Mortality and Cardiovascular End Points In Relation to the Aortic Pulse Wave Components: An Individual-Participant Meta-Analysis.

Background: Wave separation analysis enables individualized evaluation of the aortic pulse wave components. Previous studies focused on the pressure height with overall positive but differing results. In the present analysis, we assessed the associations of the pressure of forward and backward (P and P) pulse waves with prospective cardiovascular end points, with extended analysis for time to pressure peak (T and T).

Association of Midlife Inflammatory Markers With Cognitive Performance at 10-Year Follow-up.

Background And Objectives: Chronic low-grade inflammation, commonly associated with cardiovascular diseases and risk factors, has been associated inconclusively with cognitive decline and dementia. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether low-grade inflammation, measured in midlife, is associated with a decline in cognitive performance after a 10-year follow-up. We hypothesized that low-grade inflammation, estimated by interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP), is a predictor of cognitive decline in the general population.

The International Database of Central Arterial Properties for Risk Stratification: Research Objectives and Baseline Characteristics of Participants.

Objective: To address to what extent central hemodynamic measurements, improve risk stratification, and determine outcome-based diagnostic thresholds, we constructed the International Database of Central Arterial Properties for Risk Stratification (IDCARS), allowing a participant-level meta-analysis. The purpose of this article was to describe the characteristics of IDCARS participants and to highlight research perspectives.

Methods: Longitudinal or cross-sectional cohort studies with central blood pressure measured with the SphygmoCor devices and software were included.

Association between self-reported hypertension onset age and electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy.

Objectively defined early-onset hypertension, based on repeated blood pressure measurements, is associated with greater odds of organ damage and cardiovascular mortality than late-onset hypertension. In this study we examined the association between two factors that are easily available in primary care, self-reported hypertension onset age and electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy (ECG-LVH), in a nationwide population sample of 2864 Finns aged ≥50 years. We observed that, in contrast to prior findings, the odds of ECG-LVH were similar between self-reported hypertension onset age groups, and thus self-reported early-onset hypertension does not seem to associate with ECG-LVH more strongly than simple presence of hypertension.

Cardiovascular End Points and Mortality Are Not Closer Associated With Central Than Peripheral Pulsatile Blood Pressure Components.

Pulsatile blood pressure (BP) confers cardiovascular risk. Whether associations of cardiovascular end points are tighter for central systolic BP (cSBP) than peripheral systolic BP (pSBP) or central pulse pressure (cPP) than peripheral pulse pressure (pPP) is uncertain. Among 5608 participants (54.

Opposing Age-Related Trends in Absolute and Relative Risk of Adverse Health Outcomes Associated With Out-of-Office Blood Pressure.

Participant-level meta-analyses assessed the age-specific relevance of office blood pressure to cardiovascular complications, but this information is lacking for out-of-office blood pressure. At baseline, daytime ambulatory (n=12 624) or home (n=5297) blood pressure were measured in 17 921 participants (51.3% women; mean age, 54.

Agreement Between Ambulatory and Home Blood Pressure Monitoring in Detecting Nighttime Hypertension and Nondipping Patterns in the General Population.

Background: Nighttime blood pressure (BP) and nondipping pattern are strongly associated with hypertensive end-organ damage. However, no previous studies have compared the diagnostic agreement between ambulatory and home monitoring in detecting these BP patterns in the general population.

Methods: We studied a population-based sample of 180 persons aged 32-80 years.

ECG left ventricular hypertrophy as a risk predictor of sudden cardiac death.

Background: Electrocardiographic (ECG) left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is an established risk factor for cardiovascular events. However, limited data is available on the prognostic values of different ECG LVH criteria specifically to sudden cardiac death (SCD). Our goal was to assess relationships of different ECG LVH criteria to SCD.

Electrocardiographic predictors of atrial fibrillation in nonhypertensive and hypertensive individuals.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the predictive value of ECG abnormalities for atrial fibrillation in nonhypertensive versus hypertensive individuals.

Methods: We recorded ECG and measured conventional cardiovascular risk factors in a nationwide population-based sample of 5813 Finns. We divided the participants into nonhypertensive (n = 3148) and hypertensive (n = 2665) individuals and followed the participants for incident atrial fibrillation events.

Optimal Schedule for Assessing Home BP Variability: The Finn-Home Study.

Background: Current guidelines make no recommendations on the optimal timing or number of measurements for assessing home blood pressure variability (HBPV). Our aim was to elucidate the optimal schedule for measuring HBPV in relation to cardiovascular risk.

Methods: In total, 1,706 Finnish adults (56.

Relation of blood pressure and organ damage: comparison between feasible, noninvasive central hemodynamic measures and conventional brachial measures.

Objective: The present cross-sectional study investigated whether central SBP and pulse pressure (PP) measured noninvasively with a novel cuff-based stand-alone monitor are more strongly associated with hypertensive end-organ damage than corresponding brachial measures.

Methods: We investigated the cross-sectional association of central versus brachial SBP and PP with echocardiographic left ventricular mass index (LVMI), LV hypertrophy (LVH), carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and increased IMT (IMT ≥ 75th percentile) among 246 participants drawn from the general population (mean age 57.2 years, 55.

Thyroid-stimulating hormone and risk of sudden cardiac death, total mortality and cardiovascular morbidity.

