Hypertension
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Preconception Blood Pressure Levels and Reproductive Outcomes in a Prospective Cohort of Women Attempting Pregnancy.
Elevated blood pressure in young adulthood is an early risk marker for cardiovascular disease. Despite a strong biological rationale, little research has evaluated whether incremental increases in preconception blood pressure have early consequences for reproductive health. We evaluated preconception blood pressure and fecundability, pregnancy loss, and live birth in the EAGeR trial (Effects of Aspirin on Gestational and Reproduction; 2007-2011), a randomized clinical trial of aspirin and reproductive outcomes among 1228 women attempting pregnancy with a history of pregnancy loss. ⋯ Findings were similar for early pregnancy blood pressure. Preconception blood pressure was not related to fecundability or live birth in adjusted analyses. Findings suggest that preconception blood pressure among healthy women is associated with pregnancy loss, and lifestyle interventions targeting blood pressure among young women may favorably impact reproductive health.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Effect of Lowering Diastolic Pressure in Patients With and Without Cardiovascular Disease: Analysis of the SPRINT (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial).
Systolic and diastolic blood pressure thresholds, below which cardiovascular events increase, are widely debated. Using data from the SPRINT (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial), we evaluated the relation between systolic and diastolic pressure and cardiovascular events among 1519 participants with or 7574 without prior cardiovascular disease. Using Cox regression, we examined the composite risk of myocardial infarction, other acute coronary syndrome, stroke, heart failure, or cardiovascular death, and follow-up systolic and diastolic pressure were analyzed as time-dependent covariates for a median of 3.1 years. ⋯ After adjusting for follow-up diastolic pressure, follow-up systolic pressure was not associated with the outcome in those without prior cardiovascular disease (P=0.64). In those with cardiovascular disease, adjusting for diastolic pressure, follow-up systolic pressure was associated with the risk in the intensive arm (hazard ratio per 10 mm Hg decrease, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.75-0.99; P interaction=0.02). Although the observed J-shaped relationship may be because of reverse causality in the SPRINT population, we advise caution in aggressively lowering diastolic pressure.