The real contribution of the major risk factors to the coronary epidemics: time to end the "only-50%" myth

Perception of Heart Attack Risk Factors and Their Complications Among the Adult Population in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia

Background Among the young population, many have risk factors that are nonmodifiable, modifiable, or both, increasing their chances of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and/or experiencing a heart attack later in life. Knowledge of both risk factors has a major role in preventing CVD by encouraging screening and applying the necessary lifestyle modifications. This study aims to assess the knowledge of risk factors and complications associated with heart attacks among individuals in the early adulthood age group. Methodology This descriptive cross-sectional study encompassed residents of the Eastern Region who met the specified inclusion criteria. Data were collected and recorded on a structured questionnaire regarding their demographic information, current risk factors, and knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors and complications. The questionnaire was distributed in hard copy among schools, colleges, and primary healthcare centers. The statistical analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). The results were presented in tables as percentages and frequencies for all variables, and the scores were presented as mean and standard deviation.  Results Among the 334 participants, the average overall score was 15.47 out of 28. The participants exhibited varying levels of knowledge across different aspects of the risk factors. The correct response rate ranged from as high as 84.4% (282) to as low as 41.6% (139) in the assessment of risk factors items. The majority of the participants showed a good understanding of the preventive measures, such as exercise and weight reduction. However, 43.4% (145) of participants reported not participating in physical activity and 29.1% (97) had a body mass index of 25 and above. Conclusions The outcome of this study suggests that there's a need for structured educational programs in schools and public health campaigns. The general public must have a reliable source of information rather than the mass media and false information read from social media.

Longitudinal trajectories of atherogenic index of plasma and risks of cardiovascular diseases: results from the Korean genome and epidemiology study

BACKGROUND

Although the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) based on a single measurement is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), little is known about whether changes in AIP over time are related to incident CVD. We aimed to determine whether AIP trajectory, which reflects homogenous AIP trends for a particular period, is associated with CVD risk.

METHODS

Data from 5,843 participants of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES) were analyzed. The KoGES had been conducted biennially from the baseline survey (2001-2002) to the eighth follow-up survey (2017-2018). The research design specifies the exposure period from baseline to the third follow-up, designates the latent period at the fourth follow-up, and establishes the event accrual period from the fifth to the eighth follow-up. During the exposure period, we identified two trajectories: a decreasing (n = 3,036) and an increasing group (n = 2,807) using latent variable mixture modeling. Information on CVD was collected initially through the self-reporting, followed by in depth person-to-person interview conducted by a well-trained examiner. During the event accrual period, the cumulative incidence rates of CVD between the two AIP trajectory groups were estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis with the log-rank test. Multiple Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

The increasing AIP trajectory group had a significantly higher cumulative incidence rate of CVD than the decreasing AIP trajectory group. Compared to the decreasing AIP trajectory group, the increasing AIP trajectory group had a higher risk of incident CVD (HR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.02-1.69) after adjusting for confounders.

CONCLUSIONS

The risk of incident CVD increased when the AIP level showed an increasing trend and remained high over a long period. This suggests that checking and managing the trajectory of the AIP can be a preventive strategy for incident CVD.

Premature stroke and cardiovascular risk in primary Sjögren's syndrome

Introduction

Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is associated with an increased prevalence of traditional risk factors and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The study aimed to identify specific risk factors for CVD in pSS patients.

Methods

PSS patients with and without CVD were compared. All patients fulfilled the EULAR/ACR classification criteria. Patients with CVD presented at least one of the following manifestations: myocardial infarction, transient ischemic attacks, ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, peripheral artery disease, coronary artery disease, and carotid plaques. Data were collected by a standardized protocol and review of medical records.

Results

61/312 (19.6%) pSS patients presented with CVD. Traditional risk factors such as hypertension, hypercholesterinemia and diabetes (p < 0.05), pSS manifestations, in particular vasculitis (p = 0.033) and Raynaud's phenomenon (p = 0.018) were associated with CVD. Among patients with ischemic events (28/312, 9%), particularly cerebrovascular disease (n = 12/28, 42.9%), correlations with increased EULAR Sjögren's Syndrome Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI) (p = 0.039) and EULAR Sjögren's Syndrome Patient Reported Index (ESSPRI) (p = 0.048) were observed. Age at first cerebrovascular event was 55.2 [48.9-69.6] years. Multivariate analysis confirmed hypertension [odds ratio (OR) 3.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.87-7.18, p < 0.001], hypercholesterinemia (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.63-5.72, p < 0.001), male gender (OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.17-0.78, p = 0.009), Raynaud's phenomenon (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.28-4.82, p = 0.007), and CNS involvement (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.00-7.15, p = 0.048) as independent CVD predictors.

Conclusion

Raynaud's phenomen as well as vasculitis and high ESSDAI have shown a significant association to CVD. PSS patients with cerebrovascular events were younger than expected. Knowledge about risk factors may help clinicians to identify pSS patients at risk for CVD. After diagnosis of pSS, patients should be screened for risk factors such as hypertension and receive appropriate therapy to prevent or at least reduce sequelae such as infarction. However, further investigations are necessary in order to achieve a reliable risk stratification for these patients.

Association between visceral/subcutaneous adipose tissue ratio and plasma inflammatory markers and score for cardiovascular risk prediction in a Brazilian cohort: Pró-Saúde Study

Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is associated with various metabolic disorders, and adipokines, secreted by adipose tissue, are involved in their pathogenesis. This study investigated associations between VAT/subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) ratio, inflammatory markers, and cardiovascular (CV) risk-score in adults. Plasma levels of adipokines, plasma lipid profile, blood pressure, and body composition (using dual-emission x-ray absorptiometry) were determined. CV risk-score based on the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) score was calculated in a sample of 309 Brazilian civil servants aged <60 years. Participants' VAT/SAT ratio were categorized into quartiles. Among males, plasma leptin (2.8 ng/mL) and C reactive protein (CRP) (0.2 mg/dL) (P<0.05) levels were higher at P75 and P50 than P5, and the highest calculated CV risk-score was observed at P75 (7.1%). Among females, higher plasma adiponectin levels were observed at P25 (54.3 ng/mL) compared with P75 (36 ng/mL) (P<0.05). Higher plasma CRP levels were observed at P75 (0.4 mg/dL) compared with P5 (0.1 mg/dL) (P<0.05). Higher CV risk-score was observed at P75 (2.0%) compared with P5 (0.7%). In both sexes, VAT and VAT/SAT ratio were directly associated with plasma leptin, CRP, and CV risk-score, and inversely associated with adiponectin; SAT was directly associated with plasma leptin and CRP (P<0.01); interleukin (IL)-10 and CRP were directly associated with adiponectin and leptin, respectively (P<0.05). Among men only, IL-10 (inversely) and CRP (directly) were associated with CV risk-score (P=0.02). Our results strengthened the relevance of the VAT/SAT ratio in cardiovascular risk.

