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Biomedical subjects

M M Engler

Publications and source records attributed to M M Engler.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Comparative study of diets enriched with evening primrose, black currant, borage or fungal oils on blood pressure and pressor responses in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The effects of oils enriched with gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) on blood pressure and pressor responses were examined in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Rats were fed purified diets containing evening primrose (EPO), black currant (BCO), borage (BOR) or fungal (FGO) oils for 7 weeks. Significant reductions in blood pressure were obtained in SHR rats maintained on diets enriched with GLA oils. The antihypertensive effect was not associated with enhanced pressor responsiveness to norepinephrine or angiotensin II. Moreover, no differences were found in blood pressure responses to the calcium channel blocker, verapamil. The results suggest that GLA-enriched oils inhibit the development of hypertension in the SHR rat. The blood pressure lowering effect is not mediated by altered pressor responses to vasoconstrictor hormones or intracellular calcium mechanisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Hypertension update: highlights from the 1993 national report.

This article summarizes the highlights of the 1993 Report of the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. These guidelines provide nurses and patients with important information about therapies for hypertension (e.g. lifestyle modification and pharmacologic therapy); treatment for specific populations (e.g. black, young, pregnant, and elderly patients); and, factors which cause hypertension (e.g. cocaine, lithotripsy, cyclosporine, and erythropoietin). This article addresses antihypertensive drugs and provides an algorithm for the treatment of hypertension. The implications for nurses in view of these new guidelines are also presented.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Dietary gamma-linolenic acid lowers blood pressure and alters aortic reactivity and cholesterol metabolism in hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of dietary gamma-linolenic acid upon blood pressure, aortic reactivity and cholesterol metabolism in spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. DESIGN: Randomized parallel-group study. METHODS: SHR and WKY rats were fed a purified diet containing either sesame or borage oil rich in gamma-linolenic acid for 7 weeks. Blood pressure measured by the tail-cuff method and weight were monitored weekly. At the end of the study, intra-arterial pressor responses to norepinephrine and angiotensin II, and reactivity of isolated aortic rings to norepinephrine, angiotensin II, KCl and acetylcholine were determined. Serum cholesterol and triglycerides were measured. Hepatic and intestinal enzymes and receptors of cholesterol metabolism were also measured. RESULTS: Dietary borage oil significantly decreased blood pressure in SHR and WKY rats compared with sesame oil-fed rats. Pressor responses to norepinephrine and angiotensin II, and aortic reactivity to norepinephrine, angiotensin II, KCl and acetylcholine were not significantly different. The borage oil diet increased serum cholesterol levels in WKY rats and hepatic B-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase in SHR. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that dietary borage oil has a blood pressure lowering effect in hypertensive and normotensive rats. However, the effect cannot be explained by altered sensitivity to humoral and neural vasoconstrictors or changes in cholesterol metabolism. Other mechanisms should be investigated.

Angiotensin II↗
PubMed1992

Cardiovascular disease prevention: knowledge and attitudes of graduate nursing students.

Graduate nursing students were surveyed to determine the knowledge and attitudes of cardiovascular disease prevention. Questionnaires were self-administered to first-year graduate nursing students (n = 50) in a school of nursing prior to and following a physiology course with cardiovascular disease prevention content. In general, the results demonstrated that the respondents were least knowledgeable regarding the prevalence of smoking, the gender differences in high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol levels, the influence of body weight on lipids and the recommended percentages of calories from dietary fat. A significant improvement in knowledge was noted after the course. Positive attitudes regarding the importance of cardiovascular disease prevention and the partnership between patients and clinicians necessary to manage risk were identified. These attitudes did not change significantly following the course. These results indicate that graduate education which emphasizes cardiovascular disease prevention increases knowledge. Coupled with positive attitudes and healthy personal lifestyle behaviours, knowledge of cardiovascular disease prevention may enhance the ability of nurses to integrate preventive standards into clinical practice and ultimately decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Ethanol inhalation and dietary n-6, n-3, and n-9 fatty acids in the rat: effect on platelet and aortic fatty acid composition.

The effects of 18-carbon n-6, n-3, and n-9 fatty acid diets and ethanol exposure on the fatty acyl composition of platelets and vascular tissue were examined. An experimental design was devised to control the dietary content of 18-carbon fatty acids. The levels of 18:3n6, 18:3n3 and 18:1n9 were varied by a formulation of dietary oils which contained similar proportions of 18:2n6. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a purified diet containing 11% by weight of either borage oil (BOR) rich in 18:3n6, linseed/safflower oil (LSO) rich in 18:3n3, or sesame oil (SES) rich in 18:1n9 for 7 weeks and exposed to ethanol vapors by means of inhalation for the final 6 days of the dietary regimen. Moderate blood ethanol levels of 118 +/- 6.6 mg/dl were obtained. Total lipids were extracted from platelets and aortae, and the fatty acid distributions were analyzed by gas chromatography. BOR feeding resulted in increases in the proportion of n-6 fatty acids (18:3n6, 20:3n6, 20:4n6) in platelets and aorta. Animals fed the LSO diet had increased levels of n-3 fatty acids (18:3n3, 20:5n3, 22:6n3). The SES-based diet resulted in an increase in 18:1n9 in both aorta and platelets. Following ethanol exposure alone, the most marked change in the fatty acid profile was a decrease in 20:4n6 in the platelet. This effect was not observed in rats supplemented with BOR. No significant changes were observed in the aortic fatty acid content at this level of ethanol exposure. The results suggested that, in the rat, a diet enriched with BOR effectively prevented ethanol-induced alterations in platelet fatty acid composition.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed1985

