Cardiovascular Diseases


Heavy Workouts Not Linked to High Mortality

A US prospective observational study showed that high levels of physical activity are associated with prevalent coronary artery calcification (CAC) but are not associated with increased all-cause or cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality after a decade of follow-up, even in the presence of clinically significant CAC levels. The study included 21 […]


Optimal Duration of Cardiac Monitoring Following Syncope

A prospective Canadian cohort study suggested that serious underlying arrhythmia was often identified within the first 2-hours of emergency department (ED) arrival for low-risk patients, and within 6-hours for medium- and high-risk patients. Outpatient cardiac rhythm monitoring for 15-days for selected medium-risk patients and all high-risk patients discharged from the […]


More Warnings with Fluoroquinolones

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review found that fluoroquinolone antibiotics can increase the occurrence of rare but serious events of ruptures or tears in the main artery of the body, so called aortic dissections or aneurysm. Systemic use given by mouth or through an injection of fluoroquinolones should […]


Exercise Lowered High Blood Pressure

A network meta-analysis of 391 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) confirmed modest but consistent reductions in systolic blood pressure (SBP) in many studied exercise interventions across all populations but individuals receiving medications generally achieved greater reductions than those following structured exercise regimens. The analysis included 197 RCTs of exercise interventions (10 461 […]


Red Meat Increases Trimethylamine N-oxide

An US randomized crossover study showed that chronic dietary red meat increases systemic trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) levels through enhanced dietary precursors, increased microbial trimethylamine (TMA)/TMAO production from carnitine, but not choline, and reduced renal TMAO excretion. Discontinuation of dietary red meat reduces plasma TMAO within 4 weeks. There were 113 healthy […]


Sleep Pattern Matters

A prospective global cohort study suggested that total sleep duration of 6–8 h per day is associated with the lowest risk of deaths and major cardiovascular events (MCEs). Daytime napping is associated with increased risks of MCEs and deaths in those with >6 h of nighttime sleep but not in those sleeping […]


Qualified Health Claim for High Oleic Acid Oils

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responded to a petition for a new qualified health claim for edible oils containing high levels of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that’s been shown to have cardiovascular benefits when it replaces heart-damaging saturated fat. Manufacturers of these oils can choose to include […]


Fish Oil and Vitamin D Supplementation Not Beneficial

A nationwide, randomized, placebo-controlled trial revealed that daily supplementation with high-dose vitamin D or n-3 fatty acids for 5 years among initially healthy adults in the US did not reduce the incidence of cancer or the incidence of major cardiovascular events. The trial included 25,871 participants (5106 black, ages >/=50 […]


Lifestyle, Genetics and Stroke

An UK prospective population based cohort study found that genetic and lifestyle factors were independently associated with risk of incident stroke. The study recruited 306 473 men and women, aged 40-73 years, between 2006 and 2010. During a median follow-up of 7.1 years (2 138 443 person years), 2077 incident strokes (1541 ischemic […]


ACEIs Linked to Lung Cancer

A population based cohort study in the UK showed that the use of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer. The association was particularly elevated among people using ACEIs for more than five years. The cohort of 992 061 patients newly treated with antihypertensive […]