Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in older adults - Perception and reality

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular disease epidemiology
• Geriatric health and risk assessment
• Public health and preventative medicine

Background:

• Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a leading global cause of mortality and disability.
• Limited data exists on the awareness of CVD risk factors among older adults in Croatia.
• Understanding self-perceived risk versus actual risk is crucial for effective prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the knowledge of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among Croatian older adults.
• To examine the relationship between actual CVD risk factors (cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, BMI, smoking) and self-assessed risk.
• To evaluate awareness of target values for blood pressure and total cholesterol.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional epidemiological study involving 969 participants aged over 70 years.
• Data collection via written questionnaires and objective measurements of BMI, blood pressure, total cholesterol, and triglycerides.

Main Results:

• Perception of moderate/high CVD risk was similar between participants with and without actual risk factors (75.5% vs. 75.7%).
• A significant proportion (24.5%) of participants with actual CVD risk factors did not recognize their risk.
• Low awareness of target blood pressure (23.4%) and total cholesterol (49.8%) levels was observed; discussing risk factors with physicians was infrequent (41.8%).

Conclusions:

• Croatian older adults demonstrate insufficient awareness of cardiovascular disease risk factors.
• There is a clear need for improved cardiovascular disease prevention programs targeting this population.
• Enhanced health education is essential to bridge the gap between actual risk and perceived risk.