A series of randomized, placebo-controlled n-of-1 trials (a randomized trial in individual patients) found no overall effect of atorvastatin 20 mg on muscle symptoms compared with placebo in participants who had previously reported severe muscle symptoms when taking statins. A total of 200 participants who had recently stopped or were […]
A global study concluded that a diet with a high glycemic index was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death. The study included 137,851 participants between the ages of 35 and 70 years living on five continents, with a median follow-up of 9.5 years. Country-specific food-frequency […]
A multi-parametric cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) assessment revealed myocardial injury in approximately half of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. A total of 148 hospitalized COVID-19 patients (64 ± 12 years, 70% male, 32% requiring ventilatory support) and troponin elevation discharged from six hospitals in the UK underwent convalescent CMR (including adenosine stress perfusion if indicated) […]
Analyses of community-based cohort studies suggested increasing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk beginning at lower thresholds of systolic blood pressure (SBP) for women than for men. The study included 27 542 participants (54% women) without baseline CVD who had standardized SBP measurements performed in 1 of 4 community-based cohort studies. Over 28±12 […]
A Mendelian randomization (MR) study provided the evidence that the relationship between blood pressure (BP) and risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) might be causal. Genetic variants associated with the BP traits were retrieved from 299 024 subjects of European ancestry. Two-sample MR analyses were used to examine the potential causal association […]
A study shows that human sleep is synchronized with lunar phases regardless of ethnic and sociocultural background, and of the level of urbanization. The study uses wrist actimetry to show a clear synchronization of nocturnal sleep timing with the lunar cycle in participants living in environments that range from a […]
A scientific statement from the American Heart Association revealed that there are good data showing clear associations between psychological health and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and risk, so called the mind-heart-body connection; there is increasing evidence that psychological health may be causally linked to biological, behavioral and psychosocial mechanisms that contribute […]
A Spanish observational study suggests that, although physical activity (PA) mitigates partly the detrimental effects of overweight/obesity on the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), excess body weight per se is associated with a remarkable increase in the prevalence of major risk factors. The data from 527 662 participants [32% female; mean […]
An update of the previous 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis of vitamin and mineral supplementation on cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes and all-cause mortality shows similar findings for preventive benefits from both folic acid and B vitamins for stroke, and an increased risk with niacin (with statin) for all-cause mortality. In […]
A European cohort study revealed that even modest habitual alcohol intake of 1.2 drinks/day was associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). The study followed 107 845 individuals (median age 47.8 years, 48.3% men) from five community-based cohorts across Europe. The median alcohol consumption was 3 g/day. During median […]