The Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) was an extensive aging study involving nearly 6,000 participants from four communities across the country. The study has led to hundreds of research papers and identified several markers of cardiovascular disease. As a result, the study is considered an essential tool for aging and the prevention of chronic diseases.
The study aimed to identify risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke in older adults. It also aimed to determine predictors of mortality. The study recruited individuals based on a sample of Medicare beneficiaries in four regions. The study participants underwent extensive clinical examinations annually. Additionally, they experienced a variety of cognitive and subclinical tests, including cognitive and mental health measures. Study participants were contacted by telephone every six months between visits to determine whether they had any hospitalizations or other significant events.
The CVD risk factor association between CVDs and the risk of a first event was similar among the three definitions of CVD events. The most common CVD events were MI, HF, and rheumatic or valvular heart disease. Other types of CVDs included pneumonia and cerebrovascular disease.
The CHS compared the incidence of hospital-adjudicated cardiovascular events with claims-based methods to assess the impact of the risk factor association on CVD. Adjudicated events included both MI and stroke, while non-adjudicated events included selected diagnostic codes in any position. Conventional claims-based methods had high positive predictive values but low sensitivities. Therefore, researchers should use active surveillance when measuring cardiovascular disease risk factors.
The study findings suggest that early myocardial mechanical dysfunction is related to subsequent ischemic stroke in the general population. Furthermore, the study results indicate a correlation between ischemic stroke risk and left ventricular mechanics. However, more research is needed to confirm these results. Nevertheless, the results of the FOC are expected to help clinicians improve their diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
The study included 3023 individuals who were evaluated at baseline. After three years, a second examination was conducted. There was a change in the definition of subclinical disease between the two years, which improved the prediction accuracy. The study also measured inflammatory markers. Subclinical disease strongly predicted CVD after adjusting for other risk factors.
The study results suggest that the incidence rate of CVD events is higher in men than in women. It also indicates that uncontrolled high blood pressure accounts for about a quarter of coronary events. It also suggests that the prevalence of CHF and other vascular diseases is higher in the elderly. These findings are based on age, race, gender, and systolic blood pressure.
Moreover, the study has some limitations. For example, some individuals with PRISm were misclassified as having COPD, despite having no evidence of a causal association. As a result, some patients may have undergone inappropriate treatment. As a result, the PRISm subgroup was found to have higher cardiovascular mortality and respiratory-related events than non-PRISm individuals. Additionally, comorbid diseases may affect lung function.
Researchers from different disciplines and fields have made use of the CHS data. This has resulted in over 1800 papers and more than 400 ancillary studies. These results have helped researchers understand the disease and identify new biological targets. Although more work is needed to confirm the results of CHS, the project is already generating valuable data for research.
The study showed that people with PRISm had an increased risk for respiratory-related mortality, CHD-related mortality, and adverse cardiovascular-respiratory events. Although some cohorts did not report any PRISm symptoms, the results were similar between the groups. In addition, PRISm was associated with a higher absolute risk for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular-related events.
Although the EET gene was associated with a lower risk of ischemic stroke, the association was not significant. Among men, higher plasma EET levels were associated with a higher risk of ischemic stroke, but the association was not robust and shifted to null when adjusting for DHETs. The researchers suggest that DHET levels confounded the association.
Researchers from the Cardiovascular Health Study evaluated the relationship between LA reservoir strain and incident AF in a cohort of older adults. Compared to controls, participants with lower LA reservoir strain were associated with a higher incidence of AF despite having a baseline prevalence of risk factors and greater LAVs. Furthermore, this association was even stronger among individuals with baseline LAVs above or below the median.