Publications by authors named "S B Ascher"

Background: The association between subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cognitive decline in hypertensive adults and the underlying brain pathologies remain unclear. It is also undetermined whether intensifying blood pressure (BP) treatment slows down cognitive decline associated with subclinical CVD.

Methods: We conducted a post hoc analysis of the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Urine epidermal growth factor (uEGF) has been found to be inversely associated with kidney function loss, whereas its associations with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality have not been studied.

Methods: We measured baseline uEGF levels among 2346 Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) participants with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 ml/min per 1.73 m.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Physician use of stigmatizing language in the clinical documentation of hospitalized adults with opioid use is common. However, patient factors associated with stigmatizing language in this setting remain poorly characterized.

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether specific demographic factors and clinical outcomes are associated with the presence of stigmatizing language by physicians in the clinical documentation of encounters with opioid-related ICD-10 (International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision) codes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: There are no shared decision-making frameworks for selecting blood pressure (BP) targets for individuals with hypertension. This study addressed whether results from the SPRINT (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial) could be tailored to individuals using predicted risks and simulated preferences.

Methods And Results: Among 8202 SPRINT participants, Cox models were developed and internally validated to predict each individual's absolute difference in risk from intensive versus standard BP lowering for cardiovascular events, cognitive impairment, death, and serious adverse events (AEs).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Key Points: Among nondiabetic individuals with hypertension and CKD, higher urine ammonium concentration is associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Urine ammonium was not associated with all-cause mortality or CKD progression, AKI, or linear eGFR decline in the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial cohort.

Background: Impaired urine ammonium excretion is common in CKD and may identify risk of metabolic acidosis earlier than reductions in serum bicarbonate or pH and thus may have associations with cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF