Yanxian Wu

Association of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality with prehypertension: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Studies of prehypertension and mortality are controversial after adjusting for other cardiovascular risk factors. This meta-analysis sought to evaluate the association of prehypertension with all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. METHODS The PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library databases, and conference proceedings were searched for studies with data on prehypertension and mortality. The relative risks (RRs) of all-cause, CVD, coronary heart disease (CHD), and stroke mortality were calculated and presented with 95% CIs. Subgroup analyses were conducted according to blood pressure, age, gender, ethnicity, follow-up duration, participant number, and study characteristics. RESULTS Data from 1,129,098 participants were derived from 20 prospective cohort studies. Prehypertension significantly increased the risk of CVD, CHD, and stroke mortality (RR 1.28, 95% CI 1.16-1.40; RR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02-1.23; and RR 1.41, 95% CI 1.28-1.56, respectively), but did not increase the risk of all-cause mortality after multivariate adjustment (RR 1.03, 95% CI 0.97-1.10). The difference between CHD mortality and stroke mortality was significant (P < .001). Subgroup analyses showed that CVD mortality was significantly increased in high-range prehypertension (RR 1.28, 95% CI 1.16-1.41) but not in low-range prehypertension (RR 1.08, 95% CI 0.98-1.18). CONCLUSION Prehypertension is associated with CVD mortality, especially with stroke mortality, but not with all-cause mortality. The risk for CVD mortality is largely driven by high-range prehypertension.

Prehypertension and the risk of stroke A meta-analysis

Objective: In this meta-analysis, we sought to evaluate the association between prehypertension and the risk of stroke. Methods: We searched PubMed and EMBASE databases for studies with data on prehypertension and stroke. Two independent reviewers assessed the reports and extracted data. Prospective studies were included if they reported multivariate-adjusted relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations between stroke and prehypertension or its 2 subranges (low-range prehypertension: 120–129/80–84 mm Hg; high-range prehypertension: 130–139/85–89 mm Hg). We conducted subgroup analyses according to blood pressure ranges, stroke type, endpoint, age, sex, ethnicity, and study characteristics. Results: Pooled data included the results of 762,393 participants from 19 prospective cohort studies. Prehypertension increased the risk of stroke (RR 1.66; 95% CI 1.51–1.81) compared with optimal blood pressure (<120/80 mm Hg). In the secondary outcome analyses, even low-range prehypertension increased the risk of stroke (RR 1.44; 95% CI 1.27–1.63), and the risk was greater for high-range prehypertension (RR 1.95; 95% CI 1.73–2.21). The RR was higher with high-range than with low-range prehypertension (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in any of the subgroup analyses (all p > 0.05). Conclusions: After adjusting for multiple cardiovascular risk factors, prehypertension is associated with stroke morbidity. Although the increased risk is largely driven by high-range prehypertension, the risk is also increased in people with low-range prehypertension.

Poor sleep quality, stress status, and sympathetic nervous system activation in nondipping hypertension.

ObjectiveIt has been reported that poor sleep quality is associated with nondipping hypertension, but the underlying mechanisms were not reported. This study was carried out to evaluate whether poor sleep quality is associated with stress status and sympathetic nervous system activation in nondippers. Materials and methodsA total of 307 Chinese essential hypertensive patients were defined as dippers or nondippers by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Sleep quality was assessed by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and stress status was assessed by Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine were examined to investigate the underlying mechanisms. ResultsA total of 204 (66.4%) and 103 cases (33.6%) were found to be dippers and nondippers, respectively. Nondippers were with poorer sleep quality (P<0.05), more stressful status (P<0.05), and with an increased activity of sympathetic nervous system (P<0.01). The decline of systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) at night was inversely related with the PSQI score (r=−0.469, P<0.01 and r=−0.421, P<0.01), PSS score (r=−0.432, P<0.01 and r=−0.404, P<0.01), epinephrine (r=−0.304, P<0.05 and r=−0.293, P<0.05), and norepinephrine (r=−0.321, P<0.05 and r=−0.357, P<0.05). Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that older age [odds ratio (OR): 1.69; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.22–2.43], PSQI score (OR: 2.78; 95% CI: 1.65–6.87), and PSS score (OR: 2.43; 95% CI: 1.56–5.93) were independently correlated with the nondipping pattern. ConclusionPoor sleep quality and stressful status were closely associated with higher activation of sympathetic nervous system, and they are independent predictors of nondipping hypertension.