Association of Serum Asymmetric Dimethylarginine with the Severity of Coronary Artery Disease: A Pilot Study

Background

Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), has been implicated in endothelial dysfunction and atherogenesis. Though there is much evidence linking ADMA with atherosclerosis and adverse cardiovascular events, only a few studies have established the independent relationship between elevated ADMA and the angiographic extent of coronary artery disease (CAD). The aim of the study was to analyze serum ADMA levels in patients with varied extent and severity of coronary atherosclerosis and to see whether the levels of ADMA in male and female participants vary significantly.

Methods

We analyzed 40 individuals with obstructive CAD, including men and women, between the ages of 30 and 60. According to their coronary angiographic reports, the participants were divided into four groups: minor CAD, single vessel disease (SVD), double vessel disease (DVD) group and triple vessel disease (TVD). Then, serum ADMA levels was measured and compared among these groups.

Results

ADMA level was significantly higher in patients with TVD (167.74±16.69) than those in the DVD (159.46±10.40), SVD (149.54±16.39) and minor CAD (144.5± 24.16) group (p-value= 0.0001). There was no significant difference in ADMA levels between male and female participants (p= 0.534).

Conclusion

ADMA concentration in the serum may be useful in identifying whether CAD correlates significantly to the extent and severity of coronary atherosclerosis.

Performance of the recommended ESC/EASD cardiovascular risk stratification model in comparison to SCORE and NT-proBNP as a single biomarker for risk prediction in type 2 diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND

Recently, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and European Association for the Society of Diabetes (EASD) introduced a new cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk stratification model to aid further treatment decisions in individuals with diabetes. Our study aimed to investigate the prognostic performance of the ESC/EASD risk model in comparison to the Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) risk model and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in an unselected cohort of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

METHODS AND RESULTS

A total of 1690 T2DM patients with a 10-year follow up for fatal CVD and all-cause death and a 5-year follow up for CVD and all-cause hospitalizations were analyzed. According to ESC/EASD risk criteria 25 (1.5%) patients were classified as moderate, 252 (14.9%) high, 1125 (66.6%) very high risk and 288 (17.0%) were not classifiable. Both NT-proBNP and SCORE risk model were associated with 10-year CVD and all-cause death and 5-year CVD and all-cause hospitalizations while the ESC/EASD model was only associated with 10-year all-cause death and 5-year all-cause hospitalizations. NT-proBNP and SCORE showed significantly higher C-indices than the ESC/EASD risk model for CVD death [0.80 vs. 0.53, p < 0.001; 0.64 vs. 0.53, p = 0.001] and all-cause death [0.73, 0.66 vs. 0.52, p < 0.001 for both]. The performance of SCORE improved in a subgroup without CVD aged 40-64 years compared to the unselected cohort, while NT-proBNP performance was robust across all groups.

CONCLUSION

The new introduced ESC/EASD risk stratification model performed limited compared to SCORE and single NT-proBNP assessment for predicting 10-year CVD and all-cause fatal events in individuals with T2DM.

Thyroid function and risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: a prospective population-based cohort study

PURPOSE

Although thyroid hormones are irrefutably implicated in cardiovascular physiology, the impact of within-reference range variations of thyroid function on cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains unclear. Elucidating this is important, since it could foster preventive treatment and reduce global CVD burden. We therefore investigated the impact of within-reference range variations of thyroid function on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

METHODS

We included community-dwelling individuals aged 28-75 years from a prospective cohort study, without known use of thyroid-affecting therapy and with thyrotropin within reference range. Associations of thyroid function with mortality were quantified using Cox models and adjusted for sociodemographic and cardiovascular risk factors.

RESULTS

Mean (SD) age of the 6,054 participants (52.0% male) was 53.3 (12.0) years. During 47,594 person-years of follow-up, we observed 380 deaths from all causes and 103 from CVDs. Although higher thyrotropin was not associated with all-cause mortality (adjusted HR 1.02, 95% CI 0.92-1.14), point estimates for cardiovascular mortality diverged toward increased risk in younger (<72 years) participants (1.31, 1.00-1.72) and decreased risk in elderly (≥72 years) (0.77, 0.56-1.06). Higher free thyroxine (FT₄) was associated with all-cause mortality (1.18, 1.07-1.30) and with cardiovascular mortality only in elderly (1.61, 1.19-2.18), but not in younger participants (1.03, 0.78-1.34). Higher free triiodothyronine (FT₃) was associated with all-cause mortality in females only (1.18, 1.02-1.35). FT₃ was not associated with cardiovascular mortality (0.91, 0.70-1.18).

CONCLUSIONS

Community-dwelling elderly individuals with high-normal thyroid function are at increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, reinforcing the need of redefining the current reference ranges of thyroid function.

Sex Differences in Modifiable Risk Factors and Severity of Coronary Artery Disease

Background

It is still unknown whether traditional risk factors may have a sex‐specific impact on coronary artery disease (CAD) burden.

Methods and Results

We identified 14 793 patients who underwent coronary angiography for acute coronary syndromes in the ISACS‐TC (International Survey of Acute Coronary Syndromes in Transitional Countries; Clini​calTr​ials.gov, NCT01218776) registry from 2010 to 2019. The main outcome measure was the association between traditional risk factors and severity of CAD and its relationship with 30‐day mortality. Relative risk (RR) ratios and 95% CIs were calculated from the ratio of the absolute risks of women versus men using inverse probability of weighting. Estimates were compared by test of interaction on the log scale. Severity of CAD was categorized as obstructive (≥50% stenosis) versus nonobstructive CAD. The RR ratio for obstructive CAD in women versus men among people without diabetes mellitus was 0.49 (95% CI, 0.41–0.60) and among those with diabetes mellitus was 0.89 (95% CI, 0.62–1.29), with an interaction by diabetes mellitus status of P =0.002. Exposure to smoking shifted the RR ratios from 0.50 (95% CI, 0.41–0.61) in nonsmokers to 0.75 (95% CI, 0.54–1.03) in current smokers, with an interaction by smoking status of P=0.018. There were no significant sex‐related interactions with hypercholesterolemia and hypertension. Women with obstructive CAD had higher 30‐day mortality rates than men (RR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.48–2.07). No sex differences in mortality were observed in patients with nonobstructive CAD.

Conclusions

Obstructive CAD in women signifies a higher risk for mortality compared with men. Current smoking and diabetes mellitus disproportionally increase the risk of obstructive CAD in women. Achieving the goal of improving cardiovascular health in women still requires intensive efforts toward further implementation of lifestyle and treatment interventions.

Registration

URL: https://www.clini​caltr​ials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT01218776.

A machine learning-based approach for predicting the outbreak of cardiovascular diseases in patients on dialysis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Patients with End- Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD) have a unique cardiovascular risk. This study aims at predicting, with a certain precision, death and cardiovascular diseases in dialysis patients.

METHODS

To achieve our aim, machine learning techniques have been used. Two datasets have been taken into consideration: the first is an Italian dataset obtained from the Istituto di Fisiologia Clinica of Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche of Reggio Calabria; the second is an American dataset provided by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) repository. From each one we obtained 5 datasets, according to the outcome of interest. We tested different types of algorithm (both linear and non-linear), but the final choice was to use Support Vector Machine. In particular, we obtained the best performances using the non-linear SVC with RBF kernel algorithm, optimizing it with GridSearch. The last is an algorithm useful to search the best combination of hyper-parameters (in our case, to find the best couple (C, γ)), in order to improve the accuracy of the algorithm.

