Healthy Lifestyle Interventions to Combat Noncommunicable Disease—A Novel Nonhierarchical Connectivity Model for Key Stakeholders: A Policy Statement From the American Heart Association, European Society of Cardiology, European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, and American College of Preventive Medicine.

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have become the primary health concern for most countries around the world. Currently, more than 36 million people worldwide die from NCDs each year, accounting for 63% of annual global deaths; most are preventable. The global financial burden of NCDs is staggering, with an estimated 2010 global cost of $6.

Severe immune thrombocytopenia after peg-interferon-alpha2a, ribavirin and telaprevir treatment completion: A case report and systematic review of literature.

Mild to moderate autoimmune thrombocytopenia (AITP) is a common finding in patients receiving interferon-based antiviral treatment, due to bone marrow suppression. Here we report the case of a patient with chronic genotype 1b hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection treated with pegylated-interferon alpha-2a, ribavirin and telaprevir for 24 wk; the patient developed severe AITP three weeks after treatment withdrawal. We performed a systematic literature search in order to review all published cases of AITP related to HCV antiviral treatment.

Exercise and the cardiovascular system: clinical science and cardiovascular outcomes.

Substantial evidence has established the value of high levels of physical activity, exercise training (ET), and overall cardiorespiratory fitness in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. This article reviews some basics of exercise physiology and the acute and chronic responses of ET, as well as the effect of physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness on cardiovascular diseases. This review also surveys data from epidemiological and ET studies in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, particularly coronary heart disease and heart failure.

Healthy lifestyle interventions to combat noncommunicable disease-a novel nonhierarchical connectivity model for key stakeholders: a policy statement from the American Heart Association, European Society of Cardiology, European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, and American College of Preventive Medicine.

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have become the primary health concern for most countries around the world. Currently, more than 36 million people worldwide die from NCDs each year, accounting for 63% of annual global deaths; most are preventable. The global financial burden of NCDs is staggering, with an estimated 2010 global cost of $6.

Circulatory and Ventilatory Power: Characterization in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: Circulatory power (CP) and ventilatory power (VP) are indices that have been used for the clinical evaluation of patients with heart failure; however, no study has evaluated these indices in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) without heart failure.

Objective: To characterize both indices in patients with CAD compared with healthy controls.

Methods: Eighty-seven men [CAD group = 42 subjects and healthy control group (CG) = 45 subjects] aged 40-65 years were included.

Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing in Heart Failure.

A growing body of literature has underscored the value of ventilatory gas exchange techniques during exercise testing (commonly termed cardiopulmonary exercise testing, or CPX) and their applications in the management of patients with heart failure (HF). The added precision provided by this technology is useful in terms of understanding the physiology and mechanisms underlying exercise intolerance in HF, quantifying the response to therapy, evaluating disability, making activity recommendations, and quantifying the response to exercise training. Importantly, a wealth of data has been published in recent years on the prognostic utility of CPX in patients with HF.

Assessing the Existing Professional Exercise Recommendations for Hypertension: A Review and Recommendations for Future Research Priorities.

The Eighth Joint National Committee guideline on the management of adult hypertension was recently released. Rather than recommending specific lifestyle modifications as in the Seventh Joint National Committee guideline, the Eighth Joint National Committee endorsed the recommendations of the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology 2013 Lifestyle Work Group. The Lifestyle Work Group report included systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials or controlled clinical trials from 2001 through 2011 of "fair to good" quality.

Decreased tidal volume may limit cardiopulmonary performance during exercise in subacute stroke.

Purpose: The aim of this retrospective study was to determine whether pulmonary function was reduced at submaximal and peak exercise in subacute stroke (SG) when compared with sedentary adults (CON).

Methods: Ten individuals with subacute stroke and 10 sedentary, age- and gender-matched adults performed cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), using a recumbent stepper. We used independent t tests to determine between-group differences at peak effort.

The six-minute step test as a predictor of cardiorespiratory fitness in obese women.

Background: The impaired cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) status is a hallmark in obese individuals, especially in women around the world. Some field tests have been proposed to evaluate functional capacity in this population. The Six-Minute Step Test (6MST) could be a feasible alternative to cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) if the resources and space are limited.

Peripheral muscle strength and functional capacity in patients with moderate to severe asthma.

Background: The adequate control of asthma includes the absence of nocturnal symptoms, minimal use of medication, normal or nearly normal lung function and no limitations to physical activity. The choice of a more sedentary lifestyle can lead to physical de-conditioning, thereby aggravating asthma symptoms and increasing the risk of obesity.

