Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0018801 (heart failure)
 72,216 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The results of some epidemiological studies point to the presence of an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), particularly atherosclerosis and congestive heart failure (CHF) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). At least 50% of abnormalities remained asymptomatic. Pathological conditions contributing to myocardial dysfunction such as high serum levels of IL-6, C-reactive protein (CRP) and TNF alpha are present both in RA and CHF patients. The most common pathological mechanism leading to the development of heart failure is left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction, which remains clinically asymptomatic for a long time. The aim of this study was to assess the systolic and diastolic functions of the LV in RA patients without clinically evident cardiovascular disease, using pulsed Doppler echocardiography. Our purpose was also to estimate whether there is a correlation between the duration and severity of RA and the degree of LV diastolic dysfunction. A comparison of the average values of echocardiographic measurements was made between the RA group and control group, which constituted healthy volunteers. Left ventricular mass index in RA group was significantly greater than in the control group (105.2 +/- 32.6 vs. 87.9 +/- 16.8; p < 0.05) so were the interventricular septum end-diastolic thickness (1.01 +/- 0.33 vs. 0.86 +/- 0.12; p < 0.05), the LV posterior wall end-diastolic thickness (0.94 +/- 0.08 vs. 0.83 +/- 0.11; p < 0.0001) and the aortic root diameter (3.18 +/- 0.31 vs. 3.10 +/- 0.63, p < 0.001). The ejection fraction in RA group was significantly lower than in the control group (64.4 +/- 1.3 vs. 66.3 +/- 1.3; p < 0.0001). The assessment of diastolic function parameters revealed significantly longer isovolumetrc relaxation time (IVRT) and shorter deceleration time (DT) in RA patients compared to the control group. Patients in stage II or III revealed significantly lower LV mass index (99 +/- 17 vs. 131 +/- 42; p < 0.05) and the interventricular septum end-diastolic thickness (0.94 +/- 0.10 vs. 1.28 +/- 0.5; p < 0.05) than those in stage IV. Mean aortic diameter was significantly greater in individuals in stages III and IV (3.73 +/- 0.28) than in the stage II of the disease (2.77 +/- 0.21), p < 0.05. No differences in echocardiographic parameters' values were observed between seropositive, seronegative, nodule-present and nodule-absent persons. Echocardiographic examination revealed valvular heart disease in 24 (80%) RA and 6 (20%) control patients (p < 0.0001).
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PMID:Diastolic heart function in RA patients. 1849 92

"Reverse epidemiology" refers to paradoxical and counterintuitive epidemiologic associations between survival outcomes and traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Reverse epidemiology has been well described in end stage renal disease, but also has been observed in chronic disease states, including chronic heart failure, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, and in elderly populations. This review will highlight the recent medical literature on reverse epidemiology in these populations. Common pathophysiologic underpinnings in these chronic disease states may help explain the reversal of risk factors observed in these diverse populations. Furthermore, guidelines for the general population for optimal goals of weight, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure may not apply to special populations, including patients with chronic diseases or elderly persons.
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PMID:Reverse epidemiology beyond dialysis patients: chronic heart failure, geriatrics, rheumatoid arthritis, COPD, and AIDS. 1799 Dec 3

(1) Paracetamol is the first-choice analgesic for joint pain. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), especially ibuprofen, are second-line options. Cox-2 inhibitors are no more effective than traditional NSAIDs and have no tangible advantages in terms of gastrointestinal tolerability. In contrast, they expose patients to an increased risk of cardiovascular adverse effects. (2) Etoricoxib is marketed in some European countries to relieve symptoms of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gout attacks. (3) Many clinical trials have tested etoricoxib in these indications, as well as in ankylosing spondylitis, low back pain, and various types of acute pain. Etoricoxib was no more effective than other NSAIDs such as ibuprofen, naproxen or diclofenac in these situations. (4) Comparative trials showed a higher overall mortality rate with etoricoxib than with naproxen. A combined analysis of long-term comparative trials including 5441 patients, mainly versus naproxen, showed that etoricoxib does not reduce the risk of perforation, ulcer or severe gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Similarly, it does not reduce the risk of mild gastrointestinal events in at-risk patients: those with a history of gastrointestinal disorders, aspirin use, etc. (5) Three trials including a total of 34 701 patients (MEDAL programme) compared cardiovascular thrombotic events associated with etoricoxib and diclofenac. Overall, the cardiovascular risks appear to be similar but the thrombotic risk may be slightly higher with diclofenac than with other conventional NSAIDs. (6) Etoricoxib provoked arterial hypertension, oedema and heart failure during clinical trials. Serious skin reactions were reported both during clinical trials and after marketing, but their precise incidence is not known. Etoricoxib is partly metabolised by the cytochrome P450 isoenzyme CYP 3A4 and increases the bioavailability of ethinylestradiol. (7) When a NSAID is considered, drugs with which we have the most experience should be chosen, such as ibuprofen, and used at the lowest acceptable dose regimen (daily dose and length of treatment). Etoricoxib should be avoided.
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PMID:Etoricoxib: new drug. Avoid using cox-2 inhibitors for pain. 1808 59

