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A prospective study of risk factors for cardiovascular events among the elderly

Marcos Aparecido Sarria Cabrera1, Selma Maffei de Andrade, Arthur Eumann Mesas

  • 1Discipline of Geriatrics, Postgraduate Program in Public Health, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Paraná, Brazil. marcoscabrera@uol.com.br

Clinical Interventions in Aging
|November 16, 2012
PubMed

Insights

In elderly individuals, hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, abdominal obesity, and hypertriglyceridemia significantly increase cardiovascular risk. Controlling these factors is crucial for preventing fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events in this population.

Area of Science:

  • Gerontology
  • Cardiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Cardiovascular (CV) diseases remain a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the elderly.
  • Identifying modifiable CV risk factors is essential for effective prevention strategies in aging populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of various CV risk factors on the incidence of fatal and non-fatal CV events in elderly Brazilian outpatients.
  • To determine which specific risk factors are most predictive of CV events in this demographic.

Main Methods:

  • A 12-year prospective cohort study involving 800 elderly outpatients (aged 60-85).
  • CV events (mortality, stroke, infarction, angina, heart failure) were tracked.
  • Cox proportional hazard models were used to analyze hypertension, diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemias, and metabolic syndrome, adjusting for confounders.

Main Results:

  • 29.1% of participants experienced a CV event.
  • Hypertension (HR: 1.69), diabetes (HR: 2.67), metabolic syndrome (HR: 1.61), abdominal obesity (HR: 1.36), hypertriglyceridemia (HR: 1.67), and high triglyceride/HDL-c ratio (HR: 1.73) were significant predictors.
  • Hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia remained significant even when accounting for abdominal obesity.

Conclusions:

  • Hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, abdominal obesity, and hypertriglyceridemia are key predictors of CV risk in the elderly.
  • These findings underscore the importance of managing these specific CV risk factors in older adults.
  • Effective control of these factors can mitigate the risk of cardiovascular events in this vulnerable age group.
Abstract

Keywords:
agedcardiovascular diseasesepidemiologyrisk factors

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