Overlaps of risk factors between different cardiovascular phenotypes

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Vascular Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) includes coronary, peripheral artery disease (PAD), carotid, and polyvascular disease.
• Limited data exists on ASCVD subgroup prevalence, risk factors, and secondary prevention medication rates.
• The Hamburg City Health Study (HCHS) provides population-based data for this investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence, risk factors, and secondary preventive medication rates across different ASCVD subgroups.
• To compare baseline characteristics, risk factor profiles, and cardiovascular risk scores among ASCVD patient groups.
• To identify potential targets for improving cardiovascular event rates in ASCVD patients.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of 10,000 randomly recruited HCHS participants (aged 45-74).
• Stratification of participants based on affected arterial vascular beds (carotid, PAD, coronary, polyvascular).
• Comparison of baseline characteristics, risk factors, prescribed medications, and cardiovascular risk scores (ESC SCORE 2, Stroke score).

Main Results:

• 6,324 individuals with complete data were analyzed.
• Prevalence: isolated carotid artery disease (35.7%), PAD (11.6%), coronary artery disease (2.8%), polyvascular disease (11.7%).
• Polyvascular disease patients were oldest, most likely unemployed, diabetic, and smokers. Coronary and polyvascular disease groups had highest risk scores and medication rates.

Conclusions:

• ASCVD subgroups exhibit distinct risk factor profiles, cardiovascular risk scores, and secondary preventive medication patterns.
• Findings highlight variations in optimal medical treatment strategies across different ASCVD manifestations.
• Targeted interventions based on vascular bed affected could enhance cardiovascular event reduction in ASCVD patients.