Original title: Lifetime Risk and Years Lived Free of Total Cardiovascular Disease Reference: John T. Wilkins et al. JAMA. 2012; 308(17):1795-1801.

This study analyzed more than 120,000 patients in the cohorts of large community studies, such as the Framingham, who did not have cardiovascular disease at the time of inclusion 

Considering all the age subgroups, only between 1.7% and 7.9% were within the optimal range of risk factors, (BP <120/80 mmHg, total cholesterol

In contrast, more than 55% of the population had one or two risk factors analyzed whatever their age. With this data it was possible to calculate, for example, that a 45 year-old man with no history has a 60.3% risk of contracting a cardiovascular disease at some point in his life.

For a woman of the same age the risk factor is 55.6%. In a middle age, a person with optimal risk control factors has an estimated 14 more years of free cardiovascular disease than someone of the same age with 2 risk factors. However, despite the likelihood of optimal control of risk, the odds of contracting an illness are still above 30%.

Editorial Comment: 

This study shows the enormous prevalence of cardiovascular disease and that this will continue to rise beyond the level that medical treatment can manage. Dealing with this huge number of patients is not only going to be a challenge for us in the catheterization laboratory but also an enormous public health problem.

SOLACI.ORG