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Mary A Whooley

Publications and source records attributed to Mary A Whooley.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

N-terminal fragment of the prohormone brain-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), cardiovascular events, and mortality in patients with stable coronary heart disease.

CONTEXT: Identification of individuals at high risk for cardiovascular events is important for the optimal use of primary and secondary prevention measures. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether plasma levels of amino terminal fragment of the prohormone brain-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) predict cardiovascular events or death independent of other available prognostic tests. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Prospective cohort study (2000-2002) of 987 individuals in California with stable coronary heart disease in the Heart and Soul Study, who were followed up for a mean of 3.7 (range, 0.1-5.3) years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The association of baseline NT-proBNP levels with death or cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure). Traditional clinical risk factors, echocardiographic measures, ischemia, other biomarkers, and New York Heart Association classification were adjusted for to determine whether NT-proBNP levels were independent of other prognostic factors. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess the incremental prognostic value of adding NT-proBNP level to these other measures. RESULTS: A total of 256 participants (26.2%) had a cardiovascular event or died. Each increasing quartile of NT-proBNP level (range of quartile 1, 8.06-73.95 pg/mL; quartile 2, 74-174.5 pg/mL; quartile 3, 175.1-459 pg/mL; quartile 4, > or =460 pg/mL) was associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular events or death, ranging from 23 of 247 (annual event rate, 2.6%) in the lowest quartile to 134 of 246 (annual event rate, 19.6%) in the highest quartile (unadjusted hazard ratio [HR] for quartile 4 vs quartile 1, 7.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.0-12.1; P<.001). Each SD increase in log NT-proBNP level (1.3 pg/mL) was associated with a 2.3-fold increased rate of adverse cardiovascular outcomes (unadjusted HR, 2.3; 95% CI, 2.0-2.6; P<.001), and this association persisted after adjustment for all of the other prognostic measures (adjusted HR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.3-2.2; P<.001). The addition of NT-proBNP level to standard clinical assessment and complete echocardiographic parameters significantly improved the area under the ROC curves for predicting subsequent adverse cardiovascular outcomes (0.80 for clinical risk factors and echocardiographic parameters plus log NT-proBNP vs 0.76 for clinical risk factors and echocardiographic parameters only; P = .006). CONCLUSIONS: Elevated levels of NT-proBNP predict cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, independent of other prognostic markers, and identify at-risk individuals even in the absence of systolic or diastolic dysfunction by echocardiography. Level of NT-proBNP may help guide risk stratification of high-risk individuals, such as those with coronary heart disease.

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Association of cystatin C and estimated GFR with inflammatory biomarkers: the Heart and Soul Study.

BACKGROUND: Cystatin C is a marker of kidney function that may also be associated with inflammation. In this study, we compared the relative strengths of association of cystatin C and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with inflammatory biomarkers. METHODS: We measured serum cystatin C and creatinine in 990 outpatients with coronary artery disease enrolled in the Heart and Soul Study. GFR was estimated (eGFR) by the abbreviated Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation. We compared the associations of serum cystatin C and eGFR with C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen, after adjustment for 24 h creatinine clearance. RESULTS: Cystatin C concentrations had moderate correlations with CRP (r=0.15, P<0.001) and fibrinogen (r=0.26, P<0.0001); eGFR had similar correlations with CRP (r=-0.17, P=0.01) and fibrinogen (r=-0.25, P<0.001) among persons with eGFR 60 ml/min (r=0.04, P=0.32; r=-0.03, P=0.38). Quartiles of cystatin C were strongly and directly associated with CRP (P=0.02) and fibrinogen (P<0.007) after multivariate adjustment. However, these associations disappeared after adjustment for creatinine clearance (P=0.26 and 0.23, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Cystatin C concentrations have moderate associations with CRP and fibrinogen that are not independent of creatinine clearance. Although a gold standard of kidney function is lacking, this analysis suggests that cystatin C captures an association of mildly impaired kidney function with increased inflammation.

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Association of cystatin C with mortality, cardiovascular events, and incident heart failure among persons with coronary heart disease: data from the Heart and Soul Study.

