Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Shiwani Mahajan, Gowtham R. Grandhi, Javier Valero-Elizondo, Reed Mszar, Rohan Khera, Isaac Acquah, Tamer Yahya, Salim S. Virani, Ron Blankstein, Michael J. Blaha, Miguel Cainzos-Achirica, Khurram Nasir
Summary: The study found that about 1 in 7 American adults with ASCVD experience food insecurity, with more than 1 in 2 adults reporting food insecurity among vulnerable sociodemographic subgroups. Individuals with ASCVD who are younger, female, non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic, have private or no insurance, divorced/widowed/separated, and have low family income are more likely to be food insecure.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Michelle T. Lee, Dhruv Mahtta, Liang Chen, Aliza Hussain, Mahmoud Al Rifai, Preetika Sinh, Umair Khalid, Khurram Nasir, Christie M. Ballantyne, Laura A. Petersen, Salim S. Virani
Summary: This study found an association between inflammatory bowel disease and extremely premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, especially in patients under 40 years of age. As patients age, this risk is attenuated by traditional cardiometabolic factors such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and dyslipidemia.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2021)
Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Jessica N. Holtzman, Gurleen Kaur, Breanna Hansen, Nalini Bushana, Martha Gulati
Summary: Disparities between women and men persist in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Both patient-directed and systems-based approaches remain integral to improving outcomes in cardiovascular care. A growing body of data has established the efficacy and safety of medications in women across acute coronary syndromes.
Article
Immunology
Shannon L. Gillespie, Lisa M. Christian, Amy R. Mackos, Timiya S. Nolan, Kaboni W. Gondwe, Cindy M. Anderson, Mark W. Hall, Karen Patricia Williams, George M. Slavich
Summary: Although the biological mechanisms underlying the higher risk of morbidity and mortality among Black American mothers and infants compared to their White counterparts remain largely unknown, this study found that lifetime stressor exposure, perceived stressor severity, and systemic inflammatory markers were interrelated factors. Exposure to more chronic stressors and higher overall perceived stressor severity were associated with higher levels of the inflammatory marker IL-18, while exposure to fewer acute stressors and higher acute perceived stressor severity were associated with higher IL-18 levels. Additionally, pregnant women who went on to give birth prematurely had higher levels of the inflammatory marker IL-6.
BRAIN BEHAVIOR AND IMMUNITY
(2022)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Patrick M. Hyland, Jiaman Xu, Changyu Shen, Lawrence J. Markson, Warren J. Manning, Jordan B. Strom
Summary: This study identified disparities in transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) utilization based on race, sex, and age, with females, non-white individuals, and older individuals having lower rates of TTE use.
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Charlie M. Wray, Lenny Lopez, Meena Khare, Salomeh Keyhani
Summary: Cost-related access barriers, medical debt, and dissatisfaction with care are common among privately insured individuals, particularly those with poor health status.
JOURNAL OF GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Julie C. Lauffenburger, Renee A. Barlev, Rasha Khatib, Nicole Glowacki, Alvia Siddiqi, Marlon E. Everett, Michelle A. Albert, Punam A. Keller, Lipika Samal, Kaitlin Hanken, Ellen S. Sears, Nancy Haff, Niteesh K. Choudhry
Summary: This qualitative study examines the perspectives of primary care providers and patients on barriers and facilitators to hypertension control in a racially and ethnically diverse healthcare system. The study reveals that lifestyle modifications may be more important than medications for hypertension, especially for patients from racial and ethnic minority groups. Participants also expressed concerns about the functionality of health information technology tools in supporting hypertension care.
Article
Physiology
Antoine Raberin, Cyril Martin, Sebastien Celle, David Hupin, Frederic Roche, Jean-Claude Barthelemy, Philippe Connes
Summary: The elderly population is growing and cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death among them. There are sex differences in cardiovascular diseases, with middle-aged males being at higher risk than females. After menopause, females are no longer protected by hormones and the effect of sex on cardiovascular parameters is still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of sex on endothelial function, blood viscosity and cardiovascular diseases in the elderly.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
So Mi Jemma Cho, Sara Haidermota, Michael C. Honigberg, Pradeep Natarajan
Summary: The study found that favorable cardiovascular health (CVH) and sex differences in young adults remained largely unchanged from 2007 to 2018. However, disparities in blood pressure, physical activity, and smoking between sexes have worsened.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Javier Valero-Elizondo, Fouad Chouairi, Rohan Khera, Gowtham R. Grandhi, Anshul Saxena, Haider J. Warraich, Salim S. Virani, Nihar R. Desai, Farzan Sasangohar, Harlan M. Krumholz, Nestor F. Esnaola, Khurram Nasir
Summary: Financial toxicity (FT) is more prevalent among patients with ASCVD compared to those with cancer, with the highest burden observed in individuals with both conditions.
