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Query: UMLS:C0018801 (heart failure)
 72,216 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Local vascular alterations may contribute to increased peripheral vasoconstriction in chronic heart failure. To test whether endothelial dysfunction might be involved, the effect of acetylcholine, nitroglycerin, and NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) was investigated in a constant-flow perfused hindquarter of rats with and without chronic heart failure (CHF) due to myocardial infarction. Changes in perfusion pressure were measured as an index of changes in hindlimb vascular resistance. The endothelium-dependent vasodilator effect of acetylcholine was significantly reduced in rats with large infarcts (greater than 40% of the left ventricle). However, the endothelium-independent vasodilator effect of nitroglycerin and the vasoconstrictor effect of L-NMMA were similar for infarct and normal animals. The vasodilator response to acetylcholine was partially inhibited by pretreatment with L-NMMA. Thus the basal release of nitric oxide from hindquarter resistance vessels is preserved in CHF. However, the endothelium-mediated dilation in response to acetylcholine is attenuated, in part, due to a depressed stimulated release of nitric oxide. The latter mechanism might be involved in the impaired vasodilatory capacity in the peripheral circulation in CHF, e.g., during exercise.
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PMID:Endothelial dysfunction of hindquarter resistance vessels in experimental heart failure. 162 25

Horses suffering from trauma, sepsis, and severe burns need 12% to 16% of protein (dry matter basis) in their diet. Since reduced appetite may be a problem, relatively energy dense (greater than 2 Mcal DE/kg) feeds should be offered. In hepatic failure, maintenance protein requirements (8% on a dry matter basis for adult horses) should be met with feeds that are high in short branched-chain amino acids and arginine but low in aromatic amino acids and tryptophan (for example, milo, corn, soybean, or linseed meal) in addition to grass hay. Vitamins A, C, and E should also be supplemented. In cases with renal failure, protein, calcium, and phosphorus should be restricted to maintenance or lower levels. Grass hay and corn are the best feeds for horses with reduced renal function. Do not offer free-choice salt to horses with dependent edema from uncompensated chronic heart failure. Following gastrointestinal resection, legume hay and grain mixtures are the feeds of choice. Horses with diarrhea should not be deprived or oral or enteral alimentation for prolonged periods of time. Liquid formulas may be used if bulk or gastrointestinal motility are a problem. Apple cider vinegar and a high grain diet may reduce the incidence of enteroliths in horses prone to this problem. Pelleted feeds will reduce fecal volume and produce softer feces for horses that have had rectovaginal lacerations or surgery. Horses with small intestinal dysfunction or resection should be offered low residue diets initially, but long-term maintenance requires diets that promote large intestinal digestion (alfalfa hay, vegetable oil, restricted grain). Geriatric horses (greater than 20 years old need diets similar to those recommended for horses 6 to 18 months old.
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PMID:Clinical nutrition of adult horses. 220 96

This review updates some recent advances of a new and exciting developments in basic and clinical cardiology: a) the role, in the congestive heart failure (CHF), of the neurohormonal systems (NHS) which act to maintain circulatory homeostatic equilibrium, and b) the therapeutic implications of such a role. Six NHS, acting in CHF, have presently been identified: three of them induce vasoconstriction and sodium retention (sympathetic nervous systems, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and arginine-vasopressine system); the remaining three offset or balance the former ones, acting, therefore as "counterregulators" (prostaglandins--PGE2 and PGI2--, dopaminergic system and atrial natriuretic factor). Each one of these NHS influences the "compensatory" mechanisms of heart failure, acting on the target-organs both by direct effects and by interaction with other NHS; consequently, in heart failure, all the NHS are stimulated with the respective increase in the plasma levels of their agents. In asymptomatic stages of ventricular dysfunction the stimulation of the vasodilator-and-natriuretic systems appears to be predominant and able to maintain circulatory equilibrium. However, as the heart dysfunction increases and becomes symptomatic, the vasoconstrictor and sodium-retaining forces appear to predominate; this phenomenon becomes increasingly apparent as the functional class becomes more advanced. The hyperstimulation of these last systems has an extremely important role in the pathophysiology and clinical manifestations of congestive heart failure, as well as in its prognosis. Therefore, the attempts to correct these neurohormonal imbalance in patients with heart failure has a sound rational basis, not only to improve the symptoms and the exercise capacity but also to increase the survival of these patients. At the present time, amongst the potential pharmacological interventions acting on NHS in CHF, the blockade of the SRA system with ACE-inhibitors is generally accepted as the most feasible, the safer and the most effective therapeutic tool. In fact, its application has broadened from an earlier use in severe CHF to other symptomatic stages of cardiac failure, including the milder forms. In addition, preliminary data strongly suggest its unique usefulness in asymptomatic phases of ventricular dysfunction. Looking back at the medical therapy of heart failure, it can be concluded that we are starting a new era. Throughout 200 years (since the introduction of digitalis) the therapeutic goal in CHF has been the improvement of symptoms. With the developments of the present decade, a new and exciting goal is being offered to these patients, called by Packer "the second frontier", that is, the prolongation of their lives.
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PMID:[Neuro-hormonal mechanisms in heart insufficiency--from physiopathology to treatment]. 257 35

