Choice of optimal antihypertensive therapy in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2

Aim of the study: to develop personalized approaches to combined antihypertensive therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension, depending on the parameters of the daily blood pressure profile and heart rate variability.Material and methods. We examined 322 patients with type 2 diabetes and arterial hypertension who had not previously received antihypertensive drugs on a regular basis. At the first stage, patients were prescribed Perindopril 10 mg per day and Indapamide retard 1,5 mg per day. In the absence of reaching target blood pressure (BP) levels after 28 days, a third antihypertensive drug was added — Amlodipine 5 mg per day, followed by titration to 10 mg 1 r per day (group I) or a b-blocker — Carvedilol at a dose of 12,5 mg 2 r per day, also followed by titration up to 25 mg 2 r per day (group II). Daily monitoring of BP and ECG was carried out, the average daily heart rate (HR), circadian index (CI), as well as heart rate variability were determined.Results and its discussion. Patients with type 2 diabetes have a high variability of blood pressure throughout the day, high pulse blood pressure, as well as a rigid circadian profile of heart rate. The appointment of a standard two-component antihypertensive therapy, including Perindopril 10 mg and Indapamide retard 1,5 mg per day, allows reaching the target blood pressure only in 46% of patients. The addition of amlodipine or carvedilol significantly increases the effectiveness of therapy, allowing more than 80% of patients to achieve the target blood pressure. At the same time, the use of amlodipine leads to a greater extent to a decrease in pulse pressure, and the inclusion of carvedilol improves the circadian profile of blood pressure and heart rate, and has a positive effect on heart rate variability.

Cost consequences analysis of hypertensive outpatients: a study in a private hospital in Yogyakarta special province

Background: Hypertension is a chronic disease that requires long-term treatment and has an impact on the cost of treatment. The costs will be greater given the loss of productivity, family burden, and social life impacted by hypertension based on patient’s perspective. Objective: The purpose of the study was to determine the costs and clinical outcome of antihypertensive therapy from the patient's perspective and to identify the discrepancies between the costs and the INA-CBGs (Indonesia Case Based Groups) tariff. Methods: The research was an observational study with a cross-sectional design. The targeted population was outpatients who had received antihypertensive therapy for at least 1 month at a private hospital in Yogyakarta. The costs included direct medical costs, direct non-medical costs, and indirect costs, while the clinical outcomes were patient’s blood pressure. The descriptive analysis was carried out to describe the characteristics of the research subjects, the clinical outcome, and the cost. Analysis of the discrepancies between the costs and the INA-CBGs tariff used the Mann-Whitney test and One-Sample t-test. Results: The results showed that the average direct medical costs, direct non-medical costs, and indirect costs from the patient’s perspective were IDR359,408.00, IDR24,617.00, and IDR 40,583.00, respectively. There was a significant difference between the real costs and the rate of INA-CBGs based on the results of statistical tests, while the cost discrepancy was IDR5,287,045.00. Conclusion: The direct non-medical costs and indirect costs of hypertensive outpatients were less than the direct medical costs. A significant difference occurred between the real costs and INA CBG’s tariff. Keywords: hypertension, cost consequences, pharmacoeconomics, patient’s perspective

Comparative Pharmacotherapy of Hypertension

The purpose of the study. This study aims to review the practice of the utilization of antihypertensive drugs of various pharmacological groups within the condition of the therapeutic hospital in Ukrainian and Egyptian patients, adherence to treatment in patients with hypertension in Ukraine and Egypt. Materials and methods. A study of 120 patients who were treated for hypertension II stage in a therapeutic hospital in Ternopil and Cairo was conducted. All subjects completed a questionnaire that included personal, socio-demographic, and medical data. The number and type of hypotensive drugs or drug combinations were analyzed. Results and discussion. Regarding the pharmacotherapy of hypertension the use of β-blockers among Ukrainian participants did not differ from Egyptian. The use of calcium channel antagonists was a little bit higher among Egyptians than Ukrainians. Diuretics were used more often by Ukrainians than by Egyptians. The use of ACEI/ARBs surpassed the use of all other classes of antihypertensives among both groups. Whereas the ACEI/ARBs use among Egyptians was lower than Ukrainians. In this study we conducted a determination of compliance which was defined as an act of adhering to the regimen of care recommended by the clinician and persisting with it over time. The majority of Ukrainian and Egyptian patients with hypertension do not always perform the doctor's prescription. The reason for the unfull implementation of medical prescriptions with the same frequency was called deficiency of funds and forgetfulness. Near 80% of Ukrainian respondents are ready to complete the prescription with understanding, however, 14% of the patients stated that they were not always ready to fulfill the prescription, and the smallest part of patients did not think it was necessary to follow the regularity of treatment and treatment regimen. We noted no significant difference in the adherence to antihypertensive therapy between Ukrainian and Egyptian participants. Early discontinuation of treatment and suboptimal daily use of the prescribed regimens are the foremost common facets of poor adherence to treatment as well as non-adherence to antihypertensive therapy correlates with a better risk of cardiovascular events. Conclusion. ACEI/ARBs are the most commonly used group of antihypertensive drugs among Ukrainian and Egyptian patients. The majority of Ukrainian and Egyptian participants with hypertension do not always perform the doctor's prescription. Only 50% had an objective reason for insufficient compliance

AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING INDICATORS IN MIDDLE-AGED AND ELDERLY HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS UNDER COMBINED ANTIHYPERTENSIVE THERAPY

It is known that arterial hypertension affects 30-35% of adult population of industrialized countries, and its prevalence reaches 40-50% among the elderly. In recent years, the issue of optimizing of treatment of hypertension in elderly people has been discussed such as choice of effective antihypertensive drugs with the least number of side effects, prevention of complications, reduced mortality, improvement of quality of life. The aim of the study was to substantiate the antihypertensive efficacy of the combination of enalapril and amlodipine in middle-aged and elderly hypertensive patients. Material and methods. Indices of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring were identified in 57 middle-aged patients (45-59 years) (group I) and 43 elderly patients (60-74 years) (group II), who underwent two-week in-patient treatment. All patients received the combined antihypertensive therapy (enalapril 10 mg twice daily and amlodipine 5 mg daily) for 2 weeks. And they were divided into 2 groups of 24 hours day's profile of blood pressure: dippers and non-dippers. Results. The combination of enalapril and amlodipine in elderly patients reduced the average daily diastolic blood pressure by 20,3% (p<0,05). Instead, in middle-aged patients there was the decrease in the average daily and the maximal daily systolic blood pressure by 17,3% (p<0,001) and 7,8% (p<0,05) and diastolic blood pressure respectively − by 23,2% (p<0,001) and 11,8% (p<0,05). Conclusions. Therefore, combined antihypertensive therapy in the elderly for 14 days was insufficient to improve significantly ambulatory blood pressure monitoring indicators. Obviously, positive changes require longer treatment.

Choosing the optimal antihypertensive therapy

The article considers approaches to the selection of optimal antihypertensive therapy in order to achieve the target blood pressure in patients with hypertension in accordance with the latest Recommendations on hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and the European Society of Cardiology; ESC), as well as the circadian rhythm of blood pressure. Fixed combinations of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers, which include angiotensin II receptor blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, with calcium antagonists should be preferred. Taking such a fixed combination at night can prevent the morning rise in blood pressure, when patients with hypertension usually have cardiovascular accidents.

Practical efficacy and safety of Konsilar D24 in patients with hypertension: data from the KONSONANS program

Aim. In practice, to evaluate the efficacy, safety and long-term adherence to therapy with a fixed-dose combination of ramipril/indapamide (Konsilar-D24) in patients with grade 1-2 hypertension (HTN) who have not achieved blood pressure (BP) control with prior therapy or have not taken antihypertensive therapy.Material and methods. This multicenter open-label observational program included 524 patients with grade 1-2 HTN who did not take antihypertensive therapy or did not reach the target BP level with mono or dual antihypertensive therapy, as well as patients shifted to Konsilar-D24 therapy no later than two weeks before the start of the program. All patients signed a written informed consent to participate in the program. The safety analysis set includes all patients who have taken at least one dose of a fixed-dose combination of ramipril/indapamide and have visited physician at least once during the program. The effectiveness analysis set included all patients in the safety population who completed the study in accordance with protocol (n=511). Clinical systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP) and heart rate were assessed at baseline, as well as at 0,5, 1, 3 and 6 months of treatment. A post hoc subgroup analysis of changes in BP and heart rate was performed depending on age, sex and baseline body mass index.Results. The fixed-dose combination of ramipril with indapamide significantly reduced SBP and DBP after 2-week treatment (-20,9±10,1 mm Hg; pConclusion. Despite the limitations inherent in observational studies, the KONSONANS program has demonstrated high efficacy and safety of fixed-dose combination of ramipril/indapamide taken once a day in hypertensive patients. Ramipril/indapamide fixed-dose combination therapy significantly improved BP control and achieved even lower individual target BP levels in the majority of hypertensive patients.

