Subclinical atherosclerosis underlies most cardiovascular diseases, manifesting before clinical symptoms and representing a key focus for early prevention strategies. Recent advancements highlight the importance of early detection and management of subclinical atherosclerosis. This review underscores that traditional risk factor levels considered safe, such as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), may still permit the development of atherosclerosis, suggesting a need for stricter thresholds. Early-life interventions are crucial, leveraging the brain's neuroplasticity to establish lifelong healthy habits. Preventive strategies should include more aggressive management of LDL-C and HbA1c from youth and persist into old age, supported by public health policies that promote healthy environments. Emphasising early education on cardiovascular health can fundamentally shift the trajectory of cardiovascular disease prevention and optimise long-term health outcomes.
Humans ; Atherosclerosis/diagnosis* ; Risk Factors ; Cardiovascular Diseases/prevention & control* ; Cholesterol, LDL/blood* ; Glycated Hemoglobin ; Cardiology/trends* ; Heart Disease Risk Factors

Cardiovascular risk assessment is a basic tenet of the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Conventional risk assessment models require measurements of blood pressure, blood lipids, and other health-related information prior to assessment of risk via regression models. Compared with traditional approaches, fundus photograph-based cardiovascular risk assessment using artificial intelligence (AI) technology is novel, and has the advantages of immediacy, non-invasiveness, easy performance, and low cost. The Health Risk Assessment and Control Committee of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, in collaboration with the Chinese Society of Cardiology and the Society of Health Examination, invited multi-disciplinary experts to form a panel to develop the present consensus, which includes relevant theories, progress in research, and requirements for AI model development, as well as applicable scenarios, applicable subjects, assessment processes, and other issues associated with applying AI technology to assess cardiovascular risk based on fundus photographs. A consensus was reached after multiple careful discussions on the relevant research, and the needs of the health management industry in China and abroad, in order to guide the development and promotion of this new technology.
Humans ; Cardiovascular Diseases/prevention & control* ; Artificial Intelligence ; Consensus ; Risk Factors ; Heart Disease Risk Factors

Recent decades have seen the remarkable development of China in medical accessibility and quality index, and the application of a number of new advanced cardiovascular technologies benefits more patients. However, according to the Annual Report on Cardiovascular Health and Diseases in China published in this article, which was organized and summarized by National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, there is still a huge population living with risk factors of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and the morbidity and mortality of CVD are increasing. It is estimated that there are around 330 million patients suffering from CVD currently, including 245 million of hypertension, 13 million of stroke, 45.3 million of peripheral artery disease, 11.39 million of coronary heart disease (CHD), 8.9 million of heart failure, 5 million of pulmonary heart disease, 4.87 million of atrial fibrillation, 2.5 million of rheumatic heart disease, and 2 million of congenital heart disease. Tobacco use, diet and nutrition factors, physical activity, overweight and obesity, and psychological factors are what affect cardiovascular health, while hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, metabolic syndrome, and air pollution are the risk factors for CVD. In this article, in addition to risk factors for CVD, we also report the epidemiological trends of CVD, including CHD, cerebrovascular disease, arrhythmias, valvular heart disease, congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, pulmonary vascular disease and venous thromboembolism, and aortic and peripheral artery diseases, as well as the basic research and medical device development in CVD. In a word, China has entered a new stage of transforming from high-speed development focusing on scale growth to high-quality development emphasizing on strategic and key technological development to curb the trend of increasing incidence and mortality of CVD.
Humans ; Cardiovascular Diseases/etiology* ; Hypertension/complications* ; Risk Factors ; Cardiomyopathies ; Heart Failure/complications* ; Heart Defects, Congenital/complications* ; Coronary Disease ; Atrial Fibrillation/complications*