RESULTS

The use of non-linear SVC with RBF kernel algorithm, optimized with GridSearch, allowed to obtain an accuracy of 95.25% in the Italian dataset and of 92.15% in the American dataset, in a timeframe of 2.5 years,in the prediction of Ischaemic Heart Disease. A worse performance was obtained for the other outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

The machine learning-based approach applied in our study is able to predict, with a high accuracy, the outbreak of cardiovascular diseases in patients on dialysis.

Arterial Stiffness Parameters Correlate with Estimated Cardiovascular Risk in Humans: A Clinical Study

Arterial stiffness is said to be a novel predictor of cardiovascular events. This study investigated the correlation between arterial stiffness parameters and the estimated cardiovascular disease risk (RISK) in a Polish cohort of patients divided by age, sex, and body-mass index (BMI). The cross-sectional study enrolled 295 patients who met the inclusion criteria. Subjects were divided into three age groups, four weight groups, and by gender. The stiffness of the vessels was assessed by the measurement of the stiffness index (SI) and reflection index (RI). An individual 10-year RISK was calculated for each patient using the Heart Risk Calculator algorithm by the American Heart Association. A correlation between the SI and estimated RISK was observed (r_S 0.42, p < 0.05). The strongest relationship was presented for women, the age group 40–54, and individuals with normal weight. The correlation between RI and calculated RISK was observed (r_S 0.19, p < 0.05), the highest correlation was noticed for people aged 40–54 and obese. In conclusion, both SI and RI are correlated with estimated cardiovascular risk, however SI seems to be more useful than RI to predict the individual risk of future cardiovascular events. Both of these can be measured using non-invasive techniques, which demonstrates their potential utility in clinical practice.

Increased risk of coronary heart disease among patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome: a nationwide population-based cohort study

To investigate the association between primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) and coronary heart disease (CHD), and the influence of medications for pSS patients on risk of CHD. The authors identified 4175 patients with a new diagnosis of pSS between 2002 and 2013 from the National Health Insurance Research database. The control-to-case ratio was 4:1. The risk and cumulative incidences of CHD were calculated. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of CHD for pSS patients was 1.17 (1.03–1.34) after adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities, and medications. The cumulative incidence for CHD in the pSS group was significantly higher than that in the control group (log-rank p < 0.0001). The risk of CHD in pSS patients was increased with age by 4% per year, and 45- to 59-year-olds were at the highest risk (HR = 1.464, 1.195–1.794). The application of corticosteroids (HR = 1.45, 1.07–1.97) as well as NSAIDs (HR = 1.31, 1.05–1.65) both increased the risk of CHD among pSS patients. pSS is associated with an increased risk of subsequent CHD in Taiwan. Primary Sjögren’s syndrome might be an independent risk factor for CHD. Use of corticosteroids and NSAIDs in the treatment of pSS patients increased the risk of developing CHD.

Correlation of endothelial dysfunction measured by flow-mediated vasodilatation to severity of coronary artery disease

OBJECTIVES

Brachial artery ultrasound imaging during reactive hyperemia is widely used tool for quantifying endothelium dependent vasomotion. Angiodefender device is used for non invasive determination of percentage flow mediated vasodilation (FMD). An attempt is made to study whether endothelial dysfunction determined by FMD of brachial artery predicts the presence or absence of coronary artery disease and its correlation with the severity of coronary artery disease.

METHODS

One hundred six patients admitted between May 2014 and April 2015 who were posted for coronary angiography diagnosed to have chronic stable angina on clinical basis and/or by exercise stress test, for evaluation of coronary artery disease were submitted to standard clinical evaluation, calculation of percentage FMD by Angiodefender device. Statistical significance of difference of categorical variables was tested using Fisher's exact test. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of FMD were studied.

RESULTS

There was no correlation between number of risk factors and percentage of FMD. Significantly higher proportion of cases with less FMD had higher prevalence of coronary artery disease and vice-versa. Significantly higher proportion of cases with positive stress test had less percentage of FMD and vice-versa. Significantly higher proportion of cases with less percentage of FMD and positive stress test had higher prevalence of obstructive coronary artery disease and vice-versa. Specificity was 100% when percentage of FMD was ≤10.

CONCLUSIONS

FMD an inexpensive and non-invasive test provides information regarding extent and severity of coronary artery disease.

Socioeconomic Status and Knowledge of Cardiovascular Risk Factors: NIPPON DATA2010

BACKGROUND

The relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors remains unknown in a general Japanese population.

METHODS

Of 8,815 participants from 300 randomly selected areas throughout Japan, 2,467 participants who were free of cardiovascular disease and who provided information on SES in the National Health and Nutrition Survey of Japan 2010 were enrolled in this cross-sectional analysis. SES was classified according to the employment status, length of education, marital and living statuses, and equivalent household expenditure (EHE). Outcomes were ignorance of each cardiovascular risk factor (hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, low high-density lipoprotein [HDL] cholesterol, arrhythmia, and smoking) and insufficient knowledge (number of correct answers <4 out of 6).

RESULTS

A short education and low EHE were significantly associated with a greater ignorance of most cardiovascular risk factors. A short education (<10 years) was also associated with insufficient knowledge of overall cardiovascular risk factors: age- and sex-adjusted odds ratios (OR) were 1.92 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.51-2.45) relative to participants with ≥13 years of education. Low EHE was also associated with insufficient knowledge (age- and sex-adjusted OR 1.24; 95% CI, 1.01-1.51 for the lowest quintile vs the upper 4 quintiles). These relationships remained significant, even after further adjustments for regular exercise, smoking, weekly alcohol consumption, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, and low HDL cholesterol.

CONCLUSION

Participants with a short education and low EHE were more likely to have less knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors.

The correlation between plasma human neutrophil peptide 1-3 levels and severity of coronary artery disease

Introduction

Inflammation plays a key role in atherosclerosis, and discovering new biomarkers of inflammation is becoming important in order to uncover the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD). Recent studies have focused on polymorphonuclear neutrophils. It has been suggested that human neutrophil peptide 1-3 (HNP1-3) is proatherogenic. In this study, we aimed to investigate the associations between plasma HNP1-3 levels and the severity of atherosclerosis via a generally accepted scoring system.

Material and methods

This cross-sectional, observational study included 107 consecutive patients suffering from stable angina pectoris and undergoing coronary angiography (CAG). Patients were divided into two groups according to the Gensini scoring (GS) system evaluating disease severity. Group 1 was composed of mild CAD patients with GS < 20 and group 2 consisted of severe CAD patients with GS ≥ 20. Plasma HNP1-3 levels were assessed by the ELISA method.

