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[Association between clustering of cardiovascular risk factors and the risk of cardiovascular disease]

José Miguel Baena Díez1, Beatriz Alvarez Pérez, Pilar Piñol Forcadell

  • 1jbaenad@meditex.es

Revista Espanola De Salud Publica
|March 22, 2002
PubMed

Insights

Clustering cardiovascular risk factors significantly increases the risk of major cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke. Early prevention strategies in primary care are crucial for managing these risks.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of mortality in Spain.
  • This study investigates the link between the clustering of cardiovascular risk factors and the incidence of major cardiovascular events.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the association between the number of cardiovascular risk factors and the risk of major cardiovascular events.
  • To analyze the risk of ischemic cardiopathy, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral arteriopathy in relation to risk factor clustering.

Main Methods:

  • A descriptive transversal study of 2248 patients was conducted using clinical records.
  • Odds Ratios (OR) were calculated for cardiovascular events based on the presence of risk factors: smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, diabetes, and obesity.
  • Analyses were adjusted for age and sex.

Main Results:

  • The prevalence of patients with 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4-6 risk factors was 39.1%, 32.8%, 17.5%, 6.9%, and 3.7%, respectively.
  • An increasing number of risk factors was associated with a significantly higher Odds Ratio for cardiovascular events, ischemic cardiopathy, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral arteriopathy.
  • For instance, 4-6 risk factors showed an OR of 5.6 for any cardiovascular event and 6.2 for ischemic cardiopathy.

Conclusions:

  • The accumulation of cardiovascular risk factors is directly associated with an elevated risk of experiencing cardiovascular events.
  • These findings underscore the critical importance of implementing preventive measures for cardiovascular risk factors within primary healthcare settings.
Abstract

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