JACC: CARDIOONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Uchenna Nwokeji, Erin M. Spaulding, Rongzi Shan, Ruth-Alma Turkson-Ocran, Diana Baptiste, Binu Koirala, Timothy B. Plante, Seth S. Martin, Yvonne Commodore-Mensah
Summary: This study evaluated the prevalence and social determinants of health information technology (HIT) use among US adults with and without self-reported atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The results showed that HIT use was low among adults with ASCVD, with social determinants such as age, education, and income being associated with HIT usage. Targeted strategies and policies are needed to eliminate barriers to HIT usage.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Megan M. McLaughlin, Matthew S. Durstenfeld, Monica Gandhi, Meredith Greene, Yifei Ma, Alexis L. Beatty, Priscilla Y. Hsue
Summary: This study aimed to characterize the ASCVD risk and cardiovascular health metrics in HIV-infected individuals eligible for primary prevention. The findings highlight opportunities for improvement in guideline-based therapy, nicotine exposure, and blood pressure control among this population.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Javier Valero-Elizondo, Zulqarnain Javed, Rohan Khera, Mauricio E. Tano, Ramzi Dudum, Isaac Acquah, Adnan A. Hyder, Julia Andrieni, Garima Sharma, Michael J. Blaha, Salim S. Virani, Ron Blankstein, Miguel Cainzos-Achirica, Khurram Nasir
Summary: This study found a strong association between the cumulative effect of social determinants of health and financial toxicity from healthcare, providing further evidence for policies and interventions to address this issue.
ARCHIVES OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Jenni M. Wise, Elizabeth A. Jackson, Mirjam-Colette Kempf, Gabriela R. Oates, Zhixin Wang, Edgar T. Overton, Mohammed Siddiqui, Mark Woodward, Robert S. Rosenson, Paul Muntner
Summary: The protective advantage of female sex against ASCVD is diminished among women with HIV, highlighting the need for earlier and more intensive treatment strategies to reduce sex-based disparities.
Article
Neurosciences
Sid E. O'Bryant, Melissa Petersen, James Hall, Leigh Johnson
Summary: This study found that metabolic markers are related to brain amyloid burden among Mexican Americans, while there is no correlation in non-Hispanic whites. This provides new clues for studying the impact of diabetes on AD biomarkers among Mexican Americans.
JOURNAL OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
(2022)
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Eleni K. Konstantinou, Noreen Shaikh, David J. Ramsey
Summary: This article reports a rare case of Birt-Hogg-Dube Syndrome (BHD) with progressive chorioretinopathy, which is associated with a mutation in the FLCN gene.
OPHTHALMIC GENETICS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Ayman G. Elnahry, Zainab B. Asal, Noreen Shaikh, Kate Dennett, Mai N. Abd Elmohsen, Gehad A. Elnahry, Azza Shehab, Michal Vytopil, Leila Ghaffari, Geetha K. Athappilly, David J. Ramsey
Summary: This report describes two cases of optic nerve pathology after COVID-19 vaccination and discusses the management implications for post-vaccination central nervous system (CNS) inflammation. The cases involve a 69-year-old woman and a 32-year-old woman who experienced optic nerve issues after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines, respectively. Both patients showed improvement and recovery following treatment.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
James T. Kwan, David J. Ramsey
Summary: This study presents a semi-automated method of image alignment to monitor the progression of inherited retinal degenerations. The results show the case of a 22-year-old woman with inherited retinal degeneration, including the findings from fundus examination and multimodal imaging. The study highlights the utility of image registration and alignment in monitoring disease progression in IRDs.
OPHTHALMIC GENETICS
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Ernst J. Schaefer, Hiroaki Ikezaki, Margaret R. Diffenderfer, Elise Lim, Ching -Ti Liu, Ron C. Hoogeveen, Weihua Guan, Michael Y. Tsai, Christie M. Ballantyne
Summary: The study aimed to determine whether direct and calculated sdLDL-C were significant independent ASCVD risk factors in sex and race subgroups. The results showed that both direct and calculated sdLDL-C were significantly associated with ASCVD, but the association was stronger for direct sdLDL-C and not significant for calculated values once direct values were included in the model. Direct sdLDL-C had a significant independent association with incident ASCVD in all subgroups except African Americans.
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Jarett D. Berry, Haiying Chen, Vijay Nambi, Walter T. Ambrosius, Simon B. Ascher, Michael G. Shlipak, Joachim H. Ix, Rajesh Gupta, Anthony Killeen, Robert D. Toto, Dalane W. Kitzman, Christie M. Ballantyne, James A. de Lemos
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the effects of intensive systolic blood pressure lowering on hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP levels. The results showed that intensive SBP lowering increased hs-cTnT levels, mediated by the effect on reduced kidney filtration, while NT-proBNP levels decreased, explained by the decrease in SBP. These findings highlight the importance of noncardiac factors influencing cardiac biomarker variation and raise questions about the potential role of hs-cTnT as a surrogate marker for heart failure or death in SBP-lowering studies.
