Unadjusted comparisons of circulating biomarkers amongst the three study groups.

<p>Unadjusted comparisons of circulating biomarkers amongst the three study groups.</p

Baseline characteristics of the three study groups.

<p>Baseline characteristics of the three study groups.</p

Unadjusted comparisons of endothelial function parameters amongst the three study groups.

<p>Unadjusted comparisons of endothelial function parameters amongst the three study groups.</p

CONSORT: Screening, Randomization, Baseline Imaging and Follow-up.

<p>CONSORT: Screening, Randomization, Baseline Imaging and Follow-up.</p

Subject Characteristics at Baseline and 3 Years after the Target Quit Date^*.

*<p>all values are means (standard deviation); ANOVA  =  analysis of variance, CIMT  =  carotid intima-media thickness</p>a<p> =  significantly different from intermittent smokers (p<0.05), based on a post-hoc Tukey test</p>b<p> =  significantly different from continuous smokers (p<0.05), based on a post-hoc Tukey test</p>c<p> =  significantly different from continuously abstinent (p<0.05), based on a post-hoc Tukey test</p

Trends in Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Goal Achievement in High Risk United States Adults: Longitudinal Findings from the 1999–2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys

<div><p>Background</p><p>Previous studies have demonstrated gaps in achievement of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) goals among U.S. individuals at high cardiovascular disease risk; however, recent studies in selected populations indicate improvements.</p> <p>Objective</p><p>We sought to define the longitudinal trends in achieving LDL-C goals among high-risk United States adults from 1999–2008.</p> <p><i>Methods</i> We analyzed five sequential population-based cross-sectional National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 1999–2008, which included 18,656 participants aged 20–79 years. We calculated rates of LDL-C goal achievement and treatment in the high-risk population.</p> <p>Results</p><p>The prevalence of high-risk individuals increased from 13% to 15.5% (p = 0.046). Achievement of LDL-C <100 mg/dL increased from 24% to 50.4% (p<0.0001) in the high-risk population with similar findings in subgroups with (27% to 64.8% p<0.0001) and without (21.8% to 43.7%, p<0.0001) coronary heart disease (CHD). Achievement of LDL-C <70 mg/dL improved from 2.4% to 17% (p<0.0001) in high-risk individuals and subgroups with (3.4% to 21.4%, p<0.0001) and without (1.7% to 14.9%, p<0.0001) CHD. The proportion with LDL-C ≥130 mg/dL and not on lipid medications decreased from 29.4% to 18% (p = 0.0002), with similar findings among CHD (25% to 11.9% p = 0.0013) and non-CHD (35.8% to 20.8% p<0.0001) subgroups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p><p>The proportions of the U.S. high-risk population achieving LDL-C <100 mg/dL and <70 mg/dL increased over the last decade. With 65% of the CHD subpopulation achieving an LDL-C <100 mg/dL in the most recent survey, U.S. LDL-C goal achievement exceeds previous reports and approximates rates achieved in highly selected patient cohorts.</p> </div

Bland-Altman Plot for Inter-Reader Reproducibility of Carotid Artery Longitudinal Displacement.

<p>The solid line at zero represents perfect inter-reader reproducibility. The second solid line at 0.012 represents the mean difference. The dashed lines represent +2 standard deviations (top) and -2 standard deviations (bottom) from the mean.</p

CONSORT 2010 Flow Diagram.

<p>The first 34 subjects were part of a pilot study performed under NCT 00690417. The remainder of the subjects were performed under NCT 01049048.</p

Baseline Subject Characteristics.

<p>All values are means (standard deviations).</p>*<p>Central blood pressures and stiffness measurements were obtained from 37 subjects in the placebo and 38 subjects in the vitamin D arms, respectively.</p><p>25OH Vitamin D = 25-hydroxyvitamin D.</p><p>DBP  =  diastolic blood pressure.</p><p>FMD  =  flow-mediated dilation.</p><p>HDL  =  high density lipoprotein.</p><p>LDL  =  low density lipoprotein.</p><p>SBP  =  systolic blood pressure.</p

Measurement of Carotid Artery Longitudinal Displacement.

<p><b>Panel A.</b> Image of the right common carotid artery. The overlay schematic of the tracing point locations (green circles) are used for the determination of longitudinal displacement. A region of interest was identified by measuring 0.5 cm caudal from the carotid bulb along the far wall of the distal common carotid artery, using an onscreen measuring tool (Microsoft Windows Ruler). The second and third points were placed 0.1 cm apart, extending caudally. Each point that was placed at the intima-media interface is tracked using a “speckle tracking” algorithm (TomTec, Unterscheissheim, Germany) that tracks specific pixel movement during the cardiac cycle. <b>Panel B.</b> Sample output of a longitudinal displacement waveform indicated by the solid blue line. This was generated using a “speckle tracking” algorithm (TomTec, Unterscheissheim, Germany) with a free-trace feature that makes no geometric assumptions about the shape of the object being analyzed. Longitudinal displacement (mm) is on the y-axis and time (ms) is on the x-axis. Arrows mark the maximum and minimum displacement of the second and third beats in the ultrasound loop. The dotted lines represent the total longitudinal displacement for these beats. Reported longitudinal displacement values are averaged over two cardiac cycles.</p