The KaiLuan study is a prospective cohort study based on the Kailuan community in Tangshan city, which is a large and littoral modern city located in the central section of the circulating Bohai Sea Gulf region.© 2012 American Heart Association, Inc. Background-The American Heart Association Committee recently developed definitions of "ideal," "intermediate,"and "poor" cardiovascular health based on 7 cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors or health behaviors. This study evaluated the prevalence of "ideal" American Heart Association cardiovascular health metrics from June 2006 to October 2007 in the Kailuan cohort (n=101 510; age 18-98 years) in northern China and its relationship with the 4-year CVD incidence. Methods and Results-We used Cox proportional hazards regression to calculate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for baseline health behaviors and risk factor categories. The majority of participants (63 676; 69.45%) presented with ≤3 ideal cardiovascular health metrics, whereas 8342 participants (9.1%) had 5 to 7 ideal metrics. Only 93 of 91 698 participants (0.1%) had all 7 metrics in the ideal range. There was a strong relationship between the cumulative incidence of CVD events in the 4-year follow-up and the number of ideal health metrics at baseline; the 1111 participants with 6 and 7 ideal metrics had a significantly lower cumulative incidence of CVD than subjects with no or only 1 ideal health metric (0.8% versus 3.3%). Men had higher rates of CVD events than women (2.46% versus 1.18%). Conclusions-Few adults had ideal cardiovascular health according to the modified American Heart Association definition.We detected a strong inverse relationship between the cumulative CVD incidence and the number of ideal health metrics at baseline. Population-wide prevention, especially lifestyle improvement, is critical to increase the low-risk prevalence and thereafter decrease CVD events.

Background-Essential hypertension has been recognized as a disease resulting from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Recent studies demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. However, little is known about the roles of miRNAs in essential hypertension. Methods and Results-Using microarray-based miRNA expression profiling, we compared the miRNA expressions in plasma samples from 13 hypertensive patients and 5 healthy control subjects. Twenty-seven miRNAs were found to be differentially expressed. The expressions of selected miRNAs (miR-296 -5p, let-7e, and a human cytomegalovirus [HCMV]-encoded miRNA, hcmv-miR-UL112) were validated independently in plasma samples from 24 hypertensive patients and 22 control subjects. The absolute expression levels of hcmv-miR-UL112, miR-296 -5p, and let-7e were further determined in 127 patients and 67 control subjects (fold changes are 2.5, 0.5, and 1.7 respectively; all PϽ0.0001). Additionally, we demonstrated that interferon regulatory factor 1 is a direct target of hcmv-miR-UL112.Increased HCMV seropositivity and quantitative titers were found in the hypertension group compared with the control group (52.7% versus 30.9%, Pϭ0.0005; 1870 versus 54 copies per 1 mL plasma, PϽ0.0001). Seropositivity, log-transformed copies of HCMV, and hcmv-miR-UL112 were independently associated with an increased risk of hypertension (odds ratio, 2.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.48 to 4.15; Pϭ0.0005; odds ratio, 1.97; 95% confidence interval, 1.58 to 2.46; PϽ0.0001; and odds ratio, 2.55; 95% confidence interval, 1.98 to 3.27; PϽ0.0001, respectively). Conclusions-We report for the first time a circulating miRNA profile for hypertensive patients and demonstrate a novel link between HCMV infection and essential hypertension. These findings may reveal important insights into the pathogenesis of essential hypertension. Clinical Trial Registration-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00420784. Key Words: cytomegalovirus Ⅲ hypertension Ⅲ interferon regulatory factor-1 Ⅲ microRNAs E ssential hypertension is a predisposing risk factor for stroke, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and arterial aneurysm; it is also the leading cause of chronic renal failure. 1 Approximately 90% to 95% of hypertension, affecting Ͼ1 billion adults worldwide, is the essential hypertension subtype. 2 Discernment between essential and secondary hypertension is critical because the former has no precise cause and the latter has a clear cause usually remediable by a Clinical Perspective on p 184 microRNAs (miRNAs) are short, endogenous, noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level by binding to the 3Ј untranslated regions (UTRs) of their target mRNAs. 7 Although dysregulation of miRNA expression is a feature of malignancies, 8 -10 research into miRNAs in biological processes reveals their regulation of immune cell development, 11 involvement in inflammatory response, 12 and critical participation...

LAA closure with the LAmbre device shows encouraging results for stroke prevention.

These results suggested that the emerging anti-arrhythmic character induced by resveratrol treatment in rat hearts could be mainly accounted for by inhibition of I (Ca-L) and enhancement of I (K,ATP). Administration of resveratrol also improved the long-term survival by suppressing left ventricular remodeling.

). The rs4731702-T allele was also associated with a decreased risk of ASCVD with an OR of 0.78 (P meta-analysis < 5.43 · 10 )4). In addition, we found that a missense variant of KLF14, rs11140 0400 (Ser58Pro), was associated with MI. Conclusion: Genetic variants newly identified near/in the KLF14 gene were implicated in the aetiology of atherosclerotic-related phenotypes.

