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Prof. Francesco Cappuccio - University of Warwick. Coventry, , UNITED KINGDOM

Prof. Francesco Cappuccio

Professor & Cephalon Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine & Epidemiology, Warwick Medical School | University of Warwick

Coventry, UNITED KINGDOM

Francesco Cappuccio is an expert in the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease, nutrition, metabolic abnormalities and cardiovascular risk.

Social

Areas of Expertise (8)

Salt Intake

Cardiovascular Risk

Epidemiology of Cadiovascular Disease

Sleep Deprivation

Sleep

Hypertention

Metabolic Abnormalities

Sleep Disorders

Accomplishments (4)

World Hypertension League Recognition of Excellence Award in Dietary Salt Reduction

2019

40th Anniversary Gold Medal of the Lithuanian Society of Cardiology

2005 40th Anniversary Gold Medal of the Lithuanian Society of Cardiology

RCGP and Boots The Chemists Research Paper of the Year Award

2003 2002 RCGP and Boots The Chemists Research Paper of the Year Award (Royal College of General Practitioners)

I.S.H.I.B. Distinguished Researcher Award for 2003

2003 I.S.H.I.B. Distinguished Researcher Award for 2003 (International Society of Hypertension in Blacks)

Education (4)

University of Warwick: DSc, Medicine 2012

University of London: M.Sc., Epidemiology 1993

University of Naples: M.D. 1984

University Naples: B.S. 1981

Affiliations (9)

  • Association of Physicians of Great Britain & Ireland
  • British and Irish Hypertension Society
  • British Sleep Society
  • National Heart Forum NHF
  • European Society of Hypertension
  • World Health Organization
  • European Society of Cardiology
  • American Heart Association
  • Immediate Past President of the BIHS (2017-19)

Selected Media Appearances (5)

Revised NICE advice on hypertension a 'missed opportunity'

GP Online  online

2019-08-28

BIHS president Professor Francesco P Cappuccio, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Warwick, said: 'The new NICE guideline is directed to the management of adults with hypertension, with or without diabetes, but excludes patients with established CVD (like prior myocardial infarction, stroke and heart failure).

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Failure of industry-led salt reduction policy led to increase CVD deaths, study claims

Nutra  online

2019-07-22

However, a number of experts highlighted the limitations of the research. Francesco Cappuccio, Cephalon professor of cardiovascular medicine & epidemiology at the University of Warwick said, "The data cannot imply causality as they are not prospective recordings in the same individuals and not all potential confounders could be considered"...

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Falls are more likely when you've had a bad night sleep

Science Daily  online

2018-11-30

Prof Francesco Cappuccio, Head of the Sleep, Health & Society programme at the University of Warwick's medical school, explains: "The results obtained in healthy normal volunteers are surprising, given the ability at younger ages to compensate for such acute and short-lived sleep disruptions. We would expect more dramatic effects when these experiments be replicated in older people, whose vulnerability to sleep disruption, postural hypotension and risk of falls is much greater"...

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Is a low-salt diet as unhealthy as having too much?

BBC Future  online

2018-10-30

Long-term, randomised trials comparing people who eat a lot versus a little salt could establish cause and effect. But very few such studies exist because of the funding requirements and ethical implications. “Randomised trials showing salt’s effect on the body are almost impossible to carry out,” says Francesco Cappuccio, professor of cardiovascular medicine and epidemiology at the University of Warwick’s medical school and author of the eight-year review...

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Sleep deprivation: Late nights can lead to higher risk of strokes and heart attacks, study finds

Science Daily  online

2011-02-08

Professor Francesco Cappuccio from the University of Warwick Medical School, explained: "If you sleep less than six hours per night and have disturbed sleep you stand a 48 per cent greater chance of developing or dying from heart disease and a 15 per cent greater chance of developing or dying of a stroke. "The trend for late nights and early mornings is actually a ticking time bomb for our health so you need to act now to reduce your risk of developing these life-threatening conditions." Professor Cappuccio and co-author Dr Michelle Miller, from the University of Warwick, conducted the research programme which followed up evidence from seven to 25 years from more than 470,000 participants from eight countries including Japan, USA, Sweden and UK. Professor Cappuccio explained: "There is an expectation in today's society to fit more into our lives. The whole work/life balance struggle is causing too many of us to trade in precious sleeping time to ensure we complete all the jobs we believe are expected of us"...

