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Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

High density lipoprotein (HDL) and total cholesterol (TC) levels have been measured and their ratio compared in four groups of subjects - those with vascular disease, controls, middle-aged "keep-fit" enthusiasts and young physical education students. Each group has also been subjected to analysis of risk factors known for atherosclerosis. The HDL level was significantly raised in the Athletic and Exercise groups even though the latter were more overweight and had the highest total cholesterol level. This would appear to indicate that exercise may exert its protective effect against atherosclerosis, at least in part, by elevating the HDL level above a certain critical level. The HDL/TC ratio was significantly lower in the Vascular group and we would advocate that any ratio less than 20% is highly suspicious of atherosclerosis. We suggest that both the HDL level and HDL/TC ratio should be viewed together as reflecting the risk of atherosclerosis.
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PMID:High density lipoproteins and exercise. 744 88

When compared to values obtained in 40 normalweight normolipemic healthy control subjects, serum uric acid levels were found to be significantly increased in 68 subjects with type II-b and especially in 68 subjects with type IV hyperlipoproteinemia. A much lesser increase of uricemia occurred in 22 patients with type II-a. A significant positive correlation between uricemia and serum triglyceride level could be demonstrated but no such correlation was found with serum cholesterol. Overweight and hypertensive hyperlipemic subjects were presenting higher levels of serum uric acid than normalweight normotensive ones. On the other hand, clinical atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus had no additive effects upon uricemia in hyperlipoproteinemic patients. It is suggested that hyperinsulinism and accelerated turnover of lipoproteins, often encountered in obese and hypertriglyceridemic subjects, might lead to an enhanced synthesis of purines and subsequently increased production of uric acid.
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PMID:Behaviour of uricemia in hyperlipoproteinemic subjects. 745 83

The fatty acid pattern of serum triglycerides and FFA in normal untrained subjects, normotensive athletes, patients with labile and stable essential hypertension as well as in hypertensives with overweight and mild hypertriglyceridemia has been evaluated by gas liquid chromatography. The most striking differences revealed the linoleic acid in triglycerides being increased in athletes and in patients with labile hypertension in comparison with normotensive untrained controls and patients with stable hypertension. On the basis of these data an enhanced need of polyunsaturated fatty acids corresponding to probands with high physical activity has been assumed in patients with an early stage of essential hypertension. The differences of arachidonic acid were not so distinct. The results can be relevant with regard to the pathogenetic role of prostaglandin precursors in the development and course of essential hypertension and atherosclerosis.
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PMID:The fatty acid pattern of serum triglycerides and FFA in patients with essential hypertension of different stages, athletes, and normal subjects. 747 48

To evaluate the effect of obesity on atherosclerosis, health, and longevity in the elderly, we studied the relationship between body mass index, atherosclerosis, and the duration of disability by multivariate analyses. We analyzed data from 521 residents of the Yokufu-kai home for the aged. They underwent a 50 g oral glucose tolerance test, and autopsies were done after they died. All functional evaluations were done retrospectively from the hospital records. The mean age of the time of death was significantly higher in the overweight group than in the lean group. The incidence of marked cerebral atherosclerosis was significantly higher in the overweight and the obese groups than in the lean and the medium-weight groups. The incidence of cerebral infarction with neurological deficits was significantly higher in the overweight group than in the lean group, but there were no differences in other types of infarction. The incidence of severe coronary artery stenosis was significantly higher in the obese group than in the lean and medium-weight groups, but there was no difference in the incidence of myocardial infarction between groups. There were no differences in the incidence of severe atherosclerosis of the aorta, femoral artery, or renal artery between groups. Patients in the overweight group were bedridden for a significantly longer time than those in the lean group. We conclude that body weight in the elderly is positively associated with survival. However, overweight subjects suffered from non-fatal cerebral infarction, and prolonged survival was associated with greater disability.
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PMID:[Relationships among obesity, atherosclerotic disorders, and longevity in the elderly. An autopsy study]. 761 95

