Anticoagulation risk assessment for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism: A clinical review.

Non-valvular atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism anticoagulation risk assessment tools have been increasingly utilized to guide implementation and duration of anticoagulant therapy. Anticoagulation significantly reduces stroke and recurrent venous thromboembolism risk, but comes at the cost of increased risk of major and clinically relevant non-major bleeding. The decision for anticoagulation in high-risk patients is complicated by the fact that many risk factors associated with increased thromboembolic risk are simultaneously associated with increased bleeding risk.

Health Factors Associated with Cardiovascular Wellness.

Purpose Of Review: In this review, we discuss a new paradigm for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) prevention that is focused on cultivating cardiovascular wellness through the promotion of "health factors."

Recent Findings: Cardiovascular prevention efforts have contributed to falling rates of ASCVD over the past five decades. However, contemporary increases in obesity and diabetes have led to a recent slowing in the annual decline of ASCVD death rates.

Clinician's Guide to the Updated ABCs of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: A Review Part 2.

Efforts to better control risk factors for cardiovascular disease and prevent the development of subsequent cardiovascular events are crucial to maintaining healthy populations. In today's busy practice environment and with the overwhelming pace of new research findings, ensuring appropriate emphasis and implementation of evidence-based preventive cardiovascular care can be challenging. The ABCDEF approach to cardiovascular disease prevention is intended to improve dissemination of contemporary best practices and ease the implementation of comprehensive preventive strategies for clinicians.

Clinician's Guide to the Updated ABCs of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: A Review Part 1.

Efforts to better control risk factors for cardiovascular disease and prevent the development of subsequent events are crucial to maintaining healthy populations. In today's busy practice environment and with the overwhelming pace of new research findings, ensuring appropriate emphasis and implementation of evidence-based preventive cardiovascular care can be challenging. The ABCDEF approach to cardiovascular disease prevention is intended to improve dissemination of contemporary best practices and facilitate the implementation of comprehensive preventive strategies for clinicians.

Erectile dysfunction links to cardiovascular disease-defining the clinical value.

Despite many advances over the last few decades, cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death globally, with men afflicted at an earlier age than women. In a bid to reduce the global burden of morbidity and mortality due to CVD, emphasis has been placed on prevention, particularly on widespread promotion of ideal cardiovascular health behaviors and advancing strategies to identify and treat high-risk individuals who may benefit from aggressive preventive therapy. Erectile dysfunction is a highly prevalent condition that has been demonstrated to share the same risk factors as clinical CVD, and to have independent predictive value for future CVD events.

Reduced levels of vasopressin, an independent mechanism in the obesity paradox in patients with chronic heart failure: Insights from the DAMOCLES study.

Background: An "obesity paradox" has been described in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), obese patients having a better survival. Vasopressin is elevated in patients with CHF, and higher levels are associated with worsening severity of the disease. We aimed at evaluating the relationship between body mass index (BMI), obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m), and vasopressin in patients with CHF, as well as the prognostic implications of vasopressin across the full spectrum of BMI values.

Correction to: Coronary Artery Calcium: Recommendations for Risk Assessment in Cardiovascular Prevention Guidelines.

In the recently published review "Coronary Artery Calcium: Recommendations for Risk Assessment in Cardiovascular Prevention Guidelines," the following author name was inadvertently misspelled as Alison Peng. The correct spelling of the author's name is: Allison Peng as shown above.

The prognostic value of interleukin 6 in multiple chronic diseases and all-cause death: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

Background And Aims: We aimed to evaluate the associations and prognostic value of interleukin-6 (IL6) for the prediction of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events, heart failure (HF), and other chronic diseases in a large, multi-ethnic, contemporary population.

Methods: We included 6617 participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (5640 non-users, 977 users of statins at baseline). Main outcomes were hard ASCVD events and HF; secondary outcomes included all-cause death, atrial fibrillation, venous thromboembolism and cancer.