BACKGROUND: Serum creatinine and related estimating equations predict cardiovascular events and mortality among persons with coronary heart disease (CHD). Cystatin C is a novel and sensitive endogenous marker of kidney function. Whether cystatin C concentrations are associated with adverse events among ambulatory persons with CHD is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: Nine hundred ninety ambulatory persons with CHD were categorized into quartiles of serum cystatin C at inception, with < or = 0.91 mg/L constituting the lowest quartile (I) and > or = 1.30 mg/L constituting the highest (IV). Cox proportional hazards models evaluated time to all-cause mortality, cardiovascular events (composite of CHD death, myocardial infarction, and stroke), and incident heart failure. After a median follow-up of 37 months, 132 participants (13%) died, 101 (10%) had cardiovascular events, and 57 (7%) had incident heart failure. Compared with participants in the lowest cystatin C quartile, those in the highest quartile were at increased risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.8 to 7.0), cardiovascular events (hazard ratio, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.0 to 3.8), and incident heart failure (hazard ratio, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.0 to 6.9) in analyses adjusted for traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Cystatin C in the highest quartile predicted similar risk for these outcomes among participants with lower (< or = 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2) or higher estimated glomerular filtration rate and among participants with or without microalbuminuria. CONCLUSIONS: High cystatin C concentrations predict substantial increased risks of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular events, and incident heart failure among ambulatory persons with CHD. This risk is not completely captured by measures of kidney function routinely used in clinical practice.

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Elevated pulmonary artery pressure by Doppler echocardiography predicts hospitalization for heart failure and mortality in ambulatory stable coronary artery disease: the Heart and Soul Study.

OBJECTIVES: We compared the predictive ability of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and end-diastolic pulmonary regurgitation (EDPR) gradients in outpatients with coronary artery disease. BACKGROUND: The TR and EDPR gradients, in conjunction with right atrial pressure, provide Doppler estimates of pulmonary artery systolic and diastolic pressures. We hypothesized that increases in TR or EDPR gradients in stable coronary artery disease would predict heart failure (HF) hospitalization or cardiovascular (CV) death. METHODS: We measured TR and EDPR gradients in 717 adults with completed outcome adjudications who were recruited for the Heart and Soul Study. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for HF hospitalization, CV death, all-cause death, and the combined end point. Multivariate adjustments were made for age, gender, race, history of CV or pulmonary disease, functional class, and left ventricular ejection fraction. RESULTS: There were 63 HF hospitalizations, 19 CV deaths, and 86 all-cause deaths at the 3-year follow-up. There were 466 measurable EDPR gradients and 573 measurable TR gradients. Age-adjusted ORs for EDPR >5 mm Hg predicted HF hospitalization (2.7, 95% CI 1.3 to 5.5, p = 0.006), all-cause death (2.5, 95% CI 1.4 to 4.4, p = 0.002), and HF hospitalization or CV death (2.7, 95% CI 1.4 to 5.2, p = 0.004). Age-adjusted OR for TR >30 mm Hg predicted HF hospitalization (3.4, 95% CI 1.9 to 6.2, p < 0.0001) and HF hospitalization or CV death (3.0, 95% CI 1.7 to 5.3, p = 0.0001). Multivariate adjusted OR per 5-mm Hg incremental increases in EDPR predicted HF hospitalization or CV death (1.9, 95% CI 1.01 to 3.6, p = 0.046) and all-cause death (1.7, 95% CI 1.05 to 2.8, p = 0.03). Multivariate adjusted OR per 10-mm Hg incremental increases in TR predicted HF hospitalization or CV death (1.6, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.4, p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Increases in EDPR or TR gradients predict HF hospitalization or CV death among ambulatory adults with coronary artery disease.

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Depression and cardiovascular disease: healing the broken-hearted.

Major depressive disorder is a risk factor for the development of incident coronary heart disease events in healthy patients and for adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with established heart disease. Depression is present in 1 of 5 outpatients with coronary heart disease and in 1 of 3 outpatients with congestive heart failure, yet the majority of cases are not recognized or appropriately treated. It is not known whether treating depression improves cardiovascular outcomes, but antidepressant treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors is generally safe, alleviates depression, and improves quality of life. This article evaluates the importance of major depression in patients with cardiovascular disease, and provides practical guidance for identifying and treating this disorder.

Antidepressive Agents↗

Mind your heart.

