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)

Thrombotic occlusion of coronary arteries is the reason of most acute coronary syndromes. A significant role in their prevention and therapy is taken by antiplatelet therapy. Acute coronary syndrome justifies also the use of anticoagulation therapy, name by heparin. The adjuvant therapy by means of heparin in thrombolysis seems to be necessary especially when alteplase (t-PA) is used. Peroral anticoagulants represent a further therapeutical procedure in patients with coronary ischaemia. Regarding the increased risk of bleeding, the cost and difficulties coinciding with therapy by cumarine derivates, the antiplatelet therapy is currently preferred. Cumarine derivates, however, should be used in patients with simultaneous atrial fibrillation, venous thromboembolism and it should be considered in patients with heart failure and pre-thrombotic states. Studies aimed at the assessment of the role of low-molecular heparin in acute coronary ischaemia currently take place. Encouraging results are gained from experience with high effective direct inhibitors of thrombin (e.g. hirudin) and antagonists of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa. It seems that they soon will find justification in the therapy of arterial thrombosis. Interesting field of the research is represented by the studies which compare low doses of acetylosalicylic acid with low doses of cumarine derivates. (Ref. 43.)
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PMID:[Antithrombotic therapy in acute myocardial infarct]. 896

Heart failure is associated with a hypercoagulable state. A single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was performed to test the hypothesis that warfarin will modify a hypercoagulable state in heart failure. This study included 76 patients with heart failure. At baseline, patients had evidence for a hypercoagulable state with elevated plasma levels of thrombin/antithrombin III (TAT) complexes (3.4 +/- 2.0 ng/ml), prothrombin fragment F1 + 2 (1.5 +/- 0.9 nmol/L), and D-dimers (630 +/- 401 ng/ml). Warfarin therapy (international normalized ratio [INR] 2.7 +/- 1.3) significantly decreased plasma levels of TAT complexes (p < 0.002), F1 + 2 (p < 0.001), and D-dimers (p < 0.001) when compared with baseline values at 1, 2, and 3 months of therapy. In contrast, patients receiving placebo had persistent elevation of TAT complexes (p = not significant [NS]), F1 + 2 (p = NS), and D-dimers (p = NS) during follow-up at 1, 2, and 3 months. The two treatment groups followed different trends over time for all three markers (p < 0.001). The effect of low-intensity warfarin (INR 1.3 +/- 0.08) versus moderate-intensity warfarin (INR 2.3 +/- 1.1 ) on markers of hypercoagulability was evaluated in 14 patients. When compared with baseline, low-intensity warfarin administration decreased plasma levels of TAT complexes (p = NS), F1 + 2 (p = 0.05), and D-dimers (p = 0.04). In these patients F1 + 2 was further reduced with moderate-intensity warfarin (p < 0.001). Our findings suggest that a hypercoagulable state in heart failure can be modified by warfarin therapy.
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PMID:Effects of warfarin on markers of hypercoagulability in patients with heart failure. 926 80

Since the classical studies by Furchgott and Zawadski (Nature, 1980, 286, 373-376), the vascular endothelium is known to play a fundamental role in the regulation of haemostasis and vasomotor activity. This is primarily due to its strategic interface position between the circulating blood and smooth muscle cells of the media. Due to the presence of specific receptors to mediators released during platelet aggregation (thrombin, ATP, serotonin, PAF, etc.), and the presence of mechanoreceptors sensitive to shearing forces generated by blood flow along the vessel wall, the endothelium is able to release, at the two poles of the cell, vasodilator and antiaggregant substances called "endothelium derived relaxing factors" (EDRFs), the best known for which are nitric oxide (NO) ans prostacyclin (PGl2). In the absence of endothelium (angioplasty), or in the case of endothelium dysfunction related to cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, heart failure, atherosclerosis or diabetes, EDRF synthesis is absent or defective and its oxidative catabolism in increased (particularity by superoxide anion), resulting in varying degrees of disorders of haemostasis (thrombosis) and/or arterial and venous vasomotor activity. The only known effective treatment to palliate these dysfunctions is exogenous NO, supplied in the form of nitrate (nitroglycerin, isosorbide dinitrate, 5-mononitrate) or "NO donors" (Sin1, nitroprussate). The advantage of these substances is that their vasodilator effects (and, in some cases, their antiaggregant effects) are strictly endothelium-independent and they remain effective regardless of the causes and severity of endothelial dysfunction.
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PMID:[Nitrates and coronary vascular endothelium dysfunction]. 945 72

Thromboembolism is an important complication in patients with heart failure. A variety of factors associated with heart failure predispose to thrombosis. These include vascular pathology, increased coagulability, and impaired flow. The focus of this review is to summarize data on platelet function and coagulation indices in heart failure. Several studies have shown that patients with heart failure have increased plasma concentrations of beta-thromboglobulin, a marker of platelet activation. Increased plasma concentrations of fibrinopeptide A and thrombin activation have also been demonstrated. In addition, plasma concentrations of endothelial procoagulants, von Willebrand factor, fibrinolytic products, and D-dimer are also increased during heart failure. If platelet activation and hypercoagulability are a surrogate for clinical events, treatment with antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy can potentially reduce thromboembolism and mortality in heart failure.
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PMID:Hypercoagulability in heart failure. 946 27

