The prevalence of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is rising and in some places, it is already the most prevalent form of heart failure. The usual treatments of HF do not improve mortality or outcomes in HFpEF, suggesting a distinct pathophysiology that remains poorly characterized. The neutrality of clinical trial results is also attributable to the heterogeneity of patie...

Reducing sedentary behaviour (SB) and increasing physical activity (PA) have been shown to be associated with decreased depression. However, there are yet few studies examining the potential benefits on older adults' depression, when SB is replaced with PA. This study aimed to examine the associations of objectively assessed SB, light-intensity PA (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) with d...

Heart failure (HF) is a debilitating and deadly chronic disease, with almost 50% of patients with HF dying within 5 years of diagnosis. With limited effective therapies to treat or cure HF, new therapies are greatly needed. microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that are powerful regulators of gene expression and play a key role in almost every biological process. Disruptions in ...

Adolescents spend large amounts of time sitting at school. Little is known about the impact of reducing and breaking-up prolonged sitting during school lessons on adolescents' health. This study aimed to investigate the impact of an intervention to reduce classroom sitting time on adolescents' energy expenditure (EE; kcal/lesson), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and musculoskel...

Cardiometabolic disorders such as obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes are increasingly common and associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. The mechanisms driving these developments are incompletely understood but likely to include autonomic dysregulation. The latest evidence for such a role is briefly reviewed here.Recent findings highlight the relevance of autonomic regulation in ...

There is a growing recognition of the role of built environment attributes, such as streets, shops, greenways, parks, and public transportation stations, in supporting people's active behaviors. In particular, surrounding built environments may have an important role in supporting healthy active aging. Nevertheless, little is known about how built environments may influence active lifestyles in...

Reducing workplace sedentary behaviour (sitting) is a topic of contemporary public health and occupational health interest. Understanding workers' perspectives on the feasibility and acceptability of strategies, and barriers and facilitators to reducing workplace sitting time, can help inform the design and implementation of targeted interventions. The aim of this qualitative synthesis was to i...

Background An association between atrial fibrillation ( AF ), anxiety, and depression is recognized, but the spectrum of psychological distress remains unclear. We aimed to characterize the severity and predictors of distress associated with AF in a tertiary population and its response to AF management. Methods and Results Seventy-eight patients with symptomatic AF underwent evaluation, includi...

Recent technology advances have allowed for heart rhythm monitoring using single-lead ECG monitoring devices, which can be used for early diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF). We sought to investigate the AF detection rate using portable ECG devices compared with Holter monitoring.We searched the Medline, Embase and Scopus databases (conducted on 8 May 2017) using search terms related to AF sc...

Although heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support are effective therapies for patients with advanced heart failure (HF), many patients are ineligible due to co-morbidities. Continuous home intravenous with positive inotropes such as milrinone are used in these patients to improve quality of life. We hypothesized that, unlike previous studies with oral milrinone, a slow-release f...

To analyse trends over the period 1991-2013 in systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and the prevalence of hypertension in adults aged 25-64 years in Samoa; and to assess the contribution of rising obesity levels to period trends.Unit record data from seven population-based surveys (n = 10,881) conducted between 1991 and 2013 were included for analysis. Surveys were adju...

Office-based workers typically spend 70-85% of working hours, and a large proportion of leisure time, sitting. High levels of sitting have been linked to poor health. There is a need for fully powered randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with long-term follow-up to test the effectiveness of interventions to reduce sitting. This paper describes the methodology of a three-arm cluster RCT designed ...

As the inflammatory enzyme myeloperoxidase (MPO) is abundant in ruptured human atherosclerotic plaques, we aimed to investigate the role of MPO as a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for high-risk plaque.We employed the tandem stenosis model of atherosclerotic plaque instability in apolipoprotein E gene knockout (Apoe-/-) mice. To test the role of MPO, we used Mpo-/-Apoe-/- mice and t...

Repeated cycles of infection-associated lower airway inflammation drive the pathogenesis of persistent wheezing disease in children. In this study, the occurrence of acute respiratory tract illnesses (ARIs) and the nasopharyngeal microbiome (NPM) were characterized in 244 infants through their first five years of life. Through this analysis, we demonstrate that >80% of infectious events involve...

Although greater sedentary time has been found to be associated with negative health impacts, little is known whether the specific pattern of sedentary behavior (i.e. sedentary bouts, breaks and durations) are associated with physical function among older adults. The present study examined the associations between objectively measured sedentary behavior and physical function among older Japanes...

The aim of this study was to assess inadequate glycaemic control and its associated factors among people with type 2 diabetes in Saudi Arabia.A cross-sectional study design was used. Adults with type 2 diabetes attending diabetes centres in Riyadh, Hofuf and Jeddah cities were interviewed and their anthropometrics were measured. Their medical records were also reviewed to collect information re...

This paper explores changes in musculoskeletal pain among desk-based workers over three months of a workplace-delivered, sitting-reduction intervention. Participants ( = 153, 46% female; mean ± SD aged 38.9 ± 8.0 years) were cluster-randomized ( = 18 work teams) to receive an organizational change intervention, with or without an activity tracker. A modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire...

Prolonged sitting contributes to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The underlying mechanisms are unknown, but may include changes in arterial function and vasoactive mediators. We examined the effects of prolonged unbroken sitting, relative to regular active interruptions to sitting time, on arterial function in adults at increased CVD risk. In a randomized crossover trial, 19 sedentary overwe...

Plasma lipidomic measures may enable improved prediction of cardiovascular outcomes in secondary prevention. The aim of this study is to determine the association of plasma lipidomic measurements with cardiovascular events and assess their potential to predict such events.Plasma lipids (n = 342) were measured in a retrospective subcohort (n = 5,991) of the LIPID study. Proportional hazards regr...

Cardiovascular (CV) diseases (CVD) are primarily caused by atherosclerotic vascular disease. Atherogenesis is mainly driven by recruitment of leucocytes to the arterial wall, where macrophages contribute to both lipid retention as well as the inflammatory milieu within the vessel wall. Consequently, diseases which present with an enhanced abundance of circulating leucocytes, particularly monocy...