Cardiac transplantation, effective therapy for end-stage heart failure, is frequently complicated by allograft rejection, the mechanisms of which remain incompletely understood. Nitric oxide (NO), a vasodilator which is cytotoxic and negatively inotropic, can be produced in large amounts by an inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in response to cytokines. To investigate whether iNOS is induced during cardiac allograft rejection, hearts from Lewis or Wistar-Furth rats were transplanted into Lewis recipients. At day 5, allogeneic grafts manifested reduced contractility and histologic evidence of rejection (inflammatory infiltrate, edema, necrosis of myocytes). The mRNA for iNOS and iNOS protein were detected in ventricular homogenates and in isolated cardiac myocytes from rejecting allogeneic grafts but not in tissue and myocytes from syngeneic control grafts. Immunocytochemistry showed increased iNOS staining in infiltrating macrophages and in microvascular endothelial cells and cardiac muscle fibers and also in isolated purified cardiac myocytes from the rejecting allografts. Using a myocardial cytosolic iNOS preparation, nitrite formation from L-arginine and [3H] citrulline formation from [3H]L-arginine were increased significantly in the rejecting allogeneic grafts (P < 0.01). Myocardial cyclic GMP was also increased significantly (P < 0.05). The data indicate myocardial iNOS mRNA, protein and enzyme activity are induced in infiltrating macrophages and cardiac myocytes of the rejecting allogeneic grafts. Synthesis of NO by iNOS may contribute to myocyte necrosis and ventricular failure during cardiac allograft rejection.
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PMID:Induction of myocardial nitric oxide synthase by cardiac allograft rejection. 751 42

Chronic heart failure (CHF) impairs endothelium-dependent vasodilatation of large conductance arteries. We investigated whether a similar reduction also occurs in small arteries, and whether such a reduction can be prevented by the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor perindopril (P) in a rat model of CHF (left coronary artery ligation). After 1 month treatment with placebo or P (2 mg/kg/day), rats were anesthetized and arterial pressure, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, and central venous pressure were measured with a micromanometer. Segments of aorta and mesenteric artery (mean diameter, 281 +/- 8 microns) were then isolated, cannulated, and perfused at constant pressure using an arteriograph. Responses to increasing concentrations of acetylcholine (Ach), nitroprusside, and to 10(-4) mol/L NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) were studied after preconstriction by phenylephrine. Heart failure resulted in a decrease in systolic and diastolic pressures, an increase in left ventricular end-diastolic and central venous pressures, and a significant depression of Ach-induced dilatation of the mesenteric artery (maximal dilatation, from 90 +/- 4% to 63 +/- 4%, P < .05) but not of the aorta (from 56 +/- 8% to 45 +/- 5%, NS) without any modification in the endothelium-independent vasodilatation induced by nitroprusside. In the group treated by the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor perindopril, systolic and diastolic pressures were slightly decreased, whereas left ventricular end diastolic, central venous pressures, and the endothelium-dependent vasodilating response to Ach were normalized. Responses to L-NAME were not affected by CHF or perindopril. Perindopril also decreased hypertrophy, as evidenced by a significantly lower heart weight in treated rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Prevention of endothelial dysfunction in small and large arteries in a model of chronic heart failure. Effect of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition. 764 44

The basal release of endothelium-derived nitric oxide (EDNO) is considered to play an important role in regulating the vascular tone in normal subjects; however, its role in the presence of acute heart failure is unknown. This study was designed to clarify the role of a basal release of EDNO in the presence of acute heart failure. Acute ischemic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction was produced in 22 dogs by coronary microembolization. After the embolization, only saline solution was intravenously infused for sixty minutes in 10 dogs. In another 12 dogs, NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), which is known to inhibit the formation of EDNO in the vascular endothelium, was intravenously infused at a rate of 20 micrograms/kg/minute for sixty minutes. Infusion of saline solution did not produce any changes in hemodynamic variables. Infusion of L-NMMA caused increases in mean aortic pressure, systemic vascular resistance, and LV end-diastolic pressure without changes in the LV peak + and - dP/dt (time constant) of LV pressure fall, and these changes were associated with a giant "v" wave in the tracing of left atrial pressure and a decrease in cardiac output. The basal release of EDNO may play an important role in the prevention of afterload elevation, subsequent cardiac output reduction, and afterload mismatch in the presence of acute heart failure.
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PMID:Basal release of endothelium-derived nitric oxide plays an important role in the prevention of afterload mismatch in acute left ventricular dysfunction. 766 79

