Background: Snoring is a common sleep disorder and it is associated with many modifiable risk factors and chronic diseases. This cross sectional study tries to identify association of snoring with smoking, alcohol intake before sleep and hypertension among Asian Indians. Methodology: A total of 241 Asian Indians ˃ 18 yrs were studied. Self assessment questionnaires seeking history of hypertension or cardiovascular disease were used to assess the outcomes. Demographic data and data related to snoring were obtained by using the Sleep Apnea scale of the Sleep Disordered Questionnaire (SA-SDQ). The items selected for inclusion from the SDQ were at junior high school reading level, five-level Likert scale response, formatted so that higher numerical values represented greater symptom severity. Results: Snoring was found to be associated with smoking, alcohol intake before going to bed, and hypertension. This association was present even after controlling for confounding factors like Age, Body Mass Index (BMI), and Gender. Conclusion: Insight into association of snoring with modifiable risk factors like smoking and alcohol before sleep and also between snoring and chronic disease like hypertension might help in early detection and management of chronic diseases both in snorers and their annoyed partner/ family.

The present investigation compared the effectiveness of an autogenic feedback strategy and a Yoga-meditation strategy on the self-regulation of blood pressure. These strategies were compared with each other and with two control groups. Data were obtained from 19 males and 21 females on: 1) baseline and end of treatment pre-practice systolic blood pressure; 2) baseline and end of treatment pre-practice diastolic blood pressure; 3) baseline and end of treatment Medication Index; and 4) baseline and end of treatment Severity Index.It was anticipated that if there were an overall difference between group means on any of the dependent measures, the differences would occur between 1) the autogenic feedback strategy andthe control conditions, and 2) the Yoga-meditation strategy and the control conditions.A univariate analysis of variance was performed on the baseline data to insure that the groups were not statistically different at the start of treatment. A univariate analysis o variance was performed on the end of treatment data.The findings revealed that neither treatment strategy was more effective than the other, or more effective than the control groups at the end of treatment. The analysis of variance was performed on pre-practice measures which reflect "walking around" blood pressure comparable baseline measures. Even though there were moderate reductions in all four groups on pre-practice blood pressure levels and on the Medication and Severity Indices, the differences between groups were not significant. The validity and generalizability of these findings were discussed in light of previous research. Recommendations for further research were made.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

No description available.

High blood pressure is associated with decreased sensitivity to pain in humans and animals. Interestingly, hypoalgesia has also been observed in normotensive organisms at risk for hypertension, suggesting that it may be related to processes involved in the development of hypertension rather than with elevations of blood pressure per se. Sensitivity to laboratory and naturalistic daily aches and pains was assessed in young normotensive women and men with or without a parental history of hypertension and varying degrees of resting blood pressure. In women, risk for hypertension, as defined by a parental history of hypertension, relatively elevated systolic blood pressure, or a combination of the two, was associated with decreased pain reports and increased pain threshold for mechanical finger pressure, but not for the cold pressor test. Offspring of hypertensives also exhibited a reduced response to the pain stimuli compared to offspring of normotensives as assessed by the objective physiological measure of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Group differences observed in the laboratory were generally maintained in reports of daily pain, with significant correlations emerging between laboratory and naturalistic pain reports. To assess the role of cardiopulmonary baroreceptor stimulation in blood pressure-related hypoalgesia, young men varying in risk for hypertension were exposed to finger pressure during a period of passive leg elevation and two control periods. Men with relatively elevated systolic blood pressure exhibited reduced pain during the period of leg elevation but not while in a supine position, nor following the valsalva manoeuver. The results of these studies support an association between risk for hypertension and pain sensitivity. This relation appears to extend to naturalistic pain encountered in daily life. Further, there is promising evidence suggesting that this relationship is influenced by cardiopulmonary baroreceptor activity.

