Biomedical subjects

N B Karatzas

Publications and source records attributed to N B Karatzas.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

Beta-blockers and antithrombotic treatment for secondary prevention after acute myocardial infarction. Towards an understanding of factors influencing clinical practice. The European Secondary Prevention Study Group.

AIMS: Long-term beta-blockade reduced mortality after acute myocardial infarction by about a quarter in a series of published trials. Representative data on beta-blocker use for secondary prevention are scanty but indicate wide variations. We have analysed European practice, and sources of variation, by regional sampling of acute myocardial infarction patients admitted to hospital in 11 countries during the period January 1993-June 1994. METHODS AND RESULTS: Treatment data for 4035 representative patients were collected for the hospital phase and 6 months after discharge. A logistic regression model was developed to describe the predictors of beta-blocker use. In the 11 regional samples, 6-38% (20% overall) of patients had no recorded contraindications but were discharged without a beta-blocker. In the absence of perceived contraindications, there was a strong, independent negative association between age and odds of treatment (P < 0.001), and women were less likely to be treated than men (adjusted odds ratio 0.76, 95% CI 0.58-0.99). Discontinuation of beta-blocker treatment by 6 months was significantly less likely in regions where the proportion given such treatment at discharge was high. In contrast, use of antithrombotic agents in the samples was consistently high. CONCLUSIONS: There is persisting low use of beta-blocker secondary prophylaxis, particularly in the elderly and in women, not attributable to perceived contraindications or intolerance. Considerable regional variations persist despite shared trials evidence. Discharge treatment strongly influences long-term medication.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗

PubMed1998

Use of coronary angiography and revascularization procedures following acute myocardial infarction. A European perspective.

AIMS: There is little evidence to inform routine practice in the use of coronary angiography and revascularization procedures after acute myocardial infarction. Large differences in the uptake of these procedures have been reported but representative data are scarce. Outcome studies have produced opposing conclusions concerning the impact of the high rate of these cardiac procedures. METHODS AND RESULTS: A population-based patient sampling approach was utilized to identify routine practice in representative samples from 11 European countries. Data were collected retrospectively on treatment in the 6 months following acute myocardial infarction (n=2807). There was wide variation in utilization of coronary angiography and revascularization procedures. Even after restricting the analysis to patients <65 years (n=1262), there remained a 6 13 fold variation in the use of these procedures. A decreased likelihood of undergoing these procedures was associated with older age. In addition, there was an independent and negative association between female sex and utilization of coronary angiography and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). CONCLUSION: The effect on patient outcome of the observed variation in use of these procedures is not known but has important cost and resource implications for the health services. Outcome research is needed to define patient selection criteria and to measure the cost-utility of different angiography and revascularization rates.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Comparison of respiratory response of jogging in place and Bruce treadmill exercise test.

A comparison of the respiratory responses of jogging in place, an alternative exercise test we recently proposed, was made with those of the Bruce exercise test. We obtained on-line measurements of heart rate, ventilation, oxygen uptake, and carbon dioxide production from 9 healthy subjects of mean age 25 years. There was a higher heart rate and ventilatory response with jogging than with the Bruce test, but by 10 minutes the responses of the two tests were similar. Oxygen consumption, while higher with jogging, rose in parallel with that of the Bruce test from the second to the seventh min, and the change of the ratio of minute ventilation to oxygen consumption indicated that the anaerobic threshold occurred earlier during jogging. These results show that jogging in place is more vigorous than the graded exercise test and may produce ischemia earlier.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Metoprolol versus thiazide diuretics in hypertension. Morbidity results from the MAPHY Study.

The present study in hypertensive men (40-64 years old) with untreated diastolic blood pressure above 100 mm Hg was aimed at investigating whether metoprolol (n = 1,609) given as initial treatment would lower the risk for coronary events (sudden death and myocardial infarction) more effectively than thiazide diuretics (n = 1,625). A substantial part of this study was the metoprolol arm of the Heart Attack Primary Prevention in Hypertension (HAPPHY) study. The HAPPHY study was a pooling of the effect of different beta-blockers, mainly metoprolol and atenolol, in which no favorable effect in relative risk was observed for atenolol as compared with diuretics. In the present study, 255 patients suffered definite coronary events during follow-up; 25% of these events were fatal, 39% were acute myocardial infarctions, and 36% were silent myocardial infarctions. The risk for coronary events was significantly lower in patients on metoprolol than in patients on diuretics (111 versus 144 cases, p = 0.001, corresponding to 14.3 versus 18.8 cases/1,000 patient years and a relative risk of 0.76 at the end of the trial; 95% confidence interval 0.58-0.98). This difference in risk has potentially important implications for clinical practice because of the large number of hypertensive patients who are at increased risk for coronary events. Because a placebo group, for ethical reasons, could not be included, relative risk can only be expressed in relation to diuretics. There was no difference between the two treatment groups in baseline characteristics, blood pressure during follow-up, or stroke rates. Thus, the difference in risk for coronary events is probably mediated via mechanisms other than blood pressure control. However, present data might suggest that different beta-blockers may have different efficacy in preventing coronary events. The reasons for this possibility are as yet unknown.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Pinacidil, a new vasodilator, in the treatment of patients with moderate to severe hypertension.

A new vasodilator drug, pinacidil, N'-cyano-N-4-pyridyl-N'-1, 2,2-trimethylpropylguanidine, was studied in an open trial in 15 patients with moderate to severe hypertension. Four patients received pinacidil monotherapy, and in 11 patients it was used with a diuretic or a beta-blocker. In all but one patient normotension was achieved with a mean daily pinacidil dose of 46.7 mg b.i.d. (range 20-100 mg). Side effects were few and were action-related. There was no evidence of early toxicity. Pinacidil is a promising new antihypertensive vasodilator, which deserves further clinical evaluation.

Adult↗

PubMed1982

Titration of nadolol in the treatment of hypertension.

An open, observer-blind, therapeutic titration trial was carried out in 28 patients with mild or moderate essential hypertension to determine the effective dose range of nadolol given once a day. 11 patients became normotensive (supine diastolic blood pressure 90 mm Hg or below) with 80 mg, 4 with 120 mg and 1 with 160 mg. The largest step in the reduction of blood pressure was achieved with the first dose step of 80 mg, and only a small, nonsignificant further decrease was obtained with higher dose levels. Thus, nadolol, unlike propranolol, has a narrow effective dose range, and this should permit a brief dose adjustment period, which would be important in improving patient compliance.

Antihypertensive Agents↗

PubMed1980