Cardiovascular Disease, Mortality Risk, and Healthcare Costs by Lipoprotein(a) Levels According to Low-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels in Older High-risk Adults.

BACKGROUND: The value of lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) for predicting cardiovascular disease (CVD) across low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is uncertain. HYPOTHESIS: In older high-risk adults, higher LDL and Lp(a) combined would be associated with higher CVD risk and more healthcare costs. METHODS: We included 3251 high-risk subjects (prior CVD, diabetes, or 10-year Framingham CVD risk >20%) age ≥65 years from the Cardiovascular Health Study and examined the relation of Lp(a) tertiles with incident CVD, coronary heart disease (CHD), and all-cause mortality within LDL-C strata (spanning <70 mg/dL to ≥160 mg/dL). We also examined 1-year all-cause and CVD healthcare costs from Medicare claims. RESULTS: Over a 22.5-year follow-up, higher Lp(a) levels predicted CVD and total mortality (both standardized hazard ratio [HR]: 1.06, P < 0.01), whereas higher LDL-C levels predicted higher CHD (standardized HR: 1.09, P < 0.01) but lower total mortality (standardized HR: 0.94, P < 0.001). Adjusted HRs in the highest (vs lowest) tertile of Lp(a) level were 1.95 (P = 0.06) for CVD events and 2.68 (P = 0.03) for CHD events when LDL-C was <70 mg/dL. One-year all-cause healthcare costs were increased for Lp(a) ($771 per SD of 56 µg/mL [P = 0.03], $1976 for Lp(a) 25-64 µg/mL vs <25 µg/mL [P = 0.02], and $1648 for Lp(a) ≥65 µg/mL vs <25 µg/mL [P = 0.054]) but not LDL-C. CONCLUSIONS: In older high-risk adults, increased Lp(a) levels were associated with higher CVD risk, especially in those with LDL-C <70 mg/dL, and with higher healthcare costs.

Do differences in subclinical cardiovascular disease in mexican americans versus European americans help explain the Hispanic paradox?

Mexican Americans have exhibited increases in various coronary heart disease risk factors compared to European Americans but have also had reportedly lower coronary heart disease mortality from vital statistics studies. We hypothesized this apparent paradox might relate to lower levels of subclinical disease in Mexican Americans. A total of 105 adult Mexican Americans (42 men and 63 women, age 46 +/- 14 years) and 100 European Americans (59 men and 41 women, age 50 +/- 11 years) were studied using blood tests, transthoracic echocardiography, and computed tomography coronary artery calcium (CAC) scans. Despite a greater body mass index and triglycerides in Mexican Americans (p <0.001), the Mexican Americans demonstrated less subclinical disease than did the European Americans (14.4% vs 25.7% with CAC scores >0, p <0.05 and mean left ventricular mass [LV] of 146 vs 160 g, p <0.05). Also, the LV mass was significantly greater in Mexican Americans with than in those without CAC (mean 172 vs 140 g, p <0.05). On logistic regression analysis, age and diastolic blood pressure were associated with an increased likelihood of CAC (p <0.001 and p <0.01, respectively), and Mexican-American ethnicity was associated with a decreased likelihood of CAC (odds ratio 0.33, 95% confidence interval 0.12 to 0.87, p <0.05). On multiple regression analysis, male gender, body surface area, and systolic blood pressure were independently associated with an increased LV mass (all p <0.001). The body mass index was less strongly related to the LV mass than was the body surface area and was not related to CAC. In conclusion, Mexican-American ethnicity is associated with both a lower LV mass and a lower prevalence of CAC, although the differences in LV mass did not remain after adjustment for other factors. Although systolic blood pressure, body surface area, and male gender were most strongly associated with the LV mass, age and diastolic blood pressure, in addition to Mexican-American ethnicity, were the most important indicators of CAC.

