Richard Lewanczuk

The 2013 Canadian Hypertension Education Program recommendations for blood pressure measurement, diagnosis, assessment of risk, prevention, and treatment of hypertension.

We updated the evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis, assessment, prevention, and treatment of hypertension in adults for 2013. This years update includes 2 new recommendations. First, among nonhypertensive or stage 1 hypertensive individuals, the use of resistance or weight training exercise does not adversely influence blood pressure (BP) (Grade D). Thus, such patients need not avoid this type of exercise for fear of increasing BP. Second, and separately, for very elderly patients with isolated systolic hypertension (age 80 years or older), the target for systolic BP should be < 150 mm Hg (Grade C) rather than < 140 mm Hg as recommended for younger patients. We also discuss 2 additional topics at length (the pharmacological treatment of mild hypertension and the possibility of a diastolic J curve in hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease). In light of several methodological limitations, a recent systematic review of 4 trials in patients with stage 1 uncomplicated hypertension did not lead to changes in management recommendations. In addition, because of a lack of prospective randomized data assessing diastolic BP thresholds in patients with coronary artery disease and hypertension, no recommendation to set a selective diastolic cut point for such patients could be affirmed. However, both of these issues will be examined on an ongoing basis, in particular as new evidence emerges.

The 2011 Canadian Hypertension Education Program Recommendations for the Management of Hypertension: Blood Pressure Measurement, Diagnosis, Assessment of Risk, and Therapy

We updated the evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis, assessment, prevention, and treatment of hypertension in adults for 2011. The major guideline changes this year are: (1) a recommendation was made for using comparative risk analogies when communicating a patients cardiovascular risk; (2) diagnostic testing issues for renal artery stenosis were discussed; (3) recommendations were added for the management of hypertension during the acute phase of stroke; (4) people with hypertension and diabetes are now considered high risk for cardiovascular events if they have elevated urinary albumin excretion, overt kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, or the presence of other cardiovascular risk factors; (5) the combination of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker (CCB) is preferred over the combination of an ACE inhibitor and a thiazide diuretic in persons with diabetes and hypertension; and (6) a recommendation was made to coordinate with pharmacists to improve antihypertensive medication adherence. We also discussed the recent analyses that examined the association between angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and cancer.

The 2006 Canadian Hypertension Education Program recommendations for the management of hypertension: Part II - Therapy