Thrombolytic therapy has become a standard treatment for selected patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI). Various thrombolytic agents have been shown to decrease mortality. However, current thrombolytic agents still suffer significant shortcomings, such as a low optimal reperfusion rate delayed reperfusion. and incomplete myocardial perfusion. Furthermore, cyclic flow variations and reocclu.sions remain a significant cause of late morbidity and mortality. In thrombolysis with tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), heparin seems to play an important role. However, it has several features that suggest that it may not be the optimal adjunct to thrombolytics, including weak and indirect action on thrombin, little access to clot-bound thrombin, inhibition by acute-phase plasma proteins, and its direct stimulation of platelet aggregation. Argatroban (NOVASTAN(R)), a small-molecule, synthetic, direct thrombin inhibitor, has several potential advantages over heparin, and prior studies suggest superior thrombin inhibition with favorable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties warranting further investigation The Myocardial Infarction using NOVASTAN (R) and t-PA (MINT) study is a phase II, single-blind, angiographic trial directly comparing heparin versus two doses of argatroban in 120 patients with ST-elevation MI who present within 6 hours of symptom onset. The primary objective of the MINT trial is to assess the TIMI grade 3 flow and TIMI Frame Count at 90 minutes after the initiation of t-PA. This trial will also evaluate the safety of the combination of t-PA, argatroban, and aspirin. The incidence of clinical or silent ischemia, will be monitored. All patients will be followed up to 30 days for the composite endpoint of death, nonfatal recurrent myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass surgery, PTCA, recurrent ischemia, and shock/new-onset heart failure.
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PMID:A Randomized, Blinded Study of Two Doses of Novastan(R) (Brand of Argatroban) Versus Heparin as Adjunctive Therapy to Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator (Accelerated Administration) in Acute Myocardial Infarction: Rationale and Design of the Myocardial Infarction using Novastan(R) and T-PA (MINT) Study. 1060 50

Knowledge of the pathogenesis of congestive heart failure (CHF) has improved greatly in recent years. However, this disease continues to cause one of the highest morbidities and mortalities in the Western world. The pathophysiology of heart failure is complex and much of our understanding revolves strictly around the neurohormonal mechanisms involved. Various pharmacologic interventions have significantly improved morbidity and include ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, diuretics, and inotropic agents. Yet, no consensus has been reached regarding the use of anticoagulants or antiplatelet agents. It has been suggested that CHF is associated with altered hemostasis, but whether this prothrombotic state contributes to the pathogenesis and progression of the disease is unknown. The purpose of this review article is to discuss our current knowledge of platelet activation, thrombin generation, fibrinolysis, and endothelial dysfunction in CHF patients, and the potential role of anticoagulants and/or antiplatelet agents in preventing these hemostatic abnormalities.
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PMID:Hemostatic abnormalities in patients with congestive heart failure: diagnostic significance and clinical challenge. 1105 1

In the field of cardiovascular pharmacology the year 2001 has been marked by the demonstration of the clinical significance of new anti-thrombotics and by the interesting results with anti-endothelins. Whereas the failure of oral antiGPIIb-IIIa has been confirmed, melagatran (an anti-thrombin administered orally) and pentasaccharide (a new subcutaneous anti-Xa) have proved their efficacy in the prevention of venous thromboembolic disease compared to low molecular weight heparins, with an acceptable incidence of unwanted effects. Anti-endothelins under development have variable mechanisms of action from one drug to another. Their efficacy in cardiac insufficiency, pulmonary artery hypertension and arterial hypertension is suggested by clinical studies investigating small population; a more important study in decompensated cardiac insufficiency has not however shown a reduction of the morbidity and mortality with one of these drugs. The clinical significance of angiotensin II receptor antagonists has been confirmed for the indications which they share with ACE inhibitors (cardiac insufficiency, prevention of diabetic nephropathy). However, there are not enough comparative trials for these indications between these two classes in order to draw conclusions about the equivalence or superiority of one or the other. Of help elsewhere has been a re-interpretation of the mode of action of arterial wall drugs, and the inflammatory theory of atherosclerosis, putting the accent for example on the reduction of C reactive protein with a statin, or on the anti-inflammatory effect of aspirin. However, one study has not shown any benefit in giving a short course of corticosteroids in unstable angina. A very prominent event in the year 2001 remains the withdrawal of cerivstatin due to fatal rhabdomyolysis. The consequences go far beyond this drug, as its withdrawal justifies a fresh examination of the risk-benefit ratio for all the statins, with the probable corollary of a halt in the escalation of prescriptions. In this context, the new ezetimibe-type cholesterol absorption inhibitors could be a future solution.
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PMID:[The best of 2001. Clinical pharmacology]. 1190 97