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Selected Articles (6)

Joint UK societies' 2019 consensus statement on renal denervation


Heart

2019 Improved and durable control of hypertension is a global priority for healthcare providers and policymakers. There are several lifestyle measures that are proven to result in improved blood pressure (BP) control. Moreover, there is incontrovertible evidence from large scale randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that antihypertensive drugs lower BP safely and effectively in the long-term resulting in substantial reduction in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Importantly, however, evidence is accumulating to suggest that patients neither sustain long-term healthy behaviours nor adhere to lifelong drug treatment regimens and thus alternative measures to control hypertension warrant further investigation. Endovascular renal denervation (RDN) appears to hold some promise as a non-pharmacological approach to lowering BP and achieves renal sympathectomy using either radiofrequency energy or ultrasound-based approaches. This treatment modality has been evaluated in clinical trials in humans since 2009 but initial studies were compromised by being non-randomised, without sham control and small in size. Subsequently, clinical trial design and rigour of execution has been greatly improved resulting in recent sham-controlled RCTs that demonstrate short-term reduction in ambulatory BP without any significant safety concerns in both medication-naïve and medication-treated hypertensive patients. Despite this, the joint UK societies still feel that further evaluation of this therapy is warranted and that RDN should not be offered to patients outside of the context of clinical trials. This document reviews the updated evidence since our last consensus statement from 2014 and provides a research agenda for future clinical studies.

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The International Consortium for Quality Research on Dietary Sodium/Salt position statement on the use of 24‐hour, spot, and short duration timed urine collections to assess dietary sodium intake


The Journal of Clinical Hypertension

2019 The International Consortium for Quality Research on Dietary Sodium/Salt (TRUE) is a coalition of intentional and national health and scientific organizations formed because of concerns low‐quality research methods were creating controversy regarding dietary salt reduction. One of the main sources of controversy is believed related to errors in estimating sodium intake with urine studies. The recommendations and positions in this manuscript were generated following a series of systematic reviews and analyses by experts in hypertension, nutrition, statistics, and dietary sodium. To assess the population's current 24‐hour dietary sodium ingestion, single complete 24‐hour urine samples, collected over a series of days from a representative population sample, were recommended. To accurately estimate usual dietary sodium at the individual level, at least 3 non‐consecutive complete 24‐hour urine collections obtained over a series of days that reflect the usual short‐term variations in dietary pattern were recommended. Multiple 24‐hour urine collections over several years were recommended to estimate an individual's usual long‐term sodium intake. The role of single spot or short duration timed urine collections in assessing population average sodium intake requires more research. Single or multiple spot or short duration timed urine collections are not recommended for assessing an individual's sodium intake especially in relationship to health outcomes. The recommendations should be applied by scientific review committees, granting agencies, editors and journal reviewers, investigators, policymakers, and those developing and creating dietary sodium recommendations. Low‐quality research on dietary sodium/salt should not be funded, conducted, or published.

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Association between circadian rhythms and neurodegenerative diseases


The Lancet Neurology

2019 Dysfunction in 24-h circadian rhythms is a common occurrence in ageing adults; however, circadian rhythm disruptions are more severe in people with age-related neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and Parkinson's disease. Manifestations of circadian rhythm disruptions differ according to the type and severity of neurodegenerative disease and, for some patients, occur before the onset of typical clinical symptoms of neurodegeneration. Evidence from preliminary studies suggest that circadian rhythm disruptions, in addition to being a symptom of neurodegeneration, might also be a potential risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and Parkinson's disease, although large, longitudinal studies are needed to confirm this relationship. The mechanistic link between circadian rhythms and neurodegeneration is still not fully understood, although proposed underlying pathways include alterations of protein homoeostasis and immune and inflammatory function. While preliminary clinical studies are promising, more studies of circadian rhythm disruptions and its mechanisms are required. Furthermore, clinical trials are needed to determine whether circadian interventions could prevent or delay the onset of neurodegenerative diseases.

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Population dietary salt reduction and the risk of cardiovascular disease. A scientific statement from the European Salt Action Network


Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases

2019 The publication in the last few years of a number of prospective observational studies suggesting a J-shaped association between levels of salt (sodium) consumption and cardiovascular outcomes has opened a debate on the pertinence of population-wide salt reduction policies to reduce cardiovascular disease burden, and some have even questioned the global World Health Organization guidelines, that recommend a 30% reduction in salt consumption by 2025, aiming at an ideal target of no more than 5 g of salt consumption per day.

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Day-to-day variations in sleep quality affect standing balance in healthy adults


Scientific Reports

2018 Acute sleep deprivation is known to affect human balance and posture control. However, the effects of variations in sleep quality and pattern over consecutive days have received less attention. This study investigated the associations between day-to-day variations in sleep quality and standing balance in healthy subjects. Twenty volunteers (12 females and 8 males; age: 28.8±5.7 years, body mass index: 23.4±3.4 kg/m 2, resting heart rate: 63.1±8.7 bpm) with no history of sleep disorders or balance impairments participated in the study. Sleep and balance were assessed over two consecutive days. Sleep quality variations were assessed using sleep diary, actigraphy and heart rate variability (HRV) measures. Sleep was monitored at home, using an unobtrusive wearable device. Balance was assessed in a gait lab using foot centre of pressure (COP) displacement during quiet standing.

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Sleep duration and incidence of obesity in infants, children, and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies


Sleep

2018 To assess the prospective relationship between sleep and obesity in a paediatric population.

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