The effect of atorvastatin on warfarin-induced aortic medial calcification and systolic blood pressure (SBP) of rats induced by warfarin was studied. Thirty healthy and adult rats were randomly divided into Warfarin group (n=10), Atorvastatin group (n=10) and normal control group (n=10). Caudal arterial pressure of rats was measured once a week, and 4 weeks later, aorta was obtained. Elastic fiber, collagen fiber and calcium accumulation in tunica media of cells were measured by Von Kossa staining. The results showed that warfarin treatment led to elevation of systolic blood pressure and aortic medial calcification. The chronic treatment also increased collagen, but decreased elastin in the aorta. However, the atorvastatin treatment had adverse effects. It was concluded that treatment with atorvastatin presented evidence of blood pressure lowing and calcification reducing. These data demonstrate that atorvastatin protected aortic media from warfarin-induced calcification and elevation of systolic blood pressure.
Aortic Diseases/chemically induced ; Aortic Diseases/drug therapy ; Aortic Diseases/*pathology ; Blood Pressure/*drug effects ; Calcinosis/chemically induced ; Calcinosis/*drug therapy ; Calcinosis/pathology ; Heptanoic Acids/*pharmacology ; Heptanoic Acids/therapeutic use ; Hypertension/chemically induced ; Hypertension/*drug therapy ; Pyrroles/*pharmacology ; Pyrroles/therapeutic use ; Random Allocation ; Rats, Wistar ; Warfarin

OBJECTIVES: To assess the clinical features, pathologic findings, postoperative results and the effects of immunosuppressive therapy in patients with Beh et's disease (BD). METHODS: We reviewed the postoperative course of the 9 BD patients who underwent a total of 17 aortic valve replacement procedures with prosthetic valves. RESULTS: Histological examination of the aortic valve commonly revealed diffuse myxoid degeneration (75 percent). Of 17 valve replacement surgeries, 13 surgeries resulted in complications, such as detachment of the prosthetic valve with perivalvular leakage and dehiscence of the sternotomy wound, within an average of 5 months (range from 1 month to 14 months). The rate of prosthetic valve detachment was 76 percent (13 of 17 surgeries). Four of the 9 patients (44 percent) who underwent aortic valve replacement procedures died of heart failure or infection associated with the detachment of the prosthetic valve, and perivalvular leakage within an average of 9 months. Aortic insufficiency associated with dehiscence of the prosthetic valve developed in 11 of 12 surgical cases (92 percent) with a mechanical valve and 2 of 5 surgical cases (40 percent) with tissue valves. Thirteen of 15 surgeries (87 percent) which were not given postoperative immunosuppressive therapy developed complications, while none of 2 surgeries that used postoperative immunosuppressive therapy with prednisolone (1 mg/kg/day) and azathioprine (100 mg/day) had these complications. CONCLUSION: The rates of prosthetic valve detachment in BD involving aortic valve were higher than those of other diseases. Aortic valve involvement was also one of the poor prognostic factors in BD. Intensive postoperative immunosuppressive therapy and surgical methods may be important factors for postoperative results.
Adult ; Aortic Valve/pathology ; Aortic Valve Insufficiency/*etiology/pathology ; Behcet Syndrome/*complications/drug therapy/pathology ; Female ; Heart Valve Diseases/*complications/pathology/surgery ; Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation/*mortality ; Human ; Immunosuppression ; Male ; Postoperative Complications ; Prosthesis Failure ; Survival Analysis

Aged ; Aortic Valve ; surgery ; Cyclosporine ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; drug therapy ; surgery ; Heart Valve Diseases ; drug therapy ; surgery ; Heart Valve Prosthesis ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; therapeutic use ; Kidney Transplantation ; Mycophenolic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Transplant Recipients

The ultimate objective of dyslipidemia management is to prevent and treat atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. It is important to combine lifestyle modification together with medication. To determine whether to start drug therapy, comprehensive consideration should be given to both the risk status for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Drug treatment can be initiated according to whether the patients have coronary artery disease, ischemic cerebral infarction, peripheral artery disease, atherosclerotic artery diseases (abdominal aortic aneurysm, carotid artery stenosis), or diabetes, as well as the number of atherosclerotic risk factors (smoking, hypertension, low high density lipoprotein cholesterol level, family history of premature coronary artery disease, and age). Statin is the first-choice drug for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. The first goal for drug therapy is to lower the low density lipoprotein cholesterol and the secondary goal is to lower the non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol level. Secondary causes of dyslipidemia should be considered and corrected before starting any medication. These recommendations are based on the new treatment guideline 2015 of Korean Society of Lipidology and Atherosclereosis and Korean Medical Association.
Aortic Aneurysm ; Arteries ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Carotid Arteries ; Cerebral Infarction ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Drug Therapy ; Dyslipidemias* ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Hypertension ; Life Style ; Lipoproteins ; Peripheral Arterial Disease ; Risk Factors

No abstract available.
Acute Disease ; Aged ; Anticoagulants/therapeutic use ; Antihypertensive Agents/therapeutic use ; Aortic Diseases/diagnosis/*etiology/physiopathology/therapy ; Aortography/methods ; Arterial Pressure ; Female ; Fibrinolytic Agents/*adverse effects ; Hematoma/diagnosis/*etiology/physiopathology/therapy ; Humans ; Pulmonary Embolism/diagnosis/*drug therapy ; Recombinant Proteins/adverse effects ; Thrombolytic Therapy/*adverse effects ; Tissue Plasminogen Activator/*adverse effects ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome ; Vena Cava Filters