The effect of zolpidem on sleep quality, stress status, and nondipping hypertension

OBJECTIVE Poor sleep quality and stress status have previously been shown to be closely associated with higher activation of the sympathetic nervous system and to be independent predictors of nondipping hypertension. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the non-hypotensive sedative zolpidem on sleep quality, stress status, and nondipping hypertension. METHODS A total of 103 nondippers were defined as poor or good sleepers by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. They were randomized to receive zolpidem or placebo treatment for 30 days. Stress status was assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale, and levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine were examined to investigate the underlying mechanisms. RESULTS Poor sleepers treated with zolpidem for 30 days showed significant improvements in sleep quality and stress levels (P<0.01). More nondippers were converted to dippers in the group of poor sleepers treated with zolpidem (11 of 22 patients, 50.0%) than in the placebo (2 of 23, 8.7%) (P<0.01). Epinephrine and norepinephrine levels were significantly reduced in poor sleepers treated with zolpidem (P<0.05). CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that zolpidem can improve sleep quality and stress status, and can convert nondippers with poor sleep quality into dippers. It may be an option for treating nondipping hypertensive patients with poor sleep quality.

Plasma oxidized low-density lipoprotein is an independent risk factor in young patients with coronary artery disease

Objectives: Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) is considered to be a key factor of initiating and accelerating atherosclerosis. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of ox-LDL in young patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: 128 consecutive angiographically proven young CAD patients (aged ≤ 55 years) were enrolled, and 132 age-matched non-CAD individuals (coronary angiography normal or negative finding by coronary ultrafast CT) were set as control group. Conventional risk factors (hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, obesity, smoking) were evaluated in the two groups. Ox-LDL was measured by competitive ELISA. Framingham risk score (FRS) and absolute 10-year CAD events risk were calculated for each individual. Results: Male sex was more prevalent in group CAD than in control (87.5% vs. 62.1%; P < 0.01). There were significant differences in smoking history (P < 0.01) and triglyeride (TG) and ratio of apolipoprotein B/apolipoprotein A1 (ApoB/ApoA1) (both P < 0.05) but no remarkable difference in other conventional risk factors (all P > 0.05) between group CAD and control. Level of ox-LDL was significantly higher in group CAD than in control (P < 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression showed that male sex (OR, 4.54; 95%CI, 1.76–9.77), smoking quantity (OR, 2.78; 95%CI, 1.34–4.25), TG (OR, 1.42; 95%CI, 1.18–2.83), ApoB/ApoA1 (OR, 1.73; 95%CI, 1.32–4.23), and ox-LDL (OR, 2.15; 95%CI, 1.37–6.95) were independently correlated with CAD in young patients. Area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of TG, ApoB/ApoA1, and ox-LDL was 0.831, 0.866, and 0.935, respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Ox-LDL is an important independent risk factor for CAD in young patients after adjusting other risk factors such as smoking, TG, and ApoB/ApoA1.

Rosuvastatin Treatment for Preventing Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury After Cardiac Catheterization: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Abstract We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the protective effects of rosuvastatin on contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients undergoing cardiac catherization. PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the Cochrane Central RCTs were searched for RCTs from inception to May 2015, to compare rosuvastatin for preventing CI-AKI with placebo treatment in patients undergoing cardiac catherization. Five RCTs with a total of 4045 patients involving 2020 patients pretreated with rosuvastatin and 2025 control patients were identified and analyzed. Patients treated with rosuvastatin had a 51% lower risk of CI-AKI compared with the control group based on a fixed-effect model (OR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.37–0.66, P < 0.001), and showed a trend toward a reduced risk of MACEs (OR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.36–1.07, P = 0.08). A subgroup analysis showed that studies with Jadad score ≥3 showed a significant reduction of CI-AKI (OR = 0.53, 95% CI, 0.38–0.73, P < 0.001). However, the risk of CI-AKI did not significantly differ in the studies with Jadad score <3 (OR = 0.54, 95% CI, 0.13–2.24, P = 0.40). In addition, the rosuvastatin treatment showed no effect for preventing CI-AKI in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing elective cardiac catherization (I2 = 0%, OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.41–1.61, P = 0.55). This updated meta-analysis demonstrated that preprocedural rosuvastatin treatment could significantly reduce the incidence of CI-AKI, with a trend toward a reduced risk of MACEs in patients undergoing cardiac catheterization. However, rosuvastatin treatment did not seem to be effective for preventing CI-AKI in CKD patients undergoing elective cardiac catheterization.

Prevalence and risk factors associated with prehypertension in Shunde District, southern China

Objective To explore the prevalence and combined cardiovascular risk factors of prehypertension in southern China. Design A retrospective study; the logistic regression model was used to find the risk factors of prehypertension. Setting The study was conducted in Shunde District, southern China, using the community-based health check-up information. Participants Participants aged ≥35 years with complete health check-up information data between January 2011 and December 2013 were enrolled and divided into hypertension, prehypertension and optimal blood pressure (BP) groups. Prehypertension was further divided into low-range (BP 120–129/80–84 mm Hg) and high-range (BP 130–139/85–89 mm Hg) subgroups. Outcome measures The prevalence of prehypertension and the combined cardiovascular risk factors within the prehypertensive subgroups. Results Of the 5362 initially reviewed cases (aged ≥35 years), 651 were excluded because of missing data. The proportions of optimal BP, prehypertension and hypertension were 39.1%, 38.6% and 22.3%, respectively. The average age, proportion of male sex, overweight, impaired fasting glucose (IFG), dyslipidaemia and hyperuricaemia were significantly higher in the prehypertension group than in the optimal BP group (all p <0.05). Compared with low-range prehypertension, the proportions of overweight, dyslipidaemia and IFG were higher in the high-range prehypertension group (all p<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that overweight (OR=2.84, 95% CI 1.55 to 5.20), male sex (OR=2.19, 95% CI 1.39 to 3.45), age (per 10 years, OR=1.21, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.44, p=0.03) and hyperuricaemia (OR=1.70, 95% CI 1.14 to 2.54) were independent risk factors of prehypertension. Conclusions Prehypertension is highly prevalent in southern China. Prehypertensive individuals presented with many other cardiovascular risk factors. There was heterogeneity of combined risk factors within the prehypertensive subgroups.

