Congratulations to the class of 2024

Dec 19, 2024 | 0 comments

Last month we celebrated the students that graduated with honours across our 5 postgraduate programmes – MSc Preventive Cardiology, MSc Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, MSc Diabetes, MSc Obesity and PG Cert in Cardiac Rehabilitation.

Congratulations to the Gold Medal Winners who received the highest marks in each MSc programme:

Dominic Butler (MSc Preventive Cardiology)
Peter Morgan (MSc Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation)
Tara Molyneaux (MSc Diabetes)
Ciara Donaghue (MSc Obesity)

Congratulations to Dominic Butler (MSc Preventive Cardiology), winner of the Best Research Project Award for his for his project titled: Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Achievement of Cardiovascular Disease Secondary Prevention Targets: A Secondary Analysis of the iASPIRE National Cross-sectional Study.

We also extend our congratulations to Lucina Dack, winner of the Jane Windle Memorial Prize for Professionalism. A special mention to Darren Kinsella who was awarded the Commendation Award in recognition of exemplary performance in the PG Cert Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme.

Well done to all our graduates! Their achievements reflect their dedication to advancing knowledge in preventive medicine and cardiovascular health. We are honoured to count them among our alumni and future champions of prevention, and we eagerly anticipate the impactful contributions they will make to the future of healthcare.

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Prof. J. William McEvoy – US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health

Factors Associated with NT-proBNP Concentration in US Children and Adolescents: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2004

No abstract

Troponin Testing for Cardiovascular Primary Prevention Decision Making?

No abstract

2024 Revision of the level of evidence grading system for ESC clinical practice guideline recommendations II: diagnostic tests and prediction models

The level of evidence (LOE) grading system for European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) classifies the quality of the evidence supporting a recommendation. However, the current taxonomy does not fully consider the optimal study design necessary to establish evidence for different types of recommendations in ESC guidelines. Therefore, two separate task forces of clinical and methodological experts were appointed by the CPG Committee, with the first tasked with...

The Cardiovascular Epidemiology of Smoking: Past, Present, and Future

No abstract

What Is New and Different in the 2024 European Society of Cardiology Guidelines for the Management of Elevated Blood Pressure and Hypertension?

In 2024, the European Society of Cardiology released a new guideline for the management of elevated blood pressure (BP) and hypertension. The guideline introduced a new BP categorization: (1) nonelevated (office BP <120/70 mm Hg) for which drug treatment is not recommended, (2) elevated (120-139/70-89 mm Hg) for which drug treatment is recommended based on cardiovascular disease risk and follow-up BP level, and (3) hypertension (≥140/90 mm Hg) for which prompt confirmation and drug treatment are...

Associations of circulating trans fatty acids with natriuretic peptides: Metaphorical saponification and the heart

No abstract

Clinical utility and implementation of polygenic risk scores for predicting cardiovascular disease

Genome-wide association studies have revealed hundreds of genetic variants associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Polygenic risk scores (PRS) can capture this information in a single metric and hold promise for use in CVD risk prediction. Importantly, PRS information can reflect the causally mediated risk to which the individual is exposed throughout life. Although European Society of Cardiology guidelines do not currently advocate their use in routine clinical practice, PRS are...

Updated Prevalence of Hypertension Subtypes in American Adults, With Implications for Treating Isolated Systolic Hypertension

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Tobacco Exposure and Markers of Myocardial Stress and Damage Among US Adults

No abstract

Global and European landscape of major hypertension guidelines

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Implementation of the cardiovascular prevention guidelines in clinical practice. Results from the POLASPIRE II survey

CONCLUSIONS: There is a considerable opportunity of further reduction of cardiovascular risk in Polish patients treated for coronary artery disease. A revision of the on-going and more intensive endorsement of cardiovascular prevention programs is advisable.

Advancing translational research in digital cardiac rehabilitation: The preparation phase of the Multiphase Optimization Strategy

While digital cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is an effective alternative to center-based CR, its components and mechanisms of change remain poorly understood. The Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) provides a framework that allows the effects of individual components of complex interventions to be studied. There is limited guidance within MOST on how to develop a conceptual model. This article describes the development of a conceptual model of digital CR. The conceptual model was developed...

Supporting GPs and people with hypertension to maximise medication use to control blood pressure: a pilot cluster RCT of the MIAMI intervention

CONCLUSIONS: The MIAMI intervention was considered largely acceptable and feasible. Some changes to both intervention components and trial processes are required but with these in place a definitive RCT could be considered worthwhile.

Baseline Diastolic BP and BP-Lowering Effects on Cardiovascular Outcomes and All-Cause Mortality: A Meta-Analysis

No abstract

2024 ESC Guidelines for the management of elevated blood pressure and hypertension

No abstract

Development of a Digital Health Intervention for the Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease (INTERCEPT): Co-Design and Usability Testing Study

CONCLUSIONS: Combining behavior change theory with a person-based, co-design approach facilitated the development of a DHI for the secondary prevention of CVD that optimized responsiveness to end users' needs and preferences, thereby potentially improving future engagement.

