Cardiovascular Diseases


Depression Linked to Memory, Brain Atrophy and Infarcts in Seniors

A prospective cohort study in the US revealed that greater depressive symptoms were associated with worse episodic memory, smaller cerebral volume, and silent infarcts. The study included 1,111 stroke-free older adults with an average age of 71 between 2003 and 2008, 52% were Caribbean Hispanic. 22% of participants had greater […]


Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Linked to Mortality and CVD

A US cohort study found that the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was prospectively associated with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD). A Duffy antigen variant locus, a common genetic variant of African origin, was associated with a lower baseline NLR and modified the associations. The study included a population-based longitudinal cohort […]


Lifestyle Factors Impact Life Expectancies

A study in US adults concluded that a healthy lifestyle could substantially reduce premature mortality and prolong life expectancy. The study included 123,329 adults and defined 5 low-risk lifestyle factors as never smoking, body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2, ≥30 min/d of moderate to vigorous physical activity, moderate […]


Nuts Linked to Lower Risk of Atrial Fibrillation

A prospective Swedish study suggests that nuts consumption or factors associated with it may play a role in reducing the risk of atrial fibrillation. The study included 61 364 Swedish adults followed up for 17 years. There was an inverse association between nuts consumption and incident atrial fibrillation, and remained […]


Mothers with Heart Defects Infants in CVD Risk

A Canadian cohort study suggested that congenital heart defects in offspring may be an early marker of predisposition to cardiovascular disease (CVD). The study included 1 084 251 women who had delivered infants between 1989 and 2013, with follow-up extending up to 25 years past pregnancy. Women whose infants had […]


Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Associated Myocarditis

A multi-center registry in the US revealed that myocarditis associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) may occur early, has a malignant course and may respond to higher doses of steroids. The initial 35 cases were diagnosed between November 2013 and July 2017, with an incidence of 1.9% and median onset […]


Increasing Adiposity Detrimental

Growing body of evidence supports that increasing adiposity has a detrimental association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and longevity. The association of body mass index (BMI) with CVD appeared more susceptible to confounding due to pre-existing comorbidities. Associations of waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-height ratio, and percentage body fat mass with […]


Dietary Fibers Alleviate T2D by Promoting SCFA-Producing Gut Bacteria

A randomized clinical study of specifically designed isoenergetic diets, together with fecal shotgun metagenomics, showed that a select group of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing strains of the gut microbiota was promoted by dietary fibers, and correlated with improved blood-glucose regulation in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). The improvement in hemoglobin […]


Shifting Focus for Stroke

“Time is brain,” the time-focused mantra has been extended in acute stroke care. Findings of 2 recent trials—showing that a mechanical thrombectomy treatment window of 16 to even 24 hours can still benefit imaging-selected patient—have been adopted into the new American Heart Association/American Stroke Association guidelines. Strokes develop differently; some […]


Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Improved Heart Failure Outcomes

A randomized study concluded that catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with heart failure (HF) was associated with a significantly lower rate of death from any cause or hospitalization for worsening HF than was medical therapy. The study randomly assigned HF patients with symptomatic paroxysmal or persistent AF […]