Cardiovascular

How older adults conceptualize the cause of their high blood pressure
Older adults with hypertension may have dramatically different perceptions about the cause of their condition depending upon where they live, their ethnicity and other demographic characteristics, suggests new research that involved older adults in Arizona and Illinois.

Patients' perceptions about the cause of their hypertension are important because these beliefs influence their learning about the disease, the strategies that they choose to manage it and how well they adhere to treatment, said Elise A.G. Duwe, the lead author of the study. She is an M.D./Ph.D. candidate in sociology in the Medical Scholars Program at the University of Illinois. MedicalXpress

Direct fitness measures better predict cardiometabolic risk
Directly measured fitness is more strongly associated with cardiovascular risk than self-reported physical activity level, according to research published in the Feb. 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology. MedicalXpress

New blood test could detect heart attacks more quickly
The new test measures a protein that is released to the bloodstream by dying heart muscle. The protein is called cardiac myosin binding protein-C (cMyBP-C). The study found that cMyBP-C is released to the blood within just 15 minutes of cardiac damage, and rises to significant levels in three hours.

“This is a potential ultra-early biomarker that could confirm whether a patient has had a heart attack, leading to faster and more effective treatment,” said Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD, senior author of the study, published Dec. 13, 2013 in the American Journal of Physiology – Heart and Circulatory Physiology. Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine

Panel recommends listing depression as a risk for heart disease
An extensive review of scientific literature indicates that depression should be added to the list of risk factors associated with heart disease. Others include obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking. Their findings are published online as a scientific statement in the journal Circulation. Eurekalert!

Study shows association between diabetes and stroke in women but not men
New research published in Diabetologia shows that diabetes in women is associated with an increased risk of stroke, whereas the data do not show the same association among men. The research is by Dr Wenhui Zhao (the first author), Dr Gang Hu and colleagues at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. MedicalXpress

New study presents evidence that blood pressure should be measured in both arms
As heart disease continues to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States, practitioners and patients alike are looking for ways to cut risk factors and identify new clues to assist with early detection. New research published in the March issue of The American Journal of Medicine suggests that there is an association between a difference in interarm systolic blood pressure and a significant increased risk for future cardiovascular events, leading researchers to recommend expanded clinical use of interarm blood pressure measurement. Eurekalert!