The effects of magnetic resonance imaging on intravenous infusion devices.

We evaluated the effects of magnetic resonance imaging on the accuracy of three types of intravenous infusion pump devices, IVAC 530, IMED 927 and IMED 960/965. The devices were exposed to a 2,800-gauss static magnetic field at a pulsed radio frequency of 11.9 MHz operating at a maximum power of 1,200 W. Each device was tested at low, medium and fast flow rates in a controlled environment and during magnetic resonance imaging. Intravenous therapy could be carried out normally during magnetic resonance diagnostic imaging only with the IVAC 530 infusion device.

Humans↗
PubMed1984

Actuarial analysis of the risk of undergoing repeat cardiac valve replacement.

One thousand five hundred ninety-eight patients who underwent cardiac valve replacement were reviewed. One hundred fifty-two patients (10 percent) required a second valve replacement. The indications for repeat valve replacement were prosthetic valve dysfunction in 53 patients (35 percent), development of a new valvular lesion in 46 patients (30 percent), simple closure of a perivalvular leak in 14 patients (9 percent), change of the valve poppet in 13 patients (8 percent), severe hemolysis or emboli in 21 patients (14 percent), and prosthetic valve endocarditis in 5 patients (3 percent). The mean preoperative New York Health Association functional class improved from 3 to 1.5 in the nonreoperated patients and from 2.9 to 1.8 in patients who underwent a second valve replacement. Similarly, the mean cardiac index improved from 2.5 to 2.9 and from 2.5 to 2.8 in nonreoperated and reoperated patients, respectively. The operative mortality rate was 14 percent in the nonreoperated patients and 16 percent at second operation in the reoperated patients. Using actuarial techniques, the risk of repeat valve replacement was 1 to 4 percent per year. Long-term survival was compared between groups. Using actuarial techniques, the estimated survival rates at 1, 5, and 10 years were 89 percent, 69 percent, and 52 percent, respectively in nonreoperated patients and 87 percent, 60 percent, and 37 percent in reoperated patients. This study has documented the excellent improvement in functional and hemodynamic state after second cardiac valve replacement. The operative mortality and long-term survival rates were similar to those of the nonreoperated patients. Patients having repeat cardiac valve replacement can expect good improvement in length and quality of life.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Perceived learning needs of patients with coronary artery disease using a questionnaire assessment tool.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the perceived learning needs and their level of importance in patients with angina pectoris or myocardial infarction at hospitalization and follow-up clinic visit and to assess the reliability of a self-administered questionnaire. DESIGN: Longitudinal, exploratory. SETTING: West Coast university-affiliated medical center and clinics that serve primarily a veteran population. PATIENTS: Twenty-eight adults who were admitted with a diagnosis of angina pectoris or myocardial infarction. Age range was 31 to 80 years (mean 61 years). OUTCOME MEASURES: Learning needs, questionnaire. INTERVENTION: Data collection was initiated at hospitalization and continued at the first clinic visit after discharge. A self-administered questionnaire and personal data sheet were completed by the patients. RESULTS: Matched-pair t-tests and Pearson's correlation were used for data analysis. No statistical differences were demonstrated between learning needs at hospitalization and clinic visit. Three content areas including symptom recognition, cardiac anatomy and physiology, and medications were ranked as the most important learning needs of patients at hospitalization and follow-up clinic visit. The least important learning needs at both times were content areas of smoking, work, and sex. No correlation was found between the importance of perceived learning needs and age, occupation, smoking, and marital status. The questionnaire contains 38 items and is self-administered. It was developed on the basis of a previous tool and preliminary study results. Content and validity were supported by clinical experts. The internal consistency reliability alpha coefficients of the questionnaire were 0.96 at hospitalization and 0.93 at the clinic visit. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that the most important perceived learning needs of patients at hospitalization and follow-up clinic visit are those that affect survival. A self-administered questionnaire can be used as a practical and reliable tool to determine the perceived learning needs of patients with coronary artery disease during the recovery phase of illness. Cardiac educational programs for patients with coronary artery disease can focus on the content areas that patients consider most important.

Adult↗