Cardiovascular prevention: sometimes dreams can come true

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Preventive Cardiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a multifactorial chronic condition where prevention is increasingly critical as treatments plateau.
• The COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant limitations in current healthcare systems, particularly in preventive medicine and territorial health.
• Recent advancements include the SCORE2 risk prediction algorithm and updated European guidelines for CVD prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To envision a future model for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention.
• To explore novel concepts and paradigms for proactive and personalized CVD risk management.
• To outline essential components for achieving an ideal CVD prevention system.

Main Methods:

• Review article synthesizing current knowledge and future perspectives on CVD prevention.
• Discussion of emerging concepts: genetically personalized risk, imaging-driven factors, cardiac risk cartography, and exposome measurement.
• Analysis of economic factors (cost of delayed outcomes vs. healthy lifespan) and technological integration.

Main Results:

• Highlights the need for a shift from a 'sick' to a 'healthy' system, emphasizing patient engagement.
• Proposes a 'clearing house' model with a multidisciplinary 'healthcare team' rather than a specialized 'heart team'.
• Identifies key technological and conceptual advancements required for future prevention strategies.

Conclusions:

• Future CVD prevention necessitates a holistic, personalized, and technologically advanced approach.
• A proactive healthcare system focused on well-being, integrating diverse data, is essential.
• Achieving this vision requires addressing four critical, articulated points for implementation.