Associations between self-reported periodontal disease, assessed using a very short questionnaire, cardiovascular disease events and all-cause mortality in a contemporary multi-ethnic population: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

Background And Aims: Periodontal disease (PD) is believed to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. Nevertheless, the additive prognostic value of PD for the prediction of CVD events beyond traditional risk factors is unclear, particularly when self-reported using a short questionnaire.

Methods: In the community-based, multicenter, prospective, Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), PD was assessed at baseline using a two-item questionnaire.

Discordance between 10-year cardiovascular risk estimates using the ACC/AHA 2013 estimator and coronary artery calcium in individuals from 5 racial/ethnic groups: Comparing MASALA and MESA.

Background And Aims: South Asian (SA) individuals are thought to represent a group that is at high-risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). However, the performance of the Pooled Cohort Equations (PCE) remains uncertain in SAs living in the US. We aimed to study the interplay between predicted 10-year ASCVD risk and coronary artery calcium (CAC) in SAs compared to other racial/ethnic groups.

Coronary Artery Calcium: Recommendations for Risk Assessment in Cardiovascular Prevention Guidelines.

Purpose Of Review: In this review, we evaluate the coronary artery calcium (CAC) score as a biomarker for advanced atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk assessment.

Recent Findings: We summarize the evidence from multiple epidemiological studies, which show a clear advantage of CAC compared to traditional and non-traditional cardiovascular risk factors. We then compare the recommendations included in the 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) and in the 2017 Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) guidelines for the use of CAC in ASCVD risk assessment, and examine the recent 2018 US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) document.

Communication issues in nutritional observational research.

Observational epidemiological studies involving foods and nutrients often attract great attention from both the press and the public as they involve substances that are part of the daily lives of millions of individuals. In the digital era, findings of this research can be disseminated to very large audiences almost instantaneously, informing health beliefs and potentially triggering lifestyle changes. In this context, communication of results from observational nutritional epidemiology often involves specific issues that may limit the accuracy of the information ultimately being delivered to the public.

Association of Multivitamin and Mineral Supplementation and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Multiple studies have attempted to identify the association between multivitamin/mineral (MVM) supplementation and cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes, but the benefits remain controversial. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the associations between MVM supplementation and various CVD outcomes, including coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke.

Methods And Results: We conducted a comprehensive search of Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for studies published between January 1970 and August 2016.

Coronary Artery Calcium Score: the "Mammogram" of the Heart?

Purpose Of Review: To discuss the classic analogy of "coronary artery calcium (CAC) as a mammogram of the heart", by evaluating the conceptual strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a potential cardiovascular disease (CVD) screening strategy using CAC in apparently healthy adults.

Recent Findings: CAC is typically used for further CVD risk assessment. CAC is also currently being used as a screening test in specific subgroups of individuals, particularly in some Asian countries.

Impact of Novel Low-Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol Assessment on the Utility of Secondary Non-High-Density Lipoprotein-C and Apolipoprotein B Targets in Selected Worldwide Dyslipidemia Guidelines.

Background: Selected dyslipidemia guidelines recommend non-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (non-HDL-C) and apolipoprotein B (apoB) as secondary targets to the primary target of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C). After considering 2 LDL-C estimates that differ in accuracy, we examined: (1) how frequently non-HDL-C guideline targets could change management; and (2) the utility of apoB targets after meeting LDL-C and non-HDL-C targets.

Methods: We analyzed 2518 adults representative of the US population from the 2011 to 2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and 126 092 patients from the Very Large Database of Lipids study with apoB.

Inflammation and coronary artery calcification in South Asians: The Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study.

Background And Aims: Inflammatory biomarkers and adipocytokines (IBA) may contribute to atherosclerosis by promoting vascular inflammation. The association between IBA and coronary artery calcium (CAC), a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, is not well defined in South Asians (SA). We hypothesized that IBA (high sensitivity C-reactive protein [hsCRP], tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α], adiponectin, and leptin) were independently associated with and improved discrimination of CAC among SA.