures achieved during treatment were more important than baseline pressures for predicting stroke in both men and women, confirming the benefits of antihypertensive therapy in preventing strokes. 4. There was some evidence of prevention of myocardial infarction in men and of angina in women as a result of therapy. 5. There was no evidence to suggest that any one group of drugs, including beta-adrenoreceptor-blocking drugs and thiazides, conferred any extra benefit in preventing coronary heart disease. 6. The systolic blood pressures achieved during treatment predicted stroke better than diastolic pressure, but no consistent trends were found for coronary heart disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Total exchangeable potassium in response to amiloride.

The use of amiloride is described in twenty-four hypertensive patients who became hypokalaemic as a result of thiazide diuretic therapy in spite of oral potassium supplments. Amiloride caused a significant rise in exchangeable potassium, exchangeable potassium/kg body weight, and plasma potassium, together with a significant fall in plasma total carbon dioxide, body weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressures. These results suggest that amiloride has a useful role in this type of patient.

Amiloride↗
PubMed1977

Alcohol and hypertension.

Liver-function data were compared in 158 unselected hypertensives and 105 normotensives aged 45-64 years. Serum concentrations of alanine and aspartate aminotransferase (S.G.O.T. and S.G.P.T.) were higher, and more often raised, in the hypertensive patients. Serum bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase concentrations were similar in both groups. In hypertensive patients aminotransferase concentrations tended to be higher in those with increased alcohol intake.

Alanine Transaminase↗
PubMed1977

Angiotensin II in essential hypertension.

Plasma concentrations of angiotensin II (PAC) were measured in a group of 146 hypertensive patients (diastolic pressure greater than 105 mm Hg) who had no apparent underlying cause for their condition and 113 randomly selected normotensive controls (diastolic pressure less than 90 mm Hg). There was no evidence of bimodality in the frequency distribution curves for plasma angiotensin II concentrations among the hypertensive patients. It was concluded that hypertension associated with low angiotensin II concentration and by implication "low-renin" hypertension is not a condition separate from essential hypertension.

Angiotensin II↗
PubMed1977

Blood pressure measurement at screening and in general practice.

As part of an epidemiological study of hypertension, an analysis was made of the general practitioner records of all attenders at a screening survey. A blood pressure recording, made before screening, was found in 37-9 per cent of cases. The pressures obtained correlated well with those obtained by the screening unit, though the practitioners' readings tended to be lower. Further cases of hypertension were found, not diagnosed by the screening unit; the estimate made of the prevalence of hypertension at the survey could be corrected by inclusion of these cases. Chest pain, headaches, lightheadedness, and dizziness were common reasons for blood pressure measurement in general practice, but these symptoms were not associated with a rise in the blood pressure; symptoms were not helpful in the diagnosis of hypertension. Some form of screening programme is necessary to detect cases of hypertension. This could be carried out by general practitioners.

Blood Pressure Determination↗
PubMed1976

Blood-cadmium in hypertensives and normotensives.

70 hypertensive patients and 70 controls matched for age and sex were investigated for a possible relationship between blood-cadmium and hypertension. No significant differences between the two groups were detected, although the blood-cadmium level was significantly higher in smokers as compared to non-smokers. These data do not support the hypothesis that cadmium is involved in the development of hypertension in man.

Antihypertensive Agents↗