Cardiovascular Diseases


Physical Activity Beneficial Worldwide

Two prospective cohort studies revealed that physical activity was associated with a lower risk of mortality both in the general population and in patients with stable coronary heart disease worldwide. The 1st study included 130 843 participants without pre-existing cardiovascular disease, and followed 6·9 years. Higher physical activity was associated with […]


Obesity Paradox Explained

An analysis of individual level pooled data from 10 prospective cohort studies concluded that obesity is associated with earlier onset of heart failure (HF), increased risk of HF; and greater proportion of life lived with HF in the context of shorter total longevity. A total of 170,205 adults free from […]


Diets and Mortality and CVD

Findings from a prospective cohort study challenge current global dietary guidelines. A total of 135 335 individuals aged 35 to 70 years without cardiovascular disease (CVD) were enrolled between Jan 1, 2003, and March 31, 2013 from 613 communities in 18 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries in seven geographical regions globally. […]


Antiinflammatory Therapy Reduced CVD Risk

A randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab targeting interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway revealed a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events in patients of myocardial infarction (MI). The trial included 10,061 patients with previous MI and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) level of 2 mg or more per liter. Canakinumab (at […]


Patient-Reported Outcomes Similar with Intensive BP Target

Patient-reported outcomes among participants who received intensive BP treatment were similar to those among participants who received standard treatment. A total of 9361 participants with hypertension at high risk for cardiovascular disease were randomly assigned to a systolic blood-pressure (SBP) target of less than 120 mm Hg or 140 mm […]


Blood Pressure Variability Linked to Dementia

A prospective cohort study of a general Japanese population demonstrated a significant independent association between increased day-to-day blood pressure variability (BPV) measured with home blood pressure monitoring and risk of dementia. The study included 1674 community-dwelling Japanese elderly without dementia, ≥60 years of age, and followed up for 5 years […]


Sodium Linked to Adverse Cardiac Function

A study revealed that estimated sodium intake (ESI) >3.7 g/day is associated with adverse cardiac remodeling and function. The study performed speckle-tracking analysis on echocardiograms with available urinary sodium data (N = 2,996). Mean age of participants was 49 ± 14 years, 57% were female, 50% were African American, and […]


Genetic Calcium Levels Linked to Risk of CAD and MI

A mendelian randomization study concluded that a genetic predisposition to higher serum calcium levels was associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) and myocardial infarction (MI). The study included 60 801 CAD cases (approximately 70% with MI) and 123 504 noncases, with baseline data collected from 1948 and populations derived […]


Improved Diet Quality Linked to Lower Mortality

A US study showed that improved diet quality over 12 years was consistently associated with a decreased risk of death. The study used Cox proportional-hazards models to calculate adjusted hazard ratios for total and cause-specific mortality among 47,994 women and 25,745 men from 1998 through 2010, with changes in diet […]


BMI Linked to Cardiometabolic Diseases

http://jamanetwork.com/The cross-sectional baseline data from a population-based cohort study in UK identified associations between body mass index (BMI) and risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressures. The study included 119 859 participants with complete phenotypic (medical and sociodemographic) and genetic data between […]