Summary The morbidity and mortality of the cardiovascular diseases is high in the developed countries. The lifestyle changes are capable to decrease it by 50%. The aim of the present study was to measure the parameters of some risk factors before and after a one-week NEW START rehabilitative retreat. 1,349 volunteers, 320 men, 1,029 woman, mean age 51±14.5 (SD) years participated in 30 rehabilitative retreats from 1999–2006 in the Czech Republic, using a low-fat, low-energy, lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet and exercise, in a stress-free environment. Body weight, height, BMI, blood pressure, heart rate, serum cholesterol and blood glucose were measured. Body weight decreased in 1,223 measured persons from 71.2±14.38 (SD) to 70.6±14.02 kg (p<0.0001), BMI (1,046 measured persons) from 25.1±4.60 (SD) to 24.8±4.49 (SD) kg/m2 (p<0.0001), systolic blood pressure (1,218 persons) from 129.8±23.02 (SD) to 123.8±21.52 (SD) mmHg (p<0.0001), diastolic blood pressure (1,210 persons) from 79.8±12.7 (SD) to 77.5±11.6 (SD) mmHg (p<0.0001), serum cholesterol (998 persons) from 4.86±0.95 (SD) to 4.32±0.77 (SD) mmol (p<0.0001), blood glucose (544 persons) from 4.31±1.59 (SD) to 3.88±1.33 (SD) mmol (p<0.0001). Heart rate was not significantly decreased. The parameters were lower in lacto-ovo vegetarians and Seventh-day Adventists than in controls who never observed the diet and avail the lifestyle programs. The parameters were nonsignificantly changed one year after finishing the retreat in the sample of 68 persons showing the positive effect of retreats. Our results showed, that the intake of a low-fat, low-energy diet, over the course of one week in a stress-free environment, had positive impact on the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases.
Renal hemodynamics were studied during different stages of development of hypertension in unanesthetized spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In SHR at 4 wks of age mean arterial pressure (MAP) was higher than in age-matched Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY); however, renal blood flow (RBF) and renal vascular resistance (RVR) were not different between these two groups. Mean values of RVR and MAP in 8- and 12-wk-old SHR were significantly greater than those of age-matched WKY. Both RBF of 8- and 12-wk-old SHR were significantly lower than the corresponding values of WKY. Afferent arteriolar diameter (AAD) was measured with a microsphere method. AAD was not different between 4-wk-old SHR and WKY; however, the AAD of 8-wk-old (16.3 +/- 0.23 micrometers, n = 5) and 12-wk-old (17.4 +/- 0.48, n = 5) SHR were significantly smaller than those of respective control WKY (17.3 +/- 0.34, n = 4, P less than 0.05; 19.3 +/- 0.12, n = 5, P less than 0.01). Calculated preglomerular (Rpre) and postglomerular resistances (Rpost) of 12-wk-old SHR were increased 96 and 129% when compared with respective segmental resistances of the control WKY. The decrease in AAD of 12-wk-old SHR was sufficient to account for a 33% increase in Rpre. After the rats were treated with hydralazine (0.5 mg/kg iv), MAP, RBF, and RVR of SHR were not different from the control WKY values. Rpre and Rpost of SHR were substantially decreased; however, vasodilation occurred at vessels proximal and distal to the afferent arteriole because AAD was not altered. Our results indicate that increased RVR in SHR involves increases in Rpre and Rpost.
We have studied changes of the electrical heart field resulting from the changed spatial position of the heart during the last period of pregnancy in healthy women. This was suggested to be a good model of electrocardiographic changes that could be found on patients suffering from obesity. The measured parameters of the electrical heart field were compared with hemodynamic parameters before and after delivery in the group of non-obese women with physiological pregnancy and in a group of healthy non-obese and non-pregnant women. Several significant changes of the electrical heart field were detected in the late pregnancy: increased heart rate, shortening of A-V conductance, prolongation of QT interval normalised for the heart rate and changes in the ventricular depolarisation and repolarisation patterns. Some of these changes are not fully restored in 4 days after delivery. Moreover, we have found an increased pump function of the left ventricle accompanied by decreased peripheral resistance in the group of pregnant women. Increased pump function was partially restored after delivery, peripheral resistance was not only restored, but it overshot to increased values. Persisting elevated heart rate with increased peripheral resistance suggested increased sympathetic activity after birth. Only some changes of electrical heart field could be explained by changed spatial arrangement of the chest organs during pregnancy and they must be considered in a complex consequence with changes in regulatory mechanisms.
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