2024 ESC Guidelines for the management of elevated blood pressure and hypertension: what is new in pharmacotherapy?

No abstract

Age-Stratified Risk Categories for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Therapies

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The 'ten commandments' for the 2024 European Society of Cardiology guidelines on elevated blood pressure and hypertension

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Factors influencing implementation of digital cardiac rehabilitation: A qualitative analysis of health workers perspectives

CONCLUSION: The study findings suggest that factors influencing implementation of digital CR operate at multiple levels. Therefore, multi-level implementation strategies are required if the true potential of digital health in improving equitable cardiac rehabilitation access, participation and patient outcomes is to be realised.

Predicting Incident CVD Risk With High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin: Mainstream, Niche, or Neither?

No abstract

Climate change and cardiovascular health: Recent updates and actions for healthcare

Climate change is a public health crisis predominantly due to fossil fuel combustion, that challenges planetary and human health. Considerable evidence exists to demonstrate the impact climate change has on cardiovascular disease primarily through air pollution, and non-optimal temperature. Conversely, healthcare systems themselves contribute substantially to climate change. Many clinicians personally report a sense of responsibility to reduce the detrimental impact of parts of our healthcare...

Predictors of incident stroke among individuals without coronary artery calcification: A pooled cohort analysis from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, Jackson Heart Study, and Framingham Heart Study

CONCLUSION: In a large cohort of individuals with CAC = 0, the rate for incident stroke was low (2.0 per 1000-person years) and was associated with modifiable risk factors.

Semaglutide and blood pressure: an individual patient data meta-analysis

CONCLUSIONS: This IPD analysis of three large RCTs found blood pressure reductions with semaglutide in participants with hypertension that were similar to those seen in all trial participants. This finding may in part be due to concurrent reductions to anti-hypertensive medications. These results suggest that semaglutide is a useful adjunctive treatment for patients with hypertension and obesity.

Risk prediction of cardiovascular disease in the Asia-Pacific region: the SCORE2 Asia-Pacific model

CONCLUSIONS: The SCORE2 Asia-Pacific algorithms have been calibrated to estimate 10-year risk of CVD for apparently healthy people in Asia and Oceania, thereby enhancing the identification of individuals at higher risk of developing CVD across the Asia-Pacific region.

Variation in secondary prevention of coronary heart disease: the INTERASPIRE study

CONCLUSIONS: INTERASPIRE demonstrates inadequate and heterogeneous international implementation of guideline standards for secondary prevention in the first year after CHD hospitalization, with geographic and sex disparity. Investment aimed at reducing between-country and between-individual variability in secondary prevention will promote equity in global efforts to reduce the burden of CHD.

2024 ESC Guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation developed in collaboration with the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS)

No abstract

2024 ESC Guidelines for the management of peripheral arterial and aortic diseases

No abstract

2024 ESC Guidelines for the management of elevated blood pressure and hypertension

No abstract

Obesity and cardiovascular disease: an ESC clinical consensus statement

The global prevalence of obesity has more than doubled over the past four decades, currently affecting more than a billion individuals. Beyond its recognition as a high-risk condition that is causally linked to many chronic illnesses, obesity has been declared a disease per se that results in impaired quality of life and reduced life expectancy. Notably, two-thirds of obesity-related excess mortality is attributable to cardiovascular disease. Despite the increasingly appreciated link between...

Estimating uncertainty when providing individual cardiovascular risk predictions: a Bayesian survival analysis

CONCLUSION: Estimating uncertainty surrounding individual CVD risk predictions using Bayesian methods is feasible. The uncertainty regarding individual risk predictions could have several applications in clinical practice, like the comparison of different treatment options or by calculating the probability of the individual risk being below a certain treatment threshold. However, as the individual uncertainty measures only reflect sampling error and no biases in risk prediction, physicians...

From Treating Hypertension to Lowering Cardiovascular Disease Risk

No abstract

Determinants of High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T and I in US Children and Adolescents

No abstract

Perspectives of Healthcare Professionals on Clinician-Patient Communication of Cardiovascular Disease Risk

When the consultation is predominantly verbal, existing research in clinician-patient communication indicates that many patients struggle to understand and recall medical consultations or may not understand the extent of their illness or the purpose of their treatment plan. When the clinician-patient discussion centers around the risk of a repeated cardiovascular disease (CVD) related event, qualitatively assessing what factors affect the communication of this risk may guide the creation of...

Frequency of periprocedural myocardial injury and infarction stratified by cardiac troponin I and cardiac troponin T

CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with CCS and unstable angina, PPMIs defined by SCAI occurred more frequently when using cTnI as opposed to cTnT, whereas the type of troponin had no impact on the incidence of PPMIs according to the ARC-2 and 4UDMI.

Supporting GPs and people with hypertension to maximise medication use to control blood pressure: Protocol for a pilot cluster RCT of the MIAMI intervention

Background: Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for stroke and heart disease. Recent international guidelines have stated that 'poor adherence to treatment - in addition to physician inertia - is the most important cause of poor blood pressure control'. The MaxImising Adherence, Minimising Inertia (MIAMI) intervention, which has been developed using a systematic, theoretical, user-centred approach, aims to support general practitioners (GPs) and people with hypertension to...

