BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Coronary artery disease is a growing clinical problem in HIV-infected subjects. The increased risk of coronary events in this population has been linked to low levels of HDL, but the effects of HIV infection and anti-retroviral treatment (ART) on HDL structure and function remain unknown. Here, we aimed to determine the composition and function of HDL particles isolated ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the dietary predictors of central blood pressure, augmentation index and pulse wave velocity (PWV) in subjects with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Participants were diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and had PWV and/or pulse wave analysis performed. Dietary intake was measured using the Dietary Questionnaire for Epidemiological Studies Version 2 Food Frequ...

OBJECTIVE/RATIONALE: Both the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) potentiate diabetes-associated atherosclerosis (DAA). We assessed the effectiveness of concomitant RAS and RAGE inhibition on DAA. METHODS: Diabetic (5 × 55 mg/kg streptozotocin daily) and non-diabetic male RAGE/apolipoprotein E double knockout (RAGE/apoE DKO) mice were trea...

BACKGROUND: Characteristics of short-term blood pressure (BP) variation may influence cardiovascular disease risk via effects on vascular function. OBJECTIVE: In a cross-sectional study of a group of treated hypertensive and untreated largely normotensive subjects we investigated the relationships of measures of short-term BP variation with brachial artery vasodilator function. METHODS: A ...

OBJECTIVES: HIV infection is associated with dyslipidaemia and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The effects of HIV infection and antiretroviral treatment on surrogate markers of atherosclerosis, and lipoprotein metabolism were evaluated in a 12 month prospective study. METHODS AND RESULTS: Treatment-naive HIV patients were recruited into one of three groups: untreated HIV infection ...

OBJECTIVES: Defensive coping (AC) responses in urban African males have been associated with vascular responsiveness, partly explaining autonomic nervous system dysfunction. We therefore aimed to assess whether AC responses facilitate higher blood pressure and early sub-clinical structural vascular disease via alterations in frequency- and time-domain heart rate variability (HRV) responses. ME...

Previous studies have reported that C-reactive protein (CRP) interacting with low-density lipoproteins (LDL) affects macrophage activation and LDL uptake. However, the physiological relevance of CRP-LDL interaction with circulating monocytes remains elusive. Moreover, recent studies have shown that CRP exists in two isoforms with partly opposing characteristics pentameric (pCRP) and monomeric C...

The Cardiac Access-Remoteness Index of Australia (Cardiac ARIA) used geographic information systems (GIS) to model population level, road network accessibility to cardiac services before and after a cardiac event for all (20,387) population localities in Australia., The index ranged from 1A (access to all cardiac services within 1 h driving time) to 8E (limited or no access). The methodology de...

PURPOSE: We analyzed the changes in the body mass index (BMI) distribution for urban Australian adults between 1980 and 2007. METHODS: We used data from participants of six consecutive Australian nation-wide surveys with measured weight and height between 1980 and 2007. We used quantile regression to estimate mean BMI (for percentiles of BMI) and prevalence of severe obesity, modeled by natu...

OBJECTIVE: To compare the predictive value of a variety of adiposity measures for the risk of disability. DESIGN/SETTING: This study used 14-year follow-up of the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (n = 7142). Adiposity measures were collected at baseline and disability measures for 5 self-care activities and mobility were collected at follow-up (2003-2007). METHODS: Logistic regression...

In independent studies, abnormal global longitudinal strain (GLS) and myocardial inflammation or scar detected by 18F-fludeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) are associated with poor prognosis among patients with high likelihood for cardiac sarcoidosis. However, commonly used imaging modalities have not been evaluated in the same population. Our goals were to examine the relation...

Identifying patients at risk is now important as there are demonstrable ways to alter disease progression which could potentially prevent atrial fibrillation (AF) and its complications. We sought whether impaired functional capacity was associated with risk of AF, independent of myocardial dysfunction. In this community-based study, asymptomatic participants aged ≥65 years were recruited if the...

This investigation sought to identify and quantify any increased risk of long-term heart failure (HF) after thoracic radiotherapy (RT) for cancer and identify any population covariates that corresponded with increased risk. Electronic databases were systematically searched for studies reporting relative risk, odds ratio, and hazard ratio (HR) for symptomatic HF more than 5 years after RT admini...

Adoption of appropriate use criteria has not had a major impact on the frequency of "rarely appropriate" tests, with the rarely appropriate tests rate remaining at ∼20% in most institutions. We sought whether access to hand-held ultrasound (HHU) could be an alternative means of reducing rarely appropriate requests. We compared 2 approaches to rarely appropriate requests; "standard transthoracic...

This study aimed to define the influence of healthy aging on the central hemodynamic response to exercise. Advancing age results in numerous alterations to the cardiovascular system and is a major risk factor to develop heart failure. In patients with suspected heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, there is an increasing interest in the incorporation of stress hemodynamic studies into...

BACKGROUND: Sedentary behavior is regarded as a distinct risk factor for cardiometabolic morbidity and mortality, but knowledge of the efficacy of interventions targeting reductions in sedentary behavior is limited. PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of an individualized face-to-face motivational counseling intervention aimed at reducing sitting time. DESIGN: A randomized, controlled, obse...

BACKGROUND: Prolonged sitting, including time spent sitting in cars, is detrimentally associated with health outcomes. PURPOSE: This study examined whether commuting by car was associated with adults' weight gain over 4 years. METHODS: Among 822 adult residents of Adelaide, Australia, weight change was ascertained from self-reported weight at baseline (2003-2004) and at follow-up (2007-2008)....

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a severe and progressive striated muscle wasting disorder that leads to premature death from respiratory and/or cardiac failure. We have previously shown that treatment of young dystrophic mdx and dystrophin/utrophin null (dko) mice with BGP-15, a coinducer of heat shock protein 72, ameliorated the dystrophic pathology. We therefore tested the hypothesis that late...

BACKGROUND: Individuals with metabolic syndrome (MetS) are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), often requiring combination drug therapy for control of risk factors and subsequent risk reduction. This study aims to compare the long-term effectiveness and cost effectiveness of the polypill (a multi-component tablet), and its components (alone or in combination), in a MetS populati...

Physically-active and sedentary behaviors are determinants of adult weight gain and are associated with built-environment attributes. We reviewed recent evidence on built-environment attributes with adult adiposity. Of 41 relevant papers identified, 34 reported cross-sectional, six recorded prospective findings, and one included both cross-sectional and prospective designs. In 15 cross-sectiona...