A pioneering study employed a holistic geostatistical approach to predict the spatial variability of a non sampled area in the Chenab River, Pakistan, using kriging interpolation for organochlorine pesticide (OCP)-polluted risk zones. The Present research intended to investigate the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic human health risks, contamination levels, and spatial variation of OCPs in the Chenab River, Pakistan. The residual OCP content in sediment samples (n = 120) ranged from 0.056 to 32.14 ng/g. DDE and α-HCH were prevalent among all the samples analyzed, with mean concentrations of 15.84 ± 8.02 and 12.45 ± 6.72 ng/g, respectively. The order of magnitude of OCPs in sediment samples was DDTs > α-HCH > chlorothalonil > heptachlor > endosulfan > aldrin > dieldrin. The findings of the single (SPI) and Nemerow (Nel) pollution index of α-HCH, heptachlor, and aldrin depicted the Chenab River as a serious pollution risk zone. The outcomes of the Pearson correlation coefficient analysis represent the positive correlation among all OCPs, revealing the common origin. Distribution trends showed substantially higher (p 10-4 illustrated a substantial cancer health risk posed by α-HCH, heptachlor, aldrin, and dieldrin in the downstream zone. We recommend the urgent cessation of the ongoing discharge of OCPs into the Chenab River, which needs to be highlighted owing to the significant cancer risk to public health to ensure the good health and wellbeings.
Audiograms are used to show the hearing capability of a person at different frequencies. The filter bank in a hearing aid is designed to match the shape of patients' audiograms. Configuring the hearing aid is done by modifying the designed filters' gains to match the patient's audiogram. There are few problems faced in achieving this objective successfully. There is a shortage in the number of audiologists; the filter bank hearing aid designs are complex; and, the hearing aid fitting process is tiring. In this work, a machine learning solution is introduced to classify the audiograms according to the shapes based on unsupervised spectral clustering. The features used to build the ML model are peculiar and describe the audiograms better. Different normalization methods are applied and studied statistically to improve the training data set. The proposed Machine Learning (ML) algorithm outperformed the current existing models, where, the accuracy, precision, recall, specificity, and F-score values are higher. The reason for the better performance is the use of multi-stage feature selection to describe the audiograms precisely. This work introduces a novel ML technique to classify audiograms according to the shape, which, can be integrated to the future and existing studies to change the existing practices in classifying audiograms.
Hypertension is the leading cause of mortality throughout Asia. Home blood pressure monitoring has the potential to improve hypertension control and is a useful adjunct to conventional office blood pressure measurements due to its diagnostic accuracy and prognostic value in predicting cardiovascular outcomes. At present, there are no region-specific guidelines addressing the use of home blood pressure monitoring in Asia. Therefore, an expert panel was convened to address the use of home blood pressure monitoring and develop key recommendations to help guide clinical practice throughout the Asia region. The resulting recommendations support the use of home blood pressure monitoring with a validated device as an accurate adjunct for diagnosing hypertension and predicting cardiovascular outcome. Diagnosis and treatment of hypertension should still be guided by conventional office/clinic blood pressure measurements. The expert panel encourages the incorporation of home blood pressure monitoring into local clinical guidelines and offers practical recommendations to ensure continuity of care where a validated home blood pressure device is not available.
Hypertension is an important public health issue because of its association with a number of significant diseases and adverse outcomes. However, there are important ethnic differences in the pathogenesis and cardio-/cerebrovascular consequences of hypertension. Given the large populations and rapidly aging demographic in Asian regions, optimal strategies to diagnose and manage hypertension are of high importance. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is an important out-of-office blood pressure (BP) measurement tool that should play a central role in hypertension detection and management. The use of ABPM is particularly important in Asia due to the specific features of hypertension in Asian patients, including a high prevalence of masked hypertension, disrupted BP variability with marked morning BP surge, and nocturnal hypertension. This HOPE Asia Network document summarizes region-specific literature on the relationship between ABPM parameters and cardiovascular risk and target organ damage, providing a rationale for consensus-based recommendations on the use of ABPM in Asia. The aim of these recommendations is to guide and improve clinical practice to facilitate optimal BP monitoring with the goal of optimizing patient management and expediting the efficient allocation of treatment and health care resources. This should contribute to the HOPE Asia Network mission of improving the management of hypertension and organ protection toward achieving "zero" cardiovascular events in Asia.
