Cardiovascular Diseases


Aspirin Use to Prevent CVD Updated

The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends against initiating low-dose aspirin use for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults 60 years or older. The decision to initiate low-dose aspirin use for the primary prevention of CVD in adults aged 40 to 59 years who have a 10% […]


SGLT2 Inhibitor’s Heart Benefit Extended

A systematic review and meta-analysis concluded that sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors reduced hospitalizations for heart failure (HF) regardless of the presence of diabetes. The analysis included trials that randomly assigned adults with HF to SGLT2 inhibitors or control. Time-to-event individual patient data were reconstructed from published Kaplan–Meier plots; time-varying risk […]


Treatment for Mild Chronic Hypertension during Pregnancy Beneficial

A US open-label, multicenter, randomized trial concluded that in pregnant women with mild chronic high blood pressure (BP), a strategy of targeting BP<140/90 mm Hg was associated with better pregnancy outcomes than a strategy of reserving treatment only for severe high BP, with no increase in the risk of small-for-gestational-age […]


Statin Benefits Modest

A systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that the absolute benefits of statins are modest and may not be strongly mediated through the degree of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction. The analysis included 21 randomized clinical trials that examined the effectiveness of statins in reducing total mortality and cardiovascular outcomes with […]


Intensive BP Control Increased Brain Blood Flow

A substudy of the randomized clinical trial compared intensive vs standard systolic blood pressure (SBP) control revealed that the intensive BP treatment was associated with increased, rather than decreased, cerebral perfusion. The substudy included 547 participants (mean age 67.5 years, 40.0% women) with whole-brain cerebral blood flow (CBF) measured at […]


Sodium-containing Acetaminophen Linked to CVD Risk

Two UK cohort studies among individuals with and without high blood pressure (HBP) found that the initiation of sodium-containing acetaminophen was associated with a significant higher risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD, including myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure) and all-cause mortality than non-sodium-containing acetaminophen. The studies used marginal structural […]


Leg Muscle Preactivation and Tensing Mitigate initial Orthostatic Hypotension

A Canadian study demonstrated that preactivating lower body muscle (PREACT) and leg crossing with muscle tensing (TENSE) after standing attenuates symptoms and blood pressure (BP) drop of initial orthostatic hypotension (IOH) upon standing. The study included 24 female IOH participants (mean ± SD: 32 ± 8 years) completed 3 sit-to-stand […]


Acetaminophen Increases BP

A double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial concluded that regular daily intake of 4 g acetaminophen increases systolic blood pressure (BP) in individuals with hypertension by ≈5 mm Hg when compared with placebo. The trial randomized 110 patients of high BP to receive 1 g acetaminophen 4× daily or matched placebo for 2 […]


Certain BP Medications May Prevent Dementia

A secondary analysis of a randomized blood pressure (BP) intervention trial suggested that certain BP medications could be used to prevent the development of cognitive decline. The analysis (April 2011 to July 2018) included 8685 patients of high BP 50 years or older with increased cardiovascular risk but without a […]


Lifestyle Intervention Effective in Preventing CVD

A multi-domain lifestyle intervention among older Finnish adults was effective in preventing cerebrovascular events and total cardiovascular disease (CVD) events among those with a history of CVD. A total of 1259 individuals aged 60–77 years with elevated risk for dementia were randomized (1:1) to a 2-year multi-domain intervention with diet, […]