Use of SCORE2 in the assessment and control of cardiovascular risk in an apparently healthy individuals' cohort

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: Cardiovascular risk estimation is an essential step in reducing the onset of adverse cardiovascular events. It helps to identify healthy patients who will benefit most from treatment for atherosclerotic risk factors. The authors pretend to assess the Cardiovascular risk in an apparently healthy Portuguese population and evaluate the degree of control of LDL-cholesterol.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study assessed the cardiovascular risk level in a Portuguese population aged 40 to 69 years, using the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation 2 algorithm. This research received no specific funding.

Results: 12076 apparently healthy patients were included, median age of 53.8±8.03 (min. 40; max. 69), 58.7% women and 41.3% men. Based on the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation 2 calculation, 59.5% of patients belonged to the low moderate risk, 35.1% to the high risk group, and 5.4% to the very high risk group. Based on cardiovascular risk stratification, 64.6%, 94.1%, and 98.5% of the patients with low-moderate, high, and very high cardiovascular risk were above the LDL-cholesterol target, respectively. Of those with high and very high cardiovascular risk, 94.7% were above LDL-cholesterol goal in spite that 35.9% were under statin treatment.

Conclusion: In this real-life setting study, over a third of the population had high and very high cardiovascular risk, of which 94.7% were above the LDL-cholesterol goal. The study highlights that a large part of apparently healthy patients could benefit from a therapeutic intervention to reduce the risk of the onset of adverse cardiovascular events.

Keywords: Cardiovascular risk score; Colesterol transportado por las lipoproteínas de baja densidad; Dislipidemia, datos de la vida real; Dyslipidemia, real-world evidence; Low density lipoprotein cholesterol; Puntuación del riesgo cardiovascular.