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Cardiology Today's top 10 stories posted in 2017
Cardiology Today has compiled a list of the top stories posted in 2017.
In the last year, readers were most interested in differences in factors that drive hypertension among men and women, activity in the amygdala predicting CV events, the effect of meal planning and timing on CHD risk, atrial fibrillation detection via smartwatch heart rate sensor, and much more.
High BP reasons differ by sex in young adults
The factors that drive high BP differ among men and woman aged 36 to 65 years, suggesting a need for sex-specific treatments, according to findings presented at the American Heart Association Council on Hypertension, AHA Council on Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease and American Society of Hypertension Joint Scientific Sessions.
“The key takeaway from this study is that, for young and middle-aged women, stroke volume was the main determinant of blood pressure, while, in men, vascular resistance was the main determinant of blood pressure,” Catriona Syme, PhD, postdoctoral fellow at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, said in a press release.
Activity in amygdala predicts CV events
Researchers have linked activity in the amygdala to risk for subsequent CVD, according to findings published in The Lancet.
“While the link between stress and heart disease has long been established, the mechanism mediating that risk has not been clearly understood,” Ahmed Tawakol, MD, co-director of the Cardiac MR PET CT Program in the division of cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital, said in a press release. “Animal studies have shown that stress activates bone marrow to produce white blood cells, leading to arterial inflammation, and this study suggests an analogous path exists in humans. Moreover, this study identifies, for the first time in animal models or humans, the region of the brain that links stress to the risk [for MI] and stroke.”
Meal planning, timing may affect CHD risk, related risk factors
Meal frequency and timing have an effect on CHD and related risk factors, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement.
Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, associate professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University and chair of the group that wrote the statement, and colleagues provided a summary of the current scientific evidence on when and how often people eat and the effects of eating patterns on risk for MI, obesity, diabetes and other factors.
Smartwatch heart rate sensor capable of detecting atrial fibrillation
CHICAGO — According to a study presented at the Heart Rhythm Society Annual Scientific Sessions, the heart rate sensor of the Apple Watch can detect symptomless atrial fibrillation when paired with artificial intelligence.
Using photoplethysmography, smartwatches can detect heart rate and potentially provide a way to detect silent AF, the researchers wrote in an abstract.
VIDEO: Expert discusses BP management among elderly patients with kidney disease
BOSTON — Kidney disease is a serious and growing problem among the elderly and poses challenges for BP management, George L. Bakris, MD, said in this Cardiology Today video exclusive from the Cardiometabolic Health Congress.
“The importance of managing BP, especially in the elderly and its consequences on kidney disease is really important and we're going to highlight some new information and some new trial results that have come out looking at people with kidney disease and hypertension,” he said. “This will be a major new finding in kidney disease and hypertension management.”
AHA: Prevalence of HF projected to rise dramatically; CVD still No. 1 killer in US, world
The number of U.S. adults living with HF rose by approximately 800,000 between 2009 and 2014, and is projected to rise 46% by 2030, according to the American Heart Association’s 2017 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update.
According to the report, the latest data indicate that CVD is still the most common cause of death in the United States and the world.
AHA/ASA: Heart-healthy lifestyle also benefits brain health
A heart-healthy lifestyle can improve brain health in adults and reduce the risk for cognitive decline, including dementia, according to a presidential advisory from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association published in Stroke.
“Research summarized in the advisory convincingly demonstrates that the same risk factors that cause atherosclerosis are also major contributors to late-life cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease,” Philip B. Gorelick, MD, MPH, FAHA, executive medical director of Mercy Health Hauenstein Neurosciences in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the chair of the advisory’s writing group, said in a press release. “By following seven simple steps — Life’s Simple 7 — not only can we prevent heart attack and stroke, we may also be able to prevent cognitive impairment.”
New guidelines broaden definition of hypertension
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Hypertension is now defined as systolic BP 130 mm Hg/diastolic BP 80 mm Hg, which will lead to a new diagnosis in approximately 14% more Americans, according to newly released, long-awaited guidelines published by the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and nine other societies.
The guidelines lower the threshold for hypertension from systolic BP 140 mm Hg/diastolic BP 90 mm Hg, and eliminate the category of prehypertension.
Statin discontinuation post-stroke increases risk for recurrence
Discontinuation of statin therapy within 3 to 6 months following a first ischemic stroke was associated with a 42% higher risk for recurrent stroke within 1 year, researchers reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
The retrospective cohort study included 45,151 patients aged 20 years and older from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database who were hospitalized for ischemic stroke from 2001 to 2012 and received high- or moderate-intensity statin within 90 days after discharge. Patients were divided into three groups based on statin status: statin discontinuation (n = 8,353; mean age, 66 years; 56% men), statin reduced (n = 3,175; mean age, 65 years; 58% men) or statin maintained (n = 33,623; mean age, 65 years; 57% men).
CTA, FFR-CT changing management of suspected angina, CAD
Testing strategies are rapidly evolving to determine which patients with chest pain have CAD, and which of those have high enough risk to warrant revascularization. Driving reexamination of historical approaches to evaluate such patients are advances in coronary CT angiography technology, including new capabilities to determine coronary fractional flow reserve from CT images (FFR-CT).
Cardiology Today spoke with Markus D. Scherer, MD, FACC, FSCCT, director of cardiac CT and structural heart imaging at Carolinas HealthCare System’s Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina, about how these developments are leading to changes in chest pain evaluation protocols, in efforts to improve patient outcomes while reducing overall health care costs.