Burden of valvular heart diseases: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Valvular heart diseases are not usually regarded as a major public-health problem. Our aim was to assess their prevalence and effect on overall survival in the general population. METHODS: We pooled population-based studies to obtain data for 11 911 randomly selected adults from the general population who had been assessed prospectively with echocardiography. We also analysed data from a community study of 16 501 adults who had been assessed by clinically indicated echocardiography. FINDINGS: In the general population group, moderate or severe valve disease was identified in 615 adults. There was no difference in the frequency of such diseases between men and women (p=0.90). Prevalence increased with age, from 0.7% (95% CI 0.5-1.0) in 18-44 year olds to 13.3% (11.7-15.0) in the 75 years and older group (p<0.0001). The national prevalence of valve disease, corrected for age and sex distribution from the US 2000 population, is 2.5% (2.2-2.7). In the community group, valve disease was diagnosed in 1505 (1.8% adjusted) adults and frequency increased considerably with age, from 0.3% (0.2-0.3) of the 18-44 year olds to 11.7% (11.0-12.5) of those aged 75 years and older, but was diagnosed less often in women than in men (odds ratio 0.90, 0.81-1.01; p=0.07). The adjusted mortality risk ratio associated with valve disease was 1.36 (1.15-1.62; p=0.0005) in the population and 1.75 (1.61-1.90; p<0.0001) in the community. INTERPRETATION: Moderate or severe valvular diseases are notably common in this population and increase with age. In the community, women are less often diagnosed than are men, which could indicate an important imbalance in view of the associated lower survival. Valve diseases thus represent an important public-health problem.

Guidelines for noninvasive vascular laboratory testing: a report from the American Society of Echocardiography and the Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology.

Accompanying the rapid growth of interest in percutaneous vascular interventions, there has been increasing interest among cardiologists in performing noninvasive vascular testing using ultrasound. In an attempt to provide recommendations on the best practices in vascular laboratory testing, this report has been prepared by a writing group from the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) and the Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology. The document summarizes principles integral to vascular duplex ultrasound--including color Doppler, spectral Doppler waveform analysis, power Doppler, and the use of contrast. Appropriate indications and interpretation of carotid artery, renal artery, abdominal aorta, and peripheral artery ultrasound imaging are described. A dedicated section summarizes noninvasive techniques for physiologic vascular testing of the lower extremity arteries--including measurement of segmental pressures and pulse volume plethysmography. The use of exercise testing in the evaluation of peripheral artery disease, ultrasound evaluation of the lower extremities after percutaneous revascularization, and the diagnosis and management of iatrogenic pseudoaneurysm (PSA) is also discussed. A section on the important topic of vascular laboratory accreditation is included. Finally, additional details regarding proper technique for performance of the various vascular tests and procedures are included in the Appendix.

The association of personal and neighborhood socioeconomic indicators with subclinical cardiovascular disease in an elderly cohort. The cardiovascular health study.

There has been recent interest in determining whether neighborhood characteristics are related to the cardiovascular health of residents. However, there are no data regarding the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and prevalence of subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the elderly. We related personal SES (education, income, and occupation type) and neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics (a block-group score summing six variables reflecting neighborhood income and wealth, education, and occupation) to the prevalence of subclinical CVD (asymptomatic peripheral vascular disease or carotid atherosclerosis, electrocardiogram or echocardiogram abnormalities, and/or positive responses to Rose Questionnaire claudication or angina pectoris) among 3545 persons aged 65 and over, without prevalent CVD, in the Cardiovascular Health Study. Sixty percent of participants had at least one indicator of subclinical disease. Compared to those without, those with subclinical disease had significantly lower education, income, and neighborhood scores and were more likely to have blue-collar jobs. After adjustment for age, gender, and race, those in the lowest SES groups had increased prevalence of subclinical disease compared with those in the highest SES groups (OR = 1.50; 95% CI 1.21, 1.86 for income; OR = 1.41; 95% CI 1.18, 1.69 for education; OR = 1.39; 95% CI 1.16, 1.67 for block-group score). Those reporting a blue-collar lifetime occupation had greater prevalence of subclinical disease relative to those reporting a white-collar occupation (OR = 1.29; 95% CI 1.02-1.59). After adjustment for behavioral and biomedical risk factors, all of these associations were reduced. Neighborhood score tended to remain inversely associated with subclinical disease after adjustment for personal socioeconomic indicators but associations were not statistically significant. Personal income and blue-collar occupation remained significantly associated with subclinical disease after simultaneous adjustment for neighborhood score and education. Personal and neighborhood socioeconomic indicators were associated with subclinical disease prevalence in this elderly cohort. These relationships were reduced after controlling for traditional CVD risk factors.