Association of anthropometric and body composition parameters with the presence of hypertension in the Central European population: results from KardioVize 2030 study.

Background: Hypertension is one of the most prevalent chronic non-communicable diseases and affects more than 60% of individuals over 60 years of age. Additionally, hypertension is a prominent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Human body composition is both the result and predictor of an individual's health status, and hypertension has consistently been shown to be more prevalent among obese individuals.

Is Drinking Alcohol Really Linked to Cardiovascular Health? Evidence from the Kardiovize 2030 Project.

Existing data have described benefits and drawbacks of alcohol consumption on cardiovascular diseases (CVD), but no research has evaluated its association with the cardiovascular health (CVH) score proposed by the American Heart Association. Here, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis on the Kardiovize cohort (Brno, Czech Republic), to investigate the relationship between alcohol consumption and CVH. We included 1773 subjects (aged 25-64 years; 44.

Learning to assist smokers through encounters with standardized patients: An innovative training for physicians in an Eastern European country.

Objectives: A lack of physician training is a major obstacle for effective tobacco dependence treatment. This study assessed the feasibility of an active learning training program and its effects on smoking cessation counselling skills of medical residents in Armenia, an Eastern European country with high smoking prevalence.

Study Design: The study used a pre-post assessment of smoking cessation counselling activities and a course evaluation survey to assess the feasibility of the intervention in a different environment.

Normal-weight obesity frequency in the Central European urban adult female population of Brno, Czech Republic.

Objectives: The universally recognized indicator of nutritional status, BMI, has some shortcomings, especially in detecting overweight and obesity. A relatively recently introduced normal weight obesity (NWO) describes a phenomenon when individuals are found to have normal weight as indicated by BMI but have an elevated percentage of body fat. Normal weight obese individuals face a higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome, cardiometabolic dysfunction and have higher mortality.

Dietary antioxidant intake decreases carotid intima media thickness in women but not in men: A cross-sectional assessment in the Kardiovize study.

Objective: Atherosclerosis is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease, with a higher burden on men than women during the occupational age. Intake of individual dietary antioxidants is inversely associated with risk of atherosclerosis development. We aimed to understand the relationship between dietary composite antioxidant intake and the carotid intima media thickness (cIMT), which is a proxy of atherosclerosis progression.

Sleep Duration and Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Are Associated with Obesity Independent of Diet and Physical Activity.

In the European Union, Czech Republic ranks 3rd and 6th for the incidence of obesity and cardiovascular diseases, respectively. Worldwide, short sleep duration and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) characterize obese subjects, which in turn exhibit scarce physical activity and unhealthy diet. We aimed to understand the relationship between irregular sleep patterns, obesity and lifestyle factors, such as diet and physical activity, in a vulnerable Czech population.

Association of Dietary Patterns with Metabolic Syndrome: Results from the Kardiovize Brno 2030 Study.

Although metabolic syndrome (MetS) could be handled by lifestyle interventions, its relationship with dietary patterns remains unclear in populations from Central Europe. Using data from the Kardiovize Brno cohort, the present study aims to identify the main dietary patterns and to evaluate their association with MetS risk in a random urban sample from Brno, Czech Republic. In a cross-sectional study of 1934 subjects aged 25⁻65 years (44.

Association of Cardiovascular Health with Epicardial Adipose Tissue and Intima Media Thickness: The Kardiovize Study.

Intima-media thickness (IMT) has been proposed as a measurement of subclinical atherosclerosis and has been associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is a fat depot between the pericardium and myocardium and has been associated with coronary atherosclerosis. The relationship between IMT and EAT thickness has not been reported before.

Alcohol Consumption in Population Aged 25-65 Years Living in the Metropolis of South Moravia, Czech Republic.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate alcohol consumption in a representative sample of the population of the city of Brno, as part of research on cardiovascular risk factors.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey on a sample of 2,160 randomly selected residents 35-65 years old was carried out. For the invited volunteers who became a part of the investigation, alcohol consumption was determined in a controlled, face to face interview structured in accordance with a special questionnaire form.

Kardiovize Brno 2030, a prospective cardiovascular health study in Central Europe: Methods, baseline findings and future directions.

Background Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is highly prevalent in Eastern and Central Europe, where the incidence is the highest in the world. The Kardiovize Brno 2030 study was designed as a prospective cohort study to investigate the complex relationships of cardiovascular disease and outcomes with a range of biological, psychosocial, environmental, behavioral, and economic factors in an urban population of the Czech Republic. Methods We randomly selected a 1% sample of the city of Brno residents aged 25-64 years stratified by sex and age.

The unique value of cardiovascular magnetic resonance in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome and culprit-free coronary angiograms.

Background: Patients with chest pain, elevated troponin, and unobstructed coronary disease present a clinical dilemma. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incremental diagnostic value of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in a cohort of patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and unobstructed coronary arteries.

Results: Data files of patients meeting the inclusion criteria in two cardiology centres were searched and analysed.

Reference values of cardio-ankle vascular index in a random sample of a white population.

Objectives: Cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), a parameter of arterial stiffness, has been increasingly used for cardiovascular risk estimation. Currently used CAVI reference values are derived from the Japanese population. It is not clear whether the same reference values can be used in the white population.

