Contaminant Metals as Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

Exposure to environmental pollutants is linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Beyond the extensive evidence for particulate air pollution, accumulating evidence supports that exposure to nonessential metals such as lead, cadmium, and arsenic is a significant contributor to cardiovascular disease worldwide. Humans are exposed to metals through air, water, soil, and food and extensive industrial and public use. Contaminant metals interfere with critical intracellular reactions and functions leading to oxidative stress and chronic inflammation that result in endothelial dysfunction, hypertension, epigenetic dysregulation, dyslipidemia, and changes in myocardial excitation and contractile function. Lead, cadmium, and arsenic have been linked to subclinical atherosclerosis, coronary artery stenosis, and calcification as well as to increased risk of ischemic heart disease and stroke, left ventricular hypertrophy and heart failure, and peripheral artery disease. Epidemiological studies show that exposure to lead, cadmium, or arsenic is associated with cardiovascular death mostly attributable to ischemic heart disease. Public health measures reducing metal exposure are associated with reductions in cardiovascular disease death. Populations of color and low socioeconomic means are more commonly exposed to metals and therefore at greater risk of metal-induced cardiovascular disease. Together with strengthening public health measures to prevent metal exposures, development of more sensitive and selective measurement modalities, clinical monitoring of metal exposures, and the development of metal chelation therapies could further diminish the burden of cardiovascular disease attributable to metal exposure.S

Diagnosis, Treatment, and Long-term Management of Kawasaki Disease: a Scientific Statement for Health Professionals from the American Heart Association

BACKGROUND: Kawasaki disease is an acute vasculitis of childhood that leads to coronary artery aneurysms in approximately 25% of untreated cases. It has been reported worldwide and is the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children in developed countries. METHODS AND RESULTS: To revise the previous American Heart Association guidelines, a multidisciplinary writing group of experts was convened to review and appraise available evidence and practice-based opinion, as well as to provide updated recommendations for diagnosis, treatment of the acute illness, and long-term management. Although the cause remains unknown, discussion sections highlight new insights into the epidemiology, genetics, pathogenesis, pathology, natural history, and long-term outcomes. Prompt diagnosis is essential, and an updated algorithm defines supplemental information to be used to assist the diagnosis when classic clinical criteria are incomplete. Although intravenous immune globulin is the mainstay of initial treatment, the role for additional primary therapy in selected patients is discussed. Approximately 10% to 20% of patients do not respond to initial intravenous immune globulin, and recommendations for additional therapies are provided. Careful initial management of evolving coronary artery abnormalities is essential, necessitating an increased frequency of assessments and escalation of thromboprophylaxis. Risk stratification for long-term management is based primarily on maximal coronary artery luminal dimensions, normalized as Z scores, and is calibrated to both past and current involvement. Patients with aneurysms require life-long and uninterrupted cardiology follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: These recommendations provide updated and best evidence-based guidance to healthcare providers who diagnose and manage Kawasaki disease, but clinical decision making should be individualized to specific patient circumstances

Importance of Housing and Cardiovascular Health and Well-Being: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

Cardiovascular disease disparities are shaped by differences in risk factors across racial and ethnic groups. Housing remains an important social determinant of health. The objective of this statement is to review and summarize research that has examined the associations of housing status with cardiovascular health and overall health. PubMed/Medline, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, US Census data, Cochrane Library reviews, and the annual Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics report from the American Heart Association were used to identify empirical research studies that examined associations of housing with cardiovascular health and overall well-being. Health is affected by 4 prominent dimensions of housing: stability, quality and safety, affordability and accessibility, and neighborhood environment. Vulnerable and underserved populations are adversely affected by housing insecurity and homelessness, are at risk for lower-quality and unsafe housing conditions, confront structural barriers that limit access to affordable housing, and are at risk for living in areas with substandard built environment features that are linked to cardiovascular disease. Research linking select pathways to cardiovascular health is relatively strong, but research gaps in other housing pathways and cardiovascular health remain. Efforts to eliminate cardiovascular disease disparities have recently emphasized the importance of social determinants of health. Housing is a prominent social determinant of cardiovascular health and well-being and should be considered in the evaluation of prevention efforts to reduce and eliminate racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities

Lower Extremity Peripheral Artery Disease: Contemporary Epidemiology, Management Gaps, and Future Directions: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

Lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects >230 million adults worldwide and is associated with increased risk of various adverse clinical outcomes (other cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and stroke and leg outcomes such as amputation). Despite its prevalence and clinical importance, PAD has been historically underappreciated by health care professionals and patients. This underappreciation seems multifactorial (eg, limited availability of the first-line diagnostic test, the ankle-brachial index, in clinics; incorrect perceptions that a leg vascular disease is not fatal and that the diagnosis of PAD would not necessarily change clinical practice). In the past several years, a body of evidence has indicated that these perceptions are incorrect. Several studies have consistently demonstrated that many patients with PAD are not receiving evidence-based therapies. Thus, this scientific statement provides an update for health care professionals regarding contemporary epidemiology (eg, prevalence, temporal trends, risk factors, and complications) of PAD, the present status of diagnosis (physiological tests and imaging modalities), and the major gaps in the management of PAD (eg, medications, exercise therapy, and revascularization). The statement also lists key gaps in research, clinical practice, and implementation related to PAD. Orchestrated efforts among different parties (eg, health care providers, researchers, expert organizations, and health care organizations) will be needed to increase the awareness and understanding of PAD and improve the diagnostic approaches, management, and prognosis of PAD

Characteristics, Prevention, and Management of Cardiovascular Disease in People Living With HIV: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

As early and effective antiretroviral therapy has become more widespread, HIV has transitioned from a progressive, fatal disease to a chronic, manageable disease marked by elevated risk of chronic comorbid diseases, including cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Rates of myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, and other CVD manifestations, including pulmonary hypertension and sudden cardiac death, are significantly higher for people living with HIV than for uninfected control subjects, even in the setting of HIV viral suppression with effective antiretroviral therapy. These elevated risks generally persist after demographic and clinical risk factors are accounted for and may be partly attributed to chronic inflammation and immune dysregulation. Data on long-term CVD outcomes in HIV are limited by the relatively recent epidemiological transition of HIV to a chronic disease. Therefore, our understanding of CVD pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment in HIV relies on large observational studies, randomized controlled trials of HIV therapies that are underpowered to detect CVD end points, and small interventional studies examining surrogate CVD end points. The purpose of this document is to provide a thorough review of the existing evidence on HIV-associated CVD, in particular atherosclerotic CVD (including myocardial infarction and stroke) and heart failure, as well as pragmatic recommendations on how to approach CVD prevention and treatment in HIV in the absence of large-scale randomized controlled trial data. This statement is intended for clinicians caring for people with HIV, individuals living with HIV, and clinical and translational researchers interested in HIV-associated CVD

Addressing Social Determinants of Health and Mitigating Health Disparities Across the Lifespan in Congenital Heart Disease: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

Despite the overall improvement in life expectancy of patients living with congenital heart disease (congenital HD), disparities in morbidity and mortality remain throughout the lifespan. Longstanding systemic inequities, disparities in the social determinants of health, and the inability to obtain quality lifelong care contribute to poorer outcomes. To work toward health equity in populations with congenital HD, we must recognize the existence and strategize the elimination of inequities in overall congenital HD morbidity and mortality, disparate health care access, and overall quality of health services in the context of varying social determinants of health, systemic inequities, and structural racism. This requires critically examining multilevel contributions that continue to facilitate health inequities in the natural history and consequences of congenital HD. In this scientific statement, we focus on population, systemic, institutional, and individual-level contributions to health inequities from prenatal to adult congenital HD care. We review opportunities and strategies for improvement in lifelong congenital HD care based on current public health and scientific evidence, surgical data, experiences from other patient populations, and recognition of implicit bias and microaggressions. Furthermore, we review directions and goals for both quantitative and qualitative research approaches to understanding and mitigating health inequities in congenital HD care. Finally, we assess ways to improve the diversity of the congenital HD workforce as well as ethical guidance on addressing social determinants of health in the context of clinical care and research