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Review
. 2017 Sep 16;5(9):349-359.
doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v5.i9.349.

Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in older adults in China

Jian Yong  1 , Dong Lin  1 , Xue-Rui Tan  2
Affiliations
Review

Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in older adults in China

Jian Yong et al. World J Clin Cases. .

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the percentage of Chinese who is 60 years or older has increased from 5.2% in 1995 to 10.5% in 2015. Approximately 16% of the population in China was 60 years old and above in 2015. Since 1990, cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been the leading cause of death in China. Cardiovascular medications of older adults are usually more complicated than younger age groups due to polypharmacy, the presence of comorbidities and more susceptible to treatment-related adverse outcomes. Therefore, effective primary prevention of CVD for older adults is important in sustaining the health of older adults and reducing the burden of the healthcare system. Proper management of CVD-related risk factors, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes and obesity, can remarkably reduce risks of CVDs in older Chinese. These risk factors can be modified by managing blood pressure, glucose and lipids via lifestyle modifications or receiving medications. Smoking cessation, healthy diets, strict alcohol intake and moderate physical exercise are examples of recommended lifestyle changes for remarkably recovering health conditions of older adults who have hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, diabetes or complications. Treatment prescriptions of older adults, in general, are recommended to be individualized and to be initiated at a low dose. The future directions for better primary CVD prevention in older adults include establishing guidelines for primary prevention of CVD for different older adults and further research on better management strategies of CVD risks for elderly Chinese.

Keywords: Adults; Aged; Cardiovascular disease; China; Primary prevention.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors state no conflict of interest and have received no payment in the preparation of this manuscript. This paper has been written upon an invitation of the journal editor to the corresponding author.

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