The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a second pandemic, "post-COVID", in people with persistent symptoms after an acute period of coronavirus infection. Most coronavirus patients fully recovered on average within two weeks, but about one in ten people feel long-term symptoms, such as respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous and psychological. Post-COVID symptoms are disparate, various and difficult to interpret. There are no standardized diagnostic methods and generally accepted criteria for verifying post-COVID syndrome now. WHO presented a universal definition of post-COVID syndrome or post-COVID conditions in October 2021. Blood pressure should be observed in post-COVID syndrome due to high prevalence of hypertension in patients with COVID-19. Epidemiology, risk factors and pathophysiology of post-COVID syndrome presents in expert’s consensus of Russian Society of Hypertension. The mechanisms of impairment to the cardiovascular system were analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the clinical features and manifestations of hypertension in post-COVID syndrome, to pathophysiological mechanisms of blood pressure destabilization and further treatment strategy.

Objective. To determine the significance of renal artery stenosis according to different methods of assessing the functional significance of stenosis and to evaluate the safety and efficacy of stenting of unilateral renal artery stenosis after 6 months and 1 year according to office BP and ABPM.

Materials and methods. The study included 44 patients with resistant arterial hypertension and renal artery stenosis (mean age 69 ± 11 years), while receiving multicomponent antihypertensive therapy, including diuretic. After assessing the degree of RA stenosis according to selective angiography and additional methods of assessing the functional significance of RA stenosis (iFR, Pd/Pa, translesional gradient and FFR) the patients underwent RA stenting. The safety of the procedure was assessed by creatinine and glomerular filtration rate dynamics (MDRD equation). The effectiveness of the procedure was study according to office blood pressure (BP) and ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM).

Results. According to the results of angiography, the patients were divided into two groups: group A – patients with subtotal PA stenosis (> 90%) and group B – patients with moderate stenosis (60-90%), who underwent additional assessment of the functional significance of stenosis. The immediate angiographic result in both groups was optimal (the degree of residual stenosis was less than 5%). In group B, after stent implantation in the PA, there was a decrease of the translesional gradient by 38 ± 10 mm Hg (p < 0,0001), FFR > 0,8(p < 0.0001). iFR > 0.89, Pd/Pa>0.9 (p = 0,093). In both groups, there was a significantly significant reduction in arterial blood pressure at distant times, according to clinical BP measurement and ABPM.

Conclusion. The measurement of such parameters as translesional gradient and fractional reserve is the most reliable in assessing the hemodynamic significance of PA stenosis in comparison with iFR and Pd/Pa measurements in patients with moderate PA stenosis. PA stenting in patients with uncontrolled resistant AH and severe renal artery lesions, as well as moderate stenosis confirmed by additional methods of stenosis functional significance assessment is reasonable to consider in order to enhance the antihypertensive effect.

Aim. To study the frequency of clinical and radiological signs of reperfusion pulmonary edema and compare them with the volume of endovascular intervention after balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).

Materials and methods. The study included 50 patients with CTEPH, who underwent stage 1 PLA. To prevent severe reperfusion edema, the number of segmental arteries planned for angioplasty was taken into account, the Pulmonary Edema Predictive Scoring Index (PEPSI) was determined, and after the intervention, noninvasive ventilation was performed in the Continuous positive airway pressure (СPAP) mode for 24 hours. Clinical manifestations of reperfusion edema were assessed 1, 24, 48 and 72 hours after BPA. Radiological signs of edema were considered based on the results of multislice computed tomography (MSCT) or chest x-ray.

Results. Angioplasty was performed on 97 segmental, 6 lobar pulmonary arteries, incl. by 45 (46,4%) – with occlusive lesions. The number of arteries undergoing angioplasty ranged from 1 to 7 in each patient, on average 1,9 ± 1,4, change in pulmonary flow grade (ΔPFG) – 4,3 ± 3,4, PEPSI 58,4 ± 51,0, which exceeded the recommended value of 35,5. During the 72-hour observation period, 28 (56%) patients had grade 1 edema, grade 2 reperfusion edema was observed in 15 (30%), grade 3 – in 5 (10%), grade 4 – in 2 (4%) patients. Patients with grade 2-4 edema had higher baseline mPAP (p = 0,015) and PEPSI  (p = 0,046). All manifestations of reperfusion edema of 2-4 degrees were stopped due to the prolonged regimen of CPAP therapy for 3 ± 2 days. None of the patients reached grade 5 edema, and there were no deaths. Clinical manifestations of reperfusion injury were observed in 25 (50%) patients, their highest frequency was observed after 24 hours

Conclusion. Balloon pulmonary angioplasty of the pulmonary arteries is a safe method for the treatment of inoperable patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, provided that recommendations for the prevention of reperfusion pulmonary edema are observed. CPAP therapy can successfully prevent and stop the development of severe reperfusion injuries after BPA even when the risk index for reperfusion pulmonary edema is exceeded. 

Objective: to assess the prevalence of target organ damage (TOD) at various stages of the cardiometabolic continuum, including abdominal obesity (AO) without metabolic syndrome (MS), MS, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).

Materials and methods: this study presents an analysis of data from a sample of residents of Tomsk (1,104 examined from an unorganized adult population of 25-64 years), performed within the framework of the ESSAY RF-2012 project (Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Diseases in the Regions of the Russian Federation). The analysis included the presence of LV hypertrophy (LVH), a decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR), an increase in the thickness of the intima-media complex (TIM), the presence of atherosclerotic plaques (ASP) in the common carotid arteries (CCA).

Results: TODs were already reported among individuals with isolated AO (without MS), whose prevalence was statistically significantly higher compared to those with normal body weight. Atherosclerosis of CCA turned out to be the most frequent TOD phenotype, ASP was detected in 22% of individuals with isolated AO, in 33% patients with MS and 35% patients with type 2 DM, the second most common was LVH, which was detected in 0.8%, 4,7% and 17,5% of cases, respectively, the least common was a decrease in GFR – in 1,37%, 3,7% and 6,7% of patients, respectively. Differences in the frequency of TOD in all groups were statistically significant (p < 0,01).

Conclusions: Thus, the prevalence of TODs detected already at the stage of isolated AO progressively increased from group to group, as they moved along the cardiometabolic continuum.

The main goal in the arterial hypertension (AH) management is the target blood pressure (BP) achievement, as it leads to the cardiovascular risk reduction. At the same time, proper BP is achieved less than in 50% of all cases. In addition, there are two types of truly uncontrolled AH in population, such as resistant (RAH) and refractory (RFH) AH.

Recent research suggests that RAH may be associated with changes in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, while RFH appears to be more closely associated with sympathetic hyperactivation. These pathophysiological mechanisms are also active in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Therefore, the prevalence of OSA in patients with RAH and RFH is very high, and treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (PAP-therapy) can reduce BP levels in such patients. The latter allows us to consider PAP-therapy as an additional method for the target BP achievement in patients with uncontrolled AH and OSA.