Cardiovascular Diseases


Low Cholesterol Good for Vessels but Bad for Nerves?

A cross-sectional, prospective cohort study in Germany suggests that low serum cholesterol levels in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN). The study included 100 T2D patients (mean age 64.6 years; 68 male) from June 1, 2015, to March 31, 2018. Quantification of the nerve’s […]


Glucosamine Supplement Linked to Lower CVD Risk

A UK prospective cohort study suggested that habitual use of glucosamine supplement to relieve osteoarthritis pain might also be related to lower risks of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) events. The study enrolled 466 039 participants from 2006 to 2010. During a median follow-up of 7 years, there were 10 204 incident CVD events, […]


ATTR Cardiomyopathy Drug Approved

The US FDA approved tafamidis meglumine (Vyndaqel) and tafamidis (Vyndamax) for the treatment of wild-type or hereditary transthyretin amyloid (ATTR) cardiomyopathy based on a trial that showed a significant reduction in mortality, cardiovascular hospitalizations, and in decline in functional capacity and quality of life. The multicenter, international, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase […]


Exercise Reduced Sitting Linked Mortality

A longitudinal analysis in Australia revealed that sitting is associated with all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk among sedentary adults; moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) doses equivalent to meeting the current recommendations attenuate or effectively eliminate such associations. During an 8.9-year (median) follow-up, a total of 8,689 deaths (1,644 due […]


Skipping Breakfast Linked to Mortality

A US prospective cohort study revealed that skipping breakfast was associated with a significantly increased risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD). The study included a nationally representative sample of 6,550 adults (mean age 53.2 years; 48.0% male) from 1988 to 1994, with 17 to 23 years of follow-up. In […]


Alcohol Consumption Increases BP and Stroke Risk

A Chinese genetic epidemiological analyses revealed that alcohol intake uniformly increases blood pressure (BP) and stroke, indicating that the apparently protective effects of moderate alcohol intake against stroke suggested by conventional epidemiological analyses are largely non-causal. The study enrolled 512 715 adults between June 25, 2004, and July 15, 2008, from […]


Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Linked to CVD and Mortality

An analysis of pooled individual participant data collected between March 25, 1985, and August 31, 2016 revealed that higher consumption of dietary cholesterol or eggs was significantly associated with higher risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality in a dose-response manner. The analysis included 29 615 participants (mean age […]


Testosterone Linked to CVD

A Mendelian randomization study revealed that genetically predicted endogenous testosterone is positively linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD), including thromboembolism, heart failure (HF), and myocardial infarction (MI) in men. The study identified genetic predictors of endogenous testosterone from a genome wide association study of serum testosterone conducted in 3225 men of […]


Effect Heterogeneity in Intensive BP Control

A secondary analysis of data from a US randomized clinical trial suggests that smokers with high blood pressure (BP) may have a higher rate of cardiovascular events associated with intensive BP control. Of 9361 participants in the trial, 466 were current smokers with systolic BP > 144 mm Hg at […]


Salt Intake Reference Updated

A new US National Academies report updated Dietary Reference Intakes for potassium (Adequate Intake [AI] 3400 mg for man and 2600 mg for most women per day) and sodium (AI 1500 mg/day, and Chronic Risk Reduction Intake 2300 mg/day) in healthy adults. There was insufficient evidence of risk of excess […]