The International Database of HOme blood pressure in relation to Cardiovascular Outcome (IDHOCO): moving from baseline characteristics to research perspectives.

The objective of this study is to construct an International Database of HOme blood pressure in relation to Cardiovascular Outcome (IDHOCO). The main goal of this database is to determine outcome-based diagnostic thresholds for the self-measured home blood pressure (BP). Secondary objectives include investigating the predictive value of white-coat and masked hypertension, morning and evening BP, BP and heart rate variability, and the home arterial stiffness index.

Home blood pressure level, blood pressure variability, smoking, and stroke risk in Japanese men: the Ohasama study.

Background: Hypertension and smoking independently contribute to the risk of stroke. Our objective was to investigate home blood pressure (HBP) levels, day-by-day BP variability, and smoking in the prediction of stroke in Japanese men.

Methods: In this study, 902 men (mean age, 58.

Plasma renin activity and the aldosterone-to-renin ratio are associated with the development of chronic kidney disease: the Ohasama Study.

Background: The aldosterone-to-renin ratio (ARR) is used to screen for primary aldosteronism and could be an index for salt sensitivity. The association between ARR and the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is completely unknown.

Method: A longitudinal observational study involving 689 participants from a general Japanese population (mean age 58.

Daily serial hemodynamic data during pregnancy and seasonal variation: the BOSHI study.

Although there are some reports that low plasma volume or increased cardiac output is associated with developing preeclampsia, there are few reports of daily serial hemodynamic data during pregnancy. A total of 37,092 home blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) measurements were obtained from 425 normal pregnant women. Heart rate and shock index (SI) gradually increased by gestational week 32 and then decreased, whereas double product (DP) increased linearly during pregnancy.

The velocity of antihypertensive effect of losartan/hydrochlorothiazide and angiotensin II receptor blocker.

Objective: The hypotensive effect and the time to attain the maximum antihypertensive effect (stabilization time) of losartan/hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) combination therapy and therapy with a maximal dose of angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) in patients who failed to achieve adequate blood pressure (BP) control on a medium-dose of ARBs were compared by analyzing exponential decay functions using daily serial morning home BP measurements.

Methods: Essential hypertensive patients treated with a medium dose of ARB, in whom a target home SBP (135 mmHg) was not achieved, were randomized into two groups: a combination group (n = 110) and a maximal-dose ARB group (n = 111).

Results: The combination therapy provided additional reduction of 5.

Hypotensive and heart rate-lowering effects of low-dose bisoprolol determined based on self-measured blood pressure at home.

We investigated morning home blood pressure (BP)- and heart rate (HR)-lowering effects of 2.5/5 mg bisoprolol in 70 patients with essential hypertension. After 4 weeks of treatment, mean home systolic/diastolic BP and HR significantly decreased by 2.

Association between white matter hyperintensity and lacunar infarction on MRI and subitem scores of the Japanese version of mini-mental state examination for testing cognitive decline: the Ohasama study.

We assessed whether subitem scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) associated independently with cerebral white matter hyperintensity (WMH) and lacunar infarction (LI). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological evaluation (MMSE) were performed in 1008 elderly individuals from the Ohasama Study (348 men, 660 women [65.5%]; age 68.

Associations between day-by-day variability in blood pressure measured at home and antihypertensive drugs: the J-HOME-Morning study.

We identified the factors associated with home blood pressure (BP) variability in 1933 patients treated with hypertensive drugs (mean age, 67 years; women, 55%). Multivariate regression analysis showed that female gender, advanced age, home BP value, and home heart rate variability were positively associated with home BP variability, whereas home heart rate, body mass index, and duration of antihypertensive treatment were negatively associated with home BP variability. Moreover, not being medicated with amlodipine and being medicated with angiotensin II receptor blockers were associated with increased home systolic BP variability only among patients who were treated for less than 12 months.

Pre-hypertension as a significant predictor of chronic kidney disease in a general population: the Ohasama Study.

Background: Hypertension is associated with an increased risk of development of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, it is unclear whether pre-hypertension is related to the incidence of CKD.

Methods: The incidence of CKD defined as positive proteinuria or estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 mL/min/1.

Pharmacists' awareness and attitude toward blood pressure measurement at home and in the pharmacy in Japan.

The aim of this study is to investigate the status of Japanese pharmacists' awareness and attitude toward blood pressure (BP) measurement at home (HBP) and in the pharmacy. Of the 708 community pharmacists and the 117 hospital pharmacists, more than 90% of pharmacists answered that HBP was equally important to or more important than clinic BP, 71.9% (community) and 48.

Aldosterone-to-renin ratio as a predictor of stroke under conditions of high sodium intake: the Ohasama study.