Modeling the Impact of Biomarker-Guided Versus ASCVD Risk-Guided Drug Treatment in US Adults With Stage 1 Hypertension: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999 to 2004

CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac biomarkers may be more selective for informing risk-based treatment decisions in stage 1 hypertension, particularly among adults aged ≥65 years.

PREVENT Equations: A New Era in Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessment

No abstract

Precise Exclusion Criteria Are Necessary to Define Normative Values of NT-proBNP

No abstract

Using a digital health intervention "INTERCEPT" to improve secondary prevention in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients: protocol for a mixed methods non-randomised feasibility study

BACKGROUND: Digital health interventions (DHIs) are increasingly used for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study is to determine the feasibility of "INTERCEPT", a co-designed DHI developed to improve secondary prevention in hospitalised coronary heart disease patients (CHD).

Outcomes After Aspirin Discontinuation Among Baseline Users in Contemporary Primary Prevention Aspirin Trials: A Meta-Analysis

No abstract

Mobile health technologies to improve walking distance in people with intermittent claudication

BACKGROUND: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is the obstruction or narrowing of the large arteries of the lower limbs, which can result in impaired oxygen supply to the muscle and other tissues during exercise, or even at rest in more severe cases. PAD is classified into five categories (Fontaine classification). It may be asymptomatic or various levels of claudication pain may be present; at a later stage, there may be ulceration or gangrene of the limb, with amputation occasionally being...

Epidemiology and Prognostic Implications of Coronary Artery Calcium in Asymptomatic Individuals With Prediabetes: A Multicohort Study

CONCLUSIONS: CAC ≥100 is frequent among individuals with prediabetes and identifies a high ASCVD risk subgroup in which the adjusted ASCVD risk is similar to that in individuals with diabetes.

Long-term aspirin adherence following myocardial infarction and risk of cardiovascular events

CONCLUSION: Non-adherence to long-term aspirin was associated with increased risk of MI, stroke, or death, but not in women or individuals >65 years. The risk decreased from 4 years after MI with near statistical significance.

Four high sensitivity troponin assays and mortality in US adults with cardiovascular disease: The national health and nutrition examination survey, 1999-2004

CONCLUSION: In US adults with a history of CVD, we found modest correlations between 4 hs-cTn assays. All assays were associated with all-cause and CVD mortality. The hs-cTnT assay was associated with mortality independent of the hs-cTnI assays. Hs-cTnI assays also appeared to be independent of each other. Thus, hs-cTn assays may provide distinct information for residual risk in secondary prevention adults.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Global TAVR Activity: The COVID-TAVI Study

CONCLUSIONS: TAVR procedural volume declined substantially during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in Africa, Central-South America, and Asia. National socioeconomic status, COVID-19 incidence, and public health responses were associated with treatment delays. This information should inform public health policy in case of future global health crises.

2023 Focused Update of the 2021 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure: Developed by the task force for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) With the special contribution of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the ESC

Document Reviewers: Rudolf A. de Boer (CPG Review Co-ordinator) (Netherlands), P. Christian Schulze (CPG Review Co-ordinator) (Germany), Elena Arbelo (Spain), Jozef Bartunek (Belgium), Johann Bauersachs (Germany), Michael A. Borger (Germany), Sergio Buccheri (Sweden), Elisabetta Cerbai (Italy), Erwan Donal (France), Frank Edelmann (Germany), Gloria Färber (Germany), Bettina Heidecker (Germany), Borja Ibanez (Spain), Stefan James (Sweden), Lars Køber (Denmark), Konstantinos C. Koskinas...

Performance of wearable watch-type home blood pressure measurement devices in a real-world clinical sample

CONCLUSIONS: While we could not formally validate the cuffless devices, our results show that wearable technologies will require improvements to offer reliable BP assessment. This study also highlights the need for validation protocols specifically designed for cuffless BP measurement technologies.

Salt restriction for treatment of hypertension - current state and future directions

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Given the adverse effects of excess dietary sodium chloride (also known as table salt) on blood pressure (BP) and cardiovascular disease (CVD), restriction of dietary sodium is recommended by numerous guidelines. The strictest of these recommend no more than 1.5 g/day of dietary sodium among hypertensive persons. However, average dietary sodium intake in the population is closer to 5 g/day and there is debate about whether too much sodium restriction may be associated with...

A cost-analysis of managing secondary and apparent treatment-resistant hypertension in a specialist multidisciplinary hypertension clinic

CONCLUSION: There is significant cost associated with providing specialized hypertension care for patients with apparent treatment-resistant hypertension. Given the high rates of nonadherence in this population, it is likely that some of this cost could be avoided with better detection and management of medication adherence in this challenging population. Future studies should consider the cost-effectiveness of this or similar models of care by exploring the benefit to patients and the wider...

Congratulations to the class of 2024

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Prof. J. William McEvoy – US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health