"The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection,
Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure" provides a new guideline
for hypertension prevention and management. The following are the key messages(1) In persons older than 50 years, systolic blood pressure (BP) of
more than 140 mm Hg is a much more important cardiovascular disease
(CVD) risk factor than diastolic BP; (2) The risk of CVD, beginning at 115/75
mm Hg, doubles with each increment of 20/10 mm Hg; individuals who are normotensive
at 55 years of age have a 90% lifetime risk for developing hypertension; (3)
Individuals with a systolic BP of 120 to 139 mm Hg or a diastolic BP of 80
to 89 mm Hg should be considered as prehypertensive and require health-promoting
lifestyle modifications to prevent CVD; (4) Thiazide-type diuretics should
be used in drug treatment for most patients with uncomplicated hypertension,
either alone or combined with drugs from other classes. Certain high-risk
conditions are compelling indications for the initial use of other antihypertensive
drug classes (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor
blockers, β-blockers, calcium channel blockers); (5) Most patients with
hypertension will require 2 or more antihypertensive medications to achieve
goal BP (<140/90 mm Hg, or <130/80 mm Hg for patients with diabetes
or chronic kidney disease); (6) If BP is more than 20/10 mm Hg above goal
BP, consideration should be given to initiating therapy with 2 agents, 1 of
which usually should be a thiazide-type diuretic; and (7) The most effective
therapy prescribed by the most careful clinician will control hypertension
only if patients are motivated. Motivation improves when patients have positive
experiences with and trust in the clinician. Empathy builds trust and is a
potent motivator. Finally, in presenting these guidelines, the committee recognizes
that the responsible physician's judgment remains paramount.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/articlepdf/196589/JSC30096.pdf

The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure: the JNC 7 report.

The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions is the official document that describes in detail the process of preparing and maintaining Cochrane systematic reviews on the effects of healthcare interventions.

/pdf/cochrane-handbook-for-systematic-reviews-of-interventions-1xbdy6uvru.pdf

Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease. Because high plasma concentrations of cholesterol, in particular those of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, are one of the principal risk factors for atherosclerosis,1 the process of atherogenesis has been considered by many to consist largely of the accumulation of lipids within the artery wall; however, it is much more than that. Despite changes in lifestyle and the use of new pharmacologic approaches to lower plasma cholesterol concentrations,2,3 cardiovascular disease continues to be the principal cause of death in the United States, Europe, and much of Asia.4,5 In fact, the lesions of atherosclerosis represent . . .

https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199901143400207

Atherosclerosis — An Inflammatory Disease

Context Little is known about lifetime prevalence or age of onset of DSM-IV disorders. Objective To estimate lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the recently completed National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Design and Setting Nationally representative face-to-face household survey conducted between February 2001 and April 2003 using the fully structured World Health Organization World Mental Health Survey version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Participants Nine thousand two hundred eighty-two English-speaking respondents aged 18 years and older. Main Outcome Measures Lifetime DSM-IV anxiety, mood, impulse-control, and substance use disorders. Results Lifetime prevalence estimates are as follows: anxiety disorders, 28.8%; mood disorders, 20.8%; impulse-control disorders, 24.8%; substance use disorders, 14.6%; any disorder, 46.4%. Median age of onset is much earlier for anxiety (11 years) and impulse-control (11 years) disorders than for substance use (20 years) and mood (30 years) disorders. Half of all lifetime cases start by age 14 years and three fourths by age 24 years. Later onsets are mostly of comorbid conditions, with estimated lifetime risk of any disorder at age 75 years (50.8%) only slightly higher than observed lifetime prevalence (46.4%). Lifetime prevalence estimates are higher in recent cohorts than in earlier cohorts and have fairly stable intercohort differences across the life course that vary in substantively plausible ways among sociodemographic subgroups. Conclusions About half of Americans will meet the criteria for a DSM-IV disorder sometime in their life, with first onset usually in childhood or adolescence. Interventions aimed at prevention or early treatment need to focus on youth.

https://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/faculty/detels/PH150/Kessler_DSMIV_AGP2009.pdf

Lifetime Prevalence and Age-of-Onset Distributions of DSM-IV Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication