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Fetuin-A and kidney function in persons with coronary artery disease--data from the Heart and Soul Study.

BACKGROUND: Fetuin-A is a serum protein that inhibits ectopic vascular calcification and is present in lower concentrations in end-stage renal disease than in healthy controls. Whether fetuin-A concentrations are also lower in the setting of mild-to-moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unknown. METHODS: We evaluated the associations of several parameters of kidney function including measured 24 h urinary creatinine clearance (CrCl), estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by the Mayo Clinic quadratic GFR equation (qGFR), serum cystatin-C concentrations, and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio with serum fetuin-A concentrations in 970 outpatients with coronary artery disease. We used general linear models to determine the adjusted mean fetuin-A concentrations within each kidney function category. RESULTS: The mean age of the study sample was 67 years, 82% were male, 71% had hypertension and 26% had diabetes mellitus. In adjusted analysis, we observed no significant differences in mean fetuin-A concentrations across groups defined by CrCl, qGFR, or albumin-to-creatinine ratio groups. For example, adjusted mean fetuin-A concentrations were 0.66 g/l in participants with CrCl > 90, 60-90 and 45-60 ml/min/1.73 m(2), and 0.65 g/l in participants with CrCl < 45 ml/min/1.73 m(2). Higher serum cystatin-C (indicating worse kidney function) was associated with higher adjusted mean serum fetuin-A concentrations (lowest quartile 0.62 g/l, highest quartile 0.68 g/l; P for trend <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Among ambulatory patients with coronary artery disease, there is no evidence that mild-to-moderate CKD is associated with lower concentrations of serum fetuin-A compared with persons with normal renal function. The mechanisms explaining the association between CKD and vascular calcification remain elusive.

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Association between human fetuin-A and the metabolic syndrome: data from the Heart and Soul Study.

BACKGROUND: Fetuin-A is a multifunctional hepatic secretory protein that inhibits the action of insulin in experimental animals. We evaluated the association between human serum fetuin-A and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a cohort of persons with coronary artery disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: We defined MetS by the National Cholesterol Education Program criteria among 711 nondiabetic outpatients with coronary artery disease. The mean age was 67 years, and 82% were male. We divided participants into quartiles by serum fetuin-A concentrations. A total of 45% of participants (80 of 177) in the highest quartile of fetuin-A had MetS compared with 24% of participants (42 of 177) in the lowest quartile (odds ratio, 2.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.7 to 4.2; P<0.001). This association persisted after adjustment for potential confounding variables, including hypertension, body mass index, and inflammatory biomarkers (adjusted odds ratio, 2.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 3.5; P=0.02). Higher fetuin-A quartiles were also strongly and independently associated with higher low-density lipoprotein, non-high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and triglyceride concentrations and lower HDL concentrations (all P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Higher human fetuin-A concentrations are strongly associated with MetS and an atherogenic lipid profile. Future studies should evaluate whether fetuin-A predicts coronary artery disease risk.

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Blood pressure reactivity to psychological stress and coronary calcification in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study.

A longstanding hypothesis is that individuals who exhibit large increases in blood pressure during psychological stress are at risk for atherosclerosis. We tested whether blood pressure changes during psychological stress predict subsequent coronary calcification (CaC) in young healthy adults. We evaluated 2816 healthy black and white women, 20 to 35 years of age, from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study, who were not using medication for hypertension or diabetes in 1987-1988. Participants completed video game and star tracing tasks while their blood pressure was recorded. Thirteen years later (2000-2001), they completed computed tomography measures of CaC. Overall 9.3% (261 of 2816) had CaC present at follow-up. Each 10 mm Hg change in systolic blood pressure during the video game was associated with a 24% increased odds of having CaC at follow-up (unadjusted odds ratio, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.46; P=0.008). This association persisted after adjustment for age, race, sex, education, smoking, alcohol, family history of myocardial infarction, smoking, daily alcohol consumption, body mass index, and resting or baseline blood pressure (odds ratio, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.58; P=0.006). Blood pressure changes during the star tracing task were not associated with subsequent CaC. Blood pressure changes during a video game predicted the presence of CaC 13 years later. To our knowledge, this is the first study that reports blood pressure reactivity to a stressor being related to calcification in the coronary arteries. Blood pressure reactivity may provide useful prognostic information about future risk beyond standard risk factors.