Background and AimsThe American Heart Association has recently established seven ideal cardiovascular health metrics for cardiovascular health promotion and disease reduction (i.e., non-smoking, normal body mass index, physically active, healthy diet, and normal levels of cholesterol, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose). The present study seeks to evaluate how well these metrics predict mortality from all causes and cardiovascular diseases in adult Chinese living in a northern industrial city.Methods and ResultsData of 95,429 adults who participated in the Kailuan cohort study from June 2006 to October 2007 was analyzed. All participants underwent questionnaire assessment, clinical examination, laboratory assessments and were followed up biannually. During a median follow-up of 4.02 years, 1,843 deaths occurred, with 597 deaths resulting from cardiovascular diseases. Lower mortality rates from all causes and cardiovascular diseases were observed among the subjects who met a higher number of the ideal health metrics. Compared to the participants who met none or one ideal health metric, those meeting ≥5 ideal health metrics had a lower risk of all-cause mortality by 30% (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, 0.56–0.88) and a lower risk of mortality from cardiovascular diseases by 39% (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% confidence interval, 0.41–0.89) . Four metrics (smoking status, physical activity, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose) were significantly associated with all-cause mortality. Three metrics (physical activity, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose) were significantly associated with mortality from cardiovascular diseases.ConclusionThe number of ideal health metrics is negatively associated with mortality rates from all causes and cardiovascular diseases among adults in a Northern Chinese industrial city. The data supports the AHA recommendation of ideal health metrics for adults from Northern China.

Abnormal aortic adventitial fibroblasts (AFs) play essential roles in the development of vascular remodeling and disorders. Previous studies revealed that microRNA-122 (miR-122) levels were elevated in the aortic adventitia of hypertensive rats with vascular injury. Here, we aim to evaluate the biological effects and underlying mechanisms of miR-122 in rat AFs. Exposure to angiotensin II (ATII) in rat AFs resulted in decreased levels of sirtuin 6 (SIRT6), elabela (ELA), and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Additionally, stimulation with ATII contributed to a decline in autophagic flux and obvious increases in cellular migration, oxidative stress, and apoptosis, which were exacerbated by the transfection of miR-122-5p mimic but were rescued by miR-122-5p inhibitor, exogenous replenishment of ELA, and recombinant adeno-associated virus expressing SIRT6 (rAAV-SIRT6), respectively. Moreover, stimulation with miR-122-5p mimic led to a marked reduction in the levels of SIRT6 and ELA in rat AFs, which were elevated by stimulation with rAAV-SIRT6. Furthermore, miR-122-5p inhibitor-mediated pro-autophagic, anti-oxidant and anti-apoptotic effects in rat AFs were partially suppressed by 3-methyladenine, SIRT6 small interfering RNA (siRNA) and ELA siRNA, which were linked with the downregulation in the protein levels of LC3-II, beclin-1, and ACE2 and the upregulation of p62 expression and bax/bcl-2 ratio. Our findings indicated that miR-122-5p inhibition prevented ATII-mediated loss of autophagy, and the promotion of apoptosis and oxidative stress via activating the SIRT6-ELA-ACE2 signaling. MiR-122-5p may be a novel predictive biomarker of adventitial injury, and targeting the SIRT6-ELA-ACE2 signaling may have the potential therapeutic importance of controlling vascular remodeling and disorders.

The association between vascular stiffening and blood pressure is likely bidirectional. The present study was designed to examine temporal relationships among vascular stiffness, blood pressure progression, and hypertension. The Asymptomatic Polyvascular Abnormalities Community study is a community-based, prospective, long-term follow-up observational study. The present investigation is based on the baseline examinations (2010)(2011) and the first follow-up measurements (2012)(2013) included in the study. A total of 4025 participants were followed for an average of 27 months. Of 2153 participants free of hypertension at the baseline examination, 432 (20.07%) had incident hypertension. The authors observed that brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was an independent predictor of incident hypertension. baPWV during baseline examination was positively associated with higher systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, and mean arterial pressure during the first follow-up examination. baPWV but not blood pressure during baseline examination was associated with baPWV during the first follow-up examination. This study not only provides evidence that baPWV is an independent predictor of blood pressure progression and incident hypertension, but also provides evidence that blood pressure is not associated with baPWV after adjusting for baseline baPWV. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2015;17:582-591. ª 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Arterial stiffness and blood pressure (BP), which increase with age, are associated with increased morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular diseases.1,2 It is traditionally believed that elevated BP may cause structural and functional alterations in the walls of the central elastic arteries and accelerated conduit artery stiffening.3,4 Conversely, conduit artery stiffening may increase pressure pulsatility and thereby may increase systolic BP (SBP). Temporal relationships between vascular stiffness and BP remain incompletely elucidated. Moreover, arterial stiffness is increasingly recognized as an important prognostic index and potential therapeutic target in patients with hypertension. 5,6 The 2013 guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension acknowledge the potential role of arterial stiffness measurement in clinical management. 7Several previous observational studies have revealed that aortic stiffness predicts progression to hypertension in normotensive individuals. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] However, assessment of aortic stiffness using echocardiography is not the most suitable method since specialized equipment and expertise is required. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) is considered a "gold-standard" method for assessing central artery stiffness, but the technique is hindered by the intimate nature of femoral pulse acquisition and is not the most suitable method for mass examination of individuals to identify those with increased risk of hypertension. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) is an alternatively developed technique with...