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Structural changes in hypertension, the potential for their prevention, arrest and reversal: a focus on felodipine
Insights
Hypertension causes structural damage to the heart and blood vessels. Vascular-selective felodipine effectively lowers blood pressure and reverses these harmful hypertension-induced changes.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Hypertension leads to detrimental structural changes in the heart and vasculature.
- These include left ventricular hypertrophy, arterial wall degeneration, atherosclerosis, and glomerulosclerosis.
- Early intervention is crucial for improving prognosis in hypertensive patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the efficacy of the vascular-selective calcium antagonist, felodipine.
- To evaluate felodipine's ability to prevent or reverse hypertension-induced structural alterations.
Main Methods:
- Clinical studies assessing felodipine's effects on cardiovascular structure and function.
- Experimental data investigating felodipine's impact on atherosclerotic plaque development.
Main Results:
- Felodipine treatment promotes regression of left ventricular hypertrophy.
- It increases the compliance of large arteries and benefits renal function.
- Experimental studies indicate felodipine inhibits atherosclerotic plaque formation.
Conclusions:
- Vascular-selective calcium antagonists like felodipine are effective in managing hypertension.
- Felodipine demonstrates potential in ameliorating hypertension-induced structural cardiovascular damage.
- Timely initiation of antihypertensive therapy, particularly with agents like felodipine, is recommended.
Abstract:
Hypertension is accompanied by a series of structural adaptations and pathological alterations in the heart and vessels. These include hypertrophy of the left ventricle and walls of resistance vessels, degeneration of elastic components in the walls of large arteries, atherosclerosis and glomerulosclerosis. In order to improve prognosis it is important that the antihypertensive drugs used can prevent or regress these processes, and this review focuses on the experience with the vascular selective calcium antagonist felodipine. Clinical studies show that antihypertensive treatment with felodipine promotes regression of left ventricular hypertrophy, increases compliance of large arteries, and has favourable effects on renal function. In addition, experimental data have shown that felodipine inhibits atherosclerotic plaque development. As structural cardiovascular changes appear early in hypertension, intervention with antihypertensive therapy is better initiated sooner than later. Vascular selective calcium antagonists, such as felodipine, appear effective in reducing blood pressure and in ameliorating hypertension-induced structural changes.