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The syndrome (defined by ATP III criteria) can predict increased cardiovascular and mortality risk or not, depending on which three of five risk factors contributed to the diagnosis, a cohort study suggests; its investigators caution that their observations are only preliminary.
More discussion about the J-curve in hypertension is published this week; one expert believes the undue attention being paid to this subject might discourage doctors from treating high blood pressure aggressively.
Long work shifts with nighttime on-call duty, with the inevitable interruptions of sleep, are associated with ECG, blood-pressure, and biochemical changes associated with increased cardiovascular risk, suggests a randomized crossover study that hints at a sustained effect on the risk markers if the 24-hour shifts happen too frequently.
A US update on the perioperative use of beta blockers for noncardiac surgery is, says the lead author, "similar" to recent European guidance on this issue.
A synergistic approach of educating general practitioners about hypertension control together with a program to send lay workers into people's homes to educate them about the management of high blood pressure has proven successful in low- to middle-income households in Pakistan.
Patients with ischemic heart disease and preserved LV function on standard therapy will gain additional benefit from taking ACE inhibitors, a new review concludes. The same cannot be said for ARBs, a drug class for which the evidence is much weaker, but these are a good substitute in those who cannot tolerate ACE inhibitors, the authors say.
The drug can now be used to reduce the risk of MI, stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes in patients 55 years of age or older who are intolerant to ACE inhibitors but at high risk for cardiovascular events.
Two-thirds of the 156 trials considered by the AHA in preparing a recent guideline failed to even record the ethnic backgrounds of participants, a new study has found. The researchers call for the reporting of race/ethnicity to be mandatory in all clinical trials, and they suggest medical journals should enforce this policy.
Diuretics, especially hydrochlorothiazide, are as effective when given as second-line therapy for high blood pressure as they are when used as initial treatment, according to the first review to look at this issue.
Newly diagnosed hypertensive individuals who stuck to their antihypertensive therapy had a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular events than low adherers.
An association seen between mercury levels and blood pressure, even after considering omega-3s and selenium, has researchers warning about the need to weigh the risks and benefits of fish consumption and to steer clear of bigger predators.
The first prospective study using real data to inform the number of people suffering from and dying due to high blood pressure in China finds the problem is much worse than previously thought. A number of initiatives are planned to try to tackle this crisis.
A bundle of medium doses of a statin and an ACE inhibitor appears to lower CV risk in high-risk individuals, an observational study suggests, but critics caution that these are early days.
The "Principles on Conduct of Clinical Trials and Communication of Clinical Trial Results" echo recent standards set by medical journal editors, but some observers say the document, which has no penalty component, lacks real teeth.
Doctors from across the specialties of cardiology, diabetes, and psychiatry are being urged to collaborate to improve care for the mentally ill, who are more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than any other cause.
The study provides an important answer to a question that has divided some interventionalists. Those who "swear" by IABP use for all high-risk, low-EF patients should rethink their practice. In hypotensive patients and those with cardiogenic shock, IABPs play a key role.
A single-nucleotide polymorphism associated with chronically raised natriuretic-peptide levels is common enough to potentially influence interpretation of BNP and NT-proBNP assays under some circumstances, researchers say; there is increasing evidence that the gene variant may enhance survival in some patient groups.
Better late than never in the age of evidence-based medicine, a randomized test of an established strategy might have confirmed the value of adding dopamine to loop diuretics to allow the latter at reduced, less kidney-damaging dosages.
Smoking, together with high cholesterol and blood pressure, can knock 10 years off life expectancy in middle-aged men, new UK research shows. If excessive weight and glucose intolerance are added in, the difference can be as much as 15 years, they add.
A new economic analysis concludes that regulations to reduce sodium content in processed foods and/or voluntary reductions in salt by companies could save up to $50 billion a year in healthcare costs in the US.
Can an intrathoracic fluid-status monitor, added to an already-indicated ICD or CRT-D device in patients with heart failure, serve as the decompensation early-warning system now providedunreliably but as recommended in the guidelinesby the bathroom scale?
Clinicians and researchers need to be more aware before signing on to studies about what potential conflicts might arise with the sponsor and set the ground rules for such areas as access to data, manuscript preparation, and right to publish.
The number of Americans who have a low cardiovascular risk-factor profile is decreasing, indicating that after two decades of improvement, progress appears to be reversing. The overriding driver of this phenomenon is excessive weight, say the researchers, which in turn contributes to hypertension and diabetes, itself a major contributor to heart disease.
Read Dr. Kalaitzidis' review of the role of hypertension in the cardiovascular risk continuum, then watch Drs. Weber, Mancia, Williams, and Haller as they present the latest treatment options and preview important clinical trial data.
Microalbuminuria does not only signal worsening renal function but is an important marker in cardiovascular risk assessment. Join our expert panel, Drs. Izzo, Ruilope, and Weir as they discuss the interplay of diabetes and hypertension on the cardiovascular risk continuum.
Join Drs Giles, Elliott, Mason and White as they discuss a new approach to preservation of NO offered by the cyclooxygenase-inhibiting nitric oxide donating (CINOD) drugs, which may have an important role in treating arthritis patients with hypertension.