OBJECTIVE To provide updated, evidence-based recommendations for the management of hypertension in adults. OPTIONS AND OUTCOMES For lifestyle and pharmacological interventions, evidence from randomized, controlled trials and systematic reviews of trials was preferentially reviewed. Changes in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality were the primary outcomes of interest. For lifestyle interventions, blood pressure (BP) lowering was accepted as a primary outcome given the lack of long-term morbidity/mortality data in this field. For treatment of patients with kidney disease, the development of proteinuria or worsening of kidney function was also accepted as a clinically relevant primary outcome. EVIDENCE MEDLINE searches were conducted from November 2004 to October 2005 to update the 2005 recommendations. In addition, reference lists were scanned and experts were contacted to identify additional published studies. All relevant articles were reviewed and appraised independently by content and methodological experts using prespecified levels of evidence. RECOMMENDATIONS Lifestyle modifications to prevent and/or treat hypertension include the following: perform 30 min to 60 min of aerobic exercise four to seven days per week; maintain a healthy body weight (body mass index of 18.5 kg/m2 to 24.9 kg/m2) and waist circumference (less than 102 cm for men and less than 88 cm for women); limit alcohol consumption to no more than 14 standard drinks per week in men or nine standard drinks per week in women; follow a diet that is reduced in saturated fat and cholesterol and that emphasizes fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products; restrict salt intake; and consider stress management in selected individuals. Treatment thresholds and targets should take into account each individuals global atherosclerotic risk, target organ damage and comorbid conditions. BP should be lowered to less than 140/90 mmHg in all patients, and to less than 130/80 mmHg in those with diabetes mellitus or chronic kidney disease (regardless of the degree of proteinuria). Most adults with hypertension require more than one agent to achieve these target BPs. For adults without compelling indications for other agents, initial therapy should include thiazide diuretics. Other agents appropriate for first-line therapy for diastolic hypertension with or without systolic hypertension include beta-blockers (in those younger than 60 years), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (in nonblack patients), long-acting calcium channel blockers or angiotensin receptor antagonists. Other agents for first-line therapy for isolated systolic hypertension include long-acting dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers or angiotensin receptor antagonists. Certain comorbid conditions provide compelling indications for first-line use of other agents: in patients with angina, recent myocardial infarction or heart failure, beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors are recommended as first-line therapy; in patients with diabetes mellitus, ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor antagonists (or in patients without albuminuria, thiazides or dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers) are appropriate first-line therapies; and in patients with nondiabetic chronic kidney disease, ACE inhibitors are recommended. All hypertensive patients should have their fasting lipids screened, and those with dyslipidemia should be treated using the thresholds, targets and agents recommended by the Canadian Hypertension Education Program Working Group on the management of dyslipidemia and the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Selected patients with hypertension, but without dyslipidemia, should also receive statin therapy and/or acetylsalicylic acid therapy. VALIDATION All recommendations were graded according to strength of the evidence and voted on by the 45 members of the Canadian Hypertension Education Program Evidence-Based Recommendations Task Force. All recommendations reported here achieved at least 95% consensus. These guidelines will continue to be updated annually.

The effects of valsartan and captopril on reducing microalbuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a placebo-controlled trial

Abstract This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo- and captopril-controlled, parallel-group trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of valsartan 80 and 160 mg in patients with incipient diabetic nephropathy. Patients were randomized to receive either valsartan 80 mg or 160 mg once daily, captopril 25 mg 3 times daily, or placebo. The study comprised 122 normotensive and treated hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and microalbuminuria (mean age, 56 years; 90% white). Treatment lasted 52 weeks. Efficacy variables included albumin excretion rate (AER), progression to clinical proteinuria, and glomerular filtration rate. In both the valsartan 80-mg (n = 31) and 160-mg (n = 31) groups and in the captopril group ( n=29), a decrease in AER from baseline was observed at end point, compared with an increase in the placebo group (n = 31). The positive effect of valsartan 80 mg versus placebo on AER was statistically significant (95% confidence interval [CI] for end point/baseline ratio: 0.365 to 0.966); the 95% CI for valsartan 160 mg versus placebo was 0.407 to 1.043. No significant differences in AER occurred in the comparisons of valsartan 80 mg and valsartan 160 mg versus captopril. The percentage of patients with trial drug—related adverse experiences was highest in the captopril group (34.5%). The corresponding values for the groups receiving valsartan 80 mg, valsartan 160 mg, and placebo were 9.7%, 22.6%, and 13.8%, respectively. Results of this study suggest that treatment with valsartan slows the progressive rise of AER in normotensive and treated hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with comparable efficacy and superior tolerability to captropril.

Vigorous physical activity and longitudinal associations with cardiometabolic risk factors in youth.