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a pleiotropic hormone produced primarily by the endothelium. Synthesis of ET-1 is stimulated by the major signals of cardiovascular stress, such as vasoactive agents (angiotensin II, norepinephrine, vasopressin, and bradykinin), cytokines (e.g., tumor necrosis factor alpha and transforming growth factor beta), and other factors, including thrombin and mechanical stress. ET-1 induces vasoconstriction, is proinflammatory, promotes fibrosis, and has mitogenic potential, important factors in the regulation of vascular tone, arterial remodeling, and vascular injury. These effects are mediated via two receptor types, ETA and ETB. The role ET-1 plays in normal cardiovascular homeostasis and in mild essential hypertension in humans is unclear. However, certain groups of essential hypertensive patients may have ET-1-dependent hypertension, including blacks (subjects of African descent), salt-sensitive hypertensives, patients with low renin hypertension, and those with obesity and insulin resistance. ET-1 has also been implicated in severe hypertension, heart failure, atherosclerosis, and pulmonary hypertension. In all of these conditions, plasma immunoreactive ET levels are elevated and tissue ET-1 expression is increased. Accordingly, it is becoming increasingly apparent that ET-1 plays an important role in cardiovascular disease and in some forms of hypertension in humans. Data from clinical trials using combined ETA-ETB receptor blockers have already demonstrated significant blood-pressure-lowering effects. Thus, targeting the endothelin system may have important therapeutic potential in the treatment of hypertension, particularly by contributing to the prevention of target organ damage and the management of cardiovascular disease.
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PMID:Role of endothelin in human hypertension. 1283 65

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with hemostatic abnormalities and increased risk of thrombotic cardiovascular events even during oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT). The aim of our study was to evaluate the predictive value of hemostatic markers for the risk of major cardiovascular events during OAT. The study group comprised 113 patients with chronic AF (70.2 +/- 5.4 years old, 60% men), referred for OAT. Established clinical risk factors and levels of prothrombin fragment 1+2 (F1+2), thrombin-antithrombin complexes (TAT), D-dimer, tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) antigen and activity, before and during OAT (after 3.9 +/- 0.7 months; INR 2.57 +/- 0.57) were determined. In all patients OAT significantly suppressed levels of F1+2 by 67%,TAT by 30% and D-dimer by 48% (all p <0.001). During an average follow-up of 44 months 22/111 (20%) patients suffered a combined cardiovascular event (stroke, myocardial infarction, peripheral vascular occlusion or vascular death). Patients with cardiovascular events were significantly older, had more frequent heart failure/systolic dysfunction and had significantly increased levels of D-dimer at entry (63 vs 39 ng/mL, p = 0.005) and during OAT (33 vs 18 ng/mL, p = 0.002), and of t-PA antigen at entry (14.3 vs 10.9 ng/mL, p = 0.02) and during OAT (15.0 vs 11.2 ng/mL, p = 0.05) (all values are medians). In multivariate Cox proportional hazard models, heart failure/systolic dysfunction (hazard ratio 2.91; 95% CI 1.17-7.26; p = 0.02), high levels of D-dimer on OAT (top vs. lower two quartiles) (hazard ratio 4.78, 95% CI 1.39-16.41; p = 0.01) and t-PA antigen levels (continuous variable) (hazard ratio 1.09; 95% CI 1.01-1.17; p = 0.02) were significantly associated with combined cardiovascular events. In conclusion, high levels of D-dimer and t-PA antigen during OAT are significant predictors of combined cardiovascular events in AF patients and, on this basis, could be useful additional markers of cardiovascular risk in such patients.
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PMID:High D-dimer levels predict cardiovascular events in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation during oral anticoagulant therapy. 1465 25

Elevated levels of circulating chromogranin A (CgA), a protein stored in the secretory granules of many neuroendocrine cells and neurons, have been detected in the blood of patients with neuroendocrine tumors or heart failure. The pathophysiological role of increased secretion of CgA is unknown. Using mice bearing subcutaneous tumors genetically engineered to secrete CgA in circulation, we have found that increased blood levels of this protein prevent vascular leakage induced by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) in the liver venous system. Structure-activity studies, carried out with CgA fragments administered to normal mice, showed that an active site is located within residues 7-57 of CgA. Accordingly, an anti-CgA antibody directed to residues 53-57 inhibited the effect of circulating CgA, either endogenously produced or exogenously administered, on liver vessels. Studies of the mechanism of action showed that CgA inhibits TNF-induced VE-cadherin down-regulation and barrier alteration of cultured endothelial cells, in an indirect manner. Other effectors, such as thrombin and vascular endothelial growth factor were partially inhibited by CgA N-terminal fragments in in vitro permeability assays. These findings suggest that circulating CgA could help regulate the endothelial barrier function and to protect vessels against TNF-induced plasma leakage in pathological conditions characterized by increased production of TNF and CgA, such as cancer or heart failure.
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PMID:Chromogranin A protects vessels against tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced vascular leakage. 1473 34


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