Cardiovascular risk: assessment

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What is it about ?

Cardiovascular disease is disease that affects the heart or either artery. The coronary heart disease, the’cerebral infarction and stroke and the vascular diseases of the legs are part of cardiovascular diseases. Their cause is the thickening of the wall of the arteries (arteriosclerosis).

Arteries are the blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to all organs. Arteriosclerosis causes the narrowing of an artery, which decreases the blood supply to the affected area and therefore the oxygen supply, which causes problems in the affected area.

If it is the area of ​​the heart, the person may feel pain or tightness in the chest (angina or angina). If the heart muscle is in so much pain that it dies, it is a heart attack (infarction).
In the case of an obstruction of an artery in the brain, we speak of a cerebral infarction or cerebrovascular accident (stroke). The person has neurological symptoms, such as an inability to move the arms or legs. Sometimes the deficits are transient and the person has a AIT (transient ischemic attack).

The doctor tries to identify people who are at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease in order to be able to intervene early enough, by taking charge of the risk factors.

And in practice, how does it work?

The risk assessment is offered to all people aged 40 to 75 who consult a general practitioner. The doctor determines their risk profile by evaluating the following 6 risk factors:

  • Age over 50;
  • High blood pressure (greater than 140/90 mmHg) or use of antihypertensive therapy;
  • Smoking (one or more cigarettes per day);
  • Type 2 diabetes ;
  • Personal history of heart attack (infarction), stroke or TIA;
  • Family history, for example a heart attack in a father / brother before the age of 55 or in a mother / sister before the age of 65.

In people at high risk, the doctor will advise some lifestyle changes and offer treatment with medication.
For people at low risk, who do not have any of the above risk factors, lifestyle advice will suffice.
As for the intermediate group, people at moderate risk therefore, their risk is calculated concretely by means of tables.

They are thus assigned a risk score on the basis of sex, blood pressure, cholesterol and smoking. The score indicates the person’s risk of dying from cardiovascular disease within 10 years. On the basis of this score, the person is then classified in the low, moderate or high risk group.

  • The risk is low if the probability, within 10 years, of a fatal cardiovascular event (for example a heart attack) is between 0 and 4%.
  • The risk is moderate if this probability is between 5 and 9%.
  • The risk is high if this probability is greater than or equal to 10%.

Who is in the high risk group?

The high-risk group brings together three categories of people:

  • People who have or have had cardiovascular disease;
  • The majority of people with type 2 diabetes;
  • People with a risk score of 10% or more.

What can you do ?

The most important thing is to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

  • Stop smoking.
  • Eat healthy.
    • Favor a fresh and varied diet, and avoid prepared meals.
    • Limit fats and sugars
  • Aim for a “healthy weight”.
    • Obese people should try to lose at least 10% of their weight.
  • Exercise regularly.

You can already benefit from the positive effects of exercise on your health by exercising for at least 30 minutes a day. Concretely, it is recommended to do 30 minutes of cycling, brisk walking, gardening or other similar activity 5 times a week. The sum of several small sessions of exercise per day is as effective as a long session.

Gradually increase the intensity of the effort, possibly under the supervision of a coach or physiotherapist. If you have ever had heart or vascular disease and are planning to exercise strenuously, consult a heart specialist (cardiologist) first.

What can the doctor do?

  • He discusses with anyone at high or moderate risk the advantages and disadvantages of certain drugs, for example a low dose of aspirin, a statin to lower cholesterol and, if indicated, a drug that controls blood pressure and blood pressure. blood sugar level (blood sugar).
  • In people at low risk, follow-up and reassessment of risk is warranted after 3 to 4 years. An annual blood test, with measurement of cholesterol levels, is therefore not necessary in this group.

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Source

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