The trends in atherosclerosis presentation were followed up pathomorphologically in a two-stage epidemiological survey performed in 9 cities of CIC and Baltic states at 25-year interval. The investigations were conducted in accordance with WHO program. Stage 1 (1963-1968) covered 6121 cases, stage 2 (1985-1989) included 9201 cases. The material was collected on the condition of aortas and coronary arteries from 20-59-year-old males who were residents of the cities of Irkutsk, Yakutsk, Tallin, Tartu, Riga, Kharkov, Yalta, Ashkhabad, Bishkek. The 2-stage examinations gave evidence for growing severity of atherosclerosis. Risk factor analysis demonstrated an increase in the percentage of males with diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension, in the percentage of overweight males and of those with atherosclerosis engaged in mental work. It is found that atherosclerosis undergoes changes within the life of one generation (for 20-25 years).
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PMID:[Changes in the course of atherosclerosis occurring over a 25-year period in the male population of 9 cities of the CIS and Baltic countries]. 770 50

Several studies have shown that obesity is associated with atherosclerosis. The reason may be that there is often a gathering together of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in obesity. Recently plasma fibrinogen level has been identified as an important cardiovascular risk factor. The aim of the study was to investigate fibrinogen levels in obesity before and after weight reduction. Obese but otherwise healthy patients with overweight problems were studied. 448 female patients (39.1 +/- 13.2 years, body mass index 38.7 kg/m2) and 136 male patients (39.4 +/- 12.8 years, body mass index 40.7 kg/m2) were examined after overnight fasting. Sixty patients (44 female, 16 male) were studied after 9.5 +/- 6.2 month of dieting (1200 kcal/day: 20% protein, 30% fat and 50% carbohydrates). The weight loss was 16.7 +/- 11.0 kg in the female and 16.2 +/- 6.7 kg in the male patients, and blood pressure, triglycerides, blood glucose and uric acid had declined. The fibrinogen level correlated with the body mass index, the waist circumference, the hip circumference and the waist to hip ratio. The fibrinogen level also correlated with insulin. A partial correlation of fibrinogen and insulin continued to exist after removing the linear effects of the other variables measured. After weight reduction, the level of fibrinogen was lower. In patients with extreme overweight and high fibrinogen levels, who reduced their BMI by 7.4 +/- 1.24 kg/m2, the weight loss correlated with the decrease in fibrinogen.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Fibrinogen in obesity before and after weight reduction. 771 58

The relationship between overweight and cardiovascular disease was a matter of debate for many years. Recent studies have demonstrated that obesity defined as body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher is associated with an exponential increase of cardiovascular complications. This effect is largely mediated by the induction of established risk factors such as dyslipidemia, hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Recently, there is growing evidence that the occurrence of most complications of obesity depends not only on the degree of overweight but also on the pattern of body fat distribution. Many data suggest that the anatomical localization of body fat is more important for the risk of developing complications than the adipose tissue mass per se. An abdominal, upper-body type of fat distribution, which can be easily determined by the measurement of waist and hip circumferences (waist/hip ratio = WHR), is also a confirmed risk factor for metabolic disturbances, hypertension and atherosclerosis, independent of body weight. However, the clinical appearance of these disturbances is frequently associated with the development of obesity. This network of metabolic disorders and their vascular complications is termed "metabolic syndrome" or "syndrome X" (Table 2). Abdominal obesity is now known to be closely associated with the metabolic syndrome and is regarded to represent its readily recognizable phenotypic feature. The components of the metabolic syndrome are characterized by varying forms and degrees of insulin resistance. It is assumed that insulin resistance, defined as diminished biological response to the action of insulin, represents the primary defect or at least the common pathogenetic link between these disturbances.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[Abdominal obesity and coronary heart disease. Pathophysiology and clinical significance]. 771 76