Approximately 365 million people in Asia were classified as elderly in 2017. This number is rising and expected to reach approximately 520 million by 2030. The risk of hypertension and cognitive impairment/dementia increases with age. Recent data also show that the prevalence of hypertension and age-related dementia are rising in Asian countries. Moreover, not many people in Asian countries are aware of the relationship between hypertension and cognitive impairment/dementia. Furthermore, hypertension control is poorer in Asia than in developed countries. Hypertension is known to be a major risk factor for damage to target organs, including the brain. Decreased cognitive function can indicate the presence of target organ damage in the brain. Twenty-four-hour blood pressure profiles and blood pressure variability have been associated with cognitive impairment and/or silent cerebral diseases, such as silent cerebral infarction or white matter lesions, which are predisposing conditions for cognitive impairment and dementia. Hypertension that occurs in midlife also affects the incidence of cognitive impairments in later life. Managing and controlling blood pressure could preserve cognitive functions, such as by reducing the risk of vascular dementia and by reducing the global burden of stroke, which also affects cognitive function.
Adherence continues to be the major hurdle in hypertension management. Since the early 2000s, systematic approaches have been emphasized to tackle multi-dimensional issues specific for each regional setting. However, there is little data regarding implementation of adherence interventions in Asian countries. Eleven hypertension experts from eight Asian countries answered questionnaires regarding the use of adherence interventions according to 11 theoretical domain frameworks by Allemann et al. A four-point Likert scale: Often, Sometimes, Seldom, and Never used was administered. Responses to 97 items from 11 domains excluding three irrelevant items were collected. "Often-used" interventions accounted for 5/9 for education, 1/8 for skills, 1/2 for social/professional role and identity, 1/1 for belief about capabilities, 0/3 for belief about consequences, 2/4 for intentions, 2/9 for memory, attention, and decision process, 11/20 for environmental context and resources, 0/2 for social influences, 0/2 for emotion, and 2/2 for behavioral regulation. Most of them are dependent on conventional resources. Most of "Never used" intervention were the adherence interventions related to multidisciplinary subspecialties or formal training for behavioral therapy. For adherence interventions recommended by 2018 ESC/ESH hypertension guidelines, only 1 in 7 patient level interventions was "Often used." In conclusion, conventional or physician level interventions such as education, counseling, and prescription have been well implemented but multidisciplinary interventions and patient or health system level interventions are in need of better implementation in Asian countries.
The new Chinese hypertension guideline comprehensively covers almost all major aspects in the management of hypertension. In this new guideline, hypertension remains defined as a systolic/diastolic blood pressure of at least 140/90 mm Hg. For risk assessment, a qualitative approach is used similarly as in previous Chinese guidelines according to the blood pressure level and the presence or absence of other risk factors, target organ damage, cardiovascular complications, and comorbid diseases. The therapeutic target is 140/90 mm Hg in general, and if tolerated, especially in high-risk patients, can be more stringent, that is, 130/80 mm Hg. However, a less stringent target, that is, 150/90 mm Hg, is used in the younger (65-79 years, if tolerated, 140/90 mm Hg) and older elderly (≥80 years). Five classes of antihypertensive drugs, including β-blockers, can be used either in initial monotherapy or combination. The guideline also provided information on the management of hypertension in several special groups of patients and in the presence of secondary causes of hypertension. To implement the guideline recommendations, several nationwide hypertension control initiatives are being undertaken with new technology. The new technological platforms hopefully will help improve the management of hypertension and generate scientific evidence for future hypertension guidelines, including a possible Asian hypertension guideline in the near future.
Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is the leading cause of deaths worldwide, contributing to about 30% of all deaths. Half of the cases of CVD are estimated in Asia, the world's most populous continent. Hypertension, a major modifiable risk factor for CVD, results in more deaths than any other CV risk factors in the Asian regions. The total number of patients with hypertension is likely to grow as the population ages. The proportion of the elderly population aged 65 years or more in Asia is expected to increase from 7.4% in 2015 to 10.9% in 2030. It is important to note that more than half (54%) of the world's population live in Asia. Aside of being the biggest single risk factor for global deaths, hypertension is also an important precursor and most common risk factor of heart failure (HF). An increase in HF prevalence is clearly related to the rapid epidemiological transition caused by changes in lifestyle in Asian countries. However, the availability of data on HF burden and health care delivery is limited in Asia compared with Europe and North America. This reality has driven the working group of Asian experts for example the HOPE Asia Network to concentrate on hypertension as risk factors for CVD, with the mission to improve the management of hypertension resulting in organ protection toward a goal of achieving "ZERO" CV event in Asia. This paper aims to give an overview regarding the heart problems caused by hypertension in Asia, focus on HF.
Polypill is a fixed-dose combination of medications with proven benefits for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Its role in CVD prevention has been extensively debated since the inception of this concept in 2003. There are two major kinds of polypills in clinical studies. The first is polypill that combines multiple low-dose medications for controlling only one CVD risk factor (such as high blood pressure or high serum cholesterol). These "single-purpose" polypills were mostly developed from original producers and have higher cost. The polypill that combines 3-4 pharmaceutical components, each with potential to reduce one major cardiovascular risk factors is "multi-purpose" or "cardiovascular" polypill. Using data from various clinical trials and from meta-analysis, Wald and Law claimed that this "cardiovascular" polypill when administered to every individual older than 55 years could reduce the incidence of CVD by more than 80%. Several short and intermediate to long-term studies with different cardiovascular polypills in phase II and III trials showed that they could provide better adherence, equivalent, or better risk factor control and quality of life among users as compared to usual care. One recently published randomized controlled clinical trial demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of a four-component polypill for both primary and secondary CVD prevention with acceptable number needed to treat (NNT) to prevent one major cardiovascular event. Considering the slow achievement of CVD prevention in many poor- and middle-income Asian countries and also the need to further improve compliance of antihypertensive and lipid lowering medications in many high-income Asian countries, the concept of "cardiovascular polypill" could be very useful. With further support from ongoing polypill cardiovascular outcome trials, polypill could be the foundation of the population-based strategies for CVD prevention.
Stroke is the primary cause of disability and vascular death worldwide, including Asia. Asian characteristics that differ from the West lead to higher stroke incidence. Stroke epidemiology studies in Asia have shown varying levels of mortality, incidence, prevalence, and burden of disease. Hypertension is the most prevalent risk factor found in Asia. Besides ethnicity that is associated with stroke incidence, both systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and blood pressure variability are positively correlated with stroke incidence. Post-stroke cognitive impairment is one of the sequelae that affect one-third of stroke survivors and has become a significant public health concern that is often neglected despite its increasing prevalence. Therefore, it is very important to prevent recurrence by treating stroke optimally and effectively. Increasing awareness and treatment adherence to hypertension, the leading risk factor for stroke, became the main goal in several countries in Asia.
Isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) is the most common type of essential hypertension in the elderly and young adults. With rapid industrialization and population aging, the prevalence of ISH in Asia will rise substantially. Asian populations have distinct epidemiological features, risk factors and are especially vulnerable to ISH. There is a pressing need for Asian countries to formulate their unique strategies for control of ISH. In this review, we focus on the (1) epidemiology and pathophysiology, (2) risk factors and impact on outcomes, and (3) treatment goal and strategy for ISH in Asia.
The "triple burden" of aging population, hypertension, and mental health problems making elderly in Asia is more vulnerable. There is evidence of a bidirectional relationship between mental health and hypertension, which results in lower quality of life, lower rate of treatment adherence, and higher mortality among elderly individuals. It is essential to overcome known barriers and care for the elderly with high-risk factors in order to address these burdens. This review revealed that elderly with hypertension were more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety. Therefore, debunking myths, creating awareness regarding mental health, and increasing access to mental health resources through holistic community-based programs would greatly reduce such problems and optimize the chances of success in controlling hypertension-related problems.
