Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R Casadei

Publications and source records attributed to R Casadei.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Comparison of finger and intra-arterial blood pressure monitoring at rest and during laboratory testing.

The accuracy of blood pressure values obtained by continuous noninvasive finger blood pressure recording via the FINAPRES device was evaluated by comparison with simultaneous intraarterial monitoring both at rest and during performance of tests known to induce fast and often marked changes in blood pressure. The comparison was performed in 24 normotensive or essential hypertensive subjects. The average discrepancy between finger and intra-arterial blood pressure recorded over a 30-minute rest period was 6.5 +/- 2.6 mm Hg and 5.4 +/- 2.9 mm Hg for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively; a close between-method correspondence was also demonstrated by linear regression analysis. The beat-to-beat changes in finger systolic and diastolic blood pressure were on average similar to those measured intra-arterially during tests that induced a pressor or depressor response (hand-grip, cold pressor test, diving test, Valsalva maneuver, intravenous injections of phenylephrine and trinitroglycerine) as well as during tests that caused vasomotor changes without major variations in blood pressure (application of lower body negative pressure, passive leg raising). The average between-method discrepancy in the evaluation of blood pressure changes was never greater than 4.3 and 2.0 mm Hg for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively; the corresponding standard deviations ranged between 4.6 and 1.6 mm Hg. Beat-to-beat computer analysis of blood pressure variability over the 30-minute rest period provided standard deviations almost identical when calculated by separate consideration of intra-arterial and finger blood pressure tracings (3.7 and 3.8 mm Hg, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Evaluation of the antihypertensive effect of celiprolol by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.

The use of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring has gained popularity because it is not subject to those limitations associated with traditional sphygmomanometry (inaccuracy of blood pressure readings, low number of readings, and failure to represent daytime blood pressure readings). In the present study, we provide evidence that the 24-hour mean blood pressure obtained through intraarterial blood pressure measurements in ambulatory patients provides a more accurate diagnosis (and perhaps a prognosis) of hypertension than that provided by cuff-obtained casual blood pressure measurement. Furthermore, despite a reduction in the amount and in the accuracy of the information obtained, blood pressure data provided by noninvasive blood pressure monitoring are also more accurate diagnostically than cuff-obtained casual blood pressure measurements. In 15 essential hypertensive patients in whom celiprolol, 400 mg once daily, was compared with placebo in a randomized double-blind crossover study, the use of noninvasive 24-hour automatic blood pressure monitoring showed that in responsive patients, celiprolol induced a sustained reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure throughout the 24 hours. The blood pressure reduction was also apparent during the night, despite the concomitant occurrence of a slight tachycardia. These findings demonstrate that once-daily administration of celiprolol provides an effective lowering of the 24-hour blood pressure profile. This dosing schedule can therefore be regarded as appropriate for antihypertensive therapy.

Adult↗

Comparison of the cardiovascular effects of different laboratory stressors and their relationship with blood pressure variability.

Laboratory stressors are employed to assess the 'typical' cardiovascular reactivity to stress of a given subject. It is believed that this may assist in the diagnosis of hypertension and predict future development of blood pressure (BP) elevation. However, the internal consistency of the data obtained by laboratory stressing manoeuvres and their ability to reflect the effects of everyday stressful events occurring over a 24-h period have never been clearly established. We studied a group of ambulant normotensive and essential hypertensive in-patients who were undergoing prolonged intra-arterial blood pressure monitoring (Oxford method) to determine firstly, whether four routine laboratory stressors provided a homogeneous evaluation of subjects' reactivity and secondly, whether cardiovascular reactivity to these stressors reflected a tendency of BP to vary over a 24-h period. A significant correlation (P less than 0.01) was found between the pressor responses to mental arithmetic and the mirror drawing test and between the pressor responses to the cold pressor test and hand-grip. These correlations, however, were not close and responses to the 'mental' and 'physical' stressors were unrelated. The elevation in BP induced by laboratory stressors also did not correlate with the increase in BP accompanying stress elicited outside laboratory conditions (i.e. doctor's visit). The pressor effects of both the laboratory and the out-of-laboratory stressors showed little or no correlation with the 24-h absolute or per cent blood pressure variabilities, although for the stressors involving a mental challenge, a significant though not close correlation with daytime blood pressure variability was found. These data underline the limitations of laboratory tests in assessing cardiovascular reactivity to stress.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Twenty-four hour ambulatory intra-arterial blood pressure in normotensive and borderline hypertensive subjects.

