Formula-led methods using first morning fasting spot urine to assess usual salt intake: a secondary analysis of PURE study data.

Objectives: Observational studies that assess the relationship between salt intake and long-term outcomes require a valid estimate of usual salt intake. The gold-standard measure in individuals is sodium excretion in multiple nonconsecutive 24-h urines. Multiple studies have demonstrated that random spot urine samples are not valid for estimating usual salt intake; however, some researchers believe that fasting morning spot urine samples produce a better measure of usual salt intake than random spot samples.

Ups and downs of hypertension control in Canada: critical factors and lessons learned.

As the leading risk for death, population control of increased blood pressure represents a major challenge for all countries of the Americas. In the early 1990's, Canada had a hypertension control rate of 13%. The control rate increased to 68% in 2010, accompanied by a sharp decline in cardiovascular disease.

Drivers and scorecards to improve hypertension control in primary care practice: Recommendations from the HEARTS in the Americas Innovation Group.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the Americas, and hypertension is the most significant modifiable risk factor. However, hypertension control rates remain low, and CVD mortality is stagnant or rising after decades of continuing reduction. In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the HEARTS technical package to improve hypertension control.

[Drivers and scorecards to improve hypertension control in primary care practice: Recommendations from the HEARTS in the Americas Innovation GroupFatores impulsionadores e scorecards para melhorar o controle da hipertensão arterial na atenção primária: recomendações do Grupo de Inovação da Iniciativa HEARTS nas Américas].

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the Americas, and hypertension is the most significant modifiable risk factor. However, hypertension control rates remain low, and CVD mortality is stagnant or rising after decades of continuing reduction. In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the HEARTS technical package to improve hypertension control.

[Drivers and scorecards to improve hypertension control in primary care practice: Recommendations from the HEARTS in the Americas Innovation GroupFactores impulsores y métodos de puntuación para mejorar el control de la hipertensión en la práctica clínica de la atención primaria: recomendaciones del grupo de innovación de HEARTS en las Américas].

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the Americas, and hypertension is the most significant modifiable risk factor. However, hypertension control rates remain low, and CVD mortality is stagnant or rising after decades of continuing reduction. In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the HEARTS technical package to improve hypertension control.

[São Paulo call to action for the prevention and control of high blood pressure: 2020Chamado à ação de São Paulo para prevenção e controle da hipertensão arterial: 2020].

About 1/4th of adults have high blood pressure which is the single most important risk for death (including heart disease and stroke).There are effective policies that could facilitate people making healthy choices to prevent raised blood pressure, and if fully implemented, could largely prevent hypertension from occurring.Hypertension is easy to screen and treat for BUT only about 50% of adults with hypertension are aware of their condition and only about 1 in 7 is adequately treated.

[São Paulo call to action for the prevention and control of high blood pressure: 2020Llamado a la acción de San Pablo para la prevención y el control de la hipertensión arterial, 2020].

About 1/4th of adults have high blood pressure which is the single most important risk for death (including heart disease and stroke).There are effective policies that could facilitate people making healthy choices to prevent raised blood pressure, and if fully implemented, could largely prevent hypertension from occurring.Hypertension is easy to screen and treat for BUT only about 50% of adults with hypertension are aware of their condition and only about 1 in 7 is adequately treated.

Impact of quality of research on patient outcomes in the Institute of Medicine 2013 report on dietary sodium.

The 2013 Institute of Medicine report entitled "Sodium Intake in Populations: Assessment of Evidence" found inconsistent evidence of health benefit with dietary sodium intake <2300 mg/d. Different studies reported benefit and harm of population dietary intake <2300 mg/d. The Institute of Medicine committee, however, did not assess whether the methodology used in each of the studies was appropriate to examine dietary sodium and health outcomes.

Worksite-based cardiovascular risk screening and management: a feasibility study.

Background: Established cardiovascular risk factors are highly prevalent and contribute substantially to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality because they remain uncontrolled in many Canadians. Worksite-based cardiovascular risk factor screening and management represent a largely untapped strategy for optimizing risk factor control.

Methods: In a 2-phase collaborative demonstration project between Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the Alberta Newsprint Company (ANC), ANC employees were offered cardiovascular risk factor screening and management.

The science of salt: A regularly updated systematic review of salt and health outcomes (December 2015-March 2016).

The purpose of this review was to identify, summarize, and critically appraise studies on dietary salt relating to health outcomes that were published from December 2015 to March 2016. The search strategy was adapted from a previous systematic review on dietary salt and health. Overall, 13 studies were included in the review: one study assessed cardiovascular events, nine studies assessed prevalence or incidence of blood pressure or hypertension, one study assessed kidney disease, and two studies assessed other health outcomes (obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease).

Unfounded concerns about the use of automated office blood pressure measurement in SPRINT.

SPRINT reported significantly fewer cardiovascular events when patients with a higher cardiovascular risk were treated to a target systolic blood pressure (BP) of <120 versus <140 mm Hg. In SPRINT, BP was recorded using the automated office BP (AOBP) method, with multiple readings being taken automatically with the patient resting alone. This technique for BP measurement eliminates the white-coat effect and gives lower BP readings than conventional manual office BP.

The Science of Salt: A Regularly Updated Systematic Review of the Implementation of Salt Reduction Interventions (November 2015 to February 2016).

The objective of this periodic review was to identify, summarize, and appraise studies relating to the implementation of salt reduction strategies that were retrieved between November 2015 and February 2016. From the established MEDLINE search, 56 studies were identified as relevant to the implementation of salt reduction initiatives. Detailed appraisal was performed on seven studies that evaluated the impact of salt reduction interventions.

Reliable Quantification of the Potential for Equations Based on Spot Urine Samples to Estimate Population Salt Intake: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Methods based on spot urine samples (a single sample at one time-point) have been identified as a possible alternative approach to 24-hour urine samples for determining mean population salt intake.

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify a reliable method for estimating mean population salt intake from spot urine samples. This will be done by comparing the performance of existing equations against one other and against estimates derived from 24-hour urine samples.

Influence of Using Different Databases and 'Look Back' Intervals to Define Comorbidity Profiles for Patients with Newly Diagnosed Hypertension: Implications for Health Services Researchers.

Objective: To determine the data sources and 'look back' intervals to define comorbidities.

Data Sources: Hospital discharge abstracts database (DAD), physician claims, population registry and death registry from April 1, 1994 to March 31, 2010 in Alberta, Canada.

Study Design: Newly-diagnosed hypertension cases from 1997 to 2008 fiscal years were identified and followed up to 12 years.

The Science of Salt: A Regularly Updated Systematic Review of Salt and Health Outcomes (August to November 2015).

The purpose of this review was to systematically identify, summarize, and critically appraise studies on dietary salt relating to health outcomes that were published from August to November 2015. The search strategy was adapted from a previous systematic review on dietary salt and health. Overall, 15 studies were included in the review: one study assessed cardiovascular events, five studies assessed blood pressure or hypertension incidence, six studies assessed surrogate outcomes for cardiovascular or kidney diseases, and three studies assessed other outcomes (age-related cataracts, rheumatoid arthritis, and bone mineral density, respectively).

The Science of Salt: A Systematic Review of Quality Clinical Salt Outcome Studies June 2014 to May 2015.

Studies identified from an updated systematic review (from June 2014 to May 2015) on the impact of dietary salt intake on clinical and population health are reviewed. Randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, and meta-analyses of these study types on the effect of sodium intake on blood pressure, or any substantive adverse health outcomes were identified from MEDLINE searches and quality indicators were used to select studies that were relevant to clinical and public health. From 6920 studies identified in the literature search, 144 studies were selected for review, of which only three (n=233,680) met inclusion criteria.