Hypertension is an important public health issue due to its association with a number of serious diseases, including cardiovascular disease and stroke. The importance of evaluating hypertension taking into account different blood pressure (BP) profiles and BP variability (BPV) is increasingly being recognized, and is particularly relevant in Asian populations given the specific features of hypertension in the region (including greater salt sensitivity and a high rate of nocturnal hypertension). Ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) is the gold standard for diagnosing hypertension and assessing 24-hour BP and provides data on several important parameters that cannot be obtained using any other form of BP measurement. In addition, ABPM parameters provide better information on cardio- and cerebrovascular risk than office BP. ABPM should be used in all patients with elevated BP, particularly those with unstable office or home BP, or who are suspected to have white-coat or masked hypertension. ABPM is also an important part of hypertension diagnosis and monitoring in high-risk patients. ABPM needs to be performed using a validated device and good practice techniques, and has a role both in hypertension diagnosis and in monitoring the response to antihypertensive therapy to ensure strict BP control throughout the 24-hour period. Use of ABPM in clinical practice may be limited by cost and accessibility, and practical education of physicians and patients is essential. The ABPM evidence and practice points in this document are based on the Hypertension Cardiovascular Outcome Prevention and Evidence (HOPE) Asia Network expert panel consensus recommendations for ABPM in Asia.
The countries of Asia are home to multiple ethnicities. There are ethnic differences in diet, culture, and attitudes towards health screening, access to care, and treatment of chronic diseases. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) have rising incidence and prevalence due to increased affliction with non-communicable diseases of diabetes and hypertension. To prevent the expensive complications of ESKD, one of the most important risk factors to control is hypertension in patients with CKD. We performed a narrative review on the prevalence of CKD in patients with hypertension, the prevalence and control of hypertension in patients with CKD, and the dietary sodium intake in CKD populations.
Guidelines on the management of hypertension have been developed by various professional bodies and institutions to primarily address the issues of diagnosis, treatment, and control in order to rationalize and improve the management of hypertension. Hypertension guidelines across the world have recently been updated following the new and controversial lower blood pressure threshold of ≥130/80 mmHg for the diagnosis of hypertension adopted by the Americans. While there are differences between the major as well as between the Asian national guidelines, there were also many similarities. This paper discusses and highlights the differences and similarities between the major international guidelines of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association, of the European Society of Cardiology/European Society of Hypertension, and of the International Society of Hypertension and also compares them with the Asian guidelines.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a risk of hypertension and is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence. In Asian countries, the prevalence of OSA is high, as in Western countries. When blood pressure (BP) is evaluated in OSA individuals using ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM), the BP phenotype often indicates abnormal BP variability, such as increased nighttime BP or abnormal diurnal BP variation, that is, non-dipper pattern, riser pattern, and morning BP surge, and all these conditions have been associated with increased CVD events. Asians have a higher prevalence of increased nighttime BP or morning BP surge than Westerners. Therefore, this review paper focused on OSA and hypertension from an Asian perspective to investigate the importance of the association between OSA and hypertension in the Asian population. Such abnormal BP variability has been shown to be associated with progression of arterial stiffness, and this association could provoke a vicious cycle between abnormal BP phenotypes and arterial stiffness, a phenomenon recognized as systemic hemodynamic atherothrombotic syndrome (SHATS). OSA may be one of the background factors that augment SHATS. An oxygen-triggered nocturnal oscillometric BP measurement device combined with a pulse oximeter for continuous SpO2 monitoring could detect BP variability caused by OSA. In addition to treating the OSA, accurate and reliable detection and treatment of any residual BP elevation and BP variability caused by OSA would be necessary to prevent CVD events. However, more detailed detection of BP variability, such as beat-by-beat BP monitoring, would further help to reduce CV events.
