Cardio Round-up: Coffee and HF Risk; DVT Still Relevant; and More

A new analysis indicates that deep vein thrombosis is a clinically relevant endpoint for evaluating anticoagulant prophylaxis in patients assigned to the treatments. The study included more than 7,000 acutely ill patients from the MAGELLAN study. According to the results, both asymptomatic deep vein thrombosis and symptomatic venous thromboembolism were both associated with increased all-cause mortality. “Asymptomatic proximal DVT is an indicator of clinically important venous thromboembolic disease and remains a useful outcome for evaluating the efficacy of thromboprophylaxis in patients with acute medical illness,” the authors wrote.

It wouldn’t be a good update without some news about coffee and the heart – a recent analysis in Circulation suggested that higher consumption of coffee was associated with a reduced risk for heart failure in some patients. The researchers, using variables identified and validated in the CHS and ARIC studies (such as marital status, red meat consumption, milk consumption, and coffee consumption. The reported that increasing coffee consumption was associated with a decrease in the risk for heart failure across the Framingham Heart Study, the CHS study, and the ARIC study. “Coffee and caffeine are often considered by the general population to be ‘bad’ for the heart because people associate them with palpitations, high blood pressure, et cetera,” the authors said in a statement. “The consistent relationship between increasing caffeine consumption and decreasing heart failure risk turns that assumption on its head.”

Perhaps surprising nobody, obesity is a significant contributor to type 2 diabetes, which remains one of the chief risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Additionally, the burden falls the hardest on non-Hispanic white women, according to new research. The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, analyzed 4,200 patients from the MESA study, reporting that incident diabetes mellitus occurred in 11.6% of MESA participants, with and adjusted hazard ratio of 2.7 for obesity. “Our study highlights the meaningful impact that reducing obesity could have on type 2 diabetes prevention in the United States. Decreasing obesity needs to be a priority,” a researcher said.

Is there a causal relationship between increased blood pressure and an elevated risk for atrial fibrillation? The research team used Mendelian randomization to look for potential causal relationships between blood pressure levels and the risk for developing atrial fibrillation. The analysis suggested a causal relationship between atrial fibrillation and increased systolic blood pressure (OR=1.018 per 1 mm Hg increase), diastolic blood pressure (OR=1.026), and pulse pressure OR=1.014). “The results provide strong evidence of a causal relationship between blood pressure and atrial fibrillation,” the authors concluded.