A number of studies have shown that blood pressure values obtained by ambulatory monitoring are lower than those obtained in the doctor's office by cuff readings. However, there is still no suitable information on 'normal' 24-h ambulatory blood pressure values. In 19 normotensive and 13 borderline hypertensive subjects, defined by repeated office blood pressure measurements, we recorded intra-arterial blood pressure under ambulatory conditions for 24 h (Oxford method) in order (1) to assess the 24-h blood pressure values of normal subjects, and (2) to compare their 24-h blood pressure values with those of borderline hypertensive patients. In the normotensive subjects systolic, diastolic and mean ambulatory blood pressure values over 24 h were significantly lower than the corresponding office values, the differences being -15.0, -22.1 and -17.9 mmHg, respectively. In the borderline hypertensives 24-h ambulatory blood pressure was significantly lower than office readings. On average, the 24-h mean blood pressure of normotensive subjects was significantly lower than that of borderline patients (P less than 0.01). However, individual 24-h blood pressure values showed a considerable overlap. Thus, (1) ambulatory blood pressure values just below 140/90 mmHg do not necessarily mean that the blood pressure is in the normal range, the mean 24-h blood pressure of true normotensive subjects being much lower; (2) ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in patients with high office blood pressure readings may help to identify subjects whose 24-h mean values are indistinguishable from those of normotensives. However, the clinical relevance of these findings in the diagnosis of hypertension has to be validated by prospective clinical trials.

Adult↗

Evaluation of the baroreceptor-heart rate reflex by 24-hour intra-arterial blood pressure monitoring in humans.

The baroreceptor control of the sinus node was evaluated in 10 normotensive and 10 age-matched essential hypertensive subjects in whom ambulatory blood pressure was recorded intra-arterially for 24 hours and scanned by a computer to identify the sequences of three or more consecutive beats in which systolic blood pressure (SBP) and pulse interval (PI) progressively rose (+PI/+SBP) or fell (-PI/-SBP) in a linear fashion, according to a method validated in cats. In normotensive subjects, several hundred +PI/+SBP and -PI/-SBP sequences of 3 beats were found whereas the number of sequences of 4, 5, and more than 5 beats showed a progressive drastic reduction. The mean slopes of +PI/+SBP (7.6 +/- 2.0 msec/mm Hg) and -PI/-SBP (6.4 +/- 1.5 msec/mm Hg) sequences were similar, but in both instances there was a large scattering of the values around the mean (variation coefficients: 64.2 +/- 4.7 and 62.6 +/- 2.4%). The slopes decreased as a function of the sequence length and baseline heart rate and increased to a marked extent during the night as compared with daytime values. All sequences were more rare (-33.2% for +PI/+SBP and -31.7% for -PI/-SBP) and less steep in hypertensive subjects (-40.3 and -36.2%, respectively), who failed to show the marked nighttime increase in slope observed in normotensive subjects. To our knowledge, these observations provide the first description in humans of the baroreceptor-heart rate reflex in daily life. This reflex is characterized by marked within-subject variations in sensitivity due in part to hemodynamic, temporal, and behavioral factors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Neural control of circulation before and after intravenous urapidil in essential hypertension.

Drugs interfering with sympathetic influences on the cardiovascular system have been shown to effectively lower blood pressure in hypertension. However, sympathetic cardiovascular control is involved in blood pressure homeostasis, which means that these drugs may produce potential adverse haemodynamic effects that may reduce the benefit of their antihypertensive action. This paper summarises the results of a study in which we examined the effects of urapidil on the arterial baroreflex and the cardiopulmonary reflex in 6 essential hypertensive patients given 25 mg of the drug intravenously. The dose of the drug used caused a marked reduction in arterial blood pressure (direct measurement). However, pressor and depressor responses to carotid baroreceptor deactivation and stimulation (neck chamber device), respectively, were not modified when compared with those observed in the placebo period. This was also the case for increases and reductions in both forearm vascular resistance and plasma noradrenaline (norepinephrine) concentrations induced by deactivating and stimulating cardiopulmonary receptors, respectively. The pressor and tachycardic responses to handgrip and cold exposure were also unaffected by the drug. It is concluded that when administered at a clinically effective dose urapidil does not adversely affect major reflex mechanisms involved in neural cardiovascular regulation. This has favourable implications for the use of the drug in clinical practice.

Antihypertensive Agents↗

24-h ambulatory non-invasive blood pressure monitoring in the assessment of the antihypertensive action of celiprolol.