Objective:To examine the longitudinal associations between different physical activity (PA) intensities and cardiometabolic risk factors among a sample of Canadian youth.Methods:The findings are based on a 2-year prospective cohort study in a convenience sample of 315 youth aged 9–15 years at baseline from rural and urban schools in Alberta, Canada. Different intensities (light, moderate and vigorous) of PA were objectively assessed with Actical accelerometers. The main outcome measures were body mass index (BMI) z-score, waist circumference, cardiorespiratory fitness and systolic blood pressure at 2-year-follow-up and conditional BMI z-score velocity. A series of linear regression models were conducted to investigate the associations after adjusting for potential confounders.Results:At follow-up, cardiorespiratory fitness increased (quartile 1 vs quartile 4=43.3 vs 50.2; Ptrend<0.01) and waist circumference decreased (quartile 1 vs quartile 4=79.0 vs 72.6; Ptrend=0.04; boys only) in a dose-response manner across quartiles of baseline vigorous-intensity PA. A similar trend was observed for systolic blood pressure (quartile 1 vs quartile 4=121.8 vs 115.3; Ptrend=0.07; boys only). Compared with quartile 1 of vigorous-intensity PA, BMI z-score at follow-up and conditional BMI z-score velocity were significantly lower in the quartile 2 and 3 (P<0.05). Waist circumference at follow-up also decreased (quartile 1 vs quartile 4=75.3 vs 73.8; Ptrend=0.04) across quartiles of baseline moderate-intensity PA.Conclusions:Time spent in vigorous-intensity PA was associated with several positive health outcomes 2 years later. These findings suggest that high-intensity activities in youth help to reduce the risk for several chronic diseases.

Effect of Adding Pharmacists to Primary Care Teams on Blood Pressure Control in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes A randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of adding pharmacists to primary care teams on the management of hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We conducted a randomized controlled trial with blinded ascertainment of outcomes within primary care clinics in Edmonton, Canada. Pharmacists performed medication assessments and limited history and physical examinations and provided guideline-concordant recommendations to optimize medication management. Follow-up contact was completed as necessary. Control patients received usual care. The primary outcome was a ≥10% decrease in systolic blood pressure at 1 year. RESULTS A total of 260 patients were enrolled, 57% were women, the mean age was 59 years, diabetes duration was 6 years, and blood pressure was 129/74 mmHg. Forty-eight of 131 (37%) intervention patients and 30 of 129 (23%) control patients achieved the primary outcome (odds ratio 1.9 [95% CI 1.1–3.3]; P = 0.02). Among 153 patients with inadequately controlled hypertension at baseline, intervention patients (n = 82) were significantly more likely than control patients (n = 71) to achieve the primary outcome (41 [50%] vs. 20 [28%]; 2.6 [1.3–5.0]; P = 0.007) and recommended blood pressure targets (44 [54%] vs. 21 [30%]; 2.8 [1.4–5.4]; P = 0.003). The 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease, based on changes to the UK Prospective Diabetes Study Risk Engine, were predicted to decrease by 3% for intervention patients and 1% for control patients (P = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS Significantly more patients with type 2 diabetes achieved better blood pressure control when pharmacists were added to primary care teams, which suggests that pharmacists can make important contributions to the primary care of these patients.

High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of angiotensin II receptor antagonist valsartan using a liquid extraction method.

PURPOSE To develop an easy assay for the quantitation of the angiotensin II receptor antagonist valsartan in human plasma using a liquid extraction procedure. METHOD The method involves acid extraction from 1 ml human plasma with methyl-tert.-butyl ether followed by back-extraction into a basic medium. An isocratic HPLC equipped with reverse phase column and a fluorescence detector was used at room temperature. RESULTS The response to 10-2000 ng/ml valsartan was linear. In plasma of three human subjects given 160 mg valsartan orally, concentrations of 25-1540 ng/ml were observed. CONCLUSION This convenient method is suitable for pharmacokinetic studies of valsartan.

Physical activity intensity and cardiometabolic risk in youth.

