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Updated: Jun 16, 2025

Hydra, a Computer-Based Platform for Aiding Clinicians in Cardiovascular Analysis and Diagnosis
Published on: September 26, 2018
Deep Diving Into the Cardiovascular Health Paradox: A Journey Towards Personalized Prevention
Bamba Gaye1,2, Nabila Bouatia Naji2, Mario Sims3
1Alliance for Medical Research in Africa (AMedRA), Department of Medical Physiology, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal.
Objectives:
The Life's Simple 7 score (LS7) promotes cardiovascular health (CVH). Despite this, some with optimal LS7 develop cardiovascular disease (CVD), while others with poor CVH do not, termed the "CVH paradox." This paper explores pathways explaining this paradox.
Methods:
We examined methodological aspects: 1) misclassification bias in self-reported lifestyle factors (smoking, physical activity, diet); 2) cumulative exposure to risk factors over a lifetime, impacting the CVH paradox. Punctual risk factor assessments are suboptimal for predicting outcomes. We proposed personalized prevention using "novel" elements to refine CVH assessment: 1) subclinical vascular disease markers, 2) metabolic biomarkers in blood and urine, 3) emerging risk factors, 4) polygenic risk scores (PRS), 5) epigenetics, and 6) the exposome.
Results:
Addressing the CVH paradox requires a multifaceted approach, reducing misclassification bias, considering cumulative risk exposure, and incorporating novel personalized prevention elements.
Conclusion:
A holistic, individualized approach to CVH assessment and CVD prevention can better reduce cardiovascular outcomes and improve population health. Collaboration among researchers, healthcare providers, policymakers, and communities is essential for effective implementation and realization of these strategies.
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