Assessing feasibility and sex-related inequity in the cardiac rehabilitation quality indicators in Manitoba.

The cardiac rehabilitation quality indicators (CRQIs) developed by the Canadian Cardiovascular Society provide a means to standardize program assessment and identify sex-related inequities. No formal evaluation of the CRQIs has been conducted in Manitoba. An environmental scan for the CRQIs was performed using data in the electronic medical record at two cardiac rehabilitation (CR) sites in Winnipeg for 2016-2019 referrals.

Peer-support interventions for women with cardiovascular disease: protocol for synthesising the literature using an evidence map.

Introduction: The leading cause of death for women is cardiovascular disease (CVD), including ischaemic heart disease, stroke and heart failure. Previous literature suggests peer support interventions improve self-reported recovery, hope and empowerment in other patient populations, but the evidence for peer support interventions in women with CVD is unknown. The aim of this study is to describe peer support interventions for women with CVD using an evidence map.

The Association Between Route of Post-menopausal Estrogen Administration and Blood Pressure and Arterial Stiffness in Community-Dwelling Women.

Background: Postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Although the route of estrogen administration may play a role in mediating risk, previous studies have not controlled for concomitant progestin use.

Objective: To investigate the association between the route of estrogen therapy (oral or non-oral) HT use, without concomitant progestin, and blood pressure and arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women.

Frailty-aware care: giving value to frailty assessment across different healthcare settings.

Healthcare systems need to adapt to better serve an aging population with complex presentations. Frailty assessments are a potential means to address this heterogeneity in aging to identify individuals at increased risk for adverse health outcomes. Furthermore, frailty assessments offer an opportunity to optimize patient care in various healthcare settings.

Protocol for the WARM Hearts study: examining cardiovascular disease risk in middle-aged and older women - a prospective, observational cohort study.

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death in women. Novel approaches to detect early signs of elevated CVD risk in women are needed. Enhancement of traditional CVD risk assessment approaches through the addition of procedures to assess physical function or frailty as well as novel biomarkers of cardiovascular, gut and muscle health could improve early identification.

Interindividual variation in cardiometabolic health outcomes following 6 months of endurance training in youth at risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

This study determined the interindividual variation in the cardiometabolic response to 6 months of moderate or vigorous intensity exercise training (ET) among youth at risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Youth were randomized to moderate intensity ET (45-55% heart rate reserve; = 31), vigorous intensity ET (70-85% heart rate reserve; = 37), or control ( = 36). Only those attending ≥70% of ET sessions were included.

Frailty status and cardiovascular disease risk profile in middle-aged and older females.

Objective: Frailty and pre-frailty are known to increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the risk profiles of females are not well characterized. The aim of this study is to characterize the CVD risk profiles of robust, pre-frail and frail females.

Immediate post-exercise blood pressure and arterial compliance in middle-aged and older normotensive females: A cross-sectional study.

This study examined whether immediate post-exercise systolic blood pressure (SBP) is associated with arterial compliance in middle-aged and older normotensive females. A total of 548 normotensive, non-frail females aged 55 years and older with no previous history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) participated in this cross-sectional study. Large and small arterial compliance were assessed by pulse wave analysis.

Acute Effect of High-Intensity Interval Versus Moderate-Intensity Continuous Exercise on Blood Pressure and Arterial Compliance in Middle-Aged and Older Hypertensive Women With Increased Arterial Stiffness.

Costa, EC, Kent, DE, Boreskie, KF, Hay, JL, Kehler, DS, Edye-Mazowita, A, Nugent, K, Papadopoulos, J, Stammers, AN, Oldfield, C, Arora, RC, Browne, RAV, and Duhamel, TA. Acute effect of high-intensity interval versus moderate-intensity continuous exercise on blood pressure and arterial compliance in middle-aged and older hypertensive women with increased arterial stiffness. J Strength Cond Res 34(5): 1307-1316, 2020-Hypertension and arterial stiffness are common in middle-aged and older women.

Self-compassion and responses to health information in middle-aged and older women: An observational cohort study.

The aim of this study was to determine whether self-compassion-orientation to care for oneself during challenges-helps people at risk of cardiovascular disease deal with emotional reactions and assist with self-regulating health behaviors. This observational study recruited women ( = 102) who attended three research visits over 3 weeks to gather information on emotions, intentions, and engagement in health behaviors after women received news they were at risk of cardiovascular disease. Self-compassion negatively associated with emotional responses and associated with intentions and engagement in health behaviors after receiving news of their cardiovascular disease risk.

Filling gaps in type 1 diabetes and exercise research: a scoping review and priority-setting project.

Our team examined the characteristics of patient engagement (PE) practices in exercise-based randomized trials in type 1 diabetes (T1D), and facilitated T1D stakeholders in determining the top 10 list of priorities for exercise research. Two methodological approaches were employed: a scoping review and a modified James Lind Alliance priority-setting partnership. Published (Medline, Embase, CINAHL and Central databases) and grey literature (www.

Myokines as biomarkers of frailty and cardiovascular disease risk in females.

Frailty is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Biomarkers have the potential to detect the early stages of frailty, such as pre-frailty. Myokines may act as biomarkers of frailty-related disease progression, as a decline in muscle health is a hallmark of the frailty phenotype.

Sex-differences in relation to the association between patterns of physical activity and sedentary behavior with frailty.

Objective: To investigate the sex-difference in relation to the association between moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time (ST) patterns with frailty.

Method: Accelerometry from ≥50 year olds from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003-04/2005-06 cycles) were included. Bouted and sporadic MVPA were defined as MVPA in ≥10 min or <10 min durations, respectively.

