Cardiovascular primary prevention – directed approach for individual features

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of morbimortality globally. Despite substantial improvement in outcomes, alarming increases in obesity, diabetes mellitus and other risk factors have been noted in recent years. Despite the majority of CVD being preventable and primary prevention being cost-effective, preventive approaches are poorly implemented in the population at large as well as in individual patients. The pillar of prevention is lifestyle changes (diet, weight, smoking and exercise) followed by, when appropriate, targeting of the main cardiovascular risk factors with pharmacotherapy: lipid lowering therapy, blood-pressure treatment and blood glucose control. Low-dose aspirin as “one-dose-fits-all strategy” remains controversial as primary prevention due to the increased bleeding risk. New scoring systems or further application of imaging techniques (for example, coronary calcium score) are necessary for better risk stratification.