The prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in patients from Croatian Zagorje County treated at Department of Medicine, Zabok General Hospital from 2000 to 2006

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in patients treated for coronary heart disease (CHD) at Department of Medicine, Zabok General Hospital during the 2000-2006 period. Cardiovascular diseases are a group of diseases that occur due to arterial. The risk factors that lead to the development and occurrence of cardiovascular disease are hypertension, cigarette smoking, hyperholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, diabetes mellitus and positive family history. Additional factors favoring the occurrence of cardiovascular disease include overweight, inadequate physical activity, and emotional stress. Data on all patients hospitalized and diagnosed with CHD at Department of Medicine, Zabok General Hospital during the 2000-2006 period were analyzed for the prevalence of risk factors for CHD, i.e. hypertension, cigarette smoking, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, diabetes mellitus and positive family history of cardiovascular disease. Hypercholesterolemia was defined by a cholesterol level higher than 5.1 mmol/L, hypertension from history data and blood pressure measurement on admission greater than 140/90 mmHg, diabetes mellitus from history data, and hypertriglyceridemia by a triglyceride level greater than 1.7 mmol/L. Information on heredity and cigarette smoking was collected from history and a questionnaire filled out on admission. All laboratory values were determined on patient admission to the hospital. Analysis of the risk factors for CHD recorded in patients from Zagorje County during the 2000-2006 period revealed hypertension to be the most common risk factor in our patients. According to sex, CHD was found to show a male preponderance. According to age at admission, CHD predominated in the > 70 age group, which accounted for one third of all patients, followed by a comparable proportion of the 50-60 and 60-70 age groups, i.e. still active population groups. As CHD is one of the leading health threats worldwide, estimated to remain so at least by 2020, it is fully justified to invest all efforts in the study of cardiovascular disease. New research projects should be focused on the prevention and early detection of the disease, improvement of diagnosis procedures, introduction of novel therapeutic options, use of new concepts, and due survey of the measures taken. CHD poses great socioeconomic burden upon every community in industrialized societies because of the ever younger age at onset. Actions should be taken to improve awareness of the CHD risks and morbidity in the population at large, stimulating favorable lifestyle and dietary modifications, and one's own health awareness, in order to upgrade the control of risk factors for and morbidity of cardiovascular disease.