E ssential hypertension is characterized by sustained elevations of blood pressure (BP) that can lead to target organ damage and an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. 1Potential life-threatening outcomes of hypertension, such as stroke, renal insufficiency, and cardiac hypertrophy, had been initially perceived as a result of macrovascular alterations. These macrovascular events, however, do not occur independently of microvascular derangement. [2][3][4] Studies have shown that alterations in microvascular structure (rarefaction), vasomotor tonus (enhanced vasoconstriction or blunted vasodilation), and endothelial dysfunction are principal processes in the pathogenesis of hypertension and are evident in several organs/tissue types. [5][6][7][8] In the skeletal muscle, microvascularization is important for oxygen and nutrient supply and for effective metabolite clearance. Studies in hypertension have shown structural or functional impairments in the microvasculature within skeletal muscles, 8 implying a reduced capacity for oxygen delivery and exchange. Furthermore, animal studies using experimental models of hypertension suggested that mitochondrial dysfunction (ie, decreased expression of mitochondrial components and defects in respiratory complexes) and increased oxidative stress result in impaired oxidative capacity and reduced mitochondrial ATP production.9,10 Importantly, in these animals, the mitochondrial dysfunction and the reduced oxidative capacity were present before the development of hypertension, suggesting a possible role of these processes to the pathogenesis of hypertension.11 However, information on skeletal muscle microvascular alterations and oxidative Abstract-This study examined in vivo (1) skeletal muscle oxygenation and microvascular function, at rest and during handgrip exercise, and (2) their association with macrovascular function and exercise blood pressure (BP), in newly diagnosed, never-treated patients with hypertension and normotensive individuals. Ninety-one individuals (51 hypertensives and 40 normotensives) underwent office and 24-hour ambulatory BP, arterial stiffness, and central aortic BP assessment, followed by a 5-minute arterial occlusion and a 3-minute submaximal handgrip exercise. Changes in muscle oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin and tissue oxygen saturation were continuously monitored by nearinfrared spectroscopy and beat-by-beat BP by Finapres. Hypertensives had higher (P<0.001) central aortic BP and pulse wave velocity versus normotensives and exhibited (1) a blunted tissue oxygen saturation response during occlusion, with slower (P=0.006) deoxygenation rate, suggesting reduced muscle oxidative capacity, and (2) a slower reoxygenation rate and blunted hyperemic response (P<0.05), showing reduced microvascular reactivity. Muscle oxygenation responses were correlated with aortic systolic and pulse pressure and augmentation index (P<0.05; age and body mass index (BMI) adjusted). When exercising at the same submaximal intensity, hypertensives required a sig...
Quality of life (QoL) is a complex outcome and rheumatologic patients typically exhibit several comorbidities with a negative impact. In this study, we analyzed with respect to QoL for the first time a wide range of physical and psychological factors, including individual, clinical and disease-related parameters, mental health disorders, sexual dysfunction, and cardiovascular comorbidities among consecutive rheumatologic patients. QoL was evaluated using the EuroQol 5D (EQ-5D) utility index. The Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) Disability Index, and the HAQ Pain Visual Analogue Scale were used as measures of physical disability and arthritis-related pain, respectively. The Hamilton Anxiety Scale and Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, the International Index of Erectile Function and the Female Sexual Functioning Index were completed by all patients. In total, 360 patients were included, 301 females and 59 males. In the univariate analysis, pain, physical disability (p < 0.001 for both), disease duration (p = 0.014), anxiety and depression (p < 0.001 for both), as well as sexual dysfunction (p = 0.001 for females, p = 0.042 for males), correlated with QoL. Female sex (p < 0.001), advanced age (p = 0.029), lower educational level (p = 0.005), and cardiovascular factors (hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, lack of systemic exercise) also appeared to negatively affect QoL. However, in the multiple regression model, only anxiety, pain, physical disability (p < 0.001 for all), and disease duration (p = 0.019) remained significant predictors of QoL. The emotional side and the disease-related physiological mode of rheumatic diseases appear as major independent correlates of QoL among rheumatologic patients, who may thus benefit the most from combined supportive psychological and pain-relieving interventions.
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