In 2010, the American Heart Association defined a novel construct of cardiovascular health to promote a paradigm shift from a focus solely on disease treatment to one inclusive of positive health ...promotion and preservation across the life course in populations and individuals. Extensive subsequent evidence has provided insights into strengths and limitations of the original approach to defining and quantifying cardiovascular health. In response, the American Heart Association convened a writing group to recommend enhancements and updates. The definition and quantification of each of the original metrics (Life's Simple 7) were evaluated for responsiveness to interindividual variation and intraindividual change. New metrics were considered, and the age spectrum was expanded to include the entire life course. The foundational contexts of social determinants of health and psychological health were addressed as crucial factors in optimizing and preserving cardiovascular health. This presidential advisory introduces an enhanced approach to assessing cardiovascular health: Life's Essential 8. The components of Life's Essential 8 include diet (updated), physical activity, nicotine exposure (updated), sleep health (new), body mass index, blood lipids (updated), blood glucose (updated), and blood pressure. Each metric has a new scoring algorithm ranging from 0 to 100 points, allowing generation of a new composite cardiovascular health score (the unweighted average of all components) that also varies from 0 to 100 points. Methods for implementing cardiovascular health assessment and longitudinal monitoring are discussed, as are potential data sources and tools to promote widespread adoption in policy, public health, clinical, institutional, and community settings.
High levels of lipoprotein(a) Lp(a), an apoB100-containing lipoprotein, are an independent and causal risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases through mechanisms associated with ...increased atherogenesis, inflammation, and thrombosis. Lp(a) is predominantly a monogenic cardiovascular risk determinant, with ≈70% to ≥90% of interindividual heterogeneity in levels being genetically determined. The 2 major protein components of Lp(a) particles are apoB100 and apolipoprotein(a). Lp(a) remains a risk factor for cardiovascular disease development even in the setting of effective reduction of plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and apoB100. Despite its demonstrated contribution to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease burden, we presently lack standardization and harmonization of assays, universal guidelines for diagnosing and providing risk assessment, and targeted treatments to lower Lp(a). There is a clinical need to understand the genetic and biological basis for variation in Lp(a) levels and its relationship to disease in different ancestry groups. This scientific statement capitalizes on the expertise of a diverse basic science and clinical workgroup to highlight the history, biology, pathophysiology, and emerging clinical evidence in the Lp(a) field. Herein, we address key knowledge gaps and future directions required to mitigate the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk attributable to elevated Lp(a) levels.
HF-related CVD mortality rates were ascertained using the multiple cause of death files from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research, ...which includes the underlying and contributing cause of death from all death certificates in the United States (2). Prior reports from the CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) study identified a 20-times higher incidence of HF among black men and women compared with whites before the age of 50 years with HF diagnosis associated with higher rates of antecedent risk factors (4). ...racial differences in competing risk for non-CVD deaths (e.g., homicide, opioid overdose, and HIV) may also contribute to the observed trends in HF-related CVD death.
Background
In the United States, there are persistent racial and ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. National efforts have focused on reducing these disparities; ...however, little is known about the long‐term trends in racial/ethnic disparities in cardiovascular health (CVH).
Methods and Results
We included 11 285 adults aged ≥20 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys survey cycles 1999/2000 through 2011/2012. CVH includes 7 health factors and behaviors—diet, physical activity, smoking status, body mass index, blood pressure, blood glucose, and total cholesterol—each scored as ideal (2 points), intermediate (1 point), or poor (0 points). Overall CVH is a summation of these scores (range, 0–14) points. Age‐adjusted mean CVH scores were calculated by race/ethnicity (non‐Hispanic black, non‐Hispanic white, or Mexican American) and sex for each survey cycle. Non‐Hispanic black women had significantly lower mean CVH scores as compared with non‐Hispanic white women at each survey cycle (difference=0.93; P=0.001 in 2011/2012) and Mexican‐American women had significantly lower mean score as compared with non‐Hispanic white women at almost all survey cycles (difference=0.71; P=0.02 in 2011/2012). Differences between racial/ethnic groups were smaller for men and were mostly nonsignificant.
