European journal of preventive cardiology
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Observational Study
Risk of atrial fibrillation in diabetes mellitus: A nationwide cohort study.
Diabetes has been associated with atrial fibrillation but the current evidence is conflicting. In particular knowledge regarding young diabetes patients and the risk of developing atrial fibrillation is sparse. The aim of our study was to investigate the risk of atrial fibrillation in patients with diabetes compared to the background population in Denmark. ⋯ Diabetes increases the risk of developing atrial fibrillation and especially young diabetes patients have a high relative risk. Increased focus on detecting atrial fibrillation in young diabetes patients might prove beneficial, and both anticoagulation treatment and anti-arrhythmic treatment strategies should be considered as soon as possible.
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Multicenter Study
Fruit and vegetable consumption and mortality in Eastern Europe: Longitudinal results from the Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial Factors in Eastern Europe study.
It is estimated that disease burden due to low fruit and vegetable consumption is higher in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the former Soviet Union (FSU) than any other parts of the world. However, no large scale studies have investigated the association between fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake and mortality in these regions yet. ⋯ Our results suggest that increasing F&V intake may reduce CVD mortality in CEE and FSU, particularly among smokers and hypertensive individuals.
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Arterial hypertension is a main determinant of arterial remodelling and atherosclerosis. Coronary artery calcium score and carotid intima-media thickness are recognized indices of vascular remodelling. Established biohumoral markers for the diagnosis of atherosclerosis are still lacking in asymptomatic subjects with hypertension. ⋯ In asymptomatic subjects with hypertension, N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide is a marker of hypertension-mediated preclinical vascular disease.
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Patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) are often elderly and their primary chronic symptom is severe exercise intolerance that results in a reduced quality of life (QOL).Thus, improvement of exercise capacity and QOL presents an important clinical outcome in HFpEF patients. Although the effects of interventions such as cardiovascular drugs and exercise training on exercise capacity and QOL in HFpEF patients have been examined in a number of clinical trials, the results are inconsistent due in part to limited power with small sample sizes. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of the randomized controlled trial (RCT)s on the effect of drug or exercise intervention on exercise capacity and QOL in HFpEF patients. ⋯ Our meta-analysis indicates that exercise training may be a therapeutic option to improve functional capacity and QOL in HFpEF patients.
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Cardiovascular risk factors are known to be associated between parents and offspring. However, whether these associations are reflected in increased offspring mortality has not been extensively studied. ⋯ Fathers' and mothers' reporting of cardiovascular disease (HRs: 1.18; 95% CI 1.04-1.32 and 1.20; 1.07-1.35, respectively), diabetes (HRs: 1.22; 95% CI 1.00-1.49 and 1.21; 1.05-1.40, respectively), and current smoking (HRs: 1.21; 95% CI 1.08-1.36 and 1.30; 1.15-1.47, respectively) was associated with total mortality in offspring. An inverse association was found with maternal height (HR: 0.95; 95% CI 0.91-0.99), and a suggestive inverse association with paternal height (HR: 0.98; 95% CI 0.93-1.03). Relations with offspring cardiovascular mortality were less clear and consistent. Offspring whose parents both had a risk factor did not seem to have higher mortality than would be expected from the independent effects of each parent.