Hypertension is a major risk factor for developing cardiovascular, renal and nervous system pathologies. Refractory hypertension is prevalent at approximately 30% despite diet, lifestyle and multiple pharmacologic interventions. Blood pressure can be influenced at the level of the nervous system, at the level of the kidney, and at the level of the vasculature. This document describes investigations performed into each of these systems during the development of hypertension using a model of human essential hypertension, the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR), by a proteomic approach of 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. A transgenic mouse model with deficits in p75 neurotrophin receptor (NTR), which has been implicated in hypertension, was similarly investigated. Proteomics is a scientific strategy that is not entirely hypothesis driven, rather it has the hypothesis that functional and phenotypic changes in pathophysiology are reflected at the protein level. Proteomics compares the proteome of a disease state, treatment, temporal state, to an appropriate control to determine changes in the level of protein present and its biochemical properties. Proteome changes in the SHR mesenteric arteries included the novel observation of increased CLIC1 association with the adventitia in the SHR, the decreased expression of HSP90 alpha and beta in the SHR, and the presence of an additional protein spot for tropomyosin beta and MLC20 in the SHR. These proteome changes are suggestive of an increased contractile state in the mesenteric resistance arteries of SHR. In the renal proteome, there was a decrease of alpha-2μ globulin and a decrease in MAWDBP in the SHR demonstrating molecular changes in the kidney before known pathological changes. In superior cervical ganglia, sstereological measurement showed significant increases in the number of sympathetic neurons in both lines of p75NTR-deficient mice, relative to wild type mice with an enhanced survival of sympathetic neurons associated with shifts toward the more basic isoforms of Annexin V in the proteomes of p75NTR-deficient mice. / Thesis (Ph.D, Neuroscience Studies) -- Queen's University, 2014-02-11 15:35:00.525

A growing literature has reported a significant reduction in pain sensitivity among hypertensioe animals and humans. One of the key questions about this finding is whether a reduced sensitivity to pain can be observed in normotensive individuals who go on to develop high blood pressure. Blood pressure was re-assessed in one hundred and fifteen 19 year-old boys initially tested at age 14, when they were also presented with a pain stimulus (mechanical finger pressure). Analyses indicated that information regarding pain sensitivity improved prediction of changes in blood pressure beyond that afforded by differences in blood pressure at age 14, parental history of hypertension, and body mass index. Similar results were found in comparable analyses predicting 24-hour blood pressure recorded in one hundred and seventeen of the young men at age 22. Significant associations were also observed between pain sensitivity in 14 year-olds and 24-hour heart rate variability in various frequency bands at age 22, suggesting increased sympathetic and reduced parasympathetic tone among individuals less sensitive to pain. In order to further assess the relationship between autonomic function and pain sensitivity, one hundred and sixteen adolescent boys were assessed for pain sensitivity and autonomic responses to orthostatic challenge. Analyses indicated that exaggerated autonomic responses to postural change were associated with reduced pain sensitivity. Finally, to examine the potential role of endogenous opioids in blood pressure-related hypoalgesia, a group of young normotensive men were administered low-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve 5 stimulation (TENS), which has been demonstrated to elicit endogenous opioid release, prior to being presented with two painful stimuli (electric shock and arm ischemia). A negative association between pain and resting blood pressure was significantly strengthened by administration of low-frequency TENS. The resu

Background: As a multifactorial disease glaucoma may be associated with pressure-dependent and -independent factors. Ocular hypertension (OHT) may develop into primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) for many patients. We compared groups with OHT and POAG for pressure-dependent and -independent risk factors. A high prevalence of any factor(s) could indicate a contribution to progression from OHT to POAG. Method: A sample of patients with POAG (n 438) and with OHT (n 301) were selected from those attending a tertiary referral private glaucoma practice, and data were collected regarding age and intraocular pressure at the time of diagnosis, gender, family history of glaucoma, systemic hypertension, diabetes, Raynaud's phenomenon, migraine and myopia. Results: After multivariate analysis, older age at time of diagnosis (P<0.001), myopia (odds ratio (O.R) 1.5, 95percent confidence interval (C.I)1.0-2.2; P 0.05), a family history of glaucoma (O.R 1.6, 95 percent C.I 1.1-2.3; P 0.01) and a high intraocular pressure (P 0.002) were associated with POAG. No other significant differences were found between the two groups. Conclusion: Patients who have OHT may be at higher risk of developing POAG if they also have myopia, a family history of glaucoma or are of older age.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brock University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-128). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.