Hypertensive heart disease (HHD) is a spectrum of abnormalities that represents the accumulation of a lifetime of functional and structural adaptations to increased blood pressure load. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), increasing vascular and ventricular stiffness,and diastolic dysfunction are prominent intermediate features of this syndrome that operate in parallel with ischemic heart disea...

Hypertensive heart disease (HHD) occurs in patients that clinically have both diastolic and systolic heart failure and will soon become the most common cause of heart failure. Two key aspects of heart failure secondary to HHD are the relatively highly prevalent LV hypertrophy and cardiac fibrosis, caused by changes in the local and systemic neurohormonal environment. The fibrotic state is marke...

[Purpose] The purpose of the present study was to compare the reliability of 2 hand-held dynamometers (HHD-1, 2) with different designs, by performing isometric knee muscle extension measurements two times each. [Subjects] The subjects were 40 young healthy adults. [Methods] The reliability of the measurements was examined using Bland-Altman analysis. [Results] Bland-Altman analysis found a fix...

AIM Right ventricular (RV) systolic function in patients with hypertensive heart disease (HHD) is not well characterised. The primary aim of this study was to assess the systolic function of the right ventricle in patients with HHD using tricuspid annular-plane systolic excursion (TAPSE). METHODS The study was cross-sectional in design and carried out in Kano, Nigeria. Patients were recruited...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of subclinical left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction in asymptomatic hypertensive patients was determined using tissue Doppler imaging (TDI). METHODS AND RESULTS TDI-derived mitral annular velocities were acquired in 35 control subjects, 92 asymptomatic hypertensive patients with no heart failure (HHD), and 15 patients with diastolic heart failure (DHF). No sign...

Lengsin is an eye lens protein with a glutamine synthetase domain. We previously identified this protein as a lung carcinoma antigen through cDNA microarray analysis. Lengsin protein is overexpressed irrespective of the histological type of lung carcinoma, but not in normal tissues other than the lens. Therefore, to significantly extend the use of Lengsin-based T-cell immunotherapies for the tr...

OBJECTIVES We investigated whether autoantibodies against the human beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR) might be involved in cardiomyopathies secondary to valvular heart disease (VHD) or hypertensive heart disease (HHD). BACKGROUND Autoimmunity to beta-AR has been proposed as a pathogenic principle in human cardiomyopathy. Recently, by the use of intact recombinant human beta-AR, we were able ...

Hypertensive heart disease (HHD) is characterized by myocardial remodeling not only in the left ventricle but also the left atrium and right ventricle. Clinically it is characterized by intact systolic function and diastolic dysfunction, which make up the major cause of congestive heart failure in the elderly, also termed “heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.” Hypertension is the maj...

CONTEXT Handheld dynamometry (HHD) is considered an objective method of measuring strength, but the reliability of the procedure can be compromised by inadequate tester strength and insufficient stabilization of the dynamometer especially, for the scapular muscles. OBJECTIVE Primarily, to determine the intrarater reliability of HHD when testing shoulder and scapular muscle strength, and secon...

The integrated use of dialysis modalities alongside transplantation over a life time of renal replacement is often necessary and well established. In general, outcomes are more favourable when using home-based treatments but what is less certain is the value of using these modalities sequentially. To explore this, using data from the Australian and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplantation Regis...