Background: Previous data on the association of thyroid function with total mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes and sudden cardiac death (SCD) are conflicting or limited. We investigated associations of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) with these outcomes in a nationwide population-based prospective cohort study.

Methods: We examined 5211 participants representative of the Finnish population aged ≥30 years in 2000-2001 and followed them for a median of 13.

Incidence rates, correlates, and prognosis of electrocardiographic P-wave abnormalities - a nationwide population-based study.

Background: Scant data exist on incidence rates, correlates, and prognosis of electrocardiographic P-wave abnormalities in the general population.

Methods: We recorded ECG and measured conventional cardiovascular risk factors in 5667 Finns who were followed up for incident atrial fibrillation (AF). We obtained repeat ECGs from 3089 individuals 11years later.

Outcome-Driven Thresholds for Increased Home Blood Pressure Variability.

Increased blood pressure (BP) variability predicts cardiovascular disease, but lack of operational thresholds limits its use in clinical practice. Our aim was to define outcome-driven thresholds for increased day-to-day home BP variability. We studied a population-based sample of 6238 individuals (mean age 60.

Home versus office blood pressure: longitudinal relations with left ventricular hypertrophy: the Finn-Home study.

Objectives: Electrocardiographically assessed left-ventricular hypertrophy (ECG-LVH) is a particularly high-risk phenomenon that is a part of every hypertensive patient's initial work-up. Several cross-sectional studies have demonstrated that home blood pressure (BP) has a stronger relation to LVH than office BP. However, longitudinal evidence on the association between home BP and target organ damage is scarce to nonexistent.

Association of thyroid-stimulating hormone with lipid concentrations: an 11-year longitudinal study.

Background: Scant data exist on the longitudinal association between thyroid function and lipid concentrations. We investigated associations of TSH and lipid concentrations cross-sectionally and longitudinally in a nationwide population sample.

Methods: A total of 5205 randomly sampled participants representative of Finns aged ≥30 years were examined in 2000-2001 and included in cross-sectional analyses.

The association between home vs. ambulatory night-time blood pressure and end-organ damage in the general population.

Objective: The aim of this study was to test the agreement between night-time home and night-time ambulatory blood pressure (BP) and to compare their associations with hypertensive end-organ damage for the first time in the general population.

Methods: A population sample of 248 participants underwent measurements for night-time home BP (three measurements on two nights with a timer-equipped home device), night-time ambulatory BP, pulse wave velocity (PWV), carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and echocardiographic left ventricular mass index (LVMI).

Results: No significant or systematic differences were observed between mean night-time ambulatory and home BPs (systolic/diastolic difference: 0.

Health 2000 score - development and validation of a novel cardiovascular risk score.

Background: Previous risk scores for predicting myocardial infarctions and strokes have mainly been based on conventional risk factors. We aimed to develop a novel improved risk score that would incorporate other widely available clinical variables for predicting the broadest range of endpoints, including revascularizations.

Methods: A nationwide sample of 5843 Finns underwent a clinical examination in 2000-2001.

Prevalence and Determinants of Masked Hypertension Among Black Nigerians Compared With a Reference Population.

Hitherto, diagnosis of hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa was largely based on conventional office blood pressure (BP). Data on the prevalence of masked hypertension (MH) in this region is scarce. Among individuals with normal office BP (<140/90 mm Hg), we compared the prevalence and determinants of MH diagnosed with self-monitored home blood pressure (≥135/85 mm Hg) among 293 Nigerians with a reference population consisting of 3615 subjects enrolled in the International Database on Home Blood Pressure in Relation to Cardiovascular Outcomes.

Relationship between office and home blood pressure with increasing age: The International Database of HOme blood pressure in relation to Cardiovascular Outcome (IDHOCO).

Home blood pressure (HBP) measurements are known to be lower than conventional office blood pressure (OBP) measurements. However, this difference might not be consistent across the entire age range and has not been adequately investigated. We assessed the relationship between OBP and HBP with increasing age using the International Database of HOme blood pressure in relation to Cardiovascular Outcome (IDHOCO).

Agreement between ambulatory, home, and office blood pressure variability.

Objective: Ambulatory, home, and office blood pressure (BP) variability are often treated as a single entity. Our aim was to assess the agreement between these three methods for measuring BP variability.

Methods: Twenty-four-hour ambulatory BP monitoring, 28 home BP measurements, and eight office BP measurements were performed on 461 population-based or hypertensive participants.

White-coat and masked hypertension as risk factors for progression to sustained hypertension: the Finn-Home study.

Objectives: To assess the risk of progression from white-coat hypertension (WCHT) and masked hypertension (MHT) to sustained hypertension (SHT) in a nationwide unselected population sample.

Methods: Both office and home blood pressure (BP), along with other cardiovascular risk factors, were measured in an unselected population sample of 944 participants in 2000 and 2011. We compared the risk of progression to SHT (office BP ≥140/90 mmHg and home BP ≥135/85 mmHg or start of treatment with antihypertensive medication) between 528 participants with normotension (office BP <140/90 mmHg and home BP <135/85 mmHg), 142 participants with WCHT (office BP ≥140/90 mmHg and home BP < 135/85 mmHg), and 63 participants with MHT (office BP < 140/90 mmHg and home BP ≥135/85 mmHg) at baseline.