Investigadores del CIMA de la Universidad de Navarra describen cómo la hipertensión provoca insuficiencia cardiaca
Researchers at CIMA of the University of Navarra describe how hypertension leads to heart failure
U.S. scientific journal says new study may aid in prevention and early detection
article The scientific journal Journal of the American College of Cardiology has just published in its electronic edition a paper by researchers from CIMA of the University of Navarra and the Hospital Donostia in San Sebastian. The work describes a new mechanism by which the heart of hypertensive patients suffers structural damage that impairs its function and causes heart failure in patients. The authors have designed a blood test to detect whether this mechanism is damaging the heart, which will enable appropriate therapeutic measures to be taken to block it.
The American journal includes a commentary publishing house by Drs. Arsalan Shirwany and Karl Weber, of the University of Memphis (USA): they state that article opens up a new avenue for understanding heart failure in hypertensive patients, as well as for its early detection and possible prevention.
The scientific work is the joint work of Dr. Begoña López, Dr. Arantxa González and Dr. Javier Díez, from CIMA of the University of Navarra and the University Clinic. Mariano Larman and Ramón Querejeta, of the Cardiology Service of the Hospital Donostia (San Sebastián).
As is well known, heart failure is the clinical status that leads to the majority of chronic heart diseases. According to Dr. Javier Díez, director of the area of Cardiovascular Sciences at CIMA, "the prevalence of heart failure has been increasing considerably for years and has reached epidemic proportions. The magnitude of the problem is compounded by its severity, since 5 years after diagnosis the survival rate of patients with heart failure is less than 50%".
The damage to the heart caused by arterial hypertension (hypertensive heart disease) is one of the main causes of heart failure, especially in elderly women. For more than 15 years, scientists now attached to CIMA at the University of Navarra have been investigating the mechanisms responsible for these lesions, as well as the means to diagnose them early and the measures to treat them effectively.