Results: From 996 (53% female) PH patients, 549 had pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), 36 PH due to left heart disease, 127 due to lung disease, 249 to chronic thromboembolic PH (CTEPH) and 35 to miscellaneous PH. Age and BMI significantly increased over time, whereas hemodynamic severity decreased. Overall, event-free survival was 84, 72, 64 and 58% for the years 1-4 and similar for time periods since 2000, but better during the more recent periods for PAH and CTEPH. Of all PAH cases, 89% had target medical therapy and 43% combination therapy. Of CTEPH patients, 14 and 2% underwent pulmonary endarterectomy or transplantation, respectively; 87% were treated with PAH target therapy. Conclusion: Since 2000, the incident Swiss PH patients registered were older, hemodynamically better and mostly treated with PAH target therapies. Survival has been better for PAH and CTEPH diagnosed since 2008 compared with earlier diagnosis or other classifications. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel Key WordsRegistry · Pulmonary hypertension · Pulmonary arterial hypertension · Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension Abstract Background: Registries are important for real-life epidemiology on different pulmonary hypertension (PH) groups. Objective: To provide long-term data of the Swiss PH registry of 1998-2012. Methods: PH patients have been classified into 5 groups and registered upon written informed consent at 5 university and 8 associated hospitals since 1998. New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, 6-min walk distance, hemodynamics and therapy were registered at baseline. Patients were regularly followed, and therapy and events (death, transplantation, endarterectomy or loss to follow-up) registered. The data were stratified according to the time of diagnosis into prevalent before 2000 and incident during 2000-

clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01748474.

In this study we wanted to evaluate the relationship between the ob gene product leptin and blood pressure, as well as plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone levels. We studied 139 subjects with a mean ؎ ؎ SD age of 50 ؎ ؎ 14 years and a body mass index of 26.5 ؎ ؎ 5.3 kg/m 2 ; 110 subjects had essential hypertension and 29 were healthy nonhypertensive controls. Blood pressure was measured in resting conditions in the morning and blood was drawn for the determination of the plasma renin activity, aldosterone, and leptin levels. The mean blood pressure of the population was 155/97 mm Hg. The relationship between these parameters was studied by univariate regression analysis according to gender and, whenever indicated, adjusted for age and body mass. The mean ؎ ؎ SEM plasma leptin level in the whole population was 9.5 ؎ ؎ 0.6 ng/mL (range, 1.1-43.3). Subjects with stage I hypertension had significantly higher plasma leptin levels than normotensive subjects. Systolic blood pressure correlated with the plasma leptin levels and the leptin levels adjusted for body weight in women (r ‫؍‬ ‫؍‬ 0.422, P < < .01) and nonhypertensive men (r ‫؍‬ ‫؍‬ 0.644, P ‫؍‬ ‫؍‬ .03) only.Plasma renin activity (r ‫؍‬ ‫؍‬ 0.329, P ‫؍‬ ‫؍‬ .03) and aldosterone levels (r ‫؍‬ ‫؍‬ 0.342, P ‫؍‬ ‫؍‬ .026) correlated with the leptin concentration. A significant relationship between the peripheral expression of the ob gene product leptin and systolic blood pressure was found in women and nonhypertensive men. In view of the multiple functions of leptin a causal relationship is postulated and potential mechanisms may involve modulatory effects of leptin on neuropeptide Y, angiotensinogen gene expression, the modulation of the autonomous nervous system, or effects on the pituitary adrenal axis. Direct relationships between both plasma renin activity and aldosterone levels and leptin support the potential importance of the relationship between leptin and blood pressure. Our observation may be of future importance for the understanding of the link between the increase in blood pressure and increasing body weight.

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Some studies have suggested that drinking in moderation may be beneficial for health, but many of these studies do not address body weight. Evidence suggests that consuming moderate amounts of alcohol is a risk factor for obesity which is a risk factor for several adverse health outcomes.Recommendations regarding alcohol intake thus should take into account a variety of factors, including baseline body weight, location of body fat, and overall diet.