The need for risk factor assessment in atherothrombotic vascular disease

Risk factors for cardiovascular disease are characteristically associated with an increased likelihood of disease. Prospective studies of incident disease are less prone to bias than cross-sectional or case-control studies of prevalent disease. Meta-analyses of prospective studies provide more reliable estimates of the strength of association of risk factors with risk of disease than individual studies. Meta-analyses of intervention studies provide the most reliable estimates of reversibility of disease risk through prolonged reduction of classical risk factors (e.g., blood pressure, serum cholesterol). Emerging potential risk factors include markers of infection, inflammation, and thrombosis; their possible roles in causation and in risk prediction require much further study.