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Kidney function and systolic blood pressure new insights from cystatin C: data from the Heart and Soul Study.

BACKGROUND: Control of hypertension is paramount in treating chronic kidney disease. The relationship between kidney function and blood pressure (BP) components has been studied in persons with diagnosed CKD, diabetes, or hypertension. Whether kidney function in the normal range is associated with systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), and pulse pressure is unclear. METHODS: We evaluated the association between kidney function and each BP component using cystatin C and 24-h creatinine clearance (CrCl) among 906 participants in the Heart and Soul Study. RESULTS: We observed that SBP was linearly associated with cystatin C concentrations (1.19+/-0.55 mm Hg increase per 0.4 mg/L cystatin C, P=.03) across the range of kidney functions. In contrast, using CrCl, SBP was significantly associated with kidney function only in subjects with CrCl<60 mL/min (6.4+/-2.13 mm Hg increase per 28 mL/min, P=.003) but not >60 mL/min (0.36+/-0.77 mm Hg per 28 mL/min, P=.64). Slopes differed significantly (for spline term P=.001). We found that DBP was not associated with cystatin C (0.34+/-0.40 mm Hg per 0.4 mg/L cystatin, P=.39) or CrCl (0.62+/-0.44 mm Hg per 28 mL/min clearance, P=.16). Pulse pressure was linearly associated with cystatin C (1.28+/-0.55 mm Hg per 0.4 mg/L cystatin, P=.02) and with CrCl<60 mL/min (7.27+/-2.16 mm Hg per 28 mL/min, P=.001). CONCLUSIONS: Both SBP and pulse pressure were significantly associated with kidney function across a wide range of cystatin C concentrations, even in subjects with presumably normal kidney function, by creatinine-based measures. Cystatin C may provide new insights into the association of CKD and hypertension, a relationship that may be an underappreciated barrier to hypertension control.

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Cystatin C, left ventricular hypertrophy, and diastolic dysfunction: data from the Heart and Soul Study.

BACKGROUND: Impaired kidney function, as measured by serum cystatin C, is associated with risk of incident heart failure. Whether cystatin C is associated with preclinical cardiac structural abnormalities is unknown. We evaluate whether cystatin C is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction, and systolic dysfunction among 818 outpatients with coronary artery disease who were free of clinical heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS: The 818 study participants were categorized into quartiles based on serum cystatin C concentrations, with < or =0.91 mg/L constituting the lowest quartile (I) and > or =1.28 mg/L constituting the highest (IV). Left ventricular hypertrophy (left ventricular mass index >90 g/m(2) by truncated ellipsoid method), diastolic dysfunction (impaired relaxation, pseudo-normal, or restrictive filling patterns) and systolic dysfunction (left ventricular ejection fraction < or =50%) were determined by echocardiography. Left ventricular hypertrophy was present in 68% of participants in quartile IV, compared with 44% of those in quartile I (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 2.17; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.34 to 3.52; P = .002). Diastolic dysfunction was present in 52% of participants in quartile IV, compared with 24% of those in quartile I (adjusted OR 1.79; 95% CI 1.04 to 3.11; P = .04). Systolic dysfunction was present in 12% of those in quartile IV, compared with 6% of those in quartile I (adjusted OR 1.83; 95% CI 0.75 to 4.46; P = .15). CONCLUSION: Higher cystatin C concentrations are strongly associated with left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction in outpatients with coronary artery disease and without heart failure.

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Depression, stress, and quality of life in persons with chronic kidney disease: the Heart and Soul Study.