A Quasi-Experimental Study Examining the Impact and Challenges of Implementing a Fitness-Based Health Risk Assessment and a Physical Activity Counseling Intervention in the Workplace Setting.

Objectives: Few adults participate in enough physical activity for health benefits. The workplace provides a unique environment to deliver heath interventions and can be beneficial to the employee and the employer. The purpose of the study was to explore the use of a physical activity counseling (PAC) program and a fitness-based health risk assessment (fHRA) in the hospital workplace.

Prehabilitation: The Right Medicine for Older Frail Adults Anticipating Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, and Other Cardiovascular Care.

The wait before elective cardiac intervention or surgery presents an opportunity to prevent further physiologic decline preoperatively in older patients. Implementation of prehabilitation programs decreases length of hospital stay postoperatively, decreases time spent in the intensive care unit, decreases postoperative complications, and improves self-reported quality of life postsurgery. Prehabilitation programs should adopt multimodal approaches including nutrition, exercise, and worry reduction to improve patient resilience in the preoperative period.

Standardization of the Fried frailty phenotype improves cardiovascular disease risk discrimination.

Background: Standardizing the Fried criteria (S-FC) using cutoffs specific to the patient population improves adverse outcome prediction. However, there is limited evidence to determine if a S-FC assessment can improve discrimination of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in middle-aged and older women.

Design: The objective of this cross-sectional analysis was to compare the ability of the Fried frailty phenotype criteria (FC) to discriminate between individuals at higher risk for CVD according to the Framingham Risk Score and Rasmussen Disease Score in comparison to the S-FC.

Pre-Operative Frailty Status Is Associated with Cardiac Rehabilitation Completion: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

While previous investigations have demonstrated the benefit of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on outcomes after cardiac surgery, the association between pre-operative frailty and post-operative CR completion is unclear. The purpose of this retrospective cohort study was to determine if pre-operative frailty scores impacted CR completion post-operatively and if CR completion influenced frailty scores in 114 cardiac surgery patients. Frailty was assessed with the use of the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), the Modified Fried Criteria (MFC), the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), and the Functional Frailty Index (FFI).

Vigorous Intervals and Hypoglycemia in Type 1 Diabetes: A Randomized Cross Over Trial.

Adding vigorous-intensity intervals (VII) to moderate-intensity exercise prevents immediate declines in blood glucose in type 1 diabetes (T1D) however the intensity required to minimize post-exercise hypoglycemia is unknown. To examine this question, ten sedentary T1D individuals completed four treadmill exercise sessions: a control session of 45 minutes of walking at 45-55% of heart rate reserve (HRR) and three sessions consisting of 60 seconds (VII) at 70%, 80%, or 90% of HRR every 4 minutes during exercise at 45-55% of HRR. We used continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) to measure time ≤3.

A systematic review of the association between sedentary behaviors with frailty.

Objective: Lifestyle factors such as physical activity are known to reduce the risk of frailty. However, less is known about the frailty-sedentary behavior relationship. A systematic review was conducted to synthesize the available evidence concerning associations between sedentary behaviors and frailty levels in adults.

Exercise in Pregnancy and Children's Cardiometabolic Risk Factors: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Maternal metabolic health during the prenatal period is an established determinant of cardiometabolic disease risk. Many studies have focused on poor offspring outcomes after exposure to poor maternal health, while few have systematically appraised the evidence surrounding the role of maternal exercise in decreasing this risk. The aim of this study is to characterize and quantify the specific impact of prenatal exercise on children's cardiometabolic health markers, at birth and in childhood.

Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training Versus Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training On Blood Pressure in Adults with Pre- to Established Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials.

Background: Aerobic exercise reduces blood pressure (BP), but it is unknown whether a high-intensity training approach can elicit a greater BP reduction in populations with elevated BP. This systematic review compared the efficacy of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) versus moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) for reducing BP in adults with pre- to established hypertension.

Methods: Five electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, PEDro, and SPORTDiscus) were searched for randomized trials comparing the chronic effects of HIIT versus MICT on BP in individuals with resting systolic BP ≥ 130 mmHg and/or diastolic BP ≥ 85 mmHg and/or under antihypertensive medication.

The association between bouts of moderate to vigorous physical activity and patterns of sedentary behavior with frailty.

Objectives: To determine if bouts of moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and patterns of sedentary behavior are associated with frailty.

Method: Accelerometry from community-dwelling adults ≥50 years old (n = 2317) enrolled in the 2003-04 and 2005-06 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used. Bouted (≥10 min) and sporadic (<10 min) durations of MVPA were analyzed based on meeting 0%, 1-49%, 50-99%, and ≥100% of physical activity guidelines (150 min/week of MVPA).

Protocol for the HAPPY Hearts study: cardiovascular screening for the early detection of future adverse cardiovascular outcomes in middle-aged and older women: a prospective, observational cohort study.

Introduction: Efforts to identify individuals at a higher risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes focus on traditional risk factors, such as age, sex, smoking status, blood pressure and and cholesterol; however, this approach does not directly assess cardiovascular function and may underestimate the risk of experiencing adverse cardiovascular outcomes in women. This prospective, observational cohort study will examine the ability of the Heart Attack Prevention Program for You (HAPPY) Hearts screening protocol, a series of non-invasive procedures to identify middle-aged and older women who are at an elevated risk for experiencing an adverse cardiovascular event in the 5-year period after screening. The predictive value of the HAPPY Hearts protocol will also be compared with the Framingham Risk Score to determine the sensitivity for estimating risk for an adverse cardiovascular outcome.