The birth and development of clinical physiology in Finland.

The specialty of clinical physiology was established in Finland about 20 years later than in Sweden. In the early 1960s, six physicians working mainly in preclinical departments of physiology were certified as specialists in clinical physiology. Many of the first specialists working in hospitals received specialist training in Sweden.

The Duke treadmill score with bicycle ergometer: Exercise capacity is the most important predictor of cardiovascular mortality.

Background: The Duke treadmill score, a widely used treadmill testing tool, is a weighted index combining exercise time or capacity, maximum ST-segment deviation and exercise-induced angina. No previous studies have investigated whether the Duke treadmill score and its individual components based on bicycle exercise testing predict cardiovascular death.

Design: Two populations with a standard bicycle testing were used: 3936 patients referred for exercise testing (2371 men, age 56 ± 13 years) from the Finnish Cardiovascular Study (FINCAVAS) and a population-based sample of 2683 men (age 53 ± 5.

Trans-ancestry genome-wide association study identifies 12 genetic loci influencing blood pressure and implicates a role for DNA methylation.

We carried out a trans-ancestry genome-wide association and replication study of blood pressure phenotypes among up to 320,251 individuals of East Asian, European and South Asian ancestry. We find genetic variants at 12 new loci to be associated with blood pressure (P = 3.9 × 10(-11) to 5.

Prognostic capacity of a clinically indicated exercise test for cardiovascular mortality is enhanced by combined analysis of exercise capacity, heart rate recovery and T-wave alternans.

Background: Exercise capacity, heart rate recovery and T-wave alternans are independent predictors of cardiovascular mortality. We tested whether these parameters contain supplementary prognostic information.

Methods: A total of 3609 consecutive patients (2157 men) referred for a routine, clinically indicated bicycle exercise test were enrolled in the Finnish Cardiovascular Study (FINCAVAS).

Psychosocial correlates of atrial natriuretic peptide: a marker of vascular health.

Background: Psychosocial factors have been associated with cardiovascular outcomes, but few studies have examined the association between psychosocial function and natriuretic peptides.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the predictive value of hostility, anger, and social support in relation to atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), a marker of vascular health, among middle-aged men.

Methods: One hundred twenty-one men (mean age = 39.