@article {1508, title = {Factor V Leiden is not a risk factor for arterial vascular disease in the elderly: results from the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {Thromb Haemost}, volume = {79}, year = {1998}, month = {1998 May}, pages = {912-5}, abstract = {

Coagulation factor V Leiden is a risk marker for venous thrombosis. For arterial thrombosis no large study to date has included population-based elderly patients. The Cardiovascular Health Study is a longitudinal study of 5,201 men and women over age 65. With 3.4-year follow-up, we studied 373 incident cases of myocardial infarction (MI), angina, stroke. or transient ischemic attack (TIA), and 482 controls. The odds ratios for each event with heterozygous factor V Leiden were: MI, 0.46 (95\% CI 0.17 to 1.25); angina, 1.0 (95\% CI 0.45 to 2.23); stroke, 0.77 (95\% CI 0.35 to 1.70): TIA, 1.33 (95\% CI 0.5 to 3.55); any outcome, 0.83 (95\% CI 0.48 to 1.44). Adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors did not change relationships. In older adults factor V Leiden is not a risk factor for future arterial thrombosis.

}, keywords = {Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Arteries, Factor V, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Mutation, Risk Factors, Thrombosis}, issn = {0340-6245}, author = {Cushman, M and Rosendaal, F R and Psaty, B M and Cook, E F and Valliere, J and Kuller, L H and Tracy, R P} } @article {584, title = {Fibrinolytic activation markers predict myocardial infarction in the elderly. The Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol}, volume = {19}, year = {1999}, month = {1999 Mar}, pages = {493-8}, abstract = {

Coagulation factor levels predict arterial thrombosis in epidemiological studies, but studies of older persons are needed. We studied 3 plasma antigenic markers of fibrinolysis, viz, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), fibrin fragment D-dimer, and plasmin-antiplasmin complex (PAP) for the prediction of arterial thrombosis in healthy elderly persons over age 65. The study was a nested case-control study in the Cardiovascular Health Study cohort of 5201 men and women >/=65 years of age who were enrolled from 1989 to 1990. Cases were 146 participants without baseline clinical vascular disease who developed myocardial infarction, angina, or coronary death during a follow-up of 2.4 years. Controls remained free of cardiovascular events and were matched 1:1 to cases with respect to sex, duration of follow-up, and baseline subclinical vascular disease status. With increasing quartile of D-dimer and PAP levels but not of PAI-1, there was an independent increased risk of myocardial infarction or coronary death, but not of angina. The relative risk for D-dimer above versus below the median value (>/=120 microg/L) was 2.5 (95\% confidence interval, 1.1 to 5.9) and for PAP above the median (>/=5.25 nmol/L), 3.1 (1.3 to 7.7). Risks were independent of C-reactive protein and fibrinogen concentrations. There were no differences in risk by sex or presence of baseline subclinical disease. D-dimer and PAP, but not PAI-1, predicted future myocardial infarction in men and women over age 65. Relationships were independent of other risk factors, including inflammation markers. Results indicate a major role for these markers in identifying a high risk of arterial disease in this age group.

}, keywords = {Age Factors, Aged, Angina Pectoris, Biomarkers, Female, Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products, Fibrinolysin, Fibrinolysis, Follow-Up Studies, Heart Arrest, Humans, Male, Myocardial Infarction, Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1, Risk Factors}, issn = {1079-5642}, doi = {10.1161/01.atv.19.3.493}, author = {Cushman, M and Lemaitre, R N and Kuller, L H and Psaty, B M and Macy, E M and Sharrett, A R and Tracy, R P} } @article {646, title = {Factors associated with healthy aging: the cardiovascular health study.}, journal = {J Am Geriatr Soc}, volume = {49}, year = {2001}, month = {2001 Mar}, pages = {254-62}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: To identify factors associated with remaining healthy in older adults.

DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study.

SETTING: Data were collected at the four Cardiovascular Health Study field centers.

PARTICIPANTS: 5,888 participants age 65 years and older in the Cardiovascular Health Study.

MEASUREMENTS: Presence of chronic disease was assessed at baseline and over a maximum 7-year follow-up period. Participants who were free of chronic disease (no cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or self-reported cancer, except nonmelanoma skin cancer) at the baseline examination were then monitored for the onset of incident cancer, cardiovascular disease, and fatal outcomes.

RESULTS: A high proportion of these older adults was healthy at the initial examination and remained healthy over the follow-up period. Numerous behavioral factors were associated with continued health, including physical activity, refraining from cigarette smoking, wine consumption (women), higher educational status, and lower waist circumference. A number of CVD risk factors and subclinical disease measures were associated with continued health, including higher high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, lack of diabetes, thinner common carotid intimal nmedial thickness, lower blood pressure, lower C-reactive protein, and higher ankle-arm blood pressure ratio. Among the behavioral factors, exercise, not smoking, and not taking aspirin remained significant predictors of health even after controlling for CVD risk factors and subclinical disease in older adults.

CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that a number of modifiable behavioral factors (physical activity, smoking, and obesity) and cardiovascular risk factors (diabetes, HDL cholesterol, and blood pressure) are associated with maintenance of good health in older adults.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cohort Studies, Diet, Exercise, Female, Health Status, Humans, Incidence, Life Style, Longitudinal Studies, Lung Diseases, Obstructive, Male, Neoplasms, Probability, Reference Values, Risk Factors, Sex Distribution, Socioeconomic Factors, Survival Rate, United States}, issn = {0002-8614}, doi = {10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.4930254.x}, author = {Burke, G L and Arnold, A M and Bild, D E and Cushman, M and Fried, L P and Newman, A and Nunn, C and Robbins, J} } @article {629, title = {Frequency and predictors of stroke death in 5,888 participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {Neurology}, volume = {56}, year = {2001}, month = {2001 Feb 13}, pages = {368-75}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Few population-based studies have examined in detail issues of stroke-related deaths in elderly people.

METHODS: Participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) are 65 years of age or older, have had extensive baseline evaluations, and have been followed-up for fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease outcomes. Investigators adjudicated these outcomes and classified strokes by types and subtypes.

RESULTS: Over 7 years, 1,310 (22.2\%) of 5,888 participants died, and 455 (7.7\%) experienced incident stroke. For the 5,888, stroke mortality was 3.2 per 1,000 person-years. For the 455, it was 36.1 per 1,000 person-years, with the most lethal type being hemorrhagic and the ischemic subtype being cardioembolic. After controlling for age and stroke type, the only other independent predictor of death after any stroke was poor performance on a timed walk measured before the incident stroke. Considering only ischemic stroke, the independent predictors of death were African American race and poor performance on timed walk.

CONCLUSION: In CHS, death attributable to stroke is common. As in other studies, the most lethal stroke type was hemorrhagic, and ischemic stroke subtype, cardioembolic. Slow walking, possibly a measure of frailty, was associated with an increased risk of death of stroke. Finally, African Americans faced a greater risk of death than others after an ischemic stroke.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Clinical Trials as Topic, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Predictive Value of Tests, Stroke, Survival Analysis, United States}, issn = {0028-3878}, doi = {10.1212/wnl.56.3.368}, author = {Longstreth, W T and Bernick, C and Fitzpatrick, A and Cushman, M and Knepper, L and Lima, J and Furberg, C D} } @article {973, title = {Factor VII coagulant activity, factor VII -670A/C and -402G/A polymorphisms, and risk of venous thromboembolism.}, journal = {J Thromb Haemost}, volume = {5}, year = {2007}, month = {2007 Aug}, pages = {1674-8}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Most epidemiological studies have found no association between levels of factor (F) VII:C and venous thromboembolism (VTE). Our Longitudinal Investigation of Thromboembolism Etiology (LITE) had, in contrast, reported an independent, increased risk of VTE after 7.8 years of follow-up for those with high baseline levels of FVII:C.

OBJECTIVE: To confirm whether FVII:C is associated with VTE after 12.6 years of follow-up and to examine whether two FVII gene polymorphisms (-670A/C and -402G/A) are related to VTE occurrence.

METHODS: In 19 091 LITE participants with no prior history of VTE or cancer, we measured FVII:C at baseline and identified 404 new VTEs. We also performed a nested case-control study to relate the polymorphisms to VTE (n = 490 without exclusion for cancer or prior VTE).

RESULTS: FVII:C was not independently associated with VTE occurrence after extended follow-up. Multivariable-adjusted rate ratios for VTE were 1.00, 1.00, 0.94, 1.00, and 1.38 (P-trend = 0.48) for the <25th, 25th-49th, 50th-74th, 75th-94th, and >or=95th percentiles of FVII:C, respectively. The -670C and -402A alleles were in high linkage disequilibrium, and both were associated with greater FVII:C levels. However, neither polymorphism was associated with VTE occurrence.

CONCLUSION: After extended follow-up, LITE offers little evidence that a greater FVII level is a risk factor for VTE.

}, keywords = {Alleles, Antigens, Coagulants, Factor VII, Female, Genotype, Humans, Male, Polymorphism, Genetic, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, Thromboembolism, Venous Thrombosis}, issn = {1538-7933}, doi = {10.1111/j.1538-7836.2007.02620.x}, author = {Folsom, A R and Cushman, M and Heckbert, S R and Ohira, T and Rasmussen-Torvik, L and Tsai, M Y} }