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1Klinik für Physikalische Medizin und Rehabilitation, Allgemeines Krankenhaus, Wien.
Insights
Research into cardiovascular risk factors shows promise, but classical factors explain only 30% of events. This review identifies numerous other potential risk factors needing further investigation to understand their role in cardiovascular disease.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Preventive Medicine
- Epidemiology
Context:
- Cardiovascular disease research is emerging, with initial successes.
- Established risk factors explain a limited portion of cardiovascular events.
- The need to identify additional cardiovascular risk factors is critical.
Purpose:
- To review and identify unalterable, conditionally alterable, and treatable characteristics associated with elevated cardiovascular risk.
- To highlight factors beyond the classical, well-understood risk profile.
- To underscore the necessity for further research into novel risk determinants.
Summary:
- Classical cardiovascular risk factors account for only 30% of events, indicating the existence of unknown or underestimated factors.
- This review identifies 10 unalterable, 6 conditionally alterable, and 9 treatable characteristics linked to increased cardiovascular risk.
- Further research is required to elucidate the relative importance and causality of these identified factors.
Impact:
- Provides a comprehensive list of potential novel cardiovascular risk factors.
- Guides future research directions in understanding cardiovascular disease etiology.
- Aims to improve risk prediction models and preventive strategies for cardiovascular health.
Abstract:
Even though research into cardiovascular risk factors is only in its infancy, it already boasts of good initial results. Nevertheless, the generally accepted "classical" risk factors account for merely 30% of the events. Thus other factors must exist which are as yet unknown or underestimated. This review identifies 10 unalterable, 6 conditionally alterable and 9 treatable characteristics which were found to be associated with an elevated risk. The relative importance of these factors needs to be further elucidated. In particular, the question of causality has to be addressed in more detail in order to define whether we are dealing in the individual case with risk markers or with risk factors.