Results

The mean HNP1-3 levels were found to be lower in group 1 than group 2 (134.7 ng/ml vs. 147.5 ng/ml). HNP1-3 levels were significantly higher in the severe CAD group than the mild CAD group according to GS (p < 0.001). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that only age > 62 years and HNP1-3 > 134 ng/ml were independent predictors of the severity of CAD after adjusting for gender, smoking, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, family history of CAD and white blood cell count. In predicting the severity of CAD, the sensitivity and specificity of HNP1-3 were 83.9% (p < 0.001) and 58.8% (p < 0.001), respectively.

Conclusions

This study revealed that the plasma levels of HNP1-3 were significantly higher in severe CAD than mild CAD.

The importance of early life family factors in the association between cardiovascular risk factors and early cardiovascular mortality

Objective

To explore the importance of early life factors shared by siblings, such as parental socioeconomic position, parental practices, housing and neighbourhood, for the association between cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and mortality from CVD, ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and cerebrovascular disease.

Methods

Norwegian health surveys (1974–2003) were linked with data from the Norwegian Family Based Life Course Study and the Cause of Death Registry. Participants with at least one full sibling among survey participants (n=2 71 643) were included. Data on CVD risk factors, body mass index (BMI), height, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and total cholesterol (TC) were stratified into ‘low’, ‘medium’ and ‘high’ risk, and smoking to ‘daily smoking’ and ‘not daily smoking’.

Results

Mean age of participants was 41 years, mean follow-up time was 19 years and during follow-up 2512 died from CVD. For each category of increased risk factor level, the per step HR of CVD mortality was increased by 1.91 (95% CI 1.78 to 2.05) for SBP, 1.67 (1.58 to 1.76) for TC, 1.44 (1.36 to 1.53) for BMI, 1.26 (1.18 to 1.35) for height and 2.89 (2.66 to 3.14) for smoking. In analyses where each sibship (groups of full siblings) had a group-specific baseline hazard, these associations were attenuated to 1.74, 1.51, 1.29, 1.18 and 2.63, respectively. The associations between risk factors and IHD mortality followed the same pattern.

Conclusion

Early life family factors explained a small part of the association between risk factors and mortality from CVD and IHD in a relatively young sample.

A computational framework to characterize and compare the geometry of coronary networks

This work presents a computational framework to perform a systematic and comprehensive assessment of the morphometry of coronary arteries from in vivo medical images. The methodology embraces image segmentation, arterial vessel representation, characterization and comparison, data storage, and finally analysis. Validation is performed using a sample of 48 patients. Data mining of morphometric information of several coronary arteries is presented. Results agree to medical reports in terms of basic geometric and anatomical variables. Concerning geometric descriptors, inter-artery and intra-artery correlations are studied. Data reported here can be useful for the construction and setup of blood flow models of the coronary circulation. Finally, as an application example, similarity criterion to assess vasculature likelihood based on geometric features is presented and used to test geometric similarity among sibling patients. Results indicate that likelihood, measured through geometric descriptors, is stronger between siblings compared with non-relative patients. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Helminth Infections and Cardiovascular Diseases: Toxocara Species is Contributing to the Disease

Toxocariasis is the clinical term used to describe human infection with either the dog ascarid Toxocara canis or the feline ascarid Toxocara cati. As with other helminths zoonoses, the infective larvae of these Toxocara species cannot mature into adults in the human host. Instead, the worms wander through organs and tissues, mainly the liver, lungs, myocardium, kidney and central nervous system, in a vain attempt to find that, which they need to mature into adults. The migration of these immature nematode larvae causes local and systemic inflammation, resulting in the “larva migrans” syndrome. The clinical manifestations of toxocariasis are divided into visceral larva migrans, ocular larva migrans and neurotoxocariasis. Subclinical infection is often referred to as covert toxocariasis. One of the primary causes of death all around the world is cardiovascular disease that accounted for up to 30 percent of all-cause mortality. Cardiovascular disease and more precisely atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, is predicted to remain the single leading cause of death (23.3 million deaths by 2030). A-quarter of people presenting the disease does not show any of the known cardiovascular risk factors. Therefore, there is considerable interest in looking for novel components affecting cardiovascular health, especially for those that could improve global cardiovascular risk prediction. This review endeavours to summarize the clinical aspects, new diagnostic and therapeutic perspectives of toxocaral disease with cardiovascular manifestations.

Hypertriglyceridemia and Cardiovascular Outcomes

Cardiovascular disease, particularly ischemic heart disease, is one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Atherosclerosis, the root cause of ischemic heart disease, is promoted by risk factors like elevated plasma low-density lipoprotein, low plasma high-density lipoprotein, smoking, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. Even 66 years after a relation between triglycerides (TG) and cardiovascular disease was first suspected, TGs still continue to be a controversial risk factor and target for therapy. Some previous studies did not show any significant positive relationship between TG and cardiovascular mortality; however, recent meta-analyses found otherwise. The role of elevated TG in patients with low low-density lipoprotein and interventions to lower TG to reduce cardiovascular mortality and morbidity is an area of active research.

Room for depressed and exhausted mood as a risk predictor for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality beyond the contribution of the classical somatic risk factors in men

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Depressed mood and exhaustion (DEEX) have gained attention as a risk predictor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Studies to estimate its ranking in prediction models are sparse.

METHODS

The study included 3428 men aged 45-74 years who participated in one of three population-based MONICA/KORA Augsburg surveys conducted between 1984 and 1995. Within a follow-up time of 10 years (31,791 person-years), 557 cases of all-cause mortality and 269 fatal CVD events were observed. Adjusted Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess mortality risks for DEEX and five classical cardiovascular risk factors. The predictive ability was evaluated by the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve, the integrated discrimination improvement statistics and the net classification improvement.

RESULTS

The (crude) absolute mortality risk for DEEX was 23.1 cases per 1000 person-years for all-cause and 11.2 for CVD mortality. The adjusted hazard ratios of 1.52 for all-cause and 1.52 for CVD mortality (p < 0.01) were higher than those for hypercholesterolemia and obesity, but lower than for hypertension, smoking and diabetes. The improvements in risk prediction from DEEX were comparable to those of hypercholesterolemia and obesity, but substantially lower than those of hypertension, smoking and diabetes. The adjusted population-attributable risk (PAR) for DEEX accounted for about 15% for all-cause and CVD mortality, which gives DEEX a middle ranking amongst the classical risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS

DEEX is a strong predictor of mortality risk, ranking in a medium position amongst classical somatic risk factors.

Assessing potential population impact of statin treatment for primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases in the USA: population-based modelling study

OBJECTIVE

New cholesterol treatment guidelines from American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association recommend statin treatment for more of US population to prevent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). It is important to assess how new guidelines may affect population-level health. This study assessed the impact of statin use for primary prevention of ASCVD under the new guidelines.

METHODS

We used data from 2010 US Multiple Cause Mortality, Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) Linked Mortality File (1988-2006, n=8941) and NHANES 2005-2010 (n=3178) participants 40-75 years of age for the present study.