OBJECTIVE To determine the association between physical activity (PA) intensities and cardiometabolic risk factors in youth. DESIGN Cross-sectional study using data from the 2008 Healthy Hearts Prospective Cohort Study of Physical Activity and Cardiometabolic Health in Youth. SETTING Rural and urban communities in Alberta, Canada. PARTICIPANTS A convenience sample of 605 youth aged 9 to 17 years. Youth were on average aged 12.1 years, 248 were boys (41%), and 157 were overweight or obese (26%). MAIN EXPOSURE Actical accelerometer-measured PA intensity. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES The primary outcome was body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) z score. Secondary outcome measures included waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, and cardiorespiratory fitness (maximal oxygen consumption [[Vdot]O2max]). RESULTS Body mass index z score, waist circumference, and systolic blood pressure decreased and [Vdot]O2max increased in a dose-response manner across tertiles of vigorous PA (adjusted P < .001). No significant differences in cardiometabolic risk factors were seen across tertiles of moderate or light PA in multivariable analyses. Achieving more than 7 minutes of vigorous PA daily was associated with a reduced adjusted odds ratio of overweight status (0.56; 95% CI, 0.33-0.95) and elevated systolic blood pressure (0.36; 95% CI, 0.16-0.79). The odds of overweight status and elevated blood pressure decreased with increasing time and intensity of PA. CONCLUSIONS Only vigorous PA was consistently associated with lower levels of waist circumference, body mass index z score, systolic blood pressure, and increased cardiorespiratory fitness in youth. These findings underscore the importance of vigorous PA in guidelines for children and adolescents.

Arterial compliance in young children: the role of aerobic fitness:

Background Reduced arterial compliance is reflective of vascular dysfunction, which promotes the atherosclerotic process, and is therefore an important predictor of vascular disease. In adults, obesity, age, aerobic fitness, oestrogens and race influence arterial compliance. Although stature and blood pressure are known to influence compliance in children, other determinants are less established. This investigation sought to determine the predictors of arterial compliance in children, assess the extent to which aerobic fitness is related to compliance, and compare compliance between girls and boys. Methods Participants (99 children aged 9-11 years, 55 boys) were assessed for aerobic fitness, physical activity level, blood pressure, body mass, percentage fat mass, height, maturity and arterial compliance (large and small). Predictors of compliance were determined using stepwise regression. Second, children were divided into quartiles according to fitness, and arterial compliance was compared using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Finally, differences in compliance between girls and boys were assessed using ANCOVA. Results We found that fitness, blood pressure and height accounted for 37% of the variance in large artery compliance. Mass, fitness, maturity and blood pressure accounted for 44% of the variance in small artery compliance. Children in the highest fitness quartile had greater compliance than children in the two lowest quartiles, by as much as 34%. There were no differences in compliance between girls and boys after adjusting for covariates. Discussion These data show that aerobic fitness is associated with arterial compliance in 9-11-year-old children, supporting the concept that physical fitness may exert a protective effect on the cardiovascular system.

Compliance with Clinical Practice Guidelines for Type 2 Diabetes in Rural Patients: Treatment Gaps and Opportunities for Improvement

The level of compliance with clinical practice guidelines for patients with type 2 diabetes was evaluated in 368 patients from two health regions in rural northern Alberta, Canada. Data were collected from patient interviews, drug histories, physical and laboratory assessments, and a self‐report questionnaire to assess clinical status, indicators of diabetes management, and health care utilization. Treatment of three clinical indicators of diabetes—hemoglobin A1c (A1C), blood pressure, and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL)—has been shown to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with type 2 diabetes. Mean ± SD values for this cohort of patients were as follows: A1C 7.25% ± 1.54%, blood pressure 131.7 ± 18.2/76.2 ± 12.7 mm Hg, and LDL 105.2 ± 32 mg/dl. Despite these results, only 10.4% of the patients met all three recommended targets for control of glycemia: A1C below 7%, blood pressure below 130/85 mm Hg, and LDL below 100 mg/dl. Of patients not at target levels, 14.4%, 27.5%, and 86.7% reported receiving no therapy for hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, respectively. Of those taking oral hypoglycemic agents who were not at target levels, only 35% were receiving combination therapy. Of patients at or above LDL target levels, 87% were not receiving any therapy. Only 22% of patients were taking aspirin, although this therapy would be recommended for the entire cohort according to clinical practice guidelines. Despite the availability of proved effective therapies, treatment gaps were present for this cohort of patients.