The National High Blood Pressure Education Program presents the complete Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Like its predecessors, the purpose is to provide an evidence-based approach to the prevention and management of hypertension. The key messages of this report are these: in those older than age 50, systolic blood pressure (BP) of greater than 140 mm Hg is a more important cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor than diastolic BP; beginning at 115/75 mm Hg, CVD risk doubles for each increment of 20/10 mm Hg; those who are normotensive at 55 years of age will have a 90% lifetime risk of developing hypertension; prehypertensive individuals (systolic BP 120-139 mm Hg or diastolic BP 80-89 mm Hg) require health-promoting lifestyle modifications to prevent the progressive rise in blood pressure and CVD; for uncomplicated hypertension, thiazide diuretic should be used in drug treatment for most, either alone or combined with drugs from other classes; this report delineates specific high-risk conditions that are compelling indications for the use of other antihypertensive drug classes (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers); two or more antihypertensive medications will be required to achieve goal BP (<140/90 mm Hg, or <130/80 mm Hg) for patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease; for patients whose BP is more than 20 mm Hg above the systolic BP goal or more than 10 mm Hg above the diastolic BP goal, initiation of therapy using two agents, one of which usually will be a thiazide diuretic, should be considered; regardless of therapy or care, hypertension will be controlled only if patients are motivated to stay on their treatment plan. Positive experiences, trust in the clinician, and empathy improve patient motivation and satisfaction. This report serves as a guide, and the committee continues to recognize that the responsible physician's judgment remains paramount.

Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure

Detection of valvular regurgitation by a precordial dilution technique.

Dr Serebruany raises 3 issues with regard to our analysis1: (1) Failure to account for an increased incidence of cancer; (2) use of the Saskatchewan Health database for prognostic modeling; and (3) differential effects across patient subgroups.

With regard to cancer, Dr Serebruany is correct that we have not explicitly accounted for the impact of cancer in our analysis. There are several reasons behind this approach. First of all, our analysis plan was developed prospectively, long before the trial results were available. For reasons of expediency, our data collection focused on those events that were expected to be impacted by the treatments under consideration (ie, cardiovascular events and bleeding). Consequently, we did not collect specific data on resource utilization associated with cancer and were unable to include this information in our analysis. More importantly, however, it should be noted that the excess risk of cancer that Dr Serebruany alludes to was not actually identified in the Food and …

Response to Letter Regarding Article, “Cost-Effectiveness of Prasugrel Versus Clopidogrel in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes and Planned Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Results From the Trial to Assess Improvement in Therapeutic Outcomes by Optimizing Platelet Inhibition With Prasugrel-Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction TRITON-TIMI 38”

WITHDRAWN: The Ten Advances that Have Defined Modern Cardiology

Elevated serum myoglobin is associated with increased long-term mortality, independent of cardiac troponin I, electrocardiographic variables, and other baseline variables: combined analyses from TIMI 11B and TACTICS/TIMI 18

Patients (pts) with stable ischemic heart disease (SIHD) who have had a prior myocardial infarction (MI) demonstrate a range of residual risk for recurrent CV events. A risk prediction tool may be useful to identify high risk pts who have the greatest potential for benefit from intensive treatment. Methods: The integer-based TIMI Risk Score for SIHD (Prior MI) was derived in 8,200 placebo-treated pts who were stable with a history of MI (2 wks to 12 mo) in the TRA 2°P-TIMI 50 trial. The score was developed to predict CV death, MI or ischemic stroke (CVD/MI/iCVA; n=676 events, median 2.5y follow-up). The score was validated in 8,274 vorapaxar-treated pts from the trial. Differential efficacy and safety (GUSTO severe bleeding) response to randomized treatment was assessed among pts with prior MI without a history of TIA or stroke for whom there is a clinical indication for vorapaxar. Results: The risk score predictors were age, CHF, smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, prior stroke, peripheral arterial disease, family history of CAD, prior CABG, and eGFR (Fig 1a). The TIMI Risk Score showed a strong graded relationship with the rate of CVD/MI/iCVA as well as the individual components (p-trend Conclusions: The TIMI Risk Score for SIHD (Prior MI) identifies a strong gradient of increasing risk for recurrent CV events and may be useful as a basis for therapeutic decision-making.

Eugene Braunwald

Papers

Detection of valvular regurgitation by a precordial dilution technique.

WITHDRAWN: The Ten Advances that Have Defined Modern Cardiology

Elevated serum myoglobin is associated with increased long-term mortality, independent of cardiac troponin I, electrocardiographic variables, and other baseline variables: combined analyses from TIMI 11B and TACTICS/TIMI 18

Abstract 17338: Development of a TIMI Risk Score for Stable Ischemic Heart Disease