AchievemenT of target resting HEart rate on beta-blockers in patients with stable angiNA and hypertension (ATHENA) in routine clinical practice in Russia.
The primary objective of this study was to establish the proportion of patients with stable angina and arterial hypertension on beta-blocker (BB) treatment reaching target resting heart rates (RHR) of 55-60 beats per min in clinical cardiology and general practice in Russia. Secondary objectives included the association between achievement of target RHR and mean BB doses, Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) scores and achievement of target blood pressure (BP) levels (systolic/diastolic BP
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Comment In: Curr Med Res Opin. 2014 Sep;30(9):175724824966
Although a majority of patients with hypertension require a multidrug therapy, this is rarely considered when measuring adherence from refill data. Moreover, investigating the association between refill non-adherence to antihypertensive therapy (AHT) and elevated blood pressure (BP) has been advocated.
Identify factors associated with non-adherence to AHT, considering the multidrug therapy, and investigate the association between non-adherence to AHT and elevated BP.
A retrospective cohort study including patients with hypertension, identified from a random sample of 5025 Swedish adults. Two measures of adherence were estimated by the proportion of days covered method (PDC=80%): (1) Adherence to any antihypertensive medication and, (2) adherence to the full AHT regimen. Multiple logistic regressions were performed to investigate the association between sociodemographic factors (age, sex, education, income), clinical factors (user profile, number of antihypertensive medications, healthcare use, cardiovascular comorbidities) and non-adherence. Moreover, the association between non-adherence (long-term and a month prior to BP measurement) and elevated BP was investigated.
Non-adherence to any antihypertensive medication was higher among persons
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Cites: Am Heart J. 2014 Jan;167(1):51-58.e524332142
The aim was to investigate the impact of antihypertensive medication on the onset of glaucoma. Data from the complete Danish population between 40 and 95 years of age were used in the period from 1996 to 2012, covering >2.6 million individuals. The National Danish Registry of Medicinal Products Statistics was used to identify all claimed prescriptions for glaucoma medication and antihypertensive drugs. We first investigated basic correlations in the data and found that patients treated with antihypertensive medication, at any time during the study period, had a significantly higher overall relative risk (RR) of glaucoma, even when controlling for age and sex (with a RR of 1.31 and P
OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of hypertension and use of antihypertensive drug therapy in relation to menopausal status and to delineate perceived associations between androgens and blood pressure in perimenopausal women. METHODS: A population-based sample of women aged 50-59 (n = 6893). Women were divided into three groups according to their hormonal status: premenopausal, postmenopausal without hormone therapy, and postmenopausal with hormone therapy. RESULT: In the premenopausal, postmenopausal without hormone therapy, and postmenopausal with hormone therapy groups, the prevalence of high blood pressure (>/= 140 mmHg systolic or >/= 90 mmHg diastolic) was 43.9, 49.9 and 45.8%, respectively. In women with normal blood pressure, adjusting for age, body mass index and smoking, there were negative associations between serum testosterone and systolic blood pressure in the total sample (P
The aim of this study was to examine the blood pressure (BP) levels in patients treated for essential hypertension in 1816 patients in general practice in Norway. The study was based on an optical readable questionnaire filled out by the physician including information about systolic (S) and diastolic (D) BP, gender, age, body weight, smoking habits and all pharmaceutical treatment given. Sixty-four per cent of the patients were treated with one antihypertensive drug. Only 22.3% of the women and 30.7% of the men (p
Department of Health Sciences, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Lund University, Malmö University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden. Arkadiusz.Siennicki-Lantz@skane.se
Cerebrovascular disease may be linked with vascular autoregulation in aging. The aim of this study was to examine relation between nocturnal blood pressure (BP) fall and cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes in elderly men. The prospective 'Men born in 1914' cohort study has been in progress since 1968 and included 809 subjects. After 14 years from the last follow up, 97 subjects reached the age of 82 and underwent CBF measurement and 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Diastolic BP at night decreased in 84 subjects with median 12.7% and increased in 13 subjects with median 3.7%. Relative diastolic BP fall at night was negatively associated to CBF in temporal and infero-parietal areas. Higher proportion of subjects with increasing systolic BP during the 14-year period was observed in the subgroup with extreme nocturnal diastolic BP dip, irrespectively of BP values or prevalence of hypertension. Extreme nocturnal diastolic BP fall in a cohort of elderly men is correlated with focal changes in CBF. Further studies could explain if increasing BP in the elderly is a cause or result of pathological autoregulation, and if antihypertensive treatment increases nocturnal BP dip.