Increased All-Cause Mortality Associated With Digoxin Therapy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: An Updated Meta-Analysis.

AbstractDigoxin is still commonly used in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with and without heart failure (HF) for heart rate control. Studies concerning the detrimental effects of digoxin therapy in AF patients are inconsistent. This updated meta-analysis examined the association of digoxin therapy with all-cause mortality in AF patients, stratified by heart function status. We included observational studies with multivariate-adjusted data on digoxin and all-cause mortality in the analysis. The relative risks (RRs) of all-cause mortality were calculated and reported with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Seventeen studies comprising 408,660 patients were included. Overall, in AF patients, digoxin treatment was associated with a significant increase in all-cause mortality after multivariate-adjustment (RR = 1.22; 95% CI 1.15–1.30). When stratified by heart function status, digoxin treatment was associated with a 14% increase in all-cause mortality in AF patients with HF (RR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.04–1.24), and a 36% increase in those without HF (RR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.18–1.56). The increased risk of all-cause mortality was significantly higher in AF patients without HF compared with those with HF (P for interaction = 0.04). This meta-analysis demonstrates that digoxin therapy was associated with a significant increase in all-cause mortality in AF patients, especially in those without HF. Given other available options, digoxin should be avoided as a first-line agent for heart rate control in AF patients.

Perceived stress status and sympathetic nervous system activation in young male patients with coronary artery disease in China

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Young Chinese male adults have faced increasing psychological stress. Whether this is associated with the increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) in young Chinese males remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation and underlying mechanisms of perceived stress and CAD in young male patients. METHODS A total of 178 male patients diagnosed as young CAD (aged ≤ 55 years) by coronary angiography (CAG) were enrolled, and 181 age-matched non-CAD individuals were set as control group. Traditional cardiovascular risk factors and levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine were measured, and perceived stress status was accessed by Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). RESULTS The PSS score was correlated with levels of epinephrine (r=0.45), norepinephrine (r=0.41), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (r=0.38, p<0.01), and current smoking (r=0.32) (all p<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that smoking (OR, 3.12; 95%CI, 1.23-7.91), triglycerides (OR, 1.42; 95%CI, 1.04-1.94), hs-CRP (OR, 3.57; 95%CI, 1.65-7.72), and PSS score (OR, 1.81; 95%CI, 1.23-2.66) were independently correlated with CAD in young patients. The association between PSS score and risk of CAD become insignificant (OR, 1.43; 95%CI, 0.96-2.13) when further adjusted for the levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine. CONCLUSIONS After adjustment for multiple cardiovascular risk factors, high perceived stress was an independent risk factor for CAD in young Chinese male patients. Abnormal activation of the sympathetic nervous system may play an important role linking perceived stress with the risk of CAD.

Association of N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide and impaired aortic elastic property in hypertensive patients.

BACKGROUND N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is closely related to risk stratification in many cardiovascular diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of NT-proBNP and impaired aortic elastic property in hypertensive patients. METHODS One hundred fifty-five hypertensive patients without obvious cardiac dysfunction were included and divided in tertiles based on their NT-proBNP concentration. Eighty-six normotensive healthy volunteers were also enrolled as controls. All subjects underwent Doppler echocardiography to assess cardiac parameters and aortic distensibility index. Plasma NT-proBNP was measured by electrochemiluminescence. RESULTS The parameters of aortic elastic property were decreased and NT-proBNP was significantly increased in hypertensive patients compared with controls (all P<0.05). Among hypertensive patients, higher NT-proBNP tertiles were associated with larger systolic and diastolic aortic diameters, longer deceleration time of the E wave velocity (DT) and isovolumic relaxation time; decreased E/A ratio and more percent of diastolic dysfunction. The parameters of aortic elastic property showed stepwise decreases from the first tertiles to the third tertiles (P<0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that concentrations of NT-proBNP were significantly correlated with age and impaired aortic distensibility. CONCLUSIONS NT-proBNP is a marker for impaired aortic elastic property in hypertensive patients. Measurement of NT-proBNP could be indicated in hypertensive patients for further risk stratification.