Publications by authors named "Anastasia S Mihailidou"

Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDP), remain the leading cause of adverse maternal, fetal, and neonatal outcomes. Epidemiological factors, comorbidities, assisted reproduction techniques, placental disorders, and genetic predisposition determine the burden of the disease. The pathophysiological substrate and the clinical presentation of HDP are multifarious.

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Background: Sex differences in blood pressure control are recognized. We systematically investigated sex differences in specific components of ambulatory blood pressure (ABP), including variability, day-night changes, morning surge, and hypertension types.

Methods: We analyzed ABPs of 52 911 participants (45.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aims to create consensus recommendations for the design and functionality of various blood pressure (BP) measuring devices used in clinical settings for managing hypertension.
  • A scientific meeting held by the European Society of Hypertension gathered input from international experts and device manufacturers to establish guidelines for five types of BP monitors, listing essential and optional features.
  • The recommendations are intended for both manufacturers, to guide the development of BP devices, and healthcare administrators, to assist in selecting the most suitable options for hypertension management.
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Hypertension (HT) continues to be a leading cause of cardiovascular death and an enormous burden on the healthcare system. Although telemedicine may provide improved blood pressure (BP) monitoring and control, it remains unclear whether it could replace face-to-face consultations in patients with optimal BP control. We hypothesized that an automatic drug refill coupled with a telemedicine system tailored to patients with optimal BP would lead to non-inferior BP control.

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  • Blood pressure (BP) constantly changes due to environmental and behavioral factors, as well as the body's own regulation mechanisms, and increased BP variability (BPV) can indicate cardiovascular issues and heighten health risks.
  • While BPV was previously seen mostly in research contexts due to mixed evidence, experts are now focusing on its clinical significance and standardizing how it should be assessed.
  • A position paper from the European Society of Hypertension aims to clarify BPV measurement methods and clinical applications, providing practical guidelines for researchers and healthcare professionals to improve BPV management.
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  • Sex chromosomes and hormones influence blood pressure and cardiovascular risk differently in males and females with essential hypertension, indicating that different diagnostic thresholds for hypertension may be warranted for each gender.
  • There’s a lack of data, especially from clinical trials, on whether hypertension treatment should vary by sex, including how treatment goals and antihypertensive medications may differ.
  • The consensus document provides a detailed overview of sex differences in hypertension, covering aspects like blood pressure development, regulating mechanisms, and the effects of treatments, while also emphasizing the need for more research in this area.
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Hypertension continues to be the leading modifiable risk factor for stroke, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease, and it also plays a key role in a significant proportion of preventable deaths globally. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is an underutilised tool that augments the accurate diagnosis of hypertension. Out-of-office blood pressure measurements such as ABPM, permits the diagnosis of white coat hypertension and masked hypertension as well as determining a patient's nocturnal dipping status.

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Background: Reliable measurement of daytime and night-time blood pressure (BP), and degree of BP dipping during sleep during ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) requires an accurate definition of sleep time (diurnal definition). However, superiority of any diurnal definition on ABPM remains unclear. The present study compared mean daytime and night-time SBP and DBP using different methods for diurnal definition: patient's diary, wide-defined and narrow-defined fixed periods, and actigraphy, in a Chinese population with diagnosed essential hypertension.

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The challenges to academic and professional development and career advancement of women in cardiology (WIC), imposed by the pandemic, not only impinge the female cardiologists' "leaky pipeline" but also make the "leakiness" more obvious. This consensus document aims to highlight the pandemic challenges WIC face, raise awareness of the gender equity gap, and propose mitigating actionable solutions derived from the data and experiences of an international group of female cardiovascular clinicians and researchers. This changing landscape has led to the need for highly specialized cardiologists who may have additional training in critical care, imaging, advanced heart failure, or interventional cardiology.

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The present paper provides an update of previous recommendations on Home Blood Pressure Monitoring from the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) Working Group on Blood Pressure Monitoring and Cardiovascular Variability sequentially published in years 2000, 2008 and 2010. This update has taken into account new evidence in this field, including a recent statement by the American Heart association, as well as technological developments, which have occurred over the past 20 years. The present document has been developed by the same ESH Working Group with inputs from an international team of experts, and has been endorsed by the ESH.

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Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women. Decades of grassroots campaigns have helped to raise awareness about the impact of cardiovascular disease in women, and positive changes affecting women and their health have gained momentum. Despite these efforts, there has been stagnation in the overall reduction of cardiovascular disease burden for women in the past decade.

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Background: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is associated with increased blood pressure variability (BPV) and are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. We aimed to assess the comparative effects of two OSA therapies, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and mandibular advancement splint (MAS), on BPV.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of data collected as part of a previously published randomised crossover trial of one month each of CPAP and MAS therapy.

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Background: Lack of decrease (≤10%) in systolic blood pressure (BP) during sleep, referred to as non-dipping (ND), independently predicts cardiovascular events and mortality. There has been no prospective and adequately powered randomized controlled trial (RCT) to determine whether exercise, when compared with standard treatment, can normalize ND in patients with hypertension (HT). Further, most patients do not sustain an exercise program by 12 months.

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Clinic blood pressure (BP) measurement remains a crucial step in managing hypertension. While the number of measures recorded in different settings varies, with typically 1-3 measures, there has been no prior justification for the actual number of measures required. We investigated the pattern of BP variability over 5 consecutive automated readings (R1-R5) and the influence of patient characteristics on this pattern to identify the phenotype of hypertension in a Middle Eastern population.

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Background And Objectives: Elevated BP is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, with a prevalence of over 80% in patients undergoing maintenance dialysis. We assessed the comparative BP-lowering efficacy and the safety of BP-lowering drugs in patients undergoing maintenance dialysis.

Design, Settings, Participants, & Measurements: We performed a frequentist random effects network meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials evaluating BP-lowering agents in adult patients undergoing maintenance dialysis.

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Article Synopsis
  • The Lancet Commission on Hypertension emphasizes the importance of improving blood pressure measurement accuracy by using validated devices, as many currently available devices lack proper accuracy testing.
  • Weak regulations allow inaccurate devices to be sold without validation, leading to poor hypertension diagnosis and treatment globally.
  • The Commission urges for mandatory independent validation of BP devices and recommends developing standards for new technologies, while supporting the establishment of accessible lists of accurate devices for consumers and healthcare professionals.
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: Blood pressure (BP) exhibits seasonal variation with lower levels at higher environmental temperatures and higher at lower temperatures. This is a global phenomenon affecting both sexes, all age groups, normotensive individuals, and hypertensive patients. In treated hypertensive patients it may result in excessive BP decline in summer, or rise in winter, possibly deserving treatment modification.

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  • Bereavement increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, but this study investigates whether metoprolol and aspirin can reduce these risks and anxiety in recently bereaved individuals.
  • The trial involved 85 participants (mostly spouses and parents of the deceased) who were given either the treatment or a placebo for 6 weeks, with their cardiovascular and psychological metrics measured.
  • Results showed that those taking metoprolol and aspirin had lower blood pressure, heart rate, anxiety, and depression symptoms, suggesting potential benefits for cardiovascular health in early bereavement, with no significant safety concerns noted.
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: The Lancet Commission on Hypertension identified that a key action to address the worldwide burden of high blood pressure (BP) was to improve the quality of BP measurements by using BP devices that have been validated for accuracy. Currently, there are over 3000 commercially available BP devices, but many do not have published data on accuracy testing according to established scientific standards. This problem is enabled through weak or absent regulations that allow clearance of devices for commercial use without formal validation.

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