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Prevalence of Cardiac Risk Factors and Attitude toward Self-Risk Assessment among Cardiac Care Givers
Shumaila Furnaz1, Musa Karim1, Sajjad Ali2
1National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
Insights
Cardiac physicians show low prevalence of traditional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors but higher rates of modifiable ones like smoking and obesity. Many cardiac care providers have not assessed their personal CVD risk.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Public Health
- Preventive Medicine
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) pose a significant global health burden.
- Understanding risk factor prevalence and self-assessment attitudes among healthcare professionals is crucial for public health initiatives.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among cardiac care physicians without a history of CVD.
- To assess the attitude of these physicians toward self-risk assessment for CVD.
- To identify knowledge gaps regarding personal CVD risk factors.
Main Methods:
- A survey was conducted among 126 cardiac care physicians with at least one year of experience.
- Participants without a history of CVD were interviewed using a structured questionnaire.
- The questionnaire covered demographics, established CVD risk factors, self-awareness, and attitudes toward CVD risk assessment.
Main Results:
- The most common CVD risk factor was a family history of CVD (33.3%), followed by smoking (14.3%) and obesity (BMI ≥27.5 kg/m² in 23.8%).
- A significant proportion of physicians were unaware of their cholesterol (23%) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels (74%).
- Over 76% had never assessed their personal CVD risk, and 37% were unsure about their own CVD risk status.
Conclusions:
- Cardiac physicians exhibit a low prevalence of conventional cardiac risk factors but a notable presence of modifiable factors like smoking and obesity.
- A substantial number of cardiac care providers have not engaged in self-risk assessment for cardiovascular diseases.
- Findings highlight potential areas for targeted health education and risk management strategies within the medical community.
Objective:
Aim of this survey was to assess the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk factors and attitude toward self-risk assessment among cardiac care physicians (who did not have CVD history), at a tertiary care cardiac center in Pakistan.
Design:
In this survey we included cardiac care givers who had a minimum of 1 year of working experience in a cardiac care center.
Participants:
Participants with self-reported history of established diagnosis of CVD were excluded. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with the help of a structured questionnaire which consisted of demographic information, data regarding established CVD risk factors, self-awareness, and attitude toward CVD risk assessment.
Results:
A total of 126 participants were interviewed, out of which 20.6% (26) were females and mean age was 36.1±7.6 years. The most prevalent CVD risk factor was family history of CVD (33.3%) followed by smoking (14.3%) and 23.8% had body mass index of ≥27.5 kg/m2. Around 23% of the participants did not know their cholesterol levels, similarly more than 74% were not aware of their high-density lipoproteins levels. More than 76% had never assessed their CVD risk and more than 37% don't know or don't have any opinion about their own CVD risk.
Conclusions:
The present study reveals low prevalence of conventional cardiac risk factors and marginally higher tendency of modifiable risk factors, such as smoking and obesity, among the cardiac physicians. A large proportion of these cardiac physicians have not yet assessed their CVD risk.
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