Statins are pluripotent agents exhibiting multiple non-lipid-lowering actions. Besides their established role in the management of hypercholesterolemia, statins may also have beneficial actions in other pathological conditions, namely: a) osteoporosis and osteoporosis-related bone fractures, b) cancer, c) solid organ transplantation, d) cerebrovascular events (transient ischemic attack and stroke episodes), e) various neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis, f) cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure, g) renal diseases, h) rheumatoid arthritis, i) autoimmune diseases, j) sepsis, and k) allergic asthma. We reviewed the literature searching for studies that support or oppose the use of statins in each proposed indication. In some of these emerging indications, a role for statin treatment is more firmly set; for others, current evidence is more controversial. Future trials may reveal more convincing evidence that will make statin use necessary in the therapeutic management of several diseases.
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PMID:Emerging indications for statins: a pluripotent family of agents with several potential applications. 1822 Jul 99

In men with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the confounding effect of adverse cardiovascular risk profile on the independent association of RA disease activity score (DAS) and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) continues to be debated. The aim was to analyze the association of RA DAS with MACEs in a prospective cohort of men with RA enrolled in the VARA Registry at the Dallas site from January 2003 to October 2006. All subjects met American College of Rheumatology criteria for RA. All events were obtained by reviewing patient clinical data. DAS was categorized as low, 0 to 3.2; moderate, 3.2 to 5.09; and high, > or =5.1. Of 282 men (mean age 66 +/- 11.1 years), 231 had valid DASs (150, low; 60, moderate; and 21, high DAS) and were followed up for 4.4 +/- 2 years. Ninety-two subjects (32.6%; 95% confidence interval 27 to 38) experienced an MACE, a composite end point of death (9 patients; 10%), acute coronary syndrome (38 patients; 42%), coronary revascularization (47 patients; 49%), new-onset heart failure (37 patients; 40%), and stroke (15 patients; 16%). DAS was a significant predictor of MACEs (hazard ratio 1.31, 95% confidence interval 1.1 to 1.6, p = 0.01) independent of traditional risk factors. Compared with patients with low or moderate DASs, patients with high DASs had a lower mean event-free period (35 and 30 vs 19 years, respectively; p = 0.03). In conclusion, in a population of male US veterans aged >50 years, (1) patients with RA were at high risk of MACEs, and (2) RA DAS was a significant predictor of MACEs independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors.
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PMID:Cardiovascular outcomes in male veterans with rheumatoid arthritis. 1839 59

There is no doubt that NSAIDs and COXIBS are the mainstay for managing pain and inflammation in arthritis. Overall, at therapeutically equivalent doses, both NSAIDs and COXIBs provide equivalent analgesic and anti-inflammatory efficacy. However, the gastrointestinal risk associated with NSAIDs is considerable. More recently, the cardiovascular risk associated with NSAIDs and COXIBs has become a concern. Most patients, particularly the young, can benefit from NSAIDs without the risk of serious adverse gastrointestinal or cardiovascular events. However, patients with a previous history of serious gastrointestinal complications and the elderly, who could be at risk, do require alternatives. COXIBs have significant benefits over NSAIDs in reducing the incidence of serious gastrointestinal complications (perforations, ulcers and gastric bleeding). Currently two oral COXIBs are available, celecoxib and lumiracoxib, and one parenteral COXIB, parecoxib. Celecoxib has been on the market for longer and has the largest body of evidence. The older NSAIDs, such as meloxicam, with preferential COX-2 inhibition do not have good long-term evidence of reducing the incidence of serious gastrointestinal complications. However, these agents do have evidence of tolerability, ie, reducing the less-serious gastrointestinal effects, mainly dyspepsia. The South African Rheumatoid Arthritis Association's guidelines, amended in November 2005 recommend COXIBs for elderly patients (> 60 years) with previous gastropathy and those on warfarin and/or corticosteroids, providing they do not have contra-indications. However, caution is advised when prescribing COXIBs for patients with risk factors for heart disease. These recommendations are very similar to those made by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). In addition, it should be noted that for those patients without any cardiovascular complications but with gastrointestinal risk factors or on aspirin, it may be necessary to add a proton pump inhibitor (PPI). PPIs, however, provide little benefit for bleeding and ulceration of the lower intestine. One consequence of this low-grade bleeding is anaemia and a general feeling of malaise in patients with rheumatic disease. Current evidence suggests that COXIBs such as rofecoxib and celecoxib do not increase small intestinal permeability and that celecoxib does not cause lower intestinal bleeding and may be of benefit to those patients with lower gastrointestinal complications. In patients at risk for cardiovascular complications, both NSAIDs and COXIBs have been shown to increase the risk of myocardial infarctions (MI), hypertension and heart failure. Studies comparing COXIBs and non-specific NSAIDs should, however, be interpreted with caution. One needs to take into account the underlying baseline cardiovascular risk of the populations being compared. COXIBs appear to be prescribed preferentially to patients who were at an increased risk of cardiovascular events compared with patients prescribed non-specific NSAIDs. When the overall risk of cardiovascular complications is relatively low and an anti-inflammatory agent is required, current evidence suggests that celecoxib is an agent of choice because of its lower cardiovascular toxicity potential compared to NSAIDs and other COXIBs.
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PMID:Review of the cardiovascular safety of COXIBs compared to NSAIDS. 1851 56