BACKGROUND: The effect of mild chronic kidney disease (CKD) on depression, stress, quality of life (QOL), and health status is not well understood. We compared these outcomes in subjects with and without CKD. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of 967 outpatients enrolled in the Heart and Soul Study. CKD was defined as a measured creatinine clearance < 60 ml/min. Outcome measures included depressive symptoms measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ), stress measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and QOL and overall health rated as excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor. RESULTS: The prevalence of depressive symptoms (17 vs. 19%, p = 0.4) or perceived stress (11 vs. 16%, p = 0.09) did not vary significantly by CKD. The prevalence of fair or poor QOL was not significantly different in subjects with CKD, compared with those without CKD (24 vs. 23%, p = 0.65). Age-adjusted analyses revealed a significant association of CKD with QOL (p = 0.003), however, this association no longer reached statistical significance after adjustment for confounders (p = 0.06). Subjects with CKD were more likely to report poor or fair overall health than subjects without CKD (42 vs. 34%, p = 0.03). After multivariate adjustment, CKD remained significantly associated with worse overall health (OR = 1.65, 95% CI 1.21-2.24, p = 0.001), and modestly associated with QOL (OR = 1.31, 95% CI 0.99-1.75, p = 0.06), but had no association with depression (p = 0.48) or stress (p = 0.24). CONCLUSION: In this study of persons with coronary artery disease, subjects with CKD had reduced overall health and modestly reduced QOL; however, mental health was similar in those with and without CKD. These findings suggest that self- assessed overall health may decline at earlier stages of renal dysfunction than mental health outcomes or QOL.

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Depression and medication adherence in outpatients with coronary heart disease: findings from the Heart and Soul Study.

BACKGROUND: Depression leads to adverse outcomes in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Medication nonadherence is a potential mechanism for the increased risk of CHD events associated with depression, but it is not known whether depression is associated with medication nonadherence in outpatients with stable CHD. METHODS: We examined the association between current major depression (assessed using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule) and self-reported medication adherence in a cross-sectional study of 940 outpatients with stable CHD. RESULTS: A total of 204 participants (22%) had major depression. Twenty-eight (14%) of 204 depressed participants reported not taking their medications as prescribed compared with 40 (5%) of 736 nondepressed participants (odds ratio [OR], 2.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7-4.7; P<.001). Twice as many depressed participants as nondepressed participants (18% vs 9%) reported forgetting to take their medications (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.6-3.8; P<.001). Nine percent of depressed participants and 4% of nondepressed participants reported deciding to skip their medications (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.2-4.2; P = .01). The relationship between depression and nonadherence persisted after adjustment for potential confounding variables, including age, ethnicity, education, social support, and measures of cardiac disease severity (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.2-3.9; P = .009 for not taking medications as prescribed). CONCLUSIONS: Depression is associated with medication nonadherence in outpatients with CHD. Medication nonadherence may contribute to adverse cardiovascular outcomes in depressed patients.

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Relation of low socioeconomic status to C-reactive protein in patients with coronary heart disease (from the heart and soul study).

Low socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with poor health outcomes in patients who have coronary heart disease (CHD). Inflammation is a potential mechanism by which low SES may lead to adverse cardiovascular outcomes, but it is not known whether low SES is associated with inflammation in patients who have CHD. We measured high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in a cross-sectional study of 985 adults who had CHD. Income and education were determined by self-report. We used ordinal logistic regression to examine the association of income and education with CRP. Of the 985 participants, 390 had high CRP levels (>3 mg/dl). The proportion of participants who had high CRP levels ranged from 30% (103 of 340) in those who had a college degree to 51% (65 of 127) in those who had less than a high school degree (p<0.0001). The proportion of subjects who had a high CRP level ranged from 28% (52 of 183) in those who had annual income>or=$50,000 to 42% (199 of 974) in those who had an annual income<$20,000 (p<0.001). After adjustment for traditional cardiovascular risk factors and other potential confounding variables, lower income and education remained associated with higher CRP levels. In conclusion, low SES is associated with high CRP levels in patients who have CHD. This observation raises the possibility that inflammation may contribute to the adverse cardiovascular outcomes associated with low SES.

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Screening for depression in patients with coronary heart disease (data from the Heart and Soul Study).

Major depression is associated with adverse outcomes in patients who have coronary heart disease. How best to identify depression in busy cardiology practices is unknown. We compared the test characteristics of 4 depression screening instruments with an interview diagnosis of depression (Diagnostic Interview Schedule) in 1,024 outpatients who had coronary heart disease. Screening instruments were the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-10, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Patient Health Questionnaire-2, and a simple 2-item instrument that asks (1) "During the past month, have you often been bothered by feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?" and (2) "During the past month, have you often been bothered by little interest or pleasure in doing things?" Of the 1,024 participants, 224 (22%) had major depression based on the Diagnostic Interview Schedule. Areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves were similar for all instruments (range 0.84 to 0.87). In conclusion, a positive response to 1 of the 2 items was 90% sensitive and 69% specific for depression, with a negative likelihood ratio of 0.14. Thus, negative responses to the 2 items effectively ruled out depression. A score > or =10 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was 54% sensitive and 90% specific, with a positive likelihood ratio of 5.4. Thus, a cutpoint > or =10 was virtually diagnostic for depression.