The infusion of endothelin to obtain plasma levels as present in sodium-retaining conditions such as heart failure and hepatorenal syndrome has been shown to cause sodium retention and renal vasoconstriction. Whether these renal effects of endothelin could be modulated by the stimulation of nitric oxide production by the infusion of L-arginine was examined. Therefore, the renal and endocrine effects of the systemic administration of endothelin (2.5 ng/kg per minute for 90 min), L-arginine (5 mg/kg per minute for 90 min), or the combination of endothelin and L-arginine were studied in healthy subjects under clearance conditions. During endothelin infusion, plasma endothelin levels rose from 3.0 +/- 0.2 to 14.1 +/- 2.4 pmol/L (P < 0.01). Mean arterial pressure increased by 7 mm Hg (P < 0.01). The effects on renal function were disproportionately large: renal vascular resistance increased from 77.5 +/- 3.2 to 124.1 +/- 6.7 mm Hg/min per liter (P < 0.01), and sodium excretion fell from 178 +/- 30 to 83 +/- 11 mumol/min (P < 0.01). Endothelin had no effect on urinary nitrite excretion. L-Arginine caused a fall in blood pressure of 5 mm Hg (P < 0.01) and decreased renal vascular resistance by 12% (P < 0.05). Sodium excretion increased twofold. This was associated with an increase in urinary nitrite excretion from 112 +/- 36 to 465 +/- 190 nmol/min (P < 0.01), suggesting stimulation of renal nitric oxide production. During the combination of endothelin and L-arginine, urinary nitrite excretion increased similarly.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:L-arginine does not prevent the renal effects of endothelin in humans. 770 89

Endothelial dysfunction in heart failure could impair nitric oxide production and lead to increased vascular resistance. If endogenous production of nitric oxide is reduced, NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), an inhibitor of such production, should have a diminished vasoconstrictor effect. We administered L-NMMA to 12 patients being investigated for heart failure. L-NMMA increased median pulmonary and systemic vascular resistances by 61 (range -3 to 240) and 430 (63 to 1609) dynes s cm-5, respectively (p < 0.03 and p < 0.005). Arterial pressures also increased. Median cardiac output fell by 0.6 (0 to -2.3) L per min (p < 0.005). These data suggest that vascular nitric oxide may be another example of a failed counter-regulatory vasodilator system in heart failure.
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PMID:Enhanced basal nitric oxide production in heart failure: another failed counter-regulatory vasodilator mechanism? 799 74

The vasodilatory response is known to be diminished in chronic heart failure. In the present study, we used dogs with chronic heart failure to investigate whether endothelium-dependent vasodilation in the resistance vessels in the hindlimb is decreased in chronic heart failure, and if so, to determine if endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) is involved in the mechanism. We induced heart failure in dogs by continuous rapid ventricular pacing. Under anesthesia, an internal carotid artery-femoral artery bypass system was established and perfusion pressure to the femoral artery was kept constant. Changes in hindlimb blood flow in response to various concentrations of acetylcholine (ACh), adenosine 5'-diphosphate disodium salt (ADP) and nitroglycerin (NTG) were examined in dogs with and without heart failure. The vasoconstrictive responses to L-NG-monomethyl L-arginine monoacetate (L-NMMA) were also studied. In dogs with heart failure, vasodilatory responses to both of the endothelium-dependent vasodilators, ACh and ADP, were decreased, while there were no differences in the responses to the endothelium-independent vasodilator NTG. The vasoconstrictive response to L-NMMA was diminished in heart failure. Thus, endothelium-dependent vasodilation in hindlimb resistance vessels is impaired in dogs with congestive heart failure. This impairment may be related to diminished EDRF/NO production or release in these vessels.
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PMID:Impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilatory responses in hindlimb blood flow in dogs with congestive heart failure. 796 99

Brain and atrial natriuretic peptides (BNP and ANP) are cardiac hormones with diuretic, natriuretic, and vasodilatory activities. Cardiomyopathic hamsters are widely used animal models of heart failure. Due to the structural divergence of BNP among species, examination on pathophysiological roles of BNP using cardiomyopathic hamsters is so far impossible. We therefore isolated hamster BNP and ANP cDNAs, and investigated synthesis and secretion of these peptides in normal and cardiomyopathic hamsters. The COOH-terminal 32-residue peptide of cloned hamster preproBNP with 122 amino acids, preceded by a single arginine residue, supposedly represents hamster BNP showing < 50% homology to rat BNP. Alpha-hamster ANP, 28-residue peptide, is identical to alpha-rat ANP. In hamsters, BNP and ANP occur mainly in the ventricle and the atrium, respectively. The 32-wk-old hypertrophic cardiomyopathic BIO14.6 strain exhibited ventricular hypertrophy. The 32-wk-old dilated cardiomyopathic BIO53.58 strain remained at the stage without apparent heart failure. In BIO14.6 and BIO53.58 strains at this age, ventricular BNP and ANP gene expressions are augmented, and the plasma BNP concentration is elevated to 136 and 108 fmol/ml, respectively, three times greater than the elevated plasma ANP concentration, which well mimics changes of the plasma BNP and ANP concentrations in human heart failure. Cardiomyopathic hamsters, therefore, are useful models to investigate the implication of BNP in human cardiovascular diseases.
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PMID:Molecular cloning of hamster brain and atrial natriuretic peptide cDNAs. Cardiomyopathic hamsters are useful models for brain and atrial natriuretic peptides. 808 46


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