Interaction between 24 h Urinary Free Cortisol and Obesity in Hypertension-Mediated Organ Damage in Patients with Untreated Hypertension.

Background: Given the close relationship between excessive cortisol secretion and obesity, as well as their intimate associations with cardiometabolic sequelae, this study aimed to evaluate whether elevated cortisol levels and obesity are independently and potentially interactively related to hypertension-mediated organ damage (HMOD) in patients with untreated hypertension.

Methods: A total of 936 untreated hypertensive patients were recruited. Body mass index (BMI), 24-hour urinary free cortisol (24 h UFC), and HMOD indicators, including left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), and albuminuria, were assessed.

Long-term use of low-dose aspirin for cancer prevention: A 20-year longitudinal cohort study of 1,506,525 Hong Kong residents.

Long-term use of low-dose aspirin has been demonstrated to reduce cancer risk, but the duration of necessary medication use remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the long-term chemoprotective effect of aspirin among the Chinese population. This population-based study included all aspirin users between 2000 and 2019.

Near-Field Clutter Mitigation in Speckle Tracking Echocardiography.

Objective: Near-field (NF) clutter filters are critical for unveiling true myocardial structure and dynamics. Randomized singular value decomposition (rSVD) stands out for its proven computational efficiency and robustness. This study investigates the effect of rSVD-based NF clutter filtering on myocardial motion estimation.

The association between baseline viral load and long-term risk in patients with COVID-19 in Hong Kong: a territory-wide study.

COVID-19 can increase the long-term risk of multiorgan dysfunction. Few studies investigated the long-term risk in Asian populations or investigated the association between viral load and long-term risk. We aimed to investigate the post-discharge rates of hospitalization and association with baseline viral load in all patients with COVID-19 in Hong Kong.

Prognostic Implication of Computational Angiography-Derived Fractional Flow Reserve in Patients With Nonobstructive Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: Risk stratification of patients with symptomatic nonobstructive coronary artery disease remains uncertain. Our study assessed the clinical value of single-vessel, multivessel, and 3-vessel computational angiography-derived fractional flow reserve (caFFR) measurement in patients with nonobstructive coronary artery disease.

Methods And Results: We enrolled patients with ≤50% stenosis with a caFFR value ≥0.