RESULTS

Among 33.0 million adults meeting new guidelines for primary prevention of ASCVD, 8.8 million were taking statins; 24.2 million, including 7.7 million with diabetes, are eligible for statin treatment. If all those with diabetes used a statin, 2514 (95% CI 592 to 4142) predicted ASCVD deaths would be prevented annually with 482 (0 to 2239) predicted annual additional cases of myopathy based on randomised clinical trials (RCTs), and 11 801 (9251 to 14 916) using population-based study. Among 16.5 million without diabetes, 5425 (1276 to 8935) ASCVD deaths would be prevented annually with 16 406 (4922 to 26 250) predicted annual additional cases of diabetes and between 1030 (0 to 4791) and 24 302 (19 363 to 30 292) additional cases of myopathy based on RCTs and population-based study. Assuming 80% eligible population take statins with 80% medication adherence, among those without diabetes, the corresponding numbers were 3472 (817 to 5718) deaths, 10 500 (3150 to 16 800) diabetes, 660 (0 to 3066) myopathy (RCTs), and 15 554 (12 392 to 19 387) myopathy (population-based). The estimated total annual cost of statins use ranged from US$1.65 to US$6.5 billion if 100% of eligible population take statins.

CONCLUSIONS

This population-based modelling study focused on impact of statin use on ASCVD mortality. Under the new guidelines, if all those eligible for primary prevention of ASCVD take statins, up to 12.6% of annual ASCVD deaths might be prevented, though additional cases of diabetes and myopathy likely occur.

DISCLAIMER

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Myocardial infarction in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study: the interaction among environmental, health, social, behavioural and genetic factors

OBJECTIVES

This study examined how environmental, health, social, behavioural and genetic factors interact to contribute to myocardial infarction (MI) risk.

DESIGN

Survey data collected by Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), USA, from 1957 to 2011, including 235 environmental, health, social and behavioural factors, and 77 single- nucleotide polymorphisms were analysed for association with MI. To identify associations with MI we utilized recursive partitioning and random forest prior to logistic regression and chi-squared analyses.

PARTICIPANTS

6198 WLS participants (2938 men; 3260 women) who (1) had a MI before 72 years and (2) had a MI between 65 and 72 years.

RESULTS

In men, stroke (LR OR: 5.01, 95% CI 3.36 to 7.48), high cholesterol (3.29, 2.59 to 4.18), diabetes (3.24, 2.53 to 4.15) and high blood pressure (2.39, 1.92 to 2.96) were significantly associated with MI up to 72 years of age. For those with high cholesterol, the interaction of smoking and lower alcohol consumption increased prevalence from 23% to 41%, with exposure to dangerous working conditions, a factor not previously linked with MI, further increasing prevalence to 50%. Conversely, MI was reported in <2.5% of men with normal cholesterol and no history of diabetes or depression. Only stroke (4.08, 2.17 to 7.65) and diabetes (2.71, 1.81 to 4.04) by 65 remained significantly associated with MI for men after age 65. For women, diabetes (5.62, 4.08 to 7.75), high blood pressure (3.21, 2.34 to 4.39), high cholesterol (2.03, 1.38 to 3.00) and dissatisfaction with their financial situation (4.00, 1.94 to 8.27) were significantly associated with MI up to 72 years of age. Conversely, often engaging in physical activity alone (0.53, 0.32 to 0.89) or with others (0.34, 0.21 to 0.57) was associated with the largest reduction in odds of MI. Being non-diabetic with normal blood pressure and engaging in physical activity often lowered prevalence of MI to 0.2%. Only diabetes by 65 (4.25, 2.50 to 7.24) and being exposed to dangerous work conditions at 54 (2.24, 1.36 to 3.69) remained significantly associated with MI for women after age 65, while still menstruating at 54 (0.46, 0.23 to 0.91) was associated with reduced odds of MI.

CONCLUSIONS

Together these results indicate important differences in factors associated with MI between the sexes, that combinations of factors greatly influence the likelihood of MI, that MI-associated factors change and associations weaken after 65 years of age in both sexes, and that the limited genotypes assessed were secondary to environmental, health, social and behavioral factors.

PCSK9 in chronic kidney disease

PURPOSE

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is accompanied by a number of secondary metabolic dysregulations, such as lipid abnormalities, presenting with unique characteristics. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors have been introduced as the new era in the management of dyslipidemia with promising results in groups with refractory lipid abnormalities. Increasing number of studies investigate the possible association of PCSK9 levels with kidney function, especially with nephrotic range proteinuria, as well as its role as a prognostic cardiovascular risk marker in CKD. In this review, we discuss the existing evidence for PCSK9 levels in patient groups with nephrotic syndrome, non-dialysis CKD, end-stage renal disease and kidney transplantation.

METHODS

Online research was conducted in MEDLINE database to identify articles investigating PCSK9 in all different aspects of CKD. References from relevant studies were screened for supplementary articles.

RESULTS

Four cross-sectional studies, one secondary analysis, one publication from two independent cohort studies and one multicentre prospective cohort study assessed PCSK9 plasma levels in different subgroups of CKD patients. PCSK9 levels increase in nephrotic syndrome and have a positive correlation with proteinuria. In CKD patients, no correlation was found between PCSK9 levels and estimated GFR. Peritoneal dialysis patients have higher PCSK9 levels compared with hemodialysis and renal transplant patients as well as general population.

CONCLUSION

Accumulative evidence focuses on the possible association of PCSK9 levels with kidney function. No data are available for the administration of PCSK9 inhibitors in CKD patients. Further research will optimize knowledge on the role of PCSK9 levels and PCSK9 inhibitors in CKD.

Educational differences in cardiovascular mortality: The role of shared family factors and cardiovascular risk factors

AIMS

To explore the confounding effects of early family factors shared by siblings and cardiovascular risk factors in midlife on the educational differences in mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD).

METHODS

Data from national and regional health surveys in Norway (1974-2003) were linked with data from the Norwegian Family Based Life Course Study, the National Educational Registry and the Cause of Death Registry. The study population consisted of participants with at least one full sibling among the health survey participants ( n=271,310). Data were available on CVD risk factors, including weight, height, blood pressure, total cholesterol and smoking.

RESULTS

The hazards ratio (HR) of CVD mortality was 3.44 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.98-3.96) in the lowest educational group relative to the highest. The HRs were little altered in the within-sibship analyses. Adjusted for risk factors, the HR for CVD mortality in the cohort analyses was 2.05 (CI 1.77-2.37) in the lowest educational group relative to the highest. The respective HR in the within-sibship analyses was 2.46 (CI 1.48-2.24).

CONCLUSIONS

Using a sibling design, we did not find that the association between education and CVD mortality was confounded by early life factors shared by siblings, but it was explained to a large extent by CVD risk factors. These results suggest that reducing levels of CVD risk factors could have the greatest effect on mortality in less well-educated people.

Review of epidemiological studies on drinking water hardness and cardiovascular diseases

BACKGROUND

Major risk factors do not entirely explain the worldwide variability of morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular disease. Environmental exposures, including drinking water minerals may affect cardiovascular disease risks.