Sutherlandia frutescens (tribe Galegeae, Fabaceae), a popular plant in traditional medicine, is indigenous to South Africa, Lesotho, southern Namibia and southeastern Botswana. It is chemically, genetically and geographically extremely variable and has been divided into three subspecies and several regional forms. A second species, Sutherlandia tomentosa, is localized along the Cape coast. Sutherlandia is sometimes treated as part of the genus Lessertia. There are numerous vernacular names and a wide diversity of uses, including poor appetite, indigestion, stomach complaints, dysentery, colds, influenza, kidney conditions, fever, diabetes, internal cancers, uterine troubles, liver conditions, backache, rheumatoid arthritis, urinary tract infections, stress and anxiety, dropsy and heart failure. Notable is the use as a bitter tonic ("blood purifier"), anti-stress medication ('musa-pelo) and, at least since 1895, specifically as a cancer tonic (both as treatment and as prophylaxis). Externally it is applied to haemorrhoids, inflamed wounds and eye infections. Recent in vitro and in vivo studies have shown antiproliferative, anti-HIV, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antibacterial, anti-stress, anticonvulsant and antithrombotic activities. Aqueous extracts often differ in activity from organic solvent extracts. The presence of high levels of free amino acids, non-protein amino acids such as canavanine and GABA, the cyclitol pinitol, flavonols and triterpenes (including SU1, a cycloartane-type triterpene saponin) provide plausible hypotheses on how these compounds, individually or collectively, may be responsible for the reputed efficacy in a wide range of ailments. Results of animal studies, as well as a phase I clinical study, have shown no indications of toxicity. Sufficient preclinical data are now available to justify controlled clinical studies.
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PMID:A review of the taxonomy, ethnobotany, chemistry and pharmacology of Sutherlandia frutescens (Fabaceae). 1876 Oct 68

We describe a case of a patient with advanced heart failure. On the basis of clinical status, echocardiography and the results of magnetic resonance, constrictive pericarditis was diagnosed. The seropositive rheumatoid arthritis was the cause of the constriction. Constrictive pericarditis should be considered in differential diagnosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and heart failure.
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PMID:[Constrictive pericarditis in the course of rheumatoid arthritis]. 1880 41

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at increased risk of mortality compared with the general population. Evidence suggests that this increased mortality can largely be attributed to increased cardiovascular (CV) death. In a retrospective study of an inception cohort of RA patients in Rochester, MN, we found that patients with RA were at increased risk of CV death, ischemic heart disease, and heart failure compared with age- and sex-matched community controls. In addition, when we examined coronary artery tissue from autopsied RA patients, we observed increased evidence of inflammation and an increased proportion of unstable plaques. We also investigated the contribution of traditional and RA-specific risk factors to this increased risk of CV morbidity and mortality. Although traditional CV disease risk factors were found to contribute to the increased risk of mortality in RA patients, they did not fully explain the increased CV mortality observed in RA. Instead, increased inflammation associated with RA appears to contribute substantially to the increased CV mortality. Together with other studies that have demonstrated similar associations between RA and CV mortality, these data suggest that more aggressive management of inflammation in RA may lead to significant improvements in outcomes for patients with RA.
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PMID:Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in rheumatoid arthritis. 1892 69

It has been found that tumour necrosis factor(TNF)-alpha plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and the development of drugs targeting this molecule has extended the therapeutical approaches to RA patients. A number of observational studies of large patient series have also been published over the last few years, many of which have been based on national registries designed to monitor the efficacy and safety of anti-TNF agents, and allow healthcare institutions to control expenditure. Registry data can also help in identifying clinical and laboratory findings capable of predicting response. It has been suggested that the percentage of responding patients is lower in everyday clinical practice than that observed in RCTs, possibly because of patient selection, the use of a washout period before inclusion (which may artificially increase disease activity), and differences in doses, co-morbidities and adherence to therapy. A number of safety concerns have been raised since the introduction of anti-TNF agents, and they are now contraindicated in patients with advanced heart failure; however, the most widely debated current issues regard infections and neoplastic diseases. Moreover, the marketing of new and expensive biological agents has made strictly necessary to create systems capable of monitoring their safety and effectiveness in everyday practice, including the use of longitudinal observational studies. As the first published registry of anti-TNFalpha-treated patients in Italy, Lombardy Rheumatology Network (LORHEN) is already making its contribution in this direction.
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PMID:Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with anti-TNF-alpha agents: a reappraisal. 1901 46


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