The impact of white matter lesions and subclinical cerebral ischemia on postoperative cognitive training outcomes after heart valve surgery: A randomized clinical trial.

Background: White matter lesions and subclinical cerebral ischemia (SCI) are described as risk factors for postoperative cognitive decline (POCD) following cardiac surgery. This report aims to investigate the effect of brain lesions on postoperative cognitive training outcomes.

Methods: In a randomized, treatment-as-usual controlled trial, elderly patients scheduled for elective heart valve surgery participated.

Evaluation of frailty in geriatric patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation after cardiac procedure: results of a prospective, cross-sectional study.

Background: Frailty is an indicator of a decline in quality of life and functional capacity in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) patients. Currently, there is no standardized assessment tool for frailty used in CR. The aim of this study was to determine if the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) is feasible for assessing frailty in CR.

Non-invasive pulse arrival time as a surrogate for oscillometric systolic blood pressure changes during non-pharmacological intervention.

Non-invasive continuous blood pressure (BP) monitoring is of longstanding interest in various cardiovascular scenarios. In this context, pulse arrival time (PAT), i.e.

The prevalence and impact of sarcopenia in older cardiac patients undergoing inpatient cardiac rehabilitation - results from a prospective, observational cohort pre-study.

Background: The prevalence of sarcopenia and its impact in older patients undergoing inpatient cardiac rehabilitation (iCR) after cardiac procedure has been insufficiently studied. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of sarcopenia and quantify the functional capacity of older sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic patients participating in iCR.

Methods: Prospective, observational cohort study within the framework of the ongoing multicenter prehabilitation study "PRECOVERY".

Twelve-month follow-up effects of cognitive training after heart valve surgery on cognitive functions and health-related quality of life: a randomised clinical trial.

Objectives: Postoperative cognitive decline (POCD) or decreased health-related quality of life (HQL) have been reported after cardiac surgery. A previous investigation showed beneficial effects of postoperative cognitive training on POCD and HQL 3 months after heart surgery. Here, we present the 12-month follow-up results.

The impact of postoperative cognitive training on health-related quality of life and cognitive failures in daily living after heart valve surgery: A randomized clinical trial.

Background: Heart surgery is a risk factor for objectively and subjectively assessable postoperative cognitive decline (POCD), which is relevant for everyday life. The aim of this study was to investigate whether early postoperative cognitive training has an impact on health-related quality of life and cognitive failures in daily living after cardiac surgery.

Methods: The study was a two-arm, randomized, controlled, outcome-blinded trial involving older patients undergoing elective heart valve surgery with extracorporeal circulation (ECC).

Device-guided slow breathing with direct biofeedback of pulse wave velocity - acute effects on pulse arrival time and self-measured blood pressure.

Background: There isevidence that device-guided slow breathing using biofeedback acutely reduces blood pressure (BP) and pulse wave velocity [i.e. increased pulse arrival time (PAT)].

Attractor Reconstruction for Quantifying the Arterial Pulse Wave Morphology During Device-Guided Slow Breathing.

Attractor reconstruction is a new way to quantify the morphology of a cardiovascular waveform by plotting all data points in the three-dimensional phase space, generating a trajectory of overlapping loops. The aim of this study is to show the feasibility of an automatic approach to quantify pulse wave attractors from a device-guided breathing study, and to link attractor features to pulse waveform features. The recently developed feature extraction technique is applied to arterial pulse waveform data of 30 patients with treated hypertension.

Effects of postoperative cognitive training on neurocognitive decline after heart surgery: a randomized clinical trial.

Objectives: Following cardiac surgery, postoperative cognitive decline (POCD) is a common complication that can impair the quality of life and increase mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate whether early postoperative cognitive training can decrease POCD after cardiac surgery.

Methods: The study was a multi-centred, two-arm, randomized (1:1 ratio), controlled trial involving older patients undergoing elective heart valve surgery with extracorporeal circulation.