Increased heart rate is a predictor of cardiovascular disease, heart failure, and all-cause mortality. In those with high heart rates, interventions for heart rate reduction have been associated with reductions in coronary events. Asia is a diverse continent, and the prevalences of hypertension and cardiovascular disease differ among its countries. The present analysis of AsiaBP@Home study data investigated differences among resting heart rates (RHRs) in 1443 hypertensive patients from three Asian regions: East Asia (N = 595), Southeast Asia (N = 680), and South Asia (N = 168). This is the first study to investigate self-measured RHR values in different Asian countries/regions using the same validated home BP monitoring device (Omron HEM-7130-AP/HEM-7131-E). Subjects in South Asia had higher RHR values compared with the other two regions, and the regional tendency found in RHR values was different from that found in BP values. Even after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, habitual alcohol consumption, current smoking habit, shift worker, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, history of heart failure, and beta-blocker use, both office and home RHR values in South Asia were the highest among Asia (mean values ± SE of office: East Asia [E] 75.2 ± 1.5 bpm, Southeast Asia [Se] 76.7 ± 1.5 bpm, South Asia [S] 81.9 ± 1.4 bpm; home morning: [E] 69.0 ± 1.2 bpm, [Se] 72.9 ± 1.2 bpm, [S] 74.9 ± 1.1 bpm; home evening: [E] 74.6 ± 1.2 bpm, [Se] 78.3 ± 1.2 bpm, [S] 83.8 ± 1.1 bpm). Given what is known about the impact of RHR on heart disease, our findings suggest the possible benefit of regionally tailored clinical strategies for cardiovascular disease prevention.
Hypertension is an insidious disease which predisposes to cardiovascular complications and if not treated properly can lead to various serious complications. Economic limitations, having additional benefits with few or almost no side effects have made non-pharmacological management of hypertension an attractive approach for dealing with hypertension, in developed and developing countries alike. A MEDLINE search was done for relevant references with emphasis on original studies, randomized controlled trials, and meta-analyses for this review paper. Lifestyle modifications including changes in the dietary pattern, adopting special diets with low sodium, saturated fat and high calcium, magnesium and potassium and trying the new methods like time restricted meal intake which work in tandem with the circadian rhythm are opening new vistas in the field of non-pharmacological management of hypertension. Lifestyle modifications that effectively lower blood pressure are increased physical activity, weight loss, limited alcohol consumption, relaxation techniques of Yoga, Acupuncture, Tai chi, mindfulness-based stress-reduction program, and Transcendental Meditation. Air pollution of the surrounding air is linked with poor health outcomes and is a major contributor to the global burden of disease. Fine particulate matter <2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) is strongly associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Short-term PM exposure (hours to weeks) increases the likelihood of adverse cardiovascular events including myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure, and longer-term exposure multiplies that risk. Non-pharmacological methods should be initiated early phase of disease and should be continued with medication.
Although short and long sleep duration are both risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the recent meta-analyses have been shown that long sleep duration was closely associated with CVD mortality. While the specific mechanism underlying the association between long sleep duration and CVD remains unclear, long sleep duration was shown to be associated with arterial stiffness and blood pressure variability (BPV) in many Asian populations. This review article will focus on the pathophysiology of long sleep duration, arterial stiffness, BPV and their effects on CVD. To set the stage for this review, we first summarize the current insights for the relationship between long sleep duration and CVD in relation to arterial stiffness and BPV.
Morning hypertension is an important clinical target in the management of hypertension for perfect 24-h blood pressure (BP) control. Morning hypertension is generally categorized into two types: "morning surge" type and "sustained nocturnal and morning hypertension" type. The "morning surge" type is characterized by an exaggerated morning blood pressure surge (MBPS), and the "sustained nocturnal and morning hypertension" type with continuous hypertension from nighttime to morning (non-dipper/riser type). They can be detected by home and ambulatory blood pressure measurements (HBPM and ABPM). These two forms of morning hypertension both increase the risk of cardiovascular and renal diseases, but may occur via different pathogenic mechanisms and are associated with different conditions. Morning hypertension should be treated to achieve a morning BP level of