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of deaths among adults in the Philippines, and this is true also among older persons aged 60 years and above. Identification of risk factors and diseases that lead to cardiovascular mortality among the elderly is important to have an impact on longevity. Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and specific cardiovascular risk factors among older persons in the Philippines. Methods: A cross sectional design was used, with data taken from the results of the 8th Philippine National Nutrition Survey (NNS) Clinical and Health Survey done in 2013. Although there is a more recent survey, only the 2013 data is complete and available for secondary analyses. Results: There were 1,835 older persons who were participants in the 8th Philippine NNS who had complete clinical data. The prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome was 52.6% in this population with the distribution of the components as follows: 33.5% have elevated waist circumference; 59.25 had elevated BP >130/85 mm Hg; 30.1% had fasting blood glucose ≥100 mg/dL (includes prediabetes and diabetes); 63% have low HDL, and 39% have elevated triglycerides ≥150 mg/dL. The results for other cardiovascular diseases and risk factors are as follows: 44% had hypertension using the criterion of the JNC VII report (BP ≥140/90 mm Hg); 85% had LDL cholesterol ≥100 mg/dL; 31% are current alcohol drinkers; 22% are current smokers; 53.7% have low physical activity; and 82% have an unhealthy diet. Conclusions Fifty-two percent (52%) of older Filipinos have metabolic syndrome and have a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, foremost of which are elevated LDL-cholesterol at 85%, hypertension at 44% based on JNC VII, approximately 10% with diabetes mellitus, but with a double burden of overweight/obesity and undernutrition. This data can help plan for public health approaches to improve quality of life and increase longevity of Filipinos.
Metabolic Syndrome ; Heart Disease Risk Factors

Humans ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Risk Factors ; Myocardial Infarction/complications* ; Coronary Disease/etiology* ; Heart Disease Risk Factors

Humans ; Cardiovascular Diseases/chemically induced* ; East Asian People ; Risk Factors ; Heart Disease Risk Factors ; Lipids ; Anticholesteremic Agents/adverse effects* ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; Treatment Outcome

Objective: To analyze the serum carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) level and its influencing factors in male silicosis patients with pulmonary heart disease. Methods: In October 2021, data of 38 male patients with simple silicosis (silicosis group), 28 cases of silicosis with pulmonary heart disease (pulmonary heart disease group), and 27 healthy controls (control group) in the same age group were collected in inpatient and outpatient of Nanjing Occupational Disease Prevention and Control Hospital from January 2017 to December 2020. The serum CA125 levels of the three groups were compared, and the correlation between disease-related indexes and serum CA125 in silicosis patients with pulmonary heart disease was analyzed, as well as the influencing factors of pulmonary heart disease and serum CA125 levels in silicosis patients. Results: The serum CA125 level[ (19.95±7.52) IU/ml] in pulmonary heart disease group was higher than that in silicosis group[ (12.98±6.35) IU/ml] and control group[ (9.17±5.32) IU/ml] (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in serum CA125 level between the silicosis group and the control group (P>0.05). Serum CA125 levels were positively correlated with blood uric acid and fasting blood glucose in silicosis patients with pulmonary heart disease (r=0.39, 0.46, P<0.05). Serum CA125 level was a risk factor for silicosis patients with pulmonary heart disease (OR=1.13, 95%CI: 1.02-1.24, P<0.05). Dust exposure time, lactate dehydrogenase and smoking history were positively correlated with serum CA125 level in silicosis patients (P<0.05) . Conclusion: The serum CA125 level of male silicosis patients with pulmonary heart disease is significantly increased, and the level of CA125 is correlated with the level of fasting blood glucose and blood uric acid.
Humans ; Male ; Pulmonary Heart Disease ; Blood Glucose ; Uric Acid ; Silicosis/complications* ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVES: To study the association of maternal methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 1 (MTHFD1) and methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 2 (MTHFD2) gene polymorphisms with congenital heart disease (CHD) in offspring. METHODS: A hospital-based case-control study was conducted. The mothers of 683 children with CHD alone who attended Hunan Children's Hospital, from November 2017 to March 2020 were enrolled as the case group, and the mothers of 740 healthy children who attended the same hospital during the same period and did not have any deformity were enrolled as the control group. A questionnaire survey was performed to collect related exposure data, and then venous blood samples (5 mL) were collected from the mothers to detect MTHFD1 and MTHFD2 gene polymorphisms. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association of MTHFD1 and MTHFD2 gene polymorphisms with CHD. The four-gamete test in Haploview 4.2 software was used to construct haplotypes and evaluate the association between haplotypes and CHD. The generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction method and logistic regression analysis were used to examine gene-gene interaction and its association with CHD. RESULTS: The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that maternal MTHFD1 gene polymorphisms at rs11849530 (GA vs AA: OR=1.49; GG vs AA: OR=2.04) andat rs1256142 (GA vs GG: OR=2.34; AA vs GG: OR=3.25) significantly increased the risk of CHD in offspring (P<0.05), while maternal MTHFD1 gene polymorphisms at rs1950902 (AA vs GG: OR=0.57) and MTHFD2 gene polymorphisms at rs1095966 (CA vs CC: OR=0.68) significantly reduced the risk of CHD in offspring (P<0.05). The haplotypes of G-G-G (OR=1.86) and G-A-G (OR=1.35) in mothers significantly increased the risk of CHD in offspring (P<0.05). The gene-gene interaction analyses showed that the first-order interaction between MTHFD1 rs1950902 and MTHFD1 rs2236222 and the second-order interaction involving MTHFD1 rs1950902, MTHFD1 rs1256142, and MTHFD2 rs1095966 might be associated with risk of CHD (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Maternal MTHFD1 and MTHFD2 gene polymorphisms and their haplotypes, as well as the interaction between MTHFD1 rs1950902 and MTHFD1 rs2236222 and between MTHFD1 rs1950902, MTHFD1 rs1256142, and MTHFD2 rs1095966, are associated with the risk of CHD in offspring.
Aminohydrolases/genetics* ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Heart Defects, Congenital/genetics* ; Humans ; Methylenetetrahydrofolate Dehydrogenase (NADP)/genetics* ; Minor Histocompatibility Antigens/genetics* ; Mothers ; Multifunctional Enzymes/genetics* ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Risk Factors

Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Heart Disease Risk Factors ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; Lipoprotein(a) ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the commonest cause of heart failure (HF), whereas pulmonary hypertension (PH) has not been established or reported in this patient population. Therefore, we assessed the prevalence, risk factors, and survival in CAD-associated HF (CAD-HF) complicated with PH. METHODS: Symptomatic CAD-HF patients were continuously enrolled in this prospective, multicenter registry study. Echocardiography, coronary arteriography, left and right heart catheterization (RHC), and other baseline clinical data were recorded. Patients were followed up and their survival was recorded. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-two CAD-HF patients were enrolled, including 142 with HF with a preserved ejection fraction (heart failure with preserved ejection fraction [HFpEF]; left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] ≥50%) and 40 with a reduced ejection fraction (heart failure with reduced ejection fraction [HFrEF]; LVEF < 50%). PH was diagnosed with RHC in 77.5% of patients. Patients with PH showed worse hemodynamic parameters and higher mortality. HFrEF-PH patients had worse survival than HFpEF-PH patients. CAD-HF patients with an enlarged left ventricular end-diastolic diameter and reduced hemoglobin were at higher risk of PH. Nitrate treatment reduced the risk of PH. Elevated creatinine and mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP), diastolic pressure gradient (DPG) ≥7 mmHg, and previous myocardial infarction (MI) entailed a higher risk of mortality in CAD-HF patients with PH. CONCLUSIONS: PH is common in CAD-HF and worsens the hemodynamics and survival in these patients. Left ventricle enlargement and anemia increase the risk of PH in CAD-HF. Patients may benefit from nitrate medications. Renal impairment, elevated mPAP, DPG ≥7 mmHg, and previous MI are strong predictors of mortality in CAD-HF-PH patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02164526.
Coronary Artery Disease/epidemiology* ; Creatinine ; Heart Failure/complications* ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary/complications* ; Nitrates ; Prevalence ; Prognosis ; Prospective Studies ; Registries ; Risk Factors ; Stroke Volume ; Ventricular Function, Left