The well-known limitations of traditional sphygmomanometer blood pressure measurements have led to the development of a number of invasive and non-invasive 24-h blood pressure monitoring techniques which provide information on blood pressure in daily life. A non-invasive portable blood pressure monitor (IRC Spacelab S5300 monitor) was used to assess the antihypertensive action of celiprolol, 400 mg once daily, in a randomized, double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled study. After a washout period of 7 days, 15 patients with mild or moderate essential hypertension were subjected to three 24-h blood pressure recordings: at the end of washout, and after 1 month of placebo and celiprolol treatment. In the 10 responsive patients, celiprolol reduced 24-h systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate by 6.8%, 8.1% and 2.7%, respectively, when compared with placebo. The reduction in blood pressure was also evident during the night and the antihypertensive action of celiprolol was maintained 24-h after administration. Celiprolol had no effect on 24-h blood pressure or heart rate variability and, therefore, did not produce any alteration in cardiovascular homeostasis. These results demonstrate that celiprolol is an effective once daily treatment for hypertension.

Adult↗

24-hour blood pressure monitoring: evaluation of Spacelabs 5300 monitor by comparison with intra-arterial blood pressure recording in ambulant subjects.

The accuracy of 24-h blood pressure values obtained by ambulatory monitoring via the Spacelabs 5300 device was evaluated by comparison with simultaneous 24-h intra-arterial blood pressure recording from the contralateral arm. The comparison was made in eight essential hypertensive subjects in whom non-invasive blood pressure was measured every 15 (day) or 30 min (night). The measurements were automatically and visually edited to eliminate artefactual readings and hourly and 24-h means were calculated separately for systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The corresponding intra-arterial blood pressure means were also calculated. In the group as a whole, hourly means obtained by the non-invasive device were similar or only slightly different from those recorded intra-arterially. The 24-h systolic blood pressure mean obtained non-invasively was not significantly different from that obtained intra-arterially (138.4 +/- 9.1 and 142.9 +/- 9.2 mmHg, respectively), nor were the corresponding 24-h diastolic blood pressure means significantly different (83.5 +/- 4.5 and 80.6 +/- 3.5 mmHg, respectively). However, in spite of these similarities, there were contrasting and often large discrepancies between non-invasive and intra-arterial values in individual subjects. For the 24-h systolic blood pressure mean the discrepancies ranged from 7.6 +/- 1.1 to 16.1 +/- 2.2 mmHg and for the 24-h diastolic blood pressure mean, from 3.5 to 13.2 mmHg. Thus, the Spacelabs 5300 device has a limited ability to correctly estimate ambulatory blood pressure in individual subjects. It may be better suited for the estimation of group blood pressures, but only because errors are smoothed by the summation of individual errors of opposing signs.

Adult↗

Role of heart rate variability in the production of blood pressure variability in man.

In both normotensive and hypertensive subjects blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) show concordant changes over 24 h. This may depend on a central factor exerting influences of the same nature on cardiac and vascular targets. An alternative explanation, however, is that a cause-effect relationship links these variabilities, i.e. that HR variations induce BP changes [presumably via variations in cardiac output (CO)]. Blood pressure was recorded intra-arterially in five supine and five exercising (walking) essential hypertensive subjects during a control period of 1 h and during an additional hour in which atropine, 0.04 mg/kg body weight, was injected intravenously (i.v.). The same recordings were performed in seven other subjects, in which saline rather than atropine was employed. One-hour BP and HR variabilities (variation coefficients, VC) were computer analysed. In both the supine and the exercising subjects atropine caused a marked reduction in HR VC (-65.3 and -48.4%, respectively). In the supine subjects this reduction was accompanied by only a modest reduction in BP VC whereas in the exercising subjects the BP VC increased by 30.4%. In the seven subjects in which saline was injected no change in BP and HR VC occurred. Thus a marked reduction in HR variability is not accompanied by a comparable attenuation in BP variability, which rules out a cause-effect link between these two phenomena. Indeed, during physical exercise HR stabilization is followed by an increase rather than a reduction in BP variation, which supports the conclusion that under some circumstances HR plays an anti-oscillatory role.

Activity Cycles↗

Calcium antagonists and neural control of circulation in essential hypertension.