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Olga A. Gimnich, Tatiana Belousova, Christina M. Short, Addison A. Taylor, Vijay Nambi, Joel D. Morrisett, Christie M. Ballantyne, Jean Bismuth, Dipan J. Shah, Gerd Brunner
Summary: Researchers developed a computational microvascular model to study peripheral artery disease (PAD) using contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging signal intensities. They found significant associations between the model parameters and known markers of PAD patients, as well as significant differences between PAD patients and matched controls.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Xiaoming Jia, Mahmoud Al Rifai, Chiadi E. Ndumele, Salim S. Virani, James A. de Lemos, Emmanuel Lee, Amil M. Shah, Justin B. Echouffo-Tcheugui, Biykem Bozkurt, Ron Hoogeveen, Elizabeth Selvin, Christie M. Ballantyne, Vijay Nambi
Summary: This study evaluated the impact of incorporating cardiac biomarkers in reclassifying heart failure (HF) and assessed the prognosis of HF using these biomarkers. The results showed that approximately 1 in 5 older adults without prevalent HF were reclassified as Stage B HF, and the measurement of cardiac biomarkers can help identify individuals at higher HF risk.
JACC-HEART FAILURE
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Paul M. Ridker, Lei Lei, Kausik K. Ray, Christie M. Ballantyne, Gary Bradwin, Nader Rifai
Summary: Bempedoic acid (BA) reduces hsCRP and LDL-C levels in patients with atherosclerotic disease and/or familial hypercholesterolemia. It also shows potential anti-inflammatory effects and has similar lipid-lowering and inflammation-inhibiting properties to statin therapy.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL LIPIDOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Christie M. Ballantyne, Mini Grace Varughese, Layla A. Abushamat
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Christie M. Ballantyne, Puja Banka, Gustavo Mendez, Raymundo Garcia, Julio Rosenstock, Anthony Rodgers, Geraldine Mendizabal, Yale Mitchel, Alberico L. Catapano
Summary: MK-0616, an oral PCSK9 inhibitor, effectively reduces LDL-C levels and is well tolerated in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia according to a Phase 2b clinical trial.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY
(2023)
Correction
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Michael R. Duggan, Lauren Butler, Zhongsheng Peng, Gulzar N. Daya, Abhay Moghekar, Yang An, Stephen R. Rapp, Kathleen M. Hayden, Aladdin H. Shadyab, Ginny Natale, Longjian Liu, Linda Snetselaar, Ruin Moaddel, Casey M. Rebholz, Kevin Sullivan, Christie M. Ballantyne, Susan M. Resnick, Luigi Ferrucci, Keenan A. Walker
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Robert S. Rosenson, Daniel Gaudet, Christie M. Ballantyne, Seth J. Baum, Jean Bergeron, Erin E. Kershaw, Patrick M. Moriarty, Paolo Rubba, David C. Whitcomb, Poulabi Banerjee, Andrew Gewitz, Claudia Gonzaga-Jauregui, Jennifer McGinniss, Manish P. Ponda, Robert Pordy, Jian Zhao, Daniel J. Rader
Summary: Severe hypertriglyceridemia (sHTG) is a known risk factor for acute pancreatitis. Current therapies for sHTG are often insufficient, and this phase 2 trial evaluated the use of evinacumab in patients with sHTG. Although evinacumab showed some effectiveness in reducing triglyceride levels, it did not meet the primary endpoint. However, the safety profile and lipid changes observed support further evaluation in larger trials.
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Xiaoming Jia, Mahmoud Al Rifai, Ron Hoogeveen, Justin B. Echouffo-Tcheugui, Amil M. M. Shah, Chiadi E. Ndumele, Salim S. Virani, Biykem Bozkurt, Elizabeth Selvin, Christie M. Ballantyne, Vijay Nambi
Summary: This study assessed the association between change in NT-proBNP and the risk for incident heart failure and death. The results showed that change in NT-proBNP was positively correlated with the risk of heart failure and death. Additionally, changes in blood pressure, cholesterol, triglyceride levels, body mass index, and estimated glomerular filtration rate were associated with change in NT-proBNP.
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Austin Deets, Parag H. Joshi, Alvin Chandra, Kavisha Singh, Amit Khera, Salim S. Virani, Christie M. Ballantyne, James D. Otvos, Robin P. F. Dullaart, Eke G. Gruppen, Margery A. Connelly, Colby Ayers, Ann Marie Navar, Ambarish Pandey, John T. Wilkins, Anand Rohatgi
Summary: This study aimed to assess the association between levels of specific size-based HDL subspecies and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and investigate their role in risk prediction.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
(2023)
Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Salim S. Virani, Karen Aspry, Dave L. Dixon, Keith C. Ferdinand, Paul A. Heidenreich, Elizabeth J. Jackson, Terry A. Jacobson, Janice L. McAlister, David R. Neff, Martha Gulati, Christie M. Ballantyne
Summary: Despite the established role of LDL-C as a major risk factor for CVD, national quality assurance metrics no longer include LDL-C measurement as a required performance metric. This article reviews the history of LDL-C as a quality and performance metric and presents rationales for re-establishing LDL-C measurement to improve cholesterol control and reduce CVD morbidity and mortality, healthcare disparities, and costs.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PREVENTIVE CARDIOLOGY
(2023)