Methods: This study aimed at performing a battery of function-related assessments in patients with asthma and comparing them to a healthy control group.

Development and Implementation of Worksite Health and Wellness Programs: A Focus on Non-Communicable Disease.

The development and implementation of worksite health and wellness programs (WHWPs) in the United States (US) hold promise as a means to improve population health and reverse current trends in non-communicable disease incidence and prevalence. However, WHWPs face organizational, economic, systematic, legal, and logistical challenges which have combined to impact program availability and expansion. Even so, there is a burgeoning body of evidence indicating WHWPs can significantly improve the health profile of participating employees in a cost effective manner.

Workplace wellness recognition for optimizing workplace health: a presidential advisory from the American Heart Association.

The workplace is an important setting for promoting cardiovascular health and cardiovascular disease and stroke prevention in the United States. Well-designed, comprehensive workplace wellness programs have the potential to improve cardiovascular health and to reduce mortality, morbidity, and disability resulting from cardiovascular disease and stroke. Nevertheless, widespread implementation of comprehensive workplace wellness programs is lacking, and program composition and quality vary.

Prevalence and characterization of exercise oscillatory ventilation in apparently healthy individuals at variable risk for cardiovascular disease: A subanalysis of the EURO-EX trial.

Introduction: There has been a greater appreciation of several variables obtained by cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX). Exercise oscillatory ventilation (EOV) is a CPX pattern that has gained recognition as an ominous marker of poor prognosis in cardiac patients. The purpose of the present study is to characterize whether such an abnormal ventilatory pattern may also be detected in apparently healthy subjects and determine its clinical significance.

Text-messaging program improves outcomes in outpatient cardiovascular rehabilitation.

Background: Outpatient cardiac rehabilitation (OP-CR) is a highly beneficial program but vastly under utilized.

Methods: The efficacy of a text-messaging program was analyzed to determine if implementation could improve number of OP-CR sessions completed. All patients enrolled in OP-CR from July 2011 through December 2012 were invited to join a text-messaging program on their first visit.

The effect of exercise training on the pulmonary arterial system in patients with pulmonary hypertension.

Given the unique and clinically ominous pathology associated with pulmonary arterial (PA) hypertension (PH) and its implications for the eventual deterioration of right ventricular function, exercise training (ET) was historically not recommended. More recently, a body of literature demonstrating the safety and efficacy of ET in PH has emerged. The primary focus of this review is to provide a synopsis of current evidence assessing the effects of ET on the PA system in patients with PH.

Cardiac rehabilitation completion is associated with reduced mortality in patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease.

Aims: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) reduces the risks of mortality and hospitalisation in patients with coronary artery disease and without diabetes. It is unknown whether patients with diabetes obtain the same benefits from CR.

Methods: We retrospectively examined patients referred to a 12 week CR programme between 1996 and 2010.

A home-based walking program improves erectile dysfunction in men with an acute myocardial infarction.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of a home-based walking program on erectile function and the relation between functional capacity and erectile dysfunction (ED) in patients with recent myocardial infarctions. Patients with acute myocardial infarctions deemed to be at low cardiovascular risk were randomized into 2 groups: (1) a home-based walking group (n = 41), instructed to participate in a progressive outdoor walking program, and (2) a control group (n = 45), receiving usual care. Functional capacity was determined by the 6-minute walk test and evaluation of sexual function by the International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire; the 2 tests were performed at hospital discharge and 30 days later.

Reproducibility of the incremental shuttle walk test for women with morbid obesity.

Objective: The incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) is a valuable tool for the assessment of functional capacity. However, few studies have used the ISWT in individuals with obesity or have determined its reproducibility in this population.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the reproducibility of the ISWT in women with morbid obesity.

Personal health technology: A new era in cardiovascular disease prevention.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide yet the majority of related risk factors are largely preventable (primary prevention [PP]) and effectively treatable (secondary prevention [SP]) with healthy lifestyle behaviors. The use of information and communication technology (ICT) offers a unique approach to personal health and CVD prevention, as these mediums are relatively affordable, approachable, and accessible. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of ICT-driven personal health technologies and their potential role in promoting and supporting self-care behaviors for PP and SP of CVD.

Exercise physiology, testing, and training in patients supported by a left ventricular assist device.

The left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is an accepted treatment alternative for the management of end-stage heart failure. As we move toward implantation of LVADs in less severe cases of HF, scrutiny of functional capacity and quality of life becomes more important. Patients demonstrate improvements in exercise capacity after LVAD implantation, but the effect is less than predicted.