Prevalence of Traditional Risk Factors in First-Degree Relatives of Patients With Established Cardiovascular Disease

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) poses a significant global health burden.
• Accurate risk prediction is crucial for timely intervention and prevention strategies.
• The World Health Organization (WHO)/International Society of Hypertension (ISH) risk charts offer a tool for estimating 10-year CVD risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the 10-year cardiovascular disease risk among first-degree relatives of cardiology outpatients in Ahmedabad, India.
• To evaluate the utility of WHO/ISH risk prediction charts in a specific Indian population.
• To raise awareness about cardiovascular risk assessment within the studied group.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted with 372 first-degree relatives of patients at a cardiology outpatient clinic in Ahmedabad.
• The WHO/ISH risk prediction chart for the South-East Asia Region D (SEAR D) was utilized.
• Participants were categorized based on their calculated 10-year CVD risk.

Main Results:

• The majority of participants (80.10%) were classified as low-risk (<10% 10-year CVD risk).
• Moderate-risk (10-20%) and moderately high-risk (20-30%) categories comprised 8.33% and 7.25% of the study group, respectively.
• A smaller proportion were identified as high-risk (30-40%) or very high-risk (>40%), accounting for 2.42% and 1.88%.

Conclusions:

• WHO/ISH risk prediction charts are effective for rapid CVD risk assessment in resource-limited settings.
• These charts facilitate the identification of high-risk individuals for focused preventive interventions.
• The study highlights the importance of risk stratification in family members of cardiac patients.