Home blood pressure monitoring: methodology, clinical relevance and practical application: a 2021 position paper by the Working Group on Blood Pressure Monitoring and Cardiovascular Variability of the European Society of Hypertension.

The present paper provides an update of previous recommendations on Home Blood Pressure Monitoring from the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) Working Group on Blood Pressure Monitoring and Cardiovascular Variability sequentially published in years 2000, 2008 and 2010. This update has taken into account new evidence in this field, including a recent statement by the American Heart association, as well as technological developments, which have occurred over the past 20 years. The present document has been developed by the same ESH Working Group with inputs from an international team of experts, and has been endorsed by the ESH.

Monitoring of Treatment for Arterial Hypertension–The Role of Office, Home, and 24 h Ambulatory Blood Pressure Measurement.

Background: The treatment of arterial hypertension can be monitored by office blood pressure (office BP), home blood pressure (home BP), or 24 hours ambulatory blood pressure (ABPM). In this review, we present current recommendations from Germany and from international guidelines as well as the findings of the main studies on the use of these methods to guide treatment.

Methods: This review is based on pertinent publications retrieved by a selective search in PubMed up to and including March 2020.

Non-invasive quantification of the effect of device-guided slow breathing with direct feedback to the patient to reduce blood pressure.

Objective: Slow breathing is a relaxation exercise recommended for lowering blood pressure (BP). Biofeedback may improve patient adherence and enhance BP lowering effects. Since the pulse arrival time (PAT) is inversely proportional to BP, it can be used to estimate BP changes.

Prehabilitation in patients awaiting elective coronary artery bypass graft surgery - effects on functional capacity and quality of life: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To determine the impact of an exercise-based prehabilitation (EBPrehab) program on pre- and postoperative exercise capacity, functional capacity (FC) and quality of life (QoL) in patients awaiting elective coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG).

Design: A two-group randomized controlled trail.

Setting: Ambulatory prehabilitation.

Decreasing postoperative cognitive deficits after heart surgery: protocol for a randomized controlled trial on cognitive training.

Background: The occurrence of postoperative cognitive deficits, especially after heart surgery, has been demonstrated in several studies. These deficits can clearly be noticed by the patients and by their close relatives in daily life. Furthermore, postoperative cognitive deficits can decrease quality of life in social functioning and earning capacity.

[Actual Standard of Blood Pressure Measurement - Statement of the German High Blood Pressure League].

Arterial hypertension is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases, and a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. It is essential to perform the blood pressure measurement under standardized conditions in the office/clinical setting, otherwise inaccuracy of blood pressure values may lead to poor blood pressure control or misdiagnosis. Compliance with these standards by a trained observer is of crucial importance for a reliable and accurate blood pressure measurement in clinical practice.

["Little Old Ladies' Heart" - Ventriculoarterial Coupling in Women With Isolated Systolic Hypertension and Diastolic Dysfunction].

The term "ventricular-arterial coupling" (va-coupling) describes the close interaction of the left ventricle with the arterial system during systole. Increased arterial stiffness in conditions such as isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) or increases in pulse wave reflection may lead to disturbed va-coupling. Pathological pulse wave reflection is closely related to increased left ventricular late systolic load, diastolic dysfunction and, in the long-term, the risk of new-onset HFpEF.

Blood pressure control and cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes: The German T2Target registry.

Blood pressure control in patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension is poor. It is unclear how effectively general practitioners assess and treat such patients. T2Target included hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who had undergone ambulatory blood pressure monitoring within the past 3 months.

Methodology and technology for peripheral and central blood pressure and blood pressure variability measurement: current status and future directions - Position statement of the European Society of Hypertension Working Group on blood pressure monitoring and cardiovascular variability.

Office blood pressure measurement has been the basis for hypertension evaluation for almost a century. However, the evaluation of blood pressure out of the office using ambulatory or self-home monitoring is now strongly recommended for the accurate diagnosis in many, if not all, cases with suspected hypertension. Moreover, there is evidence that the variability of blood pressure might offer prognostic information that is independent of the average blood pressure level.