Threshold for diagnosing hypertension by automated office blood pressure using random sample population data.

Objective: Manual office blood pressure (BP) is still recommended for diagnosing hypertension. However, its predictive value is decreased by errors in measurement technique and the white-coat effect. The errors can be eliminated by automated office BP (AOBP) measurement taking multiple readings with the participant resting quietly alone.

Current and past smoking patterns in a Central European urban population: a cross-sectional study in a high-burden country.

Background: Many studies have examined the socioeconomic variations in smoking and quitting rates across the European region; however, data from Central and East European countries, where the tobacco burden is especially high, are sparse. This study aimed to assess the patterns in current and past smoking prevalence based on cross-sectional data from a Central European urban population sample.

Methods: Data from 2160 respondents aged 25-64 years in Brno, Czech Republic were collected in 2013-2014 using the Czech post-MONICA survey questionnaire to assess the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, including smoking status.

Normal-Weight Central Obesity and Mortality Risk in Older Adults With Coronary Artery Disease.

Objective: To study the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and central obesity and mortality in elderly patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

Patients And Methods: We identified 7057 patients 65 years or older from 5 cohort studies assessing mortality risk using either waist circumference (WC) or waist-hip ratio (WHR) in patients with CAD from January 1, 1980, to December 31, 2008. Normal weight, overweight, and obesity were defined using standard BMI cutoffs.

Normal-Weight Central Obesity: Implications for Total and Cardiovascular Mortality.

Background: The relationship between central obesity and survival in community-dwelling adults with normal body mass index (BMI) is not well-known.

Objective: To examine total and cardiovascular mortality risks associated with central obesity and normal BMI.

Design: Stratified multistage probability design.

The association between thromboembolic complications and blood group in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Objective: To determine whether blood type affects the risk of thromboembolic complications in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

Patients And Methods: The Mayo Clinic electronic medical record was searched (between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2010) to identify all patients with AF with blood group assessment. Records were analyzed for stroke, transient ischemic attack, left atrium appendage thrombus, cerebral or peripheral embolism, and hemorrhagic stroke.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms, APOE ε4, and the risk of incident dementia: a population-based study.

Objective: To investigate the population-based interaction between a biological variable (APOE ε4), neuropsychiatric symptoms, and the risk of incident dementia among subjects with prevalent mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methods: We prospectively followed 332 participants with prevalent MCI (aged 70 years and older) enrolled in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging for a median of 3 years. The diagnoses of MCI and dementia were made by an expert consensus panel based on published criteria, after reviewing neurologic, cognitive, and other pertinent data.

Trends and predictors of smoking cessation after percutaneous coronary intervention (from Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1999 to 2010).

Smoke-free ordinance implementation and advances in smoking cessation (SC) treatment have occurred in the past decade; however, little is known about their impact on SC in patients with coronary artery disease. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 2,306 consecutive patients from Olmsted County, Minnesota, who underwent their first percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) from 1999 to 2009, and assessed the trends and predictors of SC after PCI. Smoking status was ascertained by structured telephone survey 6 and 12 months after PCI (ending in 2010).

Cardiovascular adverse events associated with smoking-cessation pharmacotherapies.

Smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable deaths in the USA, accounting for one in every five deaths every year, and cardiovascular (CV) disease remains the leading cause of those deaths. Hence, there is increasing awareness to quit smoking among the public and counseling plays an important role in smoking cessation. There are different pharmacological methods to help quit smoking that includes nicotine replacement products available over the counter, including patch, gum, and lozenges, to prescription medications, such as bupropion and varenicline.

Normal-weight obesity: implications for cardiovascular health.

We sought to review the epidemiological features and clinical implications of normal-weight obesity. The concept of normal-weight obesity has been recently reported as an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysregulation, and poor functional outcomes. However, in clinical practice, normal-weight obesity is not commonly recognized.

Increased cardio-ankle vascular index in hyperlipidemic patients without diabetes or hypertension.

Aim: The cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) is a sensitive non-invasive marker of arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis. The aim of this work was to compare the CAVI values in patients with dyslipidemia (without diabetes mellitus and hypertension) and healthy controls.

Methods: A Total 248 subjects with dyslipidemia (104 men, 144 women), 55.

Influence of body fatness distribution and total lean mass on aortic stiffness in nonobese individuals.

Background: Subjects with normal body mass index but high body fat percentage have higher cardiovascular risk than subjects with normal weight and low fat mass. However, the association of fat distribution and lean mass with carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) among nonobese apparently healthy individuals has never been assessed.

Methods: In 136 nonobese volunteers (mean age = 45±9 years; 57% women) without manifest cardiovascular disease, cfPWV was measured by applanation tonometry.

Relationship between measures of central and general adiposity with aortic stiffness in the general population.

Objective: Increased aortic stiffness may be one of the mechanisms by which obesity increases cardiovascular risk independently of traditional risk factors. While body mass index (BMI) is generally used to define excess adiposity, several studies have suggested that measures of central obesity may be better predictors of cardiovascular risk. However, data comparing the association between several measures of central and general obesity with aortic stiffness in the general population are inconclusive.