METHOD

We conducted a qualitative review of the epidemiological studies of cardiovascular disease and drinking water hardness and calcium and magnesium levels.

RESULTS

Many but not all ecological studies found an inverse (i.e., protective) association between cardiovascular disease mortality and water hardness, calcium, or magnesium levels; but results are not consistent. Some case-control studies and one cohort study found either a reduced cardiovascular disease mortality risk with increased drinking water magnesium levels or an increased risk with low magnesium levels. However, the analytical studies provide little evidence that cardiovascular risks are associated with drinking water hardness or calcium levels.

CONCLUSION

Information from epidemiological and other studies supports the hypothesis that a low intake of magnesium may increase the risk of dying from, and possibly developing, cardiovascular disease or stroke. Thus, not removing magnesium from drinking water, or in certain situations increasing the magnesium intake from water, may be beneficial, especially for populations with an insufficient dietary intake of the mineral.

Contribution of changes in risk factors to the decline of coronary heart disease mortality in Australia over three decades

BACKGROUND

Coronary heart disease has been a major cause of mortality in Australian adults, but the rate has declined by 83% from the 1968 peak by the year 2000. The study objective is to determine the contribution of changes in population risk factors - mean serum cholesterol and diastolic blood pressure and tobacco smoking prevalence - to the decline in coronary heart disease mortality in Australia over three decades.

METHODS

Coronary heart disease deaths (International Classification of Disease-9, 410-414) and population by year, age group and sex were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Risk factor levels were obtained from population surveys and estimated average annual changes by period were used to calculate average annual 'attributable' proportional declines in CHD mortality by period (age 35-64 years).

RESULTS

Over the period 1968-2000, 74% of male decline and 81% of the female decline in coronary heart disease mortality rate was accounted for by the combined effect of reductions in the three risk factors. In males 36% of the decline was contributed by reductions in diastolic blood pressure, 22% by cholesterol and 16% by smoking. For females 56% was from diastolic blood pressure reduction, 20% from cholesterol and 5% from smoking. Effects of reductions in serum cholesterol on coronary heart disease mortality occurred mainly in the 1970s. Declines in diastolic blood pressure had effects on coronary heart disease mortality over the three decades, and declines in tobacco smoking had a significant effect in males in the 1980s.

CONCLUSION

Most of the spectacular decline in coronary heart disease mortality over the last three decades in Australia can be ascribed to reductions in population risk factors from primary and secondary prevention.

Usefulness of High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T for the Identification of Outlier Patients With Diffuse Coronary Atherosclerosis and Low-Risk Factors

Novel high-sensitivity assay can detect very low levels of circulating cardiac troponin (hs-cTnT) in apparently healthy subjects. Within normal range, higher levels are associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) and cardiac abnormalities commonly associated to traditional risk factors (RFs) for CAD. Therefore, we investigated the relation between circulating hs-cTnT and CAD in patients with a spectrum of RF burden aiming to assess the added value of hs-cTnT to identify "outlier" patients with CAD despite a low RF burden. Hs-cTnT was measured in 525 stable patients without previous diagnosis of ischemic heart disease with 0 to 1 RF, excluded diabetes, (low-RF group, n = 263) or ≥2 RFs (multiple-RF group, n = 262) and without CAD (segment involvement score = 0) or diffuse CAD (segment involvement score >5) at coronary computed tomography angiography. Outlier patients with diffuse CAD despite low-RF burden had similar extent, severity, and plaque composition than patients with multiple RFs. Overall, hs-cTnT was measurable in 81% of patients with median value of 6.0 ng/L. In both groups, hs-cTnT concentration was higher in patients with CAD than in patients with normal coronary arteries (p <0.0001). Hs-cTnT was more accurate to detect patients with CAD in the low-RF group than in the multiple-RF group (p = 0.04). In multivariate analysis, higher level of hs-cTnT (>6 ng/L) was independently associated with CAD in low-RF group only. Despite very low circulating concentrations, hs-cTnT may identify with a good accuracy the outlier patients with diffuse CAD despite low-RF burden.

Kidney Function as a Determinant of HDL and Triglyceride Concentrations in the Australian Population

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a potent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD risk increases in a stepwise manner with increasing kidney impairment and is significantly reduced by kidney transplantation, suggesting a causal relationship. Dyslipidemia, a well recognised CVD risk factor, is highly prevalent in CKD. While dyslipidemia is a risk factor for CKD, kidney impairment can also induce a dyslipidemic state that may contribute to the excess burden of CVD in CKD. We utilised a multipronged approach to determine whether a causal relationship exists. Materials and Methods: Retrospective case-control analysis of 816 patients admitted to the Royal Hobart Hospital in 2008–2009 with different degrees of kidney impairment and retrospective before-after cohort analysis of 60 patients who received a transplanted kidney between 1999 and 2009. Results: Decreased estimated GFR (eGFR) was independently associated with decreased high density lipoprotein (HDL, p < 0.0001) and increased triglyceride concentrations (p < 0.01) in multivariate analysis. There was no significant relationship between eGFR and low density lipoprotein (LDL) or total cholesterol in multivariate analysis. Kidney transplantation increased HDL (p < 0.0001) and decreased triglyceride (p = 0.007) concentration, whereas there was no significant change in LDL and total cholesterol. These effects were dependent on maintenance of graft function, statin therapy (those who were on) if graft failure occurred then HDL again decreased and triglycerides increased. Conclusions: Kidney transplantation ameliorated alterations in plasma lipoprotein profile associated with kidney impairment, an effect that was dependent on the maintenance of graft function. These data suggest that kidney function is a determinant of HDL and triglyceride concentrations in patients with CKD.

Coronary atherosclerosis in outlier subjects at the opposite extremes of traditional risk factors: Rationale and preliminary results of the Coronary Atherosclerosis in outlier subjects: Protective and novel Individual Risk factors Evaluation (CAPIRE) study

Although it is generally accepted that cardiac ischemic events develop when coronary atherosclerosis (coronary artery disease [CAD]) has reached a critical threshold, this is true only to a first approximation. Indeed, there are patients with severe CAD who do not develop ischemic events; conversely, at the other extreme, individuals with minimal CAD may do. Similar exceptions to this paradigm include patients with diffuse CAD with a low risk factor (RF) profile and others with multiple RFs who develop only mild or no CAD. Therefore, the CAPIRE project was designed to investigate whether the specific study of these extreme outlier populations could provide clues for identification of yet unknown risk or protective factors for CAD and ischemic events. In the CAPIRE study, 481 subjects without previous symptoms or history of ischemic heart disease and normal left ventricular systolic function undergoing coronary computed tomography angiography have been selected based on coronary computed tomography angiography findings and cardiovascular RF profile. Therefore, in the whole population, 2 extreme outlier populations have been identified: (1) subjects with no CAD despite multiple RFs, and (2) at the opposite extreme, subjects with diffuse CAD despite a low-risk profile. Each subject has been characterized by clinical, anatomical imaging variables of CAD and baseline circulating biomarkers. Blood samples were collected and stored in a biological bank for further advanced investigations. The project is designed as a prospective, observational, international multicenter study with an initial cross-sectional analysis of clinical, imaging, and biomolecular variables in the selected groups and a longitudinal 5-year follow-up.

