Most studies show that blacks have higher blood pressures than whites, and that hypertension-related mortality is significantly greater. Significant pathophysiological differences are present, on the average, between blacks and whites. Blacks tend to have higher blood volume, lower plasma renin activity, and lower kallikrein excretion. While there may be black-white differences of genetic origi...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES We used a Japanese antihypertensive drug database to investigate the blood pressure-lowering effect of statins in hypertensive patients receiving antihypertensive medication. We also examined the class effect of antihypertensive drugs on blood pressure lowering by statins. MATERIAL AND METHODS The Risk/Benefit Assessment of Drugs-Analysis and Response (RAD-AR) Counci...

Two antihypertensive lipids can be derived from the renal papilla, the antihypertensive polar (APRL) and the antihypertensive neutral (ANRL) renomedullary lipid. The renal venous effluent of the undipped kidney contains both ANRL and APRL. This effluent lowers the arterial pressure (AP) of the normal rat when infused i.v. As it lowers the AP the heart rate (HR) and sympathetic nerve activity (S...

BACKGROUND Little is known about the impact of hospitalization on antihypertensive pharmacotherapy and blood pressure control in older persons. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to explore the impact of hospitalization on the management of hypertension and antihypertensive pharmacotherapy in a cohort of older patients with a documented diagnosis of hypertension. METHODS A retrospective, ...

BACKGROUND The ratio of plasma aldosterone concentration to plasma renin activity (PRA) is considered the screening test of choice for primary aldosteronism. Uncertainty exists, however, regarding its diagnostic accuracy and the effects of antihypertensive drugs and dietary sodium balance on test characteristics. METHODS We measured PRA and aldosterone in 118 white adults [71 men and 47 women...

OBJECTIVES To explore the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for hypertensive patients (HBP) and to provide reasonable evidence for evaluating the effectiveness of antihypertensive therapy in clinical practice. METHODS A cross-sectional study was used to survey 106 patients with HBP and 127 nomotensives using SF-36 short form of quality of life in the community. The cutoff point score of ...

Independent Antihypertensive Effect? To the Editor: In a recent issue of Circulation, Nafz and colleagues1 described the antihypertensive effects of oscillations of renal perfusion pressure (RPP) in conscious dogs. One of the key findings in that article was that plasma renin activity increased in response to a decrease in the mean RPP to 85 mm Hg; this increase was significantly reduced by 0.1...

It is standard teaching that once treatment for hypertension is started it will be necessary for life.'2 It is assumed that patients who stop their drugs will relapse, yet anecdotal evidence suggests that hypertension does not always recur. Records of untreated patients may show a series of previous high blood pressure readings and non-compliant patients remain normotensive. We had observed sev...