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Relation of anemia to low heart rate variability in patients with coronary heart disease (from the Heart and Soul study).

We examined the association between anemia (hemoglobin < or =12 g/dl) and 6 indexes of heart rate variability (HRV) as measured by 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography in a cross-sectional study of 874 outpatients who had stable coronary heart disease. Of 90 participants who had anemia, 29% to 41% had low HRV, defined as the lowest quartile of each HRV index, compared with 23% to 25% of the 784 participants who did not have anemia (comparison p values <0.05 for all HRV indexes except high-frequency power). With the exception of high-frequency power, each 1 g/dl decrease in hemoglobin was associated with increased odds of having low HRV. This association remained strong after adjustment for potential confounding variables, including ischemia, left ventricular mass, left ventricular ejection fraction, and diastolic dysfunction. Thus, anemia is associated with low HRV in ambulatory patients who have stable coronary heart disease. Low HRV could potentially mediate the association of anemia with increased cardiac risk.

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Association of metabolic syndrome with exercise capacity and heart rate recovery in patients with coronary heart disease in the heart and soul study.

It is not known whether the metabolic syndrome is associated with poor exercise capacity among patients who have established coronary heart disease. We evaluated the association of the metabolic syndrome with treadmill exercise capacity and heart rate recovery among patients who had coronary heart disease. We measured treadmill exercise capacity (METs) and heart rate recovery (beats per minute) in 943 subjects who had known coronary heart disease. Of these, 377 (40%) had the metabolic syndrome as defined by criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program. Participants who had the metabolic syndrome were more likely to have poor exercise capacity (METs <5, 33% vs 18%, p <0.0001) and poor heart rate recovery (<or=16 beats/min, 34% vs 21%, p <0.0001) than those who did not have the metabolic syndrome. In ordinal logistic regression analyses, the metabolic syndrome was associated with decreased exercise capacity (odds ratio [OR] 2.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.7 to 2.8, p <0.0001) and decreased heart rate recovery (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.4 to 2.3, p <0.0001). These associations remained strong after adjusting for potential confounding variables (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.1, p = 0.003 for decreased exercise capacity; OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.9, p = 0.02 for decreased heart rate recovery). The metabolic syndrome is independently associated with poor exercise capacity and poor heart rate recovery in patients who have established coronary heart disease. Decreased exercise capacity may contribute to the adverse outcomes associated with the metabolic syndrome.

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Association of anemia with diastolic dysfunction among patients with coronary artery disease in the Heart and Soul Study.

We performed a cross-sectional study to evaluate the association of anemia with diastolic dysfunction and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in outpatients who had coronary artery disease. Logistic regression was used to examine the association of blood hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations with diastolic dysfunction and LVH in 822 participants in the Heart and Soul Study who had normal sinus rhythm and preserved systolic function (left ventricular ejection fraction >/=50%). Using transthoracic echocardiography, diastolic dysfunction was defined as diastolically dominant pulmonary vein flow, and LVH was defined as left ventricular mass index >90 g/m(2). Anemia (Hb <13 g/dl) was present in 24% of participants (197 of 822). The prevalence of diastolic dysfunction ranged from 8% in participants who did not have anemia (Hb >/=13 g/dl) to 13% in those who had moderate anemia (Hb 11 to 13 g/dl) to 24% in those who had severe anemia (Hb <11 g/dl, p = 0.004 for trend). After multivariable adjustment, moderate anemia (odds ratio [OR] 2.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1 to 3.6) and severe anemia (OR 6.6, 95% CI 1.9 to 24.9) remained strongly associated with diastolic dysfunction. In contrast, moderate anemia (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.0 to 2.1) and severe anemia (OR 1.6, 95% CI 0.6 to 4.6) were not significantly associated with LVH. We found anemia to be strongly associated with diastolic dysfunction but not with LVH in this community-based sample of outpatients who had established coronary disease.

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