Publications by authors named "M J Blaha"

Importance: Cardiovascular health outcomes associated with noncigarette tobacco products (cigar, pipe, and smokeless tobacco) remain unclear, yet such data are required for evidence-based regulation.

Objective: To investigate the association of noncigarette tobacco products with cardiovascular health outcomes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study was conducted within the Cross Cohort Collaboration Tobacco Working Group by harmonizing tobacco-related data and conducting a pooled analysis from 15 US-based prospective cohorts with data on the use of at least 1 noncigarette tobacco product ranging between 1948 and 2015.

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Background: Implementation of semaglutide weight loss therapy has been challenging due to drug supply and cost, underscoring a need to identify those who derive the greatest absolute benefit.

Objectives: Allocation of semaglutide was modeled according to coronary artery calcium (CAC) among individuals without diabetes or established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Methods: In this analysis, 3,129 participants in the MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) without diabetes or clinical CVD met body mass index criteria for semaglutide and underwent CAC scoring on noncontrast cardiac computed tomography.

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Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a relatively rare genetic disease associated with high serum cholesterol levels but also with abnormalities in blood coagulation. Novel pharmacotherapeutic approaches in FH including proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 antibodies (PCSK9Ab) are very efficient in decreasing cholesterol levels but their impact on coagulation in FH is not yet established. Therefore, we hypothesized that these novel antidyslipidemic drugs can positively impact blood coagulation due to their more potent effect on cholesterol.

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Background: Cigarette smoking has been associated with incident heart failure (HF). However, the association between cigarette smoking and smoking cessation with HF subtypes has not been well elucidated, particularly among Black people.

Methods And Results: We investigated 4189 (never smoker n=2934, former smoker n=761, current smoker n=464) Black participants (mean age 54 years, 64% women) without a history of HF or coronary heart disease at baseline in the Jackson Heart Study.

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Background: Black adults show heightened cardiovascular risk compared with other groups despite comparable or lower coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores, indicating potential cardiovascular risk underestimation by CAC. Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), preceding CAC, may predict cardiovascular events better in Black adults who are prone to early atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and excess events at low CAC scores.

Methods: We included 2551 participants from the JHS (Jackson Heart Study) visit 2 examination (2005-2008) without cardiovascular disease, followed through 2016.

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