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. 2010 Mar 26;2(3):43-9.
doi: 10.4330/wjc.v2.i3.43.

Stopping the cardiovascular disease continuum: Focus on prevention

Steven G Chrysant  1
Affiliations

Stopping the cardiovascular disease continuum: Focus on prevention

Steven G Chrysant. World J Cardiol. .

Abstract

The cardiovascular disease continuum (CVDC) is a sequence of events, which begins from a host of cardiovascular risk factors that consists of diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension, smoking and visceral obesity. If it is not intervened with early, it inexorably progresses to atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, left ventricular hypertrophy, and left ventricular dilatation, which lead to left ventricular diastolic or systolic dysfunction and eventually end-stage heart failure and death. Treatment intervention at any stage during its course will either arrest or delay its progress. In this editorial, the cardiovascular risk factors that initiate and perpetuate the CVDC are briefly discussed, with an emphasis on their early prevention or aggressive treatment.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease continuum; Diabetes mellitus; Dyslipidemia; Hypertension; Obesity; Smoking.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The various stages of the cardiovascular disease continuum (CVDC) and the different stages of intervention. CAD: Coronary artery disease; LVH: Left ventricular hypertrophy; CHF: Chronic heart failure. Reprinted with permission[2].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Pathophysiological mechanisms that lead to heart failure (HF) from hypertension. MI: Myocardial infarction; LVDDF: Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction; LVSDF: Left ventricular systolic dysfunction.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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