Both short (<7 hours) and long sleep durations (>9 hours) can increase the risk of overall cardiovascular disease mortality, particularly in Asian populations and elderly individuals. Future epidemiological studies would ideally include objective sleep measurements, rather than self-report measures, and all potential confounders, such as genetic variants.

Higher white rice consumption has not been shown to be associated with increased risk of CHD, stroke and T2DM. However, white rice consumption may be associated with increased risk of MetS in certain populations.

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Prevalence of PHT in E/β-Thal patients was 37.3% without gender preponderance. Those with severe hemolysis and asplenia invariably had severer PHT. Strong risk factors were asplenia and associated markedly elevated values of sVCAM-1, cell-free Hb, and NRBCs in blood.

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2015 Poster Board I-1037 Introduction: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with thalassemia (Thal) hemoglobinopathy is now an accepted clinical entity. Most of the reports are in sickle cell disease and splenectomized β-Thal patients. Once manifested, it connotes poor prognosis. We herein present its prevalence and predictors in hemoglobin E/β-Thal (E/β-Thal) patients. Patients and Methods: One hundred and ten clinically stable E/β-Thal outpatients, on no medication aside from folic acid and who received no blood transfusion in the preceding 4 weeks were studied. All gave written informed consent, and study protocol was approved by the institution ethics committee on studies in humans (#0774/2548). Echocardiogram was used to estimate systolic PA pressure (SPAP). PAH was defined as an estimated SPAP ≥36 mmHg. Clinical features and laboratory data were stratified according to the presence or absence of PAH, and statistical analysis was done by STATA version 10 (Stata Corp, Texas), considering a P value <0.05 as statistically significant. Predictors of PAH were considered in univariate analysis. Results: There were 110 patients, 56 of whom were female and 61 were asplenic. PAH was present in 41 patients (37.3%), all of whom had normal left ventricular ejection fraction. There was no gender difference between the 2 groups (p=0.055). Selected statistically significant results are shown in the table. Conclusions: Prevalence of PAH in E/β-Thal patients is 37.3% without gender preponderance. Predictors are asplenia, more severe hemolysis, higher number of circulating (activated) platelets and nucleated RBCs, increased chronic low grade inflammation and increased cellular adhesion between blood and endothelial cells. These changes could facilitate development of thrombotic pulmonary arteriopathy, the underlying basis of PAH. Serum NT pro BNP assay can be utilized as a predictor or a screener of PAH in these patients. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Globally, among infectious diseases, influenza is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Individuals with chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes, are particularly vulnerable to complications of an influenza infection. The European Society of Cardiology recommended annual influenza vaccinations for patients with cardiovascular disease. Numerous studies have suggested a link between influenza and increased risk of cardiovascular events. Despite its proven benefits, little is known about the reason for the underutilization of influenza vaccination. We present the findings of an assessment of patients' perception of the influenza vaccine and the reason for its underutilization, by data mining from Twitter.

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