Vital Signs: Predicted Heart Age and Racial Disparities in Heart Age Among U.S. Adults at the State Level

INTRODUCTION

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Heart age (the predicted age of a person's vascular system based on their cardiovascular risk factor profile) and its comparison with chronological age represent a new way to express risk for developing cardiovascular disease. This study estimates heart age and differences between heart age and chronological age (excess heart age) and examines racial, sociodemographic, and regional disparities in heart age among U.S. adults aged 30-74 years.

METHODS

Weighted 2011 and 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data were applied to the sex-specific non-laboratory-based Framingham risk score models, stratifying the results by age and race/ethnic group, educational and income level, and state. These results were then translated into age-standardized heart age values, mean excess heart age was calculated, and the findings were compared across groups.

RESULTS

Overall, average predicted heart age for adult men and women was 7.8 and 5.4 years older than their chronological age, respectively. Statistically significant (p<0.05) racial/ethnic, sociodemographic, and regional differences in heart age were observed: heart age among non-Hispanic black men (58.7 years) and women (58.9 years) was greater than other racial/ethnic groups, including non-Hispanic white men (55.3 years) and women (52.5 years). Excess heart age was lowest for men and women in Utah (5.8 and 2.8 years, respectively) and highest in Mississippi (10.1 and 9.1 years, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE

The predicted heart age among U.S. adults aged 30-74 years was significantly higher than their chronological age. Use of predicted heart age might 1) simplify risk communication and motivate more persons to live heart-healthy lifestyles and better comply with recommended therapeutic interventions, and 2) motivate communities to implement programs and policies that support cardiovascular health.

Infections and cardiovascular disease: is Bartonella henselae contributing to this matter?

Cardiovascular disease is still the major cause of death worldwide despite the remarkable progress in its prevention and treatment. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have recently emerged as key players of vascular repair and regenerative medicine applied to cardiovascular disease. A large amount of effort has been put into discovering the factors that could aid or impair the number and function of EPCs, and also into characterizing these cells at the molecular level in order to facilitate their therapeutic applications in vascular disease. Interestingly, the major cardiovascular risk factors have been associated with reduced number and function of EPCs. The bacterial contribution to cardiovascular disease represents a long-standing controversy. The discovery that Bartonella henselae can infect and damage EPCs revitalizes the enduring debate about the microbiological contribution to atherosclerosis, thus allowing the hypothesis that this infection could impair the cardiovascular regenerative potential and increase the risk for cardiovascular disease. In this review, we summarize the rationale suggesting that Bartonella henselae could favour atherogenesis by infecting and damaging EPCs, thus reducing their vascular repair potential. These mechanisms suggest a novel link between communicable and non-communicable human diseases, and put forward the possibility that Bartonella henselae could enhance the susceptibility and worsen the prognosis in cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular mortality in chronic kidney disease patients: potential mechanisms and possibilities of inhibition by resin-based phosphate binders

Cardiovascular mortality has been considered as the most important risk associated with chronic kidney disease. The mechanisms underlying this include inflammation, poor control of serum phosphate, high serum calcium, increased calcification of the arteries and cardiac valves, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, severe anemia, uric acid accumulation and others. Elevated phosphate levels have been strongly associated with increased mortality, thus phosphate-binding drugs have long been used to control the increase serum phosphate levels. However, phosphate-binding drugs differ considerably and recently numerous publications suggest differences between agents in the effects on overall mortality. The resin-based phosphate binders, comprising sevelamer and colestilan, not only reduce serum phosphate but also do not raise serum calcium. In addition, they reduce serum LDL-C, inflammation, uric acid and high Hba1c values. These differences suggest that not all phosphate binders may be equal in the context of cardiovascular mortality in this patient population.

Sudden cardiac death rates in an Australian population: a data linkage study

Objective The aim of the present study was to develop criteria to identify sudden cardiac death (SCD) and estimate population rates of SCD using administrative mortality and hospital morbidity records in Western Australia. Methods Four criteria were developed using place, death within 24 h, principal and secondary diagnoses, underlying and associated cause of death, and/or occurrence of a post mortem to identify SCD. Average crude, age-standardised and age-specific rates of SCD were estimated using population person-linked administrative data. Results In all, 9567 probable SCDs were identified between 1997 and 2010, with one-third aged ≥35 years having no prior admission for cardiovascular disease. SCD was more frequent in men (62.1%). The estimated average annual crude SCD rate for the period was 34.6 per 100 000 person-years with an average annual age-standardised rate of 37.8 per 100 000 person-years. Age-specific standardised rates were 1.1 per 100 000 person-years and 70.7 per 100 000 person-years in people aged 1–34 and ≥35 years, respectively. Ischaemic heart disease (IHD) was recorded as the underlying cause of death in approximately 80% of patients aged ≥35 years, followed by valvular heart disease and heart failure. IHD was the most common cause of death in those aged 1–34 years, followed by unspecified cardiomyopathy and dysrhythmias. Conclusions Administrative morbidity and mortality data can be used to estimate rates of SCD and therefore provide a suitable methodology for monitoring SCD over time. The findings highlight the magnitude of SCD and its potential for public health prevention. What is known about the topic? There is considerable variability in rates of SCD worldwide. Different data sources and varied methods of case ascertainment likely contribute to this variation. What does this paper add? The rate of SCD in Australia is low compared with international estimates from USA, Ireland, Netherlands and China. Two in every three cases of SCD aged ≥35 years had a hospitalisation history of cardiovascular disease, highlighting the opportunity for prevention. What are the implications for practitioners? High-quality person-linked administrative hospital morbidity and registered mortality data can be used to estimate rates of SCD in the population. Understanding the magnitude and distribution of SCD is imperative for developing effective public health policy and prevention measures.

Association between albuminuria, atherosclerotic plaques, elevated pulse wave velocity, age, risk category and prognosis in apparently healthy individuals

METHOD

Two thousand and fifty-nine healthy individuals aged 41, 51, 61 and 71 years examined in 1993, were divided in age, SCORE and Framingham risk score (FRS) groups. Subclinical vascular damage (SVD) was defined as carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) at least 12 m/s, carotid atherosclerotic plaques or albuminuria defined as urine albumin/creatinine ratio at least 90th percentile of 0.73/1.06 mg/mmol men/women. In 2006, the composite endpoint (CEP) of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke and hospitalization for ischemic heart disease was recorded (n = 229).

