Top in cardiology: Alcohol causally linked to high BP; hypertension in pregnancy rises
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Drinking more than 12 g of alcohol every day increased the risk for hypertension in a linear fashion, according to a meta-analysis of 23 studies with 600,000 participants.
In a sex-stratified analysis, men’s risk for hypertension plateaued above 12 g of alcohol per day, while women’s risk for hypertension continued to increase with higher daily consumption. It was the top story in cardiology last week.
In another top story, researchers found that the prevalence of chronic hypertension during pregnancy is twice what it was in 2008 in the United States. Although treatment guidelines were updated in 2017 lowering the threshold for treatment, there has not been a significant increase in antihypertensive drug therapy among pregnant patients since then.
Read these and more top stories in cardiology below:
Analysis suggests causal link between daily alcohol consumption and high blood pressure
The association between daily alcohol consumption and risk for hypertension is a linear relationship and the strength of the association varied between men and women, researchers reported. Read more.
Rate of hypertension during pregnancy doubled since 2008
The prevalence of chronic hypertension during pregnancy doubled in the U.S. since 2008, with no changes in antihypertensive use over the years despite updated clinical guidance on BP control, researchers reported. Read more.
One-fourth of older adults with no history of CVD may have asymptomatic valvular disease
More than one-fourth of individuals aged 60 years or older with no history of heart disease may have asymptomatic valvular heart disease, according to a U.K. study published in the European Heart Journal – Cardiovascular Imaging. Read more.
Q&A: Heart attack overdiagnosis not benign; ‘mindful interpretation’ of troponin needed
Overreliance on high-sensitivity troponin as the sole assay to diagnose heart attacks has led to a rise in misdiagnosis, which is not benign and burdens the health system and patients with unnecessary and sometimes invasive testing. Read more.
Wegovy improves functional class in patients with obesity, heart failure at 1 year
In patients with obesity-driven heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, semaglutide 2.4 mg was associated with more improvement in NYHA functional class compared with placebo, according to new data from the STEP-HFpEF trials. Read more.