Hemodynamic effects of combined antihypertensive therapy during exercise in men with arterial hypertension and chronic venous diseases

Introduction. Currently, there is insufficient data on the effect of modern antihypertensive therapy (AHT) on venous circulation, especially during physiological stress.Aim of the study – the investigation was to study the hemodynamic effects of a combination of a calcium channel blocker (CCB) and an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor during exercise in men with arterial hypertension (AH) and chronic venous diseases (CVD).Material and methods. In 46 men 30–50 years old with AH on the background of AHT, a comparative assessment of the dynamics of SBP, DBP, peripheral venous pressure (PVP), ultrasound parameters of venous blood flow of the left leg in response to physical activity (Ruffier’s test) was performed. The parameters were assessed in 23 patients with hypertension without CVD and 23 patients with hypertension and CVD. We studied the reaction before and after 14 days of combined AHT with the use of CCB (Amlodipine) and an ACE inhibitor (Lisinopril).Results. Before treatment, the response to exercise in patients of both groups was the same and was manifested by a twofold increase in the area of the lumen of the veins and a drop in blood flow velocity. Patients with CVD before treatment with exercise were characterized by an altered systemic hemodynamic response, more frequent cases of venous dilatation and decreased blood flow velocity. After AHT with exercise, both groups showed normalization and identity of SBP. DBP, PVP, a decrease in the severity of venous dilatation and a decrease in blood flow velocity. Patients with CVD after AHT in response to exercise are characterized by more pronounced venous dilatation and higher blood flow velocity.Conclusion. After 14 days of antihypertensive therapy in patients with hypertension without chronic venous disease and in patients with hypertension and chronic venous disease during exercise normalization of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, PVP, a decrease in venous dilatation and a decrease in blood flow velocity are noted. Patients with CVD after AHT under load are characterized by varicose veins and accelerated venous blood flow.

Arterial hypertension: modern advances in metabolomics

Early diagnosis and effective pharmacotherapy of arterial hypertension are urgent problems, a significant contribution to the solution of which can be made by metabolomics. The etiology of hypertension remains unknown for the majority of patients with high blood pressure; the diagnosis for 90% is defined as essential (primary) hypertension. This population is characterized by disturbance of the metabolic pathways of lipids, glucose, biogenic amines and amino acids, which may manifest with hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance with the possible subsequent development of type II diabetes mellitus. The study of the metabolomic signature can provide a clue to the identification of biomarkers of hypertension and contribute to the effective development of preclinical diagnosis and identification of risk groups, as well as a more complete understanding of the etiological and pathogenetic mechanisms of increased blood pressure. Published studies indicate the existence of metabolome characteristic of hypertensive patients, distinguishing them from normotensive subjects. The most typical are changes involving amino acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, carnitines, phosphatidylcholines, and acylglycerols.The variability of the response to antihypertensive therapy does not allow achieving effective control of blood pressure in a significant proportion of patients. The peculiarities of changes in the metabolome under the use of various pharmacological groups can be used to identify metabolite markers of the response to the main classes of antihypertensive drugs, as well as markers of the development of side effects of drug therapy. Thus, individualization of the pharmacotherapeutic approach based on pharmacometabolomics can significantly increase the efficacy and safety of antihypertensive therapy.This review aims to study the main groups of metabolites identified in published trials as predictors of the development of hypertension, as well as metabolite markers of response to antihypertensive therapy.

Treatment of cognitive impairment in arterial hypertension

Cognitive impairment (CI) is one of the earliest and most frequent neurological disorders in patients with arterial hypertension. Arterial hypertension is a leading modifiable risk factor for stroke and cerebral microangiopathy, which underlies the development of non-stroke associated CI. Antihypertensive therapy plays an essential role in preventing the development and slowing the progression of CI by controlling blood pressure. The review discusses the use of memantine – a reversible inhibitor of NMDA receptors (akatinol memantine) – in vascular CI.