Data from animals and from man suggest that calcium antagonists interfere with alpha-adrenergic receptors and that this mechanism may be responsible for some of the vasodilation induced by these drugs. However, alpha-adrenergic receptors play a primary role in baroreceptor regulation of the cardiovascular system and blood pressure homeostasis, which might therefore be adversely affected by calcium antagonist treatment. We addressed this question in 14 essential hypertensives studied before treatment, 1 h after 20 mg oral nitrendipine and 5-7 days after daily administration of 20 mg oral nitrendipine. Blood pressure was measured by an intra-arterial catheter, heart rate by an electrocardiogram, cardiac output by thermodilution and forearm blood flow by venous occlusion plethysmography. Total peripheral and forearm vascular resistances were calculated by dividing mean blood pressure by blood flow values. Plasma norepinephrine was also measured (high performance liquid chromatography) in blood taken from the right atrium. Compared with the pretreatment values, acute nitrendipine administration caused a fall in resting blood pressure, an increase in the resting heart rate and cardiac output, and a fall in resting peripheral and forearm vascular resistance. The resting hypotension and vasodilation were also evident during the prolonged nitrendipine administration, which was, however, accompanied by much less resting cardiac stimulation than that observed in the acute condition. Baroreceptor control of the heart rate (vasoactive drug method) was similar before and after acute and prolonged nitrendipine treatment. This was also the case for carotid baroreceptor control of blood pressure (neck chamber technique) and for control of forearm vascular resistance as exerted by receptors in the cardiopulmonary region (lower-body negative-pressure and passive leg-raising techniques).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Alerting reaction and rise in blood pressure during measurement by physician and nurse.

Blood pressure was monitored by a continuous intra-arterial recording in 46 subjects to investigate whether the alarm reaction and the blood pressure and heart rate increases that occur during cuff blood pressure measurement made by a physician 1) attenuate when the physician's visit is repeated several times and 2) are less pronounced if a nurse measures the blood pressure. In 16 subjects the peak mean blood pressure and heart rate rises that occurred in the early part of the physician's first visit (22.6 +/- 1.8 mm Hg and 17.7 +/- 1.7 beats/min) were virtually identical to those occurring during three subsequent visits by the same physician throughout a 2-day intra-arterial blood pressure monitoring. The less pronounced pressor and tachycardic responses observed in the last part of the physician's visit also were virtually identical among the four visits. In contrast, in 30 other subjects the blood pressure and heart rate rises that occurred during the nurse's visit were 46.7% and 42.1% less (p less than 0.01) than those occurring during the physician's visit. The late and less pronounced pressor and tachycardic responses to the visit were also significantly less (p less than 0.01) in the former than in the latter condition. These results indicate that the error of overestimation of blood pressure inherent in cuff blood pressure measurement by a physician cannot be avoided by repeated visits by the physician over a short time span. It clearly can be reduced, however, if blood pressure measurements are performed by a nurse.

Emotions↗

Evaluation of the antihypertensive effect of TTS clonidine by multiple 24-hour automatic blood pressure monitoring.

Transdermal clonidine (TTSC) has been proposed as a means to improve compliance to treatment of hypertensive patients because of the reported 7-day duration of its antihypertensive effect. However, no detailed information is available on the onset, the time course, and the day and night distribution of this effect throughout the 7 days of the drug skin application. In 12 hospital in-patients with mild or moderate untreated essential hypertension, 24-h blood pressure (BP) was measured at 10-20 min intervals via a noninvasive automatic device (Spacelabs 5300 M) in a no-drug condition, on the 2nd, 4th, and 7th day of the arm application of a 7.0 or 10.5 cm2 patch of TTS clonidine, and on the 2nd and 4th day after substitution of the TTS clonidine patch with an identical patch containing an inert substance (placebo). In nine out of 12 patients, TTS clonidine reduced 24-h systolic and diastolic blood pressure at the 2nd day and even more so on the 4th and 7th day of its application. The reduced blood pressure values observed on the 7th day increased progressively on the 2nd and 4th day after TTS clonidine removal with no rebound over the pre-drug values. The hypotensive effects observed during TTS clonidine were evident throughout the day and night. Thus TTS clonidine exerts a hypotensive effect that starts early and is maintained throughout the 7 days and nights of its application. The discontinuation of this treatment is associated with a smooth return of blood pressure values towards the pre-treatment levels.

Administration, Cutaneous↗

Resection of the distal tibia in bone tumours.

The authors report five cases of tumour of the distal tibia treated by resection and reconstruction by autoplastic grafting and tibiotarsal arthrodesis with fixation by a Kuntscher nail or a plate. This type of surgery is indicated for the treatment of benign tumours, aggressive pseudotumours (Enneking stage 3), or for Enneking stage 1A or 2A malignant tumours. Infection was the most frequent complication (2 out of 5 cases, both of which healed after surgical cleansing). The long-term functional results were good in all cases, and there was neither pseudoarthrosis nor recurrence.