RESULTS

With increasing age, SCORE or FRS risk group, prevalence of cfPWV at least 12 m/s (5.2, 14.5, 35.3, 53.5% or 4.4, 15.6, 50.9, 66.1% or 4.0, 9.5, 32.1, 56.1%), atherosclerotic plaque (4.0, 19.0, 35.3, 53.5% or 3.5, 16.8, 43.7, 55.9%, or 6.6, 7.6, 9.8, 20.0%) and albuminuria (7.9, 8.7, 11.4, 20.6% or 7.9, 8.2, 16.6, 19.5% or 6.6, 7.6, 9.8, 20.0%) increased, all P < 0.001.CEP was associated with albuminuria in individuals aged 61 or 71 years, with moderate or very high SCORE or intermediate or high FRS (all P < 0.05), with atherosclerotic plaques in individuals aged 41, 51 or 61 years, with moderate SCORE or with high-intermediate or high FRS (all P < 0.01), and with cfPWV at least 12 m/s in individuals aged 51 years (P < 0.001) or high FRS (P < 0.05). Presence of at least one SVD was significantly associated with an increased risk in individuals aged 51 [hazard ratio 2.7 (1.6-4.8)] and 61 years [hazard ratio 2.7 (1.5-4.7)], moderate [hazard ratio 2.4 (1.6-3.7)] or high SCORE risk group [hazard ratio 2.3 (1.2-4.7)] and low-intermediate [hazard ratio 3.3 (1.5-7.0)], high-intermediate [hazard ratio 2.3 (1.5-3.5)] and high FRS risk group [hazard ratio 2.0 (1.4-3.0)].

CONCLUSION

SVD and especially atherosclerotic plaques or urine albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) at least 0.73/1.06 mg/mmol (men/women) added prognostic information in individuals aged 51 or 61 years or with moderate or intermediate risk.

The Role of CT Angiography of Coronaries in Early Diagnosis of Coronary Artery Plaques in Albanian People with No History of Cardiovascular Disease in Correlation with Traditional Risk Factors

Objective:

To evaluate the role of CT angiography of coronaries (CTAC) in the diagnosis of subclinical atherosclerosis by detection of coronary artery plaques (CAP) in a group of consecutive albanian individuals with no history of coronary artery disease (CAD) or acute coronary syndrome and to investigate the relation between the prevalence of CAP, traditional risk factors and the expected 10-year risk of fatal cardiovascular event (CVE) based on our own experience.

Method and Technique:

This is a prospective study including 456 patients with no history of CAD who underwent CTAC in our hospital from September 2009 to March 2013. Risk estimation of fatal CVE was assessed using Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) and then CT scan was performed with a 64 detector CT, including Ca Score and angiography of coronaries with iv contrast.

Results:

From 456 patients 61.4% were low risk and 32.9% were at intermediate risk according to SCORE. The prevalence of CAP diagnosed by CTAC was calculated as 55.7 % overall. Though the presence and severity of CAP increased significantly with the increase of SCORE, it was found to be 44.1% in the low risk patients and 80% in the intermediate risk group, with a presence of 17% and 25% of stenotic plaques (>50%) respectively. Significant correlation was found between all traditional risk factors and CAP.

Conclusion:

Although a direct relation between the prevalence of CAP, risk factors and the related 10-year risk of fatal CVE was found, there was a significant prevalence of CAP in low –intermediate risk group with a considerable presence of stenotic lesions. Also 8.3% of patients with no risk factors and 18% of the patients with Ca score 0 had CAP in CT angiography, one resulting with severe stenosis. Our results suggest once more that CT angiography is a reliable, very accurate noninvasive technique for the diagnosis of early CAD, especially in the low-intermediate risk patients compared to the traditional evaluation schemes and Ca score, thus should be considered in this group as a diagnostic guide for optimal therapy planning.

Systemic diseases and oral health

The US population is at the beginning of a significant demographic shift; the American geriatric population is burgeoning, and average longevity is projected to increase in the coming years. Elder adults are affected by numerous chronic conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases, and cerebrovascular diseases. These older adults need special dental care and an improved understanding of the complex interactions of oral disease and systemic chronic diseases that can complicate their treatment. Oral diseases have strong associations with systemic diseases, and poor oral health can worsen the impact of systemic diseases.

Cardiovascular prevention: components, levels, early origins, and metrics

This article presents core epidemiological studies that establish the basis for cardiovascular prevention strategies. The results of the classic INTERHEART and INTERSTROKE studies that delineated population-attributed risk for myocardial infarction and stroke are described. Differences in the levels or types of prevention-primordial, primary, and secondary-lead to the concept that risk occurs on a continuum throughout life with great variability, beginning in infancy. Any meaningful and sustained reduction in cardiovascular risk must begin in childhood, as habits formed early in life have an impact for decades. Although it is never too late to improve unhealthy habits, interventions early in life are more likely to be effective in preventing disease from developing, in delaying manifestations, or in reversing pathology through evidence-based therapies that are applied later. There is compelling evidence that coronary atherosclerosis, heart disease related to diabetes, and hypertension begin with endothelial activation. Oxidative stress and reduced nitric oxide availability are also among the earliest of events, from which a self-amplifying web of events proceed. The American Heart Association, even prior to its now-validated and classic definition of risk metrics, developed a strategic plan to improve health habits in the population and at the community level for promoting and monitoring behavior change and patients' self-reported health status. Other initiatives for improving cardiovascular health are in place as well. Despite improvements in treatment of risk factors, there has been minimal, if any, success in reversing the dual epidemics of obesity and diabetes. These 2 factors continue to drive the high burden of cardiovascular risk, and now lead current public health issues. Because treatment alone cannot fully address this tsunami of risk, it has been suggested that all physicians assume an unprecedented and aggressive role as advocates for behavior change to prevail against the foes of obesity and diabetes.

Description and implementation of U-Turn Medical, a comprehensive lifestyle intervention programme for chronic disease in the sport and exercise medicine setting: pre-post observations in 210 consecutive patients

BACKGROUND

Non-communicable disease (NCD) is increasing, but management remains mostly curative, disease-centred and focused on single interventions. We describe the development and implementation of a patient-centred, comprehensive, multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention programme (LIP) for patients with NCD in the sport and exercise medicine (SEM) setting (part 1) and present preliminary observational data (part 2).

METHODS

Part 1 is a description of the programme development and implementation. In part 2, 210 participants with NCD underwent a 12-week LIP (U-Turn Medical). Physiological, functional and metabolic outcomes were assessed at baseline and at completion.

RESULTS

84% of patients had two or more comorbidities, requiring additional considerations for exercise rehabilitation. On completion, there were decreases in % body fat (29.8±6.7% vs 28.5±6.6%), waist (100.2±16.2 vs 97.3±14.8 cm) and hip circumference (105.4±13 vs 104±12 cm), resting heart rate (74.2±13.4 vs 71.4±11.9 bpm), resting systolic blood pressure (125.7±16.1 vs 120.1±13 mm Hg) and cholesterol (4.7±1.2 vs 4.3±0.9 mmol/L), low-density lipoprotein (3±0.9 vs 2.7±0.8 mmol/L) and triglyceride (1.4±0.7 vs 1.3±0.6 mmol/L), and increases in flexibility (12.1±11.6 vs 16.1±10.8 cm) and 6 min walk distance (559.4±156.6 vs 652.3±193.6 m; all p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

A 12-week comprehensive, patient-centred LIP can be implemented successfully in the SEM setting in patients with NCDs with multiple comorbidities. Observed results show improvements in the majority of outcome variables.