Interest in research on atherosclerosis involving children has been the consequence of confluent evidence that atherogenic process begins in early life and grows silently until the occurrence of clinical events in middle-age or later. We carried out a cross-study in the Mediterranean area on a random sample of a secondary school of Casteldaccia (a farming and fishing village located on the Northern coast of Sicily, East of Palermo), consisting of 186 teen-agers (103 males and 83 females) aged between 10 and 13 years (average age: 11.3 +/- 0.2 years). We determined: total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-Cholesterol, apolipoproteins A1 and B, glycaemia, body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Dietary habits were recorded on two occasions by a weekly diary (of the 7 days food record type) with the collaboration of dieticians. The prevalence of plasma cholesterol levels between 170-200 mg% and exceeding 200 mg% was 24.2% and 12.4% respectively, of overweight (BMI > 25) was 9.7% and of hypertension (SBP > 125 and/or DBP > 85 mmHg) was 8.6%. In comparison with Mediterranean diet according to Euratom study (1969), the following are the most impressive findings: an increase of cholesterol (+54%) and fat intake (+2% of total calories), a reduction of fibre intake (-32%) and an increase of 2S-P difference (+27%) and of total fats/fibre ratio (+53%).
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PMID:Cardiovascular risk factors and dietary habits in secondary school children in southern Italy. 796 74

In order to identify previously undiagnosed cases of non-insulin dependent diabetes (NIDDM) in general practice, we measured non-fasting blood-glucose in all risk patients (n = 1,790) between 35-69 years old belonging to 29 general practices in Kolding. Patients at risk for NIDDM were defined as those suffering from one or more of the following: overweight, arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease, hyperlipidaemia, stroke, gout, cataract, Dupuytren's contracture, peripheral atherosclerosis or recurrent urinary- or skin-infections. A positive result, defined as a non-fasting blood-glucose of > or = 8.0 mmol/l using the same stix-lot-nr. on Refloflux S machines, was found in 86 individuals. These were then followed up with two fasting blood-glucose measurements carried out in a central laboratory, whereby 34 patients with NIDDM were identified. The newly-diagnosed NIDDM patients mostly suffered from diseases related to the insulin resistance syndrome, and we thus recommend measurement of non-fasting blood-glucose as a screening procedure in such patients. When carrying out measurements in general practice, it is important to know the precision and accuracy of the apparatus used.
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PMID:[Selective screening for non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. A study among 35-69 year-old patients at risk in general practice in Kolding]. 801 51

The pathophysiology of various stages of hypertension is different. In early hyperkinetic borderline hypertension, the sympathetic drive to the heart and blood vessels is increased while the parasympathetic cardiac inhibition is decreased. The elevated cardiac output, vascular resistance, and blood pressure at that stage can be fully normalized by autonomic blockade. As hypertension advances, a hyperkinetic circulation is less evident, since beta-adrenergic responsiveness and cardiac compliance tend to decrease. Simultaneously hypertrophy of the resistance vessels increases the baseline vascular resistance and the vessels' responsiveness to constrictive stimuli. Eventually a picture of a normal cardiac output/high vascular resistance typical for established essential hypertension emerges. As the blood vessels become hyperreactive, the same degree of vasoconstriction/blood pressure elevation can be achieved with less sympathetic tone. In that phase the sympathetic overactivity is less evident, as the brain resets itself to maintain the same blood pressure elevation with a small amount of sympathetic discharge. While sympathetic overactivity may be less evident in established hypertension, it remains an important pathophysiologic factor, not only for the maintenance of blood pressure, but also for a number of other abnormalities in hypertension. Hypertension is intimately associated with higher levels of pressure-unrelated risk for development of atherosclerosis: dyslipidemia, overweight, and hyperinsulinemia. Furthermore, a number of factors in hypertension favor a poorer outcome from coronary heart disease. These pressure-independent factors increase the risk of coronary thrombosis, arrhythmic deaths, and coronary spasms. Sympathetic overreactivity appears to be crucially implicated in the evolution of this added coronary risk in hypertension. Understanding the pathophysiology of coronary risk and its relationship to sympathetic overreactivity in hypertension is helpful in seeking further improvements in clinical practice. At present antihypertensive treatment is less efficacious in reducing coronary events in hypertension than would be expected. Judicious use of appropriate drugs promises to further improve the efficacy of antihypertensive treatment in those patients who, in addition to high blood pressure, also have other associated risk factors.
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PMID:Abnormalities of autonomic nervous control in human hypertension. 806 76


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