The German Hypertension League (Deutsche Hochdruckliga) Quality Seal Protocol for blood pressure-measuring devices: 15-year experience and results from 105 devices for home blood pressure control.

Objective: The German Hypertension League (Deutsche Hochdruckliga) established a program to assess the accuracy and reliability of blood pressure (BP)-measuring devices in 1999 (Quality Seal Protocol). Here, we report on the results of a testing series of 105 devices designed for BP self-measurement.

Methods: The test protocol for the validation of upper-arm, wrist, and finger devices was developed to compare device to conventional Riva-Rocci measurements based on five criteria: mean systolic and mean diastolic differences, their standard deviations, and a point score representing the correlation of systolic and diastolic errors of individual comparisons.

Validation protocols for blood pressure-measuring devices: status quo and development needs.

Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Therefore, blood pressure self-measuring devices have emerged as valuable tools in patient care and the accuracy of these instruments is of fundamental importance. For this reason, several validation procedures for assessing the efficacy of blood pressure monitoring devices have been developed, including protocols by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, the British Hypertension Society, the German Hypertension League (Prüfsiegelprotokoll), and the International Protocol of the Working Group on Blood Pressure Monitoring of the European Society of Hypertension.

European Society of Hypertension practice guidelines for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.

Given the increasing use of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) in both clinical practice and hypertension research, a group of scientists, participating in the European Society of Hypertension Working Group on blood pressure monitoring and cardiovascular variability, in year 2013 published a comprehensive position paper dealing with all aspects of the technique, based on the available scientific evidence for ABPM. The present work represents an updated schematic summary of the most important aspects related to the use of ABPM in daily practice, and is aimed at providing recommendations for proper use of this technique in a clinical setting by both specialists and practicing physicians. The present article details the requirements and the methodological issues to be addressed for using ABPM in clinical practice, The clinical indications for ABPM suggested by the available studies, among which white-coat phenomena, masked hypertension, and nocturnal hypertension, are outlined in detail, and the place of home measurement of blood pressure in relation to ABPM is discussed.

Validation of the custo screen 400 ambulatory blood pressure-monitoring device according to the European Society of Hypertension International Protocol revision 2010.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to validate the custo screen 400 ambulatory blood pressure-monitoring (ABPM) device according to the 2010 International Protocol revision of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH-IP). The device can be used for ABPM for up to 72 hours.

Materials And Methods: Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP, respectively) were sequentially measured in 33 adult subjects (13 males and 20 females) and compared with a standard mercury sphygmomanometer (two observers).

European Society of Hypertension position paper on ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is being used increasingly in both clinical practice and hypertension research. Although there are many guidelines that emphasize the indications for ABPM, there is no comprehensive guideline dealing with all aspects of the technique. It was agreed at a consensus meeting on ABPM in Milan in 2011 that the 34 attendees should prepare a comprehensive position paper on the scientific evidence for ABPM.

Office and ambulatory blood pressure control with a fixed-dose combination of candesartan and hydrochlorothiazide in previously uncontrolled hypertensive patients: results of CHILI CU Soon.

Background: Fixed-dose combinations of candesartan 32 mg and hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) have been shown to be effective in clinical trials. Upon market entry we conducted a noninterventional study to document the safety and effectiveness of this fixed-dose combination in an unselected population in primary care and to compare blood pressure (BP) values obtained during office measurement (OBPM) with ambulatory blood pressure measurement (ABPM).

Methods: CHILI CU Soon was a prospective, noninterventional, noncontrolled, open-label, multicenter study with a follow-up of at least 10 weeks.

Effectiveness and safety of high-dose valsartan monotherapy in hypertension treatment: the ValTop study.

Early combination therapy is increasingly recommended in hypertension management because of increased risk of adverse effects with high-dose monotherapy. However, this risk is not necessarily increased for high doses of angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB). ValTop study compared efficacy and safety of high vs.