To investigate changes in cardiovascular risk factors over 14 years in relation to diabetes status.
The study is based on 10,327 subjects who attended the Tromsø Study in 1994 and were screened again in 2007-8. At baseline there were 79 prevalent cases, and 397 incident cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) were diagnosed between 1994 and 2008.
Cases with DM2 had decreasing levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol and blood pressure (BP) and increasing levels of triglycerides, body mass index (BMI), and anti-hypertensive treatment during 14 years of follow-up. Despite decreasing BP, more than 75% of the treated cases had BP above 135/80 at the end of follow-up. Similarly, less than 35% of incident cases using statins had low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) below the recommended threshold value of 2.6?mmol/l.
Despite greater relative reduction in cardiovascular risk factors among people with DM2 compared to those without, treatment targets were met in less than 50% of subjects with DM2. Thirteen percent reached the combined targets for glucose, BP and LDL-C control. This indicates a need for more effective strategies to control cardiovascular risk factors especially among individuals with DM2.
Hungary has one of the highest cardiovascular (CV) mortality and stroke rates compared to other countries in Europe and North America. Data from two recent blood pressure (BP) screening projects in Hungary and Canada provided us with the opportunity to compare potential differences in the prevalence of hypertension between these countries.
From the Ontario Blood Pressure Survey, 880 white Canadians between 20 and 62 years old with white-collar occupation were selected and compared with a total of 1000 Hungarian bank employees in the same age range. Identical methods were employed for CV risk factor screening and BP measurements using the BpTRU instrument. Hypertension was defined by elevated BP measurement (SBP =140? mmHg and/or DBP =90 ?mmHg) or current intake of antihypertensive medication.
Canadian participants were on average 10 years older with a higher rate of obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol. Smoking was more prevalent among Hungarians (29.4 vs. 22.5%, P?
OBJECTIVE: Population blood pressure (BP) levels from a longitudinal study were analysed for trends during a period of 15 years. Trends from unadjusted data are reported as well as trends adjusted for major cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and use of antihypertensive therapy, thus allowing assessment of independent BP trends. DESIGN: The Copenhagen City Heart Study is a longitudinal epidemiological study of CV risk in a random population sample of both genders aged 20 and above. Three cross-sectional population surveys were performed: 1976-78 (n=14000), 1981-83 (n=12675) and 1991-94 (n=9661). METHODS: BP was measured by a London School of Hygiene Sphygmomanometer. Weight and height were measured and body mass index (BMI) calculated. Non-fasting plasma cholesterol was determined. A questionnaire concerning smoking status and diabetes was completed. Measurement methods were strictly standardized and unchanged in the three cross-sectional surveys. RESULTS: Unadjusted systolic BP (SBP) levels decreased during 15 years of follow-up, and unadjusted diastolic BP (DBP) levels increased. An investigation of the effect of major CV risk factors, both singly and jointly on BP levels, revealed a pattern of correlations contributing to BP variability. Adjustments for BMI, cholesterol, diabetes, use of antihypertensive therapy and smoking status were made in the final analyses of BP trend. The adjusted trend model demonstrated that SBP levels remained lower than SBP levels in the first survey. DBP levels increased slightly. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate a decrease in population SBP. The decrease is independent of major CV risk factors. Possible contributing factors are discussed.
A significant reduction in the incidence of cardiovascular disease, including abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), has been observed in the past decades. In this study, a small but geographically well defined and carefully characterized population, previously screened for AAA and risk factors, was re-examined 11 years later. The aim was to study the reduction of AAA prevalence and associated factors.
All men and women aged 65 to 75 years living in the Norsjö municipality in northern Sweden in January 2010 were invited to an ultrasound examination of the abdominal aorta, registration of body parameters and cardiovascular risk factors, and blood sampling. An AAA was defined as an infrarenal aortic diameter =30 mm. Results were compared with a corresponding investigation conducted in 1999 in the same region.
A total of 602 subjects were invited, of whom 540 (90%) accepted. In 2010, the AAA prevalence was 5.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.8%-8.5%) among men compared with 16.9% (95% CI, 12.3%-21.6%) in 1999 (P
