Prevalence of hypertension in Africa in the last two decades: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aims: Despite being the most common cardiovascular risk factor, the actual burden of hypertension is poorly characterized in Africa. We meta-analyzed the most extensive pooled data to determine the overall prevalence of hypertension in Africa.

Methods And Results: Following PRISMA guidelines, we systematically searched Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science databases to retrieve prevalence studies only on hypertension among Africans published between 2002 and 2023.

Trends over time in age-standardised prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors in Senegal between 1975 and 2021 by sex: an ecological study from the WHO Inequality Data Repository.

Objective: We aimed to analyse the time trends of cardiometabolic risk factors in Senegal from 1975 to 2021.

Design: Ecological study of publicly available data from the WHO Health Inequality Data Repository.

Setting: Disaggregated datasets from publicly available sources.

Hypertension in Sub-Saharan Africa: Burden, Barriers and Priorities for Improving Treatment Outcomes.

The burden of hypertension is rising rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), posing significant health challenges and economic costs that hinder national development. Despite being well-studied in clinical medicine, the detection, treatment, and control of hypertension in SSA remain inadequate. This is due to barriers across the care continuum, including individual-, provider-, and system-level obstacles within the health system.

Promotion of Cardiovascular Health in Africa: The Alliance for Medical Research in Africa (AMedRA) Expert Panel.

This proposed scientific statement is focused on providing new insights regarding challenges and opportunities for cardiovascular health (CVH) promotion in Africa. The statement includes an overview of the current state of CVH in Africa, with a particular interest in the cardiometabolic risk factors and their evaluation through metrics. The statement also explains the main principles of primordial prevention, its relevance in reducing noncommunicable disease and the different strategies that have been effective worldwide.

Changes in Cardiovascular Health at Midlife and Subsequent Cardiovascular Outcomes in Individuals With Diabetes.

Background: Whether improvements in cardiovascular health (CVH) in midlife mitigate cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients with diabetes remains underexplored.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to examine the relationships between changes in CVH during midlife and subsequent risks of CVD events and all-cause mortality among individuals with and without diabetes.

Methods: The study utilized data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

Association between change in heart rate over years and life span in the Paris Prospective 1, the Whitehall 1, and Framingham studies.

Heart rate, a measure of the frequency of the cardiac cycle, reflects the health of the cardiovascular system, metabolic rate, and activity of the autonomic nervous system. Whether changes in resting heart rate are related to lifespan has not yet been explored to our best knowledge. In this study, we examined the association between resting heart rate and lifespan using linear regression in the Paris Prospective Study I, the Whitehall I Study, and the Framingham Heart Study.

Deep Diving Into the Cardiovascular Health Paradox: A Journey Towards Personalized Prevention.

Objectives: The Life's Simple 7 score (LS7) promotes cardiovascular health (CVH). Despite this, some with optimal LS7 develop cardiovascular disease (CVD), while others with poor CVH do not, termed the "CVH paradox." This paper explores pathways explaining this paradox.

Predictive machine learning models for ascending aortic dilatation in patients with bicuspid and tricuspid aortic valves undergoing cardiothoracic surgery: a prospective, single-centre and observational study.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to develop clinical classifiers aiming to identify prevalent ascending aortic dilatation in patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) and tricuspid aortic valve (TAV).

Design And Setting: A prospective, single-centre and observational cohort.

Participants: The study involved 543 BAV and 491 TAV patients with aortic valve disease and/or ascending aortic dilatation, excluding those with coronary artery disease, undergoing cardiothoracic surgery at the Karolinska University Hospital (Sweden).

Advancing the Cardiovascular Workforce in Africa to Tackle the Epidemic of Cardiovascular Disease: The Time is Now.

The African region is experiencing an epidemic of cardiovascular disease with dire consequences of increasing morbidity and mortality. Compared with high-income countries where older populations are most affected, the burden of CVD in Africa is higher in the younger populations, which hampers regional socioeconomic development. Strategies to increase and advance the cardiovascular workforce are urgently needed to help address this problem.

Association of Life's Simple 7 and ideal cardiovascular health in American Indians/Alaska Natives.

Objective: American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) are an understudied population at high risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs); little is known about contextual factors contributing to CVDs in AI/ANs. This study examined the association of Life's Simple 7 (LS7) factors and social determinants of health (SDH) with CVD outcomes in a nationally representative sample of AI/ANs.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 8497 AI/ANs using 2017 Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance Survey data.

Time trends in infectious and chronic disease consultations in Dakar, Senegal: Impact of COVID-19 sanitary measures.

Background: The impact of COVID-19 sanitary measures on the time trends in infectious and chronic disease consultations in Sub-Saharan Africa remains unknown.

Methods: We conducted a cohort study on all emergency medical consultations from January 2016 to July 2020, from SOS Medecins in Dakar, Senegal. The consultation records provided basic demographic information such as age, ethnicity (Senegalese or Caucasian), and sex as well as the principal diagnosis using an ICD-10 classification ("infectious", "chronic", and "other").

Cardiovascular health metrics and risk of heart failure in a Finnish population: a prospective cohort study.

Aims: This study aimed to examine the association between cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics and the risk of heart failure (HF) in a Finnish population.

Methods And Results: We used the prospective population-based Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease cohort study comprising men aged 42-60 years at baseline (1984-89) and women aged 53-73 years at baseline (1998-2001). The CVH scores were computed from American Heart Association's CVH metrics for 2385 men and 825 women without a history of HF at baseline.

Prevalence, risk factors, and cardiovascular disease outcomes associated with persistent blood pressure control: The Jackson Heart Study.

Background: Maintaining blood pressure (BP) control over time may contribute to lower risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) among individuals who are taking antihypertensive medication.

Methods: The Jackson Heart Study (JHS) enrolled 5,306 African-American adults ≥21 years of age and was used to determine the proportion of African Americans that maintain persistent BP control, identify factors associated with persistent BP control, and determine the association of persistent BP control with CVD events. This analysis included 1,604 participants who were taking antihypertensive medication at Visit 1 and had BP data at Visits 1 (2000-2004), 2 (2005-2008), and 3 (2009-2013).

Effects of Objective and Perceived Social Isolation on Cardiovascular and Brain Health: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

Background Social isolation, the relative absence of or infrequency of contact with different types of social relationships, and loneliness (perceived isolation) are associated with adverse health outcomes. Objective To review observational and intervention research that examines the impact of social isolation and loneliness on cardiovascular and brain health and discuss proposed mechanisms for observed associations. Methods We conducted a systematic scoping review of available research.