Background: Aldosterone is thought to have deleterious effects on the cardiovascular system. The aldosterone-to-renin ratio (ARR) is more reproducible than aldosterone levels alone and could be an index for inappropriate aldosterone secretion or activity. We previously reported the apparent relation between ARR and hypertension in subjects with high sodium intake.

Evaluating home blood pressure in treated hypertensives in comparison with the referential value of casual screening of blood pressure: the Ohasama study.

Objective: The target home blood pressure (BP) levels for antihypertensive treatment have not been fully investigated. We estimated home BP values that corresponded to the referential values of casual screening of BP using reduced major axis (RMA) regression for data from untreated and treated individuals in a general population.

Methods: The study included 2651 participants (778 treated) aged 20 years or above.

Study of the association between an anomalous superior vena cava and horseshoe kidney.

Background: The incidence of inferior vena cava anomalies in patients with horseshoe kidney is higher than that reported in the general population. As far as we know, no studies have reported the incidence and variations of superior vena cava (SVC) anomalies using multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) in patients with horseshoe kidney.

Methods And Results: Using MDCT, 71 patients with a horseshoe kidney (group A: 45 males, 26 females; mean age, 60.

Mapping hypofrontality during letter fluency task in schizophrenia: a multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy study.

Cognitive impairment and associated frontal lobe dysfunction characterize schizophrenia. The letter fluency test (LFT) has been used as one of the most sensitive measures of the cognitive dysfunction, but the nature and topography of the hypofrontality have yet to be fully elucidated. In this study we used multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), a recently developed noninvasive functional imaging technique, to measure changes in the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin in the prefrontal cortices of 31 schizophrenia patients and 26 age- and sex-matched healthy controls during performance of the LFT.

Predictive value for mortality of the double product at rest obtained by home blood pressure measurement: the Ohasama study.

Background: To clarify whether the double product (DP) (product of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and pulse rate (PR)) at rest based on home blood pressure (HBP) measurement has prognostic value for mortality.

Methods: HBP data of 2,583 participants from a Japanese general population (40% men) ≥35 years of age (mean, 59 years) without a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) were obtained. The prognostic significance for a 1,000 mm Hg × beats/min elevation in the DP was determined by Cox proportional hazard regression analysis.

Significance of white-coat hypertension in older persons with isolated systolic hypertension: a meta-analysis using the International Database on Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring in Relation to Cardiovascular Outcomes population.

The significance of white-coat hypertension in older persons with isolated systolic hypertension remains poorly understood. We analyzed subjects from the population-based 11-country International Database on Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring in Relation to Cardiovascular Outcomes database who had daytime ambulatory blood pressure (BP; ABP) and conventional BP (CBP) measurements. After excluding persons with diastolic hypertension by CBP (≥90 mm Hg) or by daytime ABP (≥85 mm Hg), a history of cardiovascular disease, and persons <18 years of age, the present analysis totaled 7295 persons, of whom 1593 had isolated systolic hypertension.

Health behaviors as predictors for declines in higher-level functional capacity in older adults: the Ohasama study.

Objectives: To determine the characteristics of health behaviors related to higher-level functional decline in older community-dwelling adults.

Design: Prospective.

Setting: Ohasama Town, Japan.

Ambulatory versus home versus clinic blood pressure: the association with subclinical cerebrovascular diseases: the Ohasama Study.

The usefulness of ambulatory, home, and casual/clinic blood pressure measurements to predict subclinical cerebrovascular diseases (silent cerebrovascular lesions and carotid atherosclerosis) was compared in a general population. Data on ambulatory, home, and casual/clinic blood pressures and brain MRI to detect silent cerebrovascular lesions were obtained in 1007 subjects aged ≥55 years in a general population of Ohasama, Japan. Of the 1007 subjects, 583 underwent evaluation of the extent of carotid atherosclerosis.

Salt-inducible kinase 1 influences Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity in vascular smooth muscle cells and associates with variations in blood pressure.

Objectives: Essential hypertension is a complex condition whose cause involves the interaction of multiple genetic and environmental factors such as salt intake. Salt-inducible kinase 1 (SIK1) is a sucrose-nonfermenting-like kinase isoform that belongs to the AMPK (5' adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase) family. SIK1 activity is increased by high salt intake and plays an essential role in regulating the plasma membrane Na(+),K(+)-ATPase.

Major venous anomalies are frequently associated with horseshoe kidneys.

Background: Several cases of horseshoe kidney with anomalous inferior vena cava (IVC) have been described, but there have been no reports of the incidence and variation of anomalous IVC in patients with horseshoe kidneys detected using multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT).

Methods And Results: 105 patients with horseshoe kidneys were evaluated with MDCT and a variety of venous anomalies were identified in 30 patients (28.6%).