Adolescent↗

Arterial baroreflexes and blood pressure and heart rate variabilities in humans.

The factors responsible for 24-hour blood pressure and heart rate variabilities have never been clarified; however, studies performed in unanesthetized animals have shown an increase in blood pressure variability after sinoaortic denervation, and a negative relationship has been reported occasionally between blood pressure variability and baroreflex control of heart rate in humans. We have systematically investigated this issue in 82 ambulant hypertensive subjects using 24-hour intraarterial blood pressure recording (Oxford method) in which blood pressure and heart rate variabilities were measured by calculating the standard deviations of the values obtained throughout the 24 hours or during separate daytime and nighttime periods. Baroreflex sensitivity was assessed by the bradycardic or tachycardic responses to intravenous injections of phenylephrine or nitroglycerin and by the blood pressure response to changes in carotid transmural pressure obtained with a neck chamber. The sensitivity of the baroreceptor-heart rate reflex as assessed by the vasoactive drug technique showed a negative relationship with 24-hour blood pressure variability as well as with daytime and nighttime blood pressure variabilities measured separately (r = -0.28 to -0.50, p less than 0.05). These variabilities also correlated negatively with the sensitivity of the baroreceptor-blood pressure reflex as assessed by the neck chamber technique. By contrast, baroreflex sensitivity showed a positive correlation with heart rate variabilities (r = 0.32 to 0.47, p less than 0.05). The relationship between baroreflex sensitivity and blood pressure and heart rate variabilities was confirmed when the data were analyzed by multiple regression to adjust for blood pressure and age differences among the 82 subjects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Absence of alarm reactions with use of non-invasive blood pressure monitoring devices.

We have previously shown that blood pressure measurement by a doctor or a nurse is often accompanied by an alarm reaction and a marked blood pressure rise which leads to an overestimation of patients' daily blood pressure. To determine whether this phenomenon occurs to some extent also during automatic or semiautomatic measurements of blood pressure, we have studied 20 subjects in which blood pressure was recorded invasively for 24 hours by the Oxford method. During the day time of the recording the arm contralateral to the one used for the invasive procedure was equipped with a non-invasive blood pressure recorder (Vita-Stat 901) the blood pressure measurements being performed automatically (2 hours) or semiautomatically (2 hours) at intervals of 10 minutes. The analysis of the intra-arterial blood pressure trace during the periods preceding and following the beginning of the cuff inflations that started the non-invasive measurements showed that these procedures had caused no increment in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. In nearly all subjects this applied not only to the mean data for all automatic or semiautomatic measurements, but also to the individual observations including those made in the first part of each 2 hour period, when the emotional component might have been greater. It can be concluded that non-invasive blood pressure monitoring does not induce an alarm reaction and a blood pressure rise either when performed automatically and semiautomatically. Thus this approach does not overestimate patients' blood pressure, which adds to its reliability for the diagnosis of hypertension.

Adult↗

Doctor-elicited blood pressure rises at the time of sphygmomanometric blood pressure assessment persist over repeated visits.

Blood pressure assessment by a doctor triggers an alerting reaction which may raise patients' blood pressure to a marked degree. Because this may lead to an overestimation of the prevalence of hypertension, it is important to determine whether attenuation of this blood pressure rise occurs with repetition of the doctor's visit. In 16 ambulant inpatients with mild essential hypertension, blood pressure was recorded intra-arterially for 2 days, using the Oxford method. During the recording the patients had four 10-min visits during which blood pressure was repeatedly measured by a sphygmomanometer. The visits to each patient were made by a doctor who had never seen him or her before and were regularly distributed over the total daytime available. In nearly all patients intra-arterial blood pressure and heart rate were elevated throughout the 10 min of each visit, with a peak during the first 4 min and a subsequent decline. The peak mean blood pressure rises were 22.6 +/- 1.8, 20.3 +/- 2.4, 19.3 +/- 2.4 and 21.4 +/- 3.1 mmHg (means +/- s.e.m.) in the four visits. Respective peak heart rate rises were 17.7 +/- 1.7, 20.7 +/- 2.4, 19.8 +/- 2.2 and 17.0 +/- 1.9 beats/min. The reduced pressor and tachycardic responses observed at the 10th min of the visit were also similar in the four visits (blood pressure: 19, 15, 28 and 24% of the peak response; heart rate 21, 13, 24 and 9% of the peak response, respectively). These findings show that the blood pressure rise often accompanying sphygmomanometric blood pressure assessment by the doctor persists after several visits spaced at close time intervals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