Conclusions
From 1999/2000 to 2011/2012, there were enduring disparities in CVH for non‐Hispanic black and Mexican‐American women as compared with non‐Hispanic white women. Disparities that were present in 1999/2000 were present in 2011/2012, though no racial/ethnic differences became more pronounced over time. These findings provide US nationally representative data to evaluate health factors and behaviors of particular concern regarding racial/ethnic disparities in cardiovascular health.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) complications are important causes of morbidity and mortality after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). There is currently no preoperative risk‐assessment tool that ...allows physicians to estimate the risk for CVD events following OLT. We sought to develop a point‐based prediction model (risk score) for CVD complications after OLT, the Cardiovascular Risk in Orthotopic Liver Transplantation risk score, among a cohort of 1,024 consecutive patients aged 18‐75 years who underwent first OLT in a tertiary‐care teaching hospital (2002‐2011). The main outcome measures were major 1‐year CVD complications, defined as death from a CVD cause or hospitalization for a major CVD event (myocardial infarction, revascularization, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, cardiac arrest, pulmonary embolism, and/or stroke). The bootstrap method yielded bias‐corrected 95% confidence intervals for the regression coefficients of the final model. Among 1,024 first OLT recipients, major CVD complications occurred in 329 (32.1%). Variables selected for inclusion in the model (using model optimization strategies) included preoperative recipient age, sex, race, employment status, education status, history of hepatocellular carcinoma, diabetes, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, pulmonary or systemic hypertension, and respiratory failure. The discriminative performance of the point‐based score (C statistic = 0.78, bias‐corrected C statistic = 0.77) was superior to other published risk models for postoperative CVD morbidity and mortality, and it had appropriate calibration (Hosmer‐Lemeshow P = 0.33). Conclusion: The point‐based risk score can identify patients at risk for CVD complications after OLT surgery (available at www.carolt.us); this score may be useful for identification of candidates for further risk stratification or other management strategies to improve CVD outcomes after OLT. (Hepatology 2017;66:1968–1979)
The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) Pooled Cohort risk equations were developed to estimate atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and guide statin ...initiation.
To assess calibration and discrimination of the Pooled Cohort risk equations in a contemporary US population.
Adults aged 45 to 79 years enrolled in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study between January 2003 and October 2007 and followed up through December 2010. We studied participants for whom atherosclerotic CVD risk may trigger a discussion of statin initiation (those without clinical atherosclerotic CVD or diabetes, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level between 70 and 189 mg/dL, and not taking statins; n = 10,997).
Predicted risk and observed adjudicated atherosclerotic CVD incidence (nonfatal myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease CHD death, nonfatal or fatal stroke) at 5 years because REGARDS participants have not been followed up for 10 years. Additional analyses, limited to Medicare beneficiaries (n = 3333), added atherosclerotic CVD events identified in Medicare claims data.
There were 338 adjudicated events (192 CHD events, 146 strokes). The observed and predicted 5-year atherosclerotic CVD incidence per 1000 person-years for participants with a 10-year predicted atherosclerotic CVD risk of less than 5% was 1.9 (95% CI, 1.3-2.7) and 1.9, respectively, risk of 5% to less than 7.5% was 4.8 (95% CI, 3.4-6.7) and 4.8, risk of 7.5% to less than 10% was 6.1 (95% CI, 4.4-8.6) and 6.9, and risk of 10% or greater was 12.0 (95% CI, 10.6-13.6) and 15.1 (Hosmer-Lemeshow χ2 = 19.9, P = .01). The C index was 0.72 (95% CI, 0.70-0.75). There were 234 atherosclerotic CVD events (120 CHD events, 114 strokes) among Medicare-linked participants and the observed and predicted 5-year atherosclerotic CVD incidence per 1000 person-years for participants with a predicted risk of less than 7.5% was 5.3 (95% CI, 2.8-10.1) and 4.0, respectively, risk of 7.5% to less than 10% was 7.9 (95% CI, 4.6-13.5) and 6.4, and risk of 10% or greater was 17.4 (95% CI, 15.3-19.8) and 16.4 (Hosmer-Lemeshow χ2 = 5.4, P = .71). The C index was 0.67 (95% CI, 0.64-0.71).
In this cohort of US adults for whom statin initiation is considered based on the ACC/AHA Pooled Cohort risk equations, observed and predicted 5-year atherosclerotic CVD risks were similar, indicating that these risk equations were well calibrated in the population for which they were designed to be used, and demonstrated moderate to good discrimination.
With widespread availability and the use of antiretroviral therapy, patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States are living long enough to experience non-AIDS–defining ...illnesses. HIV is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) because of traditional CVD risk factors, residual virally mediated inflammation despite HIV treatment, and side effects of antiretroviral therapy. No United States population-wide studies have evaluated patterns of CVD mortality for HIV-infected subjects. Our central hypothesis was that the proportionate mortality from CVD (CVD mortality/total mortality) in the HIV-infected population increased from 1999 to 2013. We used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research online database of the United States public health data to assess proportionate CVD mortality from 1999 to 2013 in the HIV-infected, general, and inflammatory polyarthropathy populations; the inflammatory polyarthropathy population was included as a positive control group. Total mortality in the HIV-infected population decreased from 15,739 in 1999 to 8,660 in 2013; however, CVD mortality increased from 307 to 400 during the same period. Thus, proportionate CVD mortality for the HIV-infected population increased significantly from 1999 to 2013 (p <0.0001); this pattern was consistent across races, particularly for men. In contrast, proportionate CVD mortality decreased for the general and inflammatory polyarthropathy populations from 1999 to 2013. In conclusion, CVD has become an increasingly common cause of death in HIV-infected subjects since 1999; understanding evolving mortality risks in the HIV-infected population is essential to inform routine clinical care of HIV-infected subjects as well as CVD prevention and treatment.
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