Top in cardiology: Phone use and high BP risk; expanded indication for dapagliflozin

Greater mobile phone use for making or receiving calls was associated with a higher risk for high blood pressure, particularly in those with a genetic risk for hypertension, recent data show.

“It’s the number of minutes people spend talking on a mobile that matter for heart health, with more minutes meaning greater risk,” Xianhui Qin, MD, of Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, said in a press release. “Years of use or employing a hands-free setup had no influence on the likelihood of developing high blood pressure. More studies are needed to confirm the findings.”

It was the top story in cardiology last week.

Another top story was about the FDA’s expansion of an indication for dapagliflozin to reduce cardiovascular death risk in patients with heart failure. Data from the DELIVER trial demonstrated that dapagliflozin significantly reduced risk for cardiovascular death compared with placebo across the full range of ejection fraction.

Read these and more top stories in cardiology below:

High weekly mobile phone use tied to high blood pressure risk

An analysis of UK Biobank data show people who reported high weekly mobile phone use to make or receive calls were more likely to develop hypertension during follow-up, with greater risk for those at genetic risk for hypertension. Read more.

FDA expands dapagliflozin indication to include all patients with HF

The FDA expanded an indication for the SGLT2 inhibitor dapagliflozin to reduce the risk for cardiovascular death, heart failure hospitalization and urgent heart failure visits for adults with heart failure across the full range of ejection fraction, according to an industry press release. Read more.

Ambulatory vs. clinic blood pressure better predicts CV, all-cause death

Blood pressure measures obtained through ambulatory monitoring were more informative about risk for all-cause death or cardiovascular death than conventional clinic blood pressure readings, researchers reported. Read more.

Healthier diet tied to better physical fitness in middle-aged adults

A high-quality diet may be tied to better cardiorespiratory fitness, independent of age, sex, total daily energy intake, cardiovascular risk factors and physical activity, according to a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. Read more.

Anemia before, after heart failure device implant common, driving poor survival

Data from a North American registry show anemia can affect more than 75% of candidates for a left ventricular device implant and up to 67% of recipients in the years after implant, driving higher mortality risk and worse quality of life. Read more.