[The "absolute" cardiovascular risk]

Abstract

Diagnosis of hypertension and the thresholds for therapeutic intervention are usually defined by arbitrary values, changed along time by the Societies of Hypertension. Absolute cardio-vascular risk takes into account the full spectrum of independent cardio-vascular risk factors that have been identified by large observational epidemiological studies including Framingham Study. The advantages and the limits of the "absolute" cardiovascular risk concept and its applicability to medical practice are extensively discussed in this paper.