Coronary heart disease and mortality following a breast cancer diagnosis

BACKGROUND: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality for breast cancer survivors, yet the joint effect of adverse cardiovascular health (CVH) and cardiotoxic cancer treatments on post-treatment CHD and death has not been quantified. METHODS: We conducted statistical and machine learning approaches to evaluate 10-year risk of these outcomes among 1934 women diagnosed with breast cancer during 2006 and 2007. Overall CVH scores were classified as poor, intermediate, or ideal for 5 factors, smoking, body mass index, blood pressure, glucose/hemoglobin A1c, and cholesterol from clinical data within 5 years prior to the breast cancer diagnosis. The receipt of potentially cardiotoxic breast cancer treatments was indicated if the patient received anthracyclines or hormone therapies. We modeled the outcomes of post-cancer diagnosis CHD and death, respectively. RESULTS: Results of these approaches indicated that the joint effect of poor CVH and receipt of cardiotoxic treatments on CHD (75.9%) and death (39.5%) was significantly higher than their independent effects [poor CVH (55.9%) and cardiotoxic treatments (43.6%) for CHD, and poor CVH (29.4%) and cardiotoxic treatments (35.8%) for death]. CONCLUSIONS: Better CVH appears to be protective against the development of CHD even among women who had received potentially cardiotoxic treatments. This study determined the extent to which attainment of ideal CVH is important not only for CHD and mortality outcomes among women diagnosed with breast cancer

Is Isolated Nocturnal Hypertension A Reproducible Phenotype?

BACKGROUND: Isolated nocturnal hypertension (INH), defined as nocturnal without daytime hypertension on ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring (ABPM), has been observed to be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the short-term reproducibility of INH. METHODS: The Improving the Detection of Hypertension Study enrolled a community-based sample of adults (N = 282) in upper Manhattan without CVD, renal failure, or treated hypertension. Each participant completed two 24-hour ABPM recordings (ABPM1: first recording and ABPM2: second recording) with a mean ± SD time interval of 33 ± 17 days between recordings. Daytime hypertension was defined as mean awake systolic/diastolic BP ≥ 135/85 mm Hg; nocturnal hypertension as mean sleep systolic/diastolic BP ≥ 120/70 mm Hg; INH as nocturnal without daytime hypertension; isolated daytime hypertension (IDH) as daytime without nocturnal hypertension; day and night hypertension (DNH) as daytime and nocturnal hypertension, and any ambulatory hypertension as having daytime and/or nocturnal hypertension. RESULTS: On ABPM1, 26 (9.2%), 21 (7.4%), and 50 (17.7%) participants had INH, IDH, and DNH, respectively. On ABPM2, 24 (8.5%), 19 (6.7%), and 54 (19.1%) had INH, IDH, and DNH, respectively. The kappa statistics were 0.21 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.04-0.38), 0.25 (95% CI 0.06-0.44), and 0.65 (95% CI 0.53-0.77) for INH, IDH, and DNH respectively; and 0.72 (95% CI 0.63-0.81) for having any ambulatory hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that INH and IDH are poorly reproducible phenotypes, and that ABPM should be primarily used to identify individuals with daytime hypertension and/or nocturnal hypertension

Differences in night-time and daytime ambulatory blood pressure when diurnal periods are defined by self-report, fixed-times, and actigraphy: Improving the Detection of Hypertension study

To determine whether defining diurnal periods by self-report, fixed-time or actigraphy produce different estimates of nighttime and daytime ambulatory blood pressure (ABP)

Cardiovascular Disease Risk of Abdominal Obesity vs. Metabolic Abnormalities

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93656/1/oby.2010.168.pd

Prevalence and Correlates of Low Medication Adherence in Apparent Treatment-Resistant Hypertension

Low medication adherence may explain part of the high prevalence of apparent treatment-resistant hypertension (aTRH). The authors assessed medication adherence and aTRH among 4026 participants taking ≥3 classes of antihypertensive medication in the population-based Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) trial using the 4-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS). Low adherence was defined as an MMAS score ≥2. Overall, 66% of participants taking ≥3 classes of antihypertensive medication had aTRH. Perfect adherence on the MMAS was reported by 67.8% and 70.9% of participants with and without aTRH, respectively. Low adherence was present among 8.1% of participants with aTRH and 5.0% of those without aTRH (P<.001). Among those with aTRH, female sex, residence outside the US stroke belt or stroke buckle, physical inactivity, elevated depressive symptoms, and a history of coronary heart disease were associated with low adherence. In the current study, a small percentage of participants with aTRH had low adherence

Short-Term Risk of Serious Fall Injuries in Older Adults Initiating and Intensifying Treatment With Antihypertensive Medication

Background—Antihypertensive medication use has been associated with an increased risk of falls in some but not all studies. Few data are available on the short-term risk of falls after antihypertensive medication initiation and intensification. Methods and Results—We examined the association between initiating and intensifying antihypertensive medication and serious fall injuries in a case-crossover study of 90 127 Medicare beneficiaries who were ≥65 years old and had a serious fall injury between July 1, 2007, and December 31, 2012, based on emergency department and inpatient claims. Antihypertensive medication initiation was defined by a prescription fill with no fills in the previous year. Intensification was defined by the addition of a new antihypertensive class, and separately, titration by the addition of a new class or increase in dosage of a current class. Exposures were ascertained for the 15 days before the fall (case period) and six 15-day earlier periods (control periods). Overall, 272, 1508, and 3113 Medicare beneficiaries initiated, added a new class of antihypertensive medication or titrated therapy within 15 days of their serious fall injury. The odds for a serious fall injury was increased during the 15 days after antihypertensive medication initiation (odds ratio, 1.36 [95% confidence interval, 1.19–1.55]), adding a new class (odds ratio, 1.16 [95% confidence interval, 1.10–1.23]), and titration [odds ratio, 1.13 [95% confidence interval, 1.08–1.18]). These associations were attenuated beyond 15 days. Conclusions—Antihypertensive medication initiation and intensification was associated with a short-term, but not long-term, increased risk of serious fall injuries among older adults

Burden of Cardiovascular Risk Factors Over Time and Arterial Stiffness in Youth With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study

Background: The incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in children is increasing, resulting in higher burden of cardiovascular diseases due to diabetes mellitus–related vascular dysfunction. Methods and Results: We examined cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) and arterial parameters in 1809 youth with T1DM. Demographics, anthropometrics, blood pressure, and laboratory data were collected at T1DM onset and 5 years later. Pulse wave velocity and augmentation index were collected with tonometry. ANOVA or chi�square tests were used to test for differences in measures of arterial parameters by CVRF. Area under the curve of CVRFs was entered in general linear models to explore determinants of accelerate vascular aging. Participants at the time of arterial measurement were 17.6±4.5 years old, 50% female, 76% non�Hispanic white, and duration of T1DM was 7.8±1.9 years. Glycemic control was poor (glycated hemoglobin, 9.1±1.8%). All arterial parameters were higher in participants with glycated hemoglobin ≥9% and pulse wave velocity was higher with lower insulin sensitivity or longer duration of diabetes mellitus. Differences in arterial parameters were found by sex, age, and presence of obesity, hypertension, or dyslipidemia. In multivariable models, higher glycated hemoglobin, lower insulin sensitivity, body mass index, blood pressure, and lipid areas under the curve were associated with accelerated vascular aging. Conclusions: In young people with T1DM, persistent poor glycemic control and higher levels of traditional CVRFs are independently associated with arterial aging. Improving glycemic control and interventions to lower CVRFs may prevent future cardiovascular events in young individuals with T1DM

Inflammation and acute traffic-related air pollution exposures among a cohort of youth with type 1 diabetes

Background: Evidence remains equivocal regarding the association of inflammation, a precursor to cardiovascular disease, and acute exposures to ambient air pollution from traffic-related particulate matter. Though youth with type 1 diabetes are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, the relationship of inflammation and ambient air pollution exposures in this population has received little attention. Objectives: Using five geographically diverse US sites from the racially- and ethnically-diverse SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Cohort, we examined the relationship of acute exposures to PM2.5 mass, Atmospheric Dispersion Modeling System (ADMS)-Roads traffic-related PM concentrations near roadways, and elemental carbon (EC) with biomarkers of inflammation including interleukin-6 (IL-6), c-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and fibrinogen. Methods: Baseline questionnaires and blood were obtained at a study visit. Using a spatio-temporal modeling approach, pollutant exposures for 7 days prior to blood draw were assigned to residential addresses. Linear mixed models for each outcome and exposure were adjusted for demographic and lifestyle factors identified a priori. Results: Among the 2566 participants with complete data, fully-adjusted models showed positive associations of EC average week exposures with IL-6 and hs-CRP, and PM2.5 mass exposures on lag day 3 with IL-6 levels. Comparing the 25th and 75th percentiles of average week EC exposures resulted in 8.3% higher IL-6 (95%CI: 2.7%,14.3%) and 9.8% higher hs-CRP (95%CI: 2.4%,17.7%). We observed some evidence of effect modification for the relationships of PM2.5 mass exposures with hs-CRP by gender and with IL-6 by race/ethnicity. Conclusions: Indicators of inflammation were associated with estimated traffic-related air pollutant exposures in this study population of youth with type 1 diabetes. Thus youth with type 1 diabetes may be at increased risk of air pollution-